Renovation in Ireland

Considering home renovation? It can be one of the most rewarding things that you do this year. Unfortunately, not all building projects of this nature go according to plan. Some of the problems that people experience can be avoided:

Deciding on the wrong project:
Most people do renovations because they are frustrated with the current room or rooms. While this is the overriding factor, it is important to ensure that any project that you undertake adds the equivalent in value to your home.

Ignoring the Engineers
Get an engineer to do a survey of your property before you approach the project, they will check for subsidence, pipework quality, support structures and more. They know what they are doing so if you do not like the results of the report, think long and hard about starting the project.

Hiring the wrong builder
There is a big difference between price and value for money. When it comes to building, the cheapest is not always the best. Check the reputation of the builder, ask for testimonials and aim to visit some past projects if you can. Builder credentials are very important. It is important to realise that the builder will estimate your price based on materials and time and a profit margin. Each area is negotiable but if it appear like they are doing the project below cost, the only one that will suffer is you.

Wrong budget
All renovations cost money and the most common mistake we see is that people do not allow enough for the project. The actual building work is easy to estimate but the finishing work and extras can start to add up if you are not clear from the outside what you intend to get.

Kilduff Construction have been completing home extensions and renovations for over 40 years. Contact us today to discuss your project.

4Apr

Building Regulations Ireland 2015

Posted by: derek odwyer Categories: Building in ireland Building in Roscommon

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An increasing level of regulation in building is adding to the cost of building new homes.

The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (BCAR or SI.9) came into play on the first Saturday of March, 2014. In theory, they are designed to protect the home owner from the rogue builder and also to protect the homeowner from themselves, should they decide to do the project on their own.

At one time in Ireland, if you did not require a mortgage and decided to erect a house, there was little or no checks being made on the structure apart from visual ones. This was open to abuse

The new regulation aims to control this, demanding that builders and self builder demonstrate compliance with the design and the building regulations from start to finish. This even includes the commencement notice and continues throughout the build to a series of certificates that must be signed off on by an ‘assigned certifier’.

While it will add costs to the build we are just about at the same level of building controls seen in other developed countries.

Things that are covered are

* The design and construction process of a new building

* The design and construction process of an extension requiring planning permission (generally over 40 square metres or in the case of any protected structure)

* Any works where a Fire Safety Certificate is required

It is estimated that this new compliance could add as much as 2-2.5% to te cost of the build on a standard home.

Call me if you would like to discuss further but please do not start a project without making yourself fully aware.

Tags: building contractor roscommon building contractor westmeath planning permission athlone planning permission roscommon planning permission westmeath

Renovation and Extension

Renovation in Ireland

Building Regulations Ireland 2015

An increasing level of regulation in building is adding to the cost of building new homes.