Astrid Madsen is the editor of the SelfBuild magazine. Email astrid.madsen@selfbuildextendrenovate.co.uk
How Kirsty Tumelty tackled her Victorian renovation project in Belfast one step at a time, starting with emptying the house. In this article we cover: My partner Gary and I had lived in a rented apartment and didn’t think about moving for a long time,” says Kirsty. “We went to view a few houses to […] More
Irish musician Ronan Keating, who is building a family home in the UK, announced he and his wife Storm Keating were taking charge of their renovation-turned-new-build project DIY style. “It’s so sad that after all these years [the renovation started May 2016] our home is still not complete,” reads the couple’s house Instagram account @thekeatingshouse. […] More
A roofer died in 2016 as a result of an eight meter fall from scaffolding, highlighting the dangers of impromptu modifications. Scaffolding is a necessity for most construction projects – be it to build the upper storey, put the roof on, or simply to apply a finish to the external facade. There are however many […] More
This new reference book celebrates Walter Segal’s work designing, building and championing self-build projects. There’s no name more closely associated to self-building than Walter Segal (1907-1987), apart from perhaps Grand Designs TV presenter Kevin McCloud, who has incidentally written the introduction. Not only was Segal a champion of self-building, he also believed in people taking […] More
Your step by step guide to your kitchen design and installation in Ireland, from working with your architectural designer to the final checks. Architectural design You will discuss your kitchen with your architectural designer well before seeking planning permission. At this stage room measurements and basic circulation spaces will be pinned down, along with the […] More
The whole mood and feel of a room, or even of a whole home, can be altered by its lighting. Despite this, we often give more thought to our kitchen tap. aylight is the oldest way of lighting a building but once the sun goes down, we need to add other types of light […] More
The ROI government unveiled an updated mica redress scheme, as the defective blocks scandal throws a spotlight on insurance policies failing to cover costs and on the systemic lack of regulation of the Irish construction industry. The new Defective Concrete Block Scheme is excepted to pay for the rebuilding or remediation of 6,000 to 7,000 […] More
Kitchen units and an island are the key elements. Find out how they’re made, how they’re finished, and what to include from drawers to corner units. In this article we cover: How you plan to move around the space, where and how you store things, and at what height, will all have an impact on […] More
Alex Cullen and John Kilkenny bought a 100 year old house in Dublin city centre to do a budget renovation. The result is to die for. “We bought the house when we were young professionals, pre children,” says Alex. “We were renting at the time, in a house share, and wanted to buy something of […] More
All aspects of a self-build are affected by the budget. This is particularly true of the kitchen, where costs can quickly mount. So the question stands, how much does a kitchen cost? In this article we cover: In the world of kitchen design and manufacture, all kitchens are created fundamentally equal. The shell, which is […] More
House building is back to pre-Covid levels in ROI, and surpassing them in NI, first half statistics show. The trend mirrors a home improvement splurge, with one-and-a-half million homeowners having spent over €11bn in the last year on home improvements. This works out to an average spending of €7,343 per household. The survey, commissioned by […] More
Kitchen design is all about how you are going to be using the space; here are the design parameters to know about. In this article we cover: Kitchen design principles for easy access Universal Design principles were devised to future proof your house so that it can be used by people of all abilities. The guidelines […] More
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