James McIntyre’s solution to mould and mildew was a whole house mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. When and how was your home built? Our bungalow was built with blockwork in 1985 to the insulation and ventilation requirements of the time, approved by Building Control. The house was built on a sheltered site. We carried […] More
Planning permission can be especially hard to secure if you want to alter the front of your semi-detached house. The solution in this coastal Co Derry town was to get both sets of homeowners to apply at the same time. The project started off when Heather and Ian Rankin decided to upgrade their holiday home. […] More
Converting your home into a space that’s tailor-made for you can have life changing consequences, as Siobhan Hawkins and Gerry Gormley learned. In this article we cover: In 1994 Gerry and Siobhan bought their first home, a 3-bed semi-d, in Belfast to renovate, which they did in 1997. “We were hands on doing a lot of […] More
How Denise and Matt Donoghue’s research led them to devise an innovative heating and hot water system. When Denise and Matt got married over a decade ago they set up their base on Matt’s family agricultural holdings, and lived in the farmhouse that had been on the land for over 100 years. The couple carried […] More
Fostering a sense of fun was at the heart of this renovation, balanced by functionality “It’s not every day you get an opportunity to transform your house and in this instance, the internal layout warranted a complete overhaul. It often makes for a much more successful extension to reconfigure the entire building,” explains architect Shane […] More
Clíodhna and Enda Rooney had a choice between moving or extending; they decided to stay put and inject the wow factor into their semi detached home. In this article we cover: “Even though we love where we live, our concern about renovating was that it might be difficult to make it more comfortable considering the […] More
Even though Andrew and Julie Rogers’ barn conversion, completed over a decade ago, gave them the home they always dreamt of, once they were living in the house they realised they could do with some additions. In this article Andrew and Julie explain how they went about their barn conversion project in Co Down, including: […] More
A kitchen renovation is all it took for this home in Co Antrim to be given a new lease of life. That, and an insulation upgrade. In this article we cover: House Size Before: 119 sqmHouse Size After: 144 sqmPlot Size: 530 sqmBuilding work: replace and insulate floors, insulate walls, replace kitchen, knock down wall between kitchen and living […] More
Extending your home will inevitably result in losing some garden space. But if you do it right, you’ll feel like you’ve gained more room to play outside. In this article we cover: For Debbie Lee and Roger Conroy the time came to extend their home when they decided to raise a family together. “I had […] More
This cottage renovation and extension project in Co Antrim shows what can be done on a budget. In this article we cover: The best way to plan a renovation project is over a long period of time, whilst living in your house. That’s how you get to know what will really work, what you actually […] More
An 1860s concrete shed is an unusual choice for a renovation project but Imelda and Matt Jones of Co Sligo were the perfect couple to take on the challenge. Self-builders are in many ways key drivers to innovation, often seeking the most environmentally friendly and cutting-edge solutions to their home building projects, almost always going […] More
Deirdre and Frank Spillane’s renovation project in Co Antrim saw many of the things they liked in their previous home replicated. “It all started four years ago. Even though we were living in a fabulous home at the time, it was too small – we had a third baby on the way and simply needed […] More
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