Tips on Building Your Own Home – Quantity surveyor Lisa O’Brien, on behalf of the Irish Concrete Federation, shares her advice and tips before you start building your home. Favourite More
The contribution made by self-build tradespeople is essential to the success of any self-build project, so who does what and when? Even if you plan to use your skills to build your house, you will need to hire some specialist tradespeople – at the bare minimum the regulations stipulate you have to hire a qualified […] More
Ask the Expert – Brian Corry of Selfbuild+ chats with self-build expert John Corless about the statutory (mandatory) requirement that is Building Control, including: – Differences between the local authority-led system in NI and the self-assessed system in ROI. – In ROI, the choice you must make between opting in or out of appointing an […] More
Gavin McKibbin is a builder by trade who specialises in renovations and extensions, and he built his own house in Co Down, project managing it from start to finish. Here he shares his tips and advice based on his personal experience as he came up against some common self-build pitfalls. Being in the building trade […] More
Episode 26: First time self-builder David Dobbs, who happens to be an estate agent, shares his experience getting planning permission from Wicklow County Council and running into some trouble with his main contractor. He talks about:– How the existing cottage on the site helped secure planning permission– His bungalow design tips to add light and […] More
Marking out the site and other preliminaries – Self-build advisor John Corless runs through the checklist of things you need to arrange before you can “break ground”, or start to dig a hole in the ground for your foundations. Favourite More
Main contractor v direct labour – Self-build advisor John Corless runs through the pros and cons of hiring one person to take charge of the entire building process versus hiring individual companies and tradesmen to do the work for you. Favourite More
Building it right – Self-build advisor John Corless goes through the quality control processes in place in both NI and ROI. These ensure that at the very least, your home will be built to the building regulations and health and safety laws, both of which are mandatory to follow. Favourite More
Covid-19 face covering rules for Irish construction sites don’t match up north and south. Even though Covid-19 rules for building sites are clear about the basic rules, when it comes to face coverings they differ by jurisdiction and type of work being carried out. The basic rules are the same as for any other business, […] More
A confirmed arson attack in Co Tyrone destroyed a family’s new build home just months before they were due to move in, causing tens of thousands of pounds in damage. As of September 2020, the police was still hunting for the arsonists who targeted the house in August, when it was up to roof level. […] More
Episode 16: It is a legal obligation for the homeowner (self-builder) to be on top of health and safety on site and there are procedures in place for you to prove that to the authorities. However, it is not mandatory to take out self-build insurance. Insurance is in fact a safety net that will cover […] More
Episode 11: John Corless is Ireland’s leading independent self-build advisor and the host of the Selfbuild Live Bootcamp. We caught up with him at Selfbuild Live Belfast to give us a bird’s eye view of the self-build process. Topics covered: Favourite More
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