The Guaranteed Irish House Directory empowers self-builders with trusted local suppliers and sustainable solutions. Are you dreaming of building your own home or retrofitting your current one? Look no further than the Guaranteed Irish House website—the ultimate resource for self-builders in Ireland. Launched in 2019 by Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien […] More
Now that you know the site is viable, what do you need to get started with your self-build project? We look at what prep work needs to be done. In this article we cover: This early stage of your project is all about refining what you’re going to build and how you’re going to finance […] More
There’s a lot of talk around the passive house standard; here we bust the passive house myths that still linger. In this article we cover: General trends Well informed but not confident enough. We were pleased to find that the level of knowledge, including on all things passive house, was excellent. We did however detect […] More
If you plan on building a passive house, here’s who to hire, who they’ll be working with and when to get them on board. In this article we cover: We’re living in a world seeking tangible solutions to complex challenges. Climate change, energy poverty, health crises. In construction, I believe the passive house standard is […] More
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) updated its guide to working with an architect for 2023. In this article we cover: The RIAI’s new guide for working with an architect has been updated to include the RIAI’s 2030 Climate Challenge, a voluntary pledge to design buildings to have as little impact as possible on […] More
Practical house design is a balancing act. At the end of it you will get a beautiful, functional and affordable eco home. In this article, Les O’Donnell talks about: The basic principles of good house design How to approach your self-build How to design a contemporary home suitable for modern day living How to define […] More
Matthew and Hannah Sterrett of @ourweecountryhome share their story of building what they call the tin house: how it started and the obstacles they came up against. In this article they talk about: Contents Part 1 – Avoiding the rent trap – Skip to Part 1 Part 2 – The tin roof – Skip to […] More
Local authorities are offering up to €50k for you to renovate a vacant property to live in. In this article we cover: In a bid to tackle dereliction and encourage people to move back to rural towns and villages, the ROI government is now offering renovators up to €50,000 to refurbish vacant buildings. Croí Cónaithe […] More
Brian Corry of Selfbuild+ introduces self-builders to modern ways of building in Ireland today. In Part 2 he chats about: – Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) with Ballantine Building Solutions– Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) with FutureTek– Hemp block construction with Hempbuild Favourite More
Brian Corry of Selfbuild+ introduces self-builders to modern ways of building. In Part 1 he chats about: – Timber frame construction with Redwood Timber Frame in Dungannon– Structural polystyrene construction known as M3 with Passive Housing in Kildare– Steel frame and precast concrete with Future Cast in Leitrim For more about the building methods available […] More
This podcast is the first in a series of talks for mica affected homeowners. Mica is a naturally occurring material that has been the cause of thousands of homes crumbling; a redress scheme is being devised through the ROI government to rebuild affected homes. The topic for this first instalment is what to expect from […] 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
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