How much of a contingency do you need when building, renovating or extending a home? Project manager Andrew Stanway has the answer. In this article we cover: Q: My husband and I usually get on well dealing with money but we’re having big disagreements about how much our new build will cost. I keep telling […] More
Three years after moving into their tiny home, Michael Rauch and Alex Connolly share what tiny home living is like. In this article we cover: How is the house working out for you? The house is working so well for us and our needs. We have lived in it now for three years and we […] More
EZ Living Interiors offers an interior design service to homeowners and home builders. Here, Northern Ireland interior design manager Ronnie Maghie chats through the benefits. Why hire an interior designer? At EZ Living Interiors, we are passionate about helping our customers to create spaces that they love coming home to. We understand that home is […] More
Ryan Daly chats about why he chose timber frame as the build method for his home in Co Down and shares what the experience was like. In this article we cover: Why did you choose timber frame as the method of construction? I have worked in the low energy housing sector as a renewable energy […] More
Keith Kelliher looks at whether or not now is a good time to break ground and what 2024 has in store for house building costs. In this article we cover: Q: What way are material and labour prices trending? Hoping to break ground in the next few weeks. Keith says: Stabilising but concrete levy and […] More
The roll out of the ROI government’s grants has been off to a slow start with only 21 drawdowns for the vacant properties grant in 18 months, and just 8 serviced sites made available under the Ready to Build scheme within a year. The Ready to Build scheme has only offered eight sites to self-builders […] More
Find out what you need to know about roofing if you are building a timber frame house. In this article we cover: Prefabricated roof trusses, also known as trussed rafters, are the most common solution for the roofs of timber frame buildings. Many timber frame manufacturers will supply them as part of the timber frame […] More
If you’re building a timber frame house, your foundations will need to be built to suit. In this article we cover: Foundations for timber frame buildings should be designed to suit the site conditions and the loads that they are intended to support. Any of the usual concrete foundation options might be used, such as […] More
A stick build is the DIY way to build a timber frame house; it’s also the method that the late self-build architect Walter Segal favoured. In this article we cover: Stick build describes a method of creating structures that are built up on site from individual pieces of timber. The main architectural objective is to […] More
A government-backed low interest loan scheme is being rolled out for those undertaking energy upgrades in their home, announced the Department of Environment. In this article we cover: Homeowners who avail of Sustainable Energy Agency of Ireland (SEAI) grants will be able to borrow from €5,000 to €75,000 on an unsecured basis for a term […] More
Where are build costs heading? We look at the situation in Ireland today, in 2023 with DJ Ramsdale of DJ Build Estimations who tunes in to answer your questions about how much it costs to build in Ireland in 2023, from what method is cheapest to what to expect to pay overall. He covers: Favourite More
Worried about managing your self-build project with little to no experience? Here are Andrew Stanway’s four rules of thumb for a successful outcome. In this article we cover: You are right to be concerned because running a building site is nothing like anything you’ll have ever done before. Be gentle on yourself and listen to […] More
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