If you live more than thirty or forty minutes from a sizeable town, you already know this problem. You ring around for a plumber, leave three voicemails, get one callback, and that person is booked until sometime next quarter. The shortage…
There's a point in most back garden projects where you have to decide what goes around the edge of it. A solid masonry wall or a close-board timber fence. Both do the job of giving you privacy and marking the boundary.…
A home retrofit is essentially an energy upgrade. You take the house as it stands and make it cheaper to heat, more comfortable to live in, and less wasteful overall. In Ireland that usually means tackling insulation, heating systems, windows and…
Getting a new combi boiler fitted is one of those jobs most Irish homeowners face eventually. The old boiler starts losing pressure every other week, the engineer sighs and shakes his head, and suddenly you're pricing replacements. But the quotes can…
We bought a three-bedroom semi-detached in north County Dublin that needed everything done. New roof, rewire, full replumb, kitchen extension, insulation, bathrooms, the lot. I was working in IT at the time, I'd managed complex projects professionally for years, and I…
A bathroom refit is one of the most popular projects Irish homeowners take on, and for good reason. It's relatively contained, it adds genuine comfort to daily life, and done well it can lift the value of a property. Done badly…
Planning permission can feel like one of those things where everyone has a slightly different version of what the rules actually are. Your neighbour tells you they built a big rear extension without any bother. Someone in a Facebook group says…
A gravel driveway looks like the straightforward option. It costs less than tarmac or block paving, you can usually lay it without planning permission, and it drains naturally. Which makes it all the more frustrating when it turns into a muddy,…
We shook hands on it. That was the agreement. Our builder seemed solid, he'd done work for a neighbour, he turned up on time to quote, and he gave us a number we were happy with. So when he said he…
Everyone says get three quotes. It's the piece of advice handed out at every kitchen table and property forum in the country, and it's not wrong exactly. Comparing prices is sensible. But if three quotes is all you do before handing…
A quantity surveyor's report lands in your inbox and it looks impressive. Proper letterhead, lots of columns, figures running to tens of thousands of euro. Most people scan it, feel reassured that a professional has looked at things, and sign. That…
We bought our house in 2019, a 1970s semi-d in County Kildare that had been through about three rounds of DIY improvement by previous owners, each one slightly worse than the last. The kitchen was the worst of it. Vinyl floor…
