Get the right advice early

A HOUSE constructed to today’s regulations will be far superior to those of just 10 years ago because of higher insulation and air-tightness guidelines, along with heat extraction systems and low carbon heating.

A good source of information for all aspects of sustainable house building is the Sustainable Energy Ireland website www.sei.ie, which offers clear and unbiased advice on low-energy products and methods of build. And it’s SEI who are administering the Home Energy Saving Scheme, for retro-fitting older homes.

Grants are available for roof, wall and floor insulation, along with high efficiency boilers and heat control upgrades.

The CIF are training their members to take advantage of this scheme and now have a list of suitable contractors on www.cif.ie.

SEI will compile their own register of contractors and builders tendering for work under the scheme will have to be registered with the green energy body first. They will also be required to furnish a C2 certificate, or tax clearance form, along with the relevant commercial insurance, before the go-ahead will be given by SEI.

In this way the agency is putting obstacles in the way of fly-by-night contractors, while giving tax-paying, reputable builders the opportunity of a new income stream.

In terms of contracting for a job, the self-builder/extender should look for recommendations from friends or family and seek out the previous work of a contractor they intend to employ.

Some one-off home contractors are now offering composite services for extending and upgrading homes.

For instance, Cronin Homes at Blarney, Co Cork, will offer a project management service for the Home Energy Saving Scheme.

According to Connie Cronin, the company will offer a one-stop shop: “We’ll employ a quality service team of installers, like plumbers, electricians, plasterers, carpenters and BER technicians to provide home-owners with a turnkey service and minimum disruption,” he says.

It pays to put in the leg work initially, because once a project starts, hands are tied and it’s hard, if not financially crippling, to change horses in mid-stream.

Websites, like Onlinetradesmen.ie can furnish a list of potential builders and a new portal, pricebeforeyoubuild.ie, has an extra element like giving an online, Bills of Quantities before work begins.

This gives the homeowner a defined price list for all elements of the build and allows a comparison between building contractors, without compromising on quality.

Employing a registered, quantity surveyor will do the same, and while it may add to the overall build cost it can pay dividends when it comes to sorting the wheat from the chaff.

And despite all the headaches it does make sense to build now. Prices are cheaper and there is strong competition amongst contractors. But some established companies in the self-build arena are still ticking over nicely in their niche markets.

According to Willie Murphy of Murphy New Homes in Cork, their turnover is up this year, despite a downturn else.

“We’re getting the same level of business as before because more people are turning to one-off houses, but there are a number of people building recession houses.

“They’re doing a deal irrespective of the consequences — with less interest in the specification and more on the price.”

He warns that some buyers may not realise the nuts and bolts element of the building trade and instead, may not get the house they should. “Those kind of houses are cheaper and less well built and people who enter into certain arrangements have no experience of the building process.”

Regulations will protect the innocent, in a sense, because houses have to be to regulatory standards, but it’s worth getting good advice.

A competent engineer or project manager has the training and experience to decipher quotes and oversee construction and advise on final tenders.

“The project manager is there to protect the client from overcharging and unqualified builders and they manage the build to the right specification,” says Suzanne O’Callaghan of Solepoint Project Management.

“A client will usually only build one house in their lifetime and they can save money at the tender stage by making sure the specifications are exact. It’s a very wise decision to have a project manager, and while fees have been around 10% of building costs, they’re down to about 5% now and a client will save that in the first few weeks.”

Local practitioners can be found on the Golden Pages or through representative bodies and websites like onlinetradesmen.ie.

Again, it’s up to the individual to check out bona fides: the websites don’t guarantee the work of those on their database.

And finally, remember to negotiate: with a lot of people chasing a smaller pool of potential clients, the home-builder/ extender is in a strong position to strike a bargain. But more importantly, tie down all of the specifications, where possible, because you can’t go back afterwards, and extras cost.

* THE Self-Build Extend and Renovated Show is at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet from November 6-8. from Friday at 1pm-7pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am-6pm.