Trading up: Spur Hill, Cork €270,000

Old meets new, and steel meets stone, at this upgraded 125-year-old cottage called Stonehaven.

Size: 72 sq m (850 sq ft) 

Bathrooms: 1 

Bedrooms: 2 

BER: C3

A 2006 refurbishment of a 1890s cottage, this is a modest 850 sq ft home on the foothills of Cork at Spur Hill beyond Wilton, where the novelty includes water features, a cottage that doesn’t act or reel its age, and a Kingspan insulated 800 sq ft lofted steel shed, all on its rural site of 0.3 of an acre.

Selling agent Michael O’Donovan of Savills has listed the mix, only a couple of miles from Sarsfield Road, Wilton, and he guides at €270,000, for the fresh-feeling home with outdoor extras.

The vendors did a previous build nearby here on Spur Hill, and then tackled Stonehaven, bringing it back from a basic shell and re-rooofing, putting in new concrete floors, insulation, double glazing, wiring – the works.

The house has a main, high-ceilinged kitchen/dining living, conservatory, two bedrooms and a bathroom, while the grounds include lawn, pond, raised beds, patio, greenhouse and potting shed, plus parking.

And, the adjacent lofted steel shed is used as a store/garage, gym, loft and WC.

VERDICT: Some apartments in the city are making this sort of sum.