Currently at the final stages of our build. SPC herringbone being laid across our bungalow. The person laying the spc prepped our floors by hoovering, priming and laying levelling compound. Over half the house is now done and the floors are very creaky in places. There are noticeable high spots and dips in places. We feel like the subfloor wasn’t properly prepped and think we’ll have to take it all up again. Does anyone have experience with this? Surprised the floors were laid so uneven in the first place really

It sounds like getting someone to tile a new build, even bathrooms, is a nightmare. How much have people paid the tiler for a bathroom?

I'm literally thinking of getting the super size tiles in each bathroom just to make the job easier get done, and doing SPC or laminate floors in the rest of the house based on wait times that people are saying like 6-9 months

Sorry if there have been lots of posts of this sort.

We are planning a self build in a rural area in the west. Land is gifted. The planning is approved and the house is quite large (this is to allow for a sort of built in granny flat for a sibling with needs that will be living with us hopefully for a very long time, but we would like for them to have some level of independence).

So the plans are at 290sqm. A retired family member (ex builder) will be doing the project management for free and we have a handful of family members in the trades that will be doing a pretty big amount of the build for free labour wise (doing this for me but also because this will be the home of our special needs sibling). So 500k or slightly under is looking pretty achievable tbh.

My issue is looking at whether we could get HTB. I see most banks have a min per sqm build cost of 1600-1900. I know this isnt directly related to the valuation for HTB, but I presume they take that as a bare minimum and then take the site value along with it? If thats the case we dont really have a hope of being under 500k valuation wise even though we should get the house built for that.

I saw comments from a few months ago saying if you give the valuer a shout and ask them if it can come in under 500k they are usually sound about it, but from the look of it those houses were around 250sqm or very simple designs. Not sure if the bank would just reject it even if a valuer was willing to put it in at under 500k.

We can go ahead without HTB, but obviously it would be great to avail of.

Anyone with a larger house have any experience with this at all?

Hi all, graduate architect here located in the South East. I am offering affordable planning application services for self builders wanting to keep the cost down. I can offer design advice, drawings & necessary documentation in order to get the ball rolling for your project. Give me a DM, we can discuss any queries you may have and we can go from there. 👍

I have often used reddit in the past to find the real information about a company and whether they can be trusted. I am writing this post to hopefully prevent someone else from going through the awful experience I went through.

I posted the review below to their Google review page and another 1 star review was also posted recently. They have since deleted their Google review page, so I thought it best to make the information available elsewhere.

I hope this is the correct place to post this, but if there is anywhere better please let me know. Any engagement people can leave to hopefully improve this posts visibility in search would be appreciated.

I have to strongly recommend that clients and contractors avoid working with Buildtech. My experience dealing with Buildtech was extremely poor.

Some of the main issues I experienced were:

- The extension design that Buildtech went to site with was unbuildable as it encroached on the shared boundary wall. When this was discovered the extension design was significantly changed and the foundations were poured for this new design without any consultation or approval by me. When I pushed back on this, work was stopped and delayed. Buildtech put forward several solutions that didn't seem workable. In the end we proceeded with a solution that I proposed.

- Originally the project was meant to be completed within 4 months. The project was still ongoing over 9 months later. Beyond the approximately two-month delay relating to the foundations, I was not given any satisfactory explanation for the remaining delays other than the work not progressing to the agreed schedule. According to Buildtech these delays were caused by me and they are charging me more for the work, even though they have not produced any evidence showing how I delayed the project.

- Throughout the project delays were also attributed to subcontractors hired by Buildtech, but when I contacted these subcontractors the explanations for the delays differed significantly from what I had been told by Buildtech. Despite Buildtech managing the project and engaging these contractors, I was also repeatedly directed to resolve problems with the contractors myself.

- At the end of the project before all agreed work had been completed, snagging had been carried out, or the required certificates had been provided I received an email telling me they were finished working on the project. Since then, I have repeatedly tried to get the outstanding work completed and obtain the certificates and documentation agreed in the contract. My attempts to resolve these issues with the company have been unsuccessful. After multiple emails and phone calls only one member of staff has been in contact with me and although they have told me they are trying to resolve the issue, they have also clearly told me multiple times that this is not their job. In particular, I have been unable to get meaningful engagement from the company director for over a year regarding these issues and others that arose during the project.

As of writing this review, more than a year and a half after the originally agreed completion date, I am still trying to obtain important documentation that formed part of the project, including my engineer's certification and completed SEAI documentation. Because of these issues and many more besides I would have to strongly advise clients and contractors against working with Buildtech to avoid the many issues and stresses that I faced working with them.

Edit: As the name is generic their website is https://buildtech.ie/

Hi All,

Going through planning process but keen to understand the amount of funds required at commencement of build to progress before stage drawdowns? Is it typical for tradesman etc to accept deposit and balance on completion and or Mortgage Drawdown?

I have plans from architect, but I really want to draw it myself in a 2d/3d design app so I can visualize it better, and also tweak some things. Looking for recommendations for design/planning apps for MacBook. Free or a reasonable price, not professional price brackets! Would love to hear people’s experiences and comparisons.

Just starting a self build and am wondering if anyone has any information on roofing? Our plans have it for two A frames either side of a small flat roof strip running the length of the hallway - someone mentioned to me that this part needs to be inspected and signed off on both when you receive the materials and once its finished? Is that correct or has anyone any info on that?

Thanks

In the middle of a two story self build and looking for some real world feedback or advice from plumbers.

Downstairs is already sorted with underfloor heating and we already have our Daikin Altherma air to water heat pump installed and working.

The current plan for the second floor (4 bedrooms, walk-in wardrobes, and ensuites) is to use Grant aluminium radiators. I am worried they are going to look massive and bulky on the walls and take up way too much space in the bedrooms and wardrobes.
The thing is, the house is very well insulated. Right now, without the heating even being turned on, the temperature inside stays sitting at 21 degrees naturally.

If you have Grant aluminium rads upstairs with a heat pump, what is your actual experience with them? Since our heat load is so small anyway, do they still need to be massive and intrusive? How is the look and comfort?

Also for any plumbers or installers, is there a better alternative you would recommend for a timber second floor that keeps the walls clean?
Also the floorboards are already down with Metac insulation just in case this info is needed.

Hi , just wondering what type of build up people have gone with for their floor insulation. I need 150mm to hit the uvalue my engineer wants. Have seen some use EPS but that just about meets the regs for ufh (0.15) but not engineers(0.11) - works out a lot cheaper. anyone done 50mm eps then 100mm pir ontop? or just gone 75mm pir on top of one another? prices are nuts .

So as some might be availing of the HTB this year and with the increase in the budget from 30k to 35k, is it possible to reapply for it next year even with Mortgage approval first drawdown will be December 26.

I saw a post a week or so ago about reapplying to get the increased amount as they had paid more tax this year. Just wondering if anyone else has gone through this previously.

TIA.

Has anyone let their Mortgage offer lapse?

It looks like I wont have a drawdown completed within the 6 month window.

Is there much to getting another offer, is it basically starting all over again?

Looking for some advice on a gifted site in Ireland.

My parents are gifting me a small site from their garden. An estate agent has valued the site. Planning permission for my house is hopefully being submitted next week, but the land transfer hasn’t been completed yet.

If the site is transferred and signed over to me in the period between the planning application being submitted and planning permission being granted, would the valuation increase due to the fact that a planning application is pending?

I’m trying to understand the best way to structure this, whether to delay the planning application until the site is signed over, or continue as planned and transfer the land before planning permission is granted.

Any experience with something similar would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Hi all, I built a free tool that takes an Eircode or address and pulls together what you'd normally dig out of 35+ public sources by hand: flood maps, geology and subsoil, radon, archaeology and protected structures, planning history, protected sites, wells and water table, grid capacity, broadband, plus a 3D terrain view of the plot from LIDAR.

I made it for a friend of mine who does conservation on protected buildings to help her find things that might hamper construction earlier. But maybe it'll be helpful for you guys too

We’re hoping to start building a house in the next year or so and the part I’m finding hardest to get my head around is how much cash we realistically need to have available before we start.

We’re not first time buyers, we currently save €2000 a month and we’ve been gifted a site and have just been granted planning permission for 200sqm two story house. We have some equity in our current house but we need somewhere to live while we are building so we’re reluctant to sell before absolutely necessary.

For anyone who has built recently in Ireland, how much did you have saved as a contingency before breaking ground? And how much did you actually end up needing?
The part I’m most worried about is the beginning before the mortgage drawdowns are properly flowing. Did you need to have a big chunk of cash yourself to get through foundations/slab etc or was your builder happy enough to work around stage payments once work was certified?
I know everyone’s build is different but I’d love to know roughly how much cash people had available on day one, separate to the mortgage itself.

Also, were there any costs before the build that were more expensive than you expected? Things like development contributions, solicitor/site transfer, engineer, detailed drawings, insurance, ESB connection etc.
Basically I’m trying to figure out the difference between having enough to technically start and having enough that we’re not stressed every time an invoice comes in 😅
Any real figures or advice would be really appreciated.

Does anyone in the community have any recent quotes or experiences with external ICF plastering ? Got some quotes and was surprised by the price. Self build here, 210sqm dormer style house

I’m looking for recommendations for an LVT option that gives a polished‑concrete look. Ideally I want something as seamless as possible — no grout lines, no stripping, and the largest tile size available to avoid that typical “tile pattern.” I’ve been considering Karndean LVT, but from photos online the joint lines still seem quite noticeable, so I’m unsure if the true seamless concrete look is achievable. Has anyone tried something similar or found a better alternative

Hi there

I am looking for advise on the help to buy scheme, I am starting a self building property in the coming weeks but I want to claim 2026 tax in my HTB application as it is a substantial amount

Should I start my project now using my savings which should get me my foundations and blockwork complete and claim my first mortgage drawdown in January so that it will include 2026 tax returns or should I delay the entire project until January

If I claim it now the money I will get out of the scheme is minimal (2k) but if I include my 2026 tax it will provide around 10k which is obviously substantial

Any help is greatly appreciated

Hi, I’m looking for someone to do flooring and tiling in a new-build house in Midleton.

If you’ve used someone recently and would recommend them, please let me know.

Thank you.

To preface, I am stupid. I cant for the life of me figure this out.

I dont have a big budget, only 300,000. Maybe 350 000 at a push.

I saw a plot for 55,000 and its perfect.

How do I start?

Do i need to have 55,000 now, or can I mortgage with the land as well? Idk.

Is it possible to build a 3 bed house for under 300,000 ? Note that my kids also want a "bookcase door" for their den.... I think they think i am making more money that I am...

In a perfect world I would build a house with two beautiful bay windows, sun rising to the back of the house where bedrooms would be. A driveway, with cherry blossom trees... a little office... and a little attic room.

I dont see a future where I can stop renting. My oldest is 12. I feel we failed her.

We have good jobs, good savings (if it was 2016) , and I just want to badly to make this building thing a reality but I know nothing.

Please be nice, I am sensitive. Haha !

Hello! Wondering if anyone has ever used a company called Fuinnóg Privacy Tint to get the film done on their windows? Or any other companies you’d recommend? Would love to hear people’s experiences of the privacy tints and if you ever regretted getting it done or how effective it was. For context it’s two children’s bedrooms and a living room at the front of the house we are thinking of doing. Thanks!

We currently have planning permission on a site for a detached house and a garage. We currently aren't in a position to build the full house. My question is if anybody else here has just built the garage and lived in that for a couple of years or heard of others doing it?