The Selfbuild Podcast

Quantity surveyor Keith Kelliher’s step by step guide to extending or building a new home in Ireland today including percentage share for each element of building your house with top tips, including:Site costs, pre-constructionHouse survey for extensions/renovationsProfessionals you'll need to hireCosts relating to fees and taxesCurveball costs pre-constructionBenefits of hiring a QSCosts of appointing a builderPrelims: what they areHow the build is broken down in terms of cost elementsMost common finishes with examples of cost ranges and where to make savingsWhere the budget gets bustedIs it cheaper to get supplies from NI?Where you'll need to invest after the house is builtThis episode was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Ulster 2025.

Cathal Keane of Graf and John Brennan of Molloy chat about on-site wastewater treatment system costs and rainwater harvesting tanks: ·      Retrofit of wastewater systems: upgrade cost examples·      What determines the cost of the system·      New build cost of systems, how much space you need·      What is a percolation test and what’s involved·      Wastewater tank installation process·      Tank types and pros and cons·      Rainwater harvesting tanks: benefits and system sizing·      Rainwater harvesting tank costs·      Maintenance on both wastewater and rainwater systems

In a podcast recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Leinster 2025, self-build expert John Corless shares what to look out for when assessing your floor plans, including:·      How to interrogate your floor plans·      Ensuring the different rooms and spaces work well together·      House size: typical sizes and how to evaluate what you need·      Corridors and door placement·      Width of stairs and hallways·      Quality of light and how far natural light will travel from a window·      Dealing with dark corridors·      Window placement·      The rule of thumb for window sizes ·      Plant rooms: where and how big ·      What to include in all floor plansThis podcast is a heavily edited excerpt from John’s floorplans chat at the show. John will be at the next Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live events with his talk that walks you through real floor plan examples.There he will explain the above concepts and more, including dealing with light in open plan areas, utility rooms, solutions for natural light, as well as bedroom design including privacy, where to place the bed, proximity to other rooms, ensuites and dressing room sizes… And are balconies a good idea?

The passive house methodology has become the go-to standard for build a new home, a renovate one, to be energy efficient; Seán McKenna of the Passive House Association and South West College chats to construction expert John Corless about: ·      How much more passive houses cost than building regs compliant homes·      The five passive house principles·      What to do for ventilation in the case of a renovation project ·      What happens to ventilation in the case of power cuts·      Easy wins when retrofitting·      Upgrading with EnerPhit·      Dangers of insulating internal walls·      Period home renovation tips·      Double vs triple glazing, issues with roof windows·      Do you reduce window spec to reduce solar gain?·      New builds: how to distribute solar gains around the house·      How to cut costs without cutting corners: achieving space efficiency

Construction expert John Corless and builder/estimator DJ Rasdale chat about the current state of play in Ireland for build costs at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Leinster 2025, including:-         How much it costs for self-builders to build a house in Ireland-         Indicative cost per sqft for new build and for renovation-         Material costs and labour costs today-         Cost of build types: which is most expensive-         Cheapest designs-         Direct labour vs builder pitfalls and savings, project manager route-         How VAT comes into build costs-         Quality management-         Standard Contract: what it is, pitfalls-         Builder’s finish vs turnkey, what to expect to have finished in each-         Cost overruns: should they happen?-         Role of a quantity surveyor: benefits, how much do they cost-         Professional fees: percentage to budget for-         Overall cost percentages

Derek McIntyre of JML SIPS chats about the modern building methods that is Structural Insulated Panels:Are SIPS worth investing in? How much does it cost?What is it and what are the two main types?How are roofs built with SIPS - process and benefits.The DIY options of installing SIPS yourselfAirtightness and insulation benefitsEnvironmental credentialsHow it compares with blockwork, timber frame and ICFProcess of getting a SIPS home built from start to finishCurrent lead timesCertificationThis podcast was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Ulster 2024; for show dates this year go to live.selfbuild.ie

Chartered surveyor Keith Kelliher chats to Cathal Keane of Graf who’s just finished building his own home, and to quantity surveyor Jimmy Walsh of Modern Eco Projects, to uncover the hidden costs of a self-build, including:- Costs associated to being gifted land- Site suitability report, cost of the test and watchpoints, how long they are valid for- Average cost of an onsite wastewater treatment system on a self-build, average maintenance costs- Solicitor fees- Development contribution fees- Site clearance and scaffolding costs- Service costs, how to get connected and how much, watchpoints- Issues with lead times for electricity connections- Insurance costs- Difference between direct labour and hiring a builder- Costs of running the site- Professional fees and who to hire at an early stage- Sequence of works and planning ahead- Plumbing package costs- Planning permission tips and typical conditions- Next steps after planning, where to start- Grants available- Cost-design pendulum and the need for accurate costings- Assigned certifier - what it is and what cost - opt in versus opt out and how it works with mortgages- Health and safety - roles of PSDS and PSCS - and who to assign those roles

In Part 4 of a four part series about build costs in Ireland, quantity surveyor Keith Kelliher explains how to budget for your build and what pitfalls to avoid, including:Why the most common budget buster is not having a budget in the first placeHow to deal with price increases for materials when self-buildingRate of inflation on materials 4 per cent per yearCan ground conditions be budgeted for? Worst case scenarios.Most common budget busters: lighting and electrics, how much each electrical point will set you back, how many do you need?Benefits of quantifying each elementPre-existing services, how to prevent nasty surprisesPC Sums not being realistic, e.g. windows including costing estimatesWhere windows are coming from and how they're designed, knock-on effects with blindsWhere money goes into windows, ironmongery costsKitchen costs, how the add-ons workBathroom costs, where to spend and where not to spendWhich trades are more expensiveStaircase and carpentry costsWill modular homes save you money?Benefits of employing a quantity surveyorBenefits of employing an architectural designer