Home improvement: Where do we start?

thehegdes

** NOTE: we are from India originally, and have little or no knowledge about how the construction industry works in Ireland. So, if some of the questions below seem silly, please bear with us. **

My husband and I bought a 30 year old house in Ballinteer recently. There are several things that the house needs done:

#1
The kitchen does not have provision for a dishwasher. It does not have an extractor/exhaust above the hob/cooker either.

So, in the short term, we want the appliances in the kitchen replaced, and provision made for a dishwasher and an exhaust. Means - a press removed, plumbing and wiring added for dishwasher and exhaust.

In a couple of years' time we want to extend the kitchen - so, not keen on spending too much right now. So, looking for advice on how to get cost effective changes done now.

#2
The BER rating of the house needs to be improved:
- the original windows need to be replaced with triple glazed windows.
- the inner walls have plaster boards on batons: we want this removed and replaced with some sort of insulation board
- the attic + roof need to be insulated

#3
We want to look at the possibility of an attic conversion.

#4
Wardrobes in the bedrooms are in bad shape and need to be re-done

#5
The stairs going down to the back garden and the back garden itself are in need of several small repairs.

The problem is, we have no clue where to start.

We are wondering..

OPTION#1: If we need to simply hire an architect, get him to look at all the things we need fixed and let him make recommendations on how we go about it (this is what we would have done in India btw).

OPTION#2: If we have to go talk to a kitchen guy / a builder (for kitchen + insulation + misc work), an attic guy (attic insulation + attic) and a carpenter (wardrobes) separately.

Do we need to retain the services of an engineer at any stage?

As the title suggests, at the moment, we are not even sure where to start. So, any advice gratefully accepted.

Also, if you have a recommendation re:
- an architect, and/or
- an attic conversion guy/firm, and/or
- a builder/kitchen conversion guy/firm,
please do send me a PM.

Many thanks in advance for your time and help

BryanF

Ask a local arch / arch tech to prepare a list of works for a builder to price.

The arch will advise on attic

Strolling Bones

thehegdes wrote: »

#1
The kitchen does not have provision for a dishwasher. It does not have an extractor/exhaust above the hob/cooker either.

So, in the short term, we want the appliances in the kitchen replaced, and provision made for a dishwasher and an exhaust. Means - a press removed, plumbing and wiring added for dishwasher and exhaust.

In a couple of years' time we want to extend the kitchen - so, not keen on spending too now. So, looking for advice on how to get cost effective changes done now.

Take this in isolation as you need to fix it for your everyday life and do it asap.

You need an honest and practical small builder or handyman. Go into your local builders providers and speak to them and explain the type of person you are looking for and ask if any of their busiest customers sound like that. Get 2 or 3 names. When you get around to actually meeting a few builders

a) do not start them working untill you have spoken to past customers who say they are satisfied with them
b) do not pay any money in advance - only stage payements / progress payements as the works go along.

thehegdes wrote: »

#2
The BER rating of the house needs to be improved:
- the original windows need to be replaced with triple glazed windows.
- the inner walls have plaster boards on batons: we want this removed and replaced with some sort of insulation board
- the attic + roof need to insulated

Again I would proceed with these measures in the short term no matter what future plans you have to extend. Make the house as comfortable to live in as soon as possible. I would add repalce the boiler to this early list of works unless the boiler is fairly new -less than 5 years old.

I would proritize boiler / attic insulation / walls insulation / windows in that order.

In fact unless the windows are terrible I would be slow to cahnge them if money is tight.

Find your would be builder as before

thehegdes wrote: »

#3
We want to look at the possibility of an attic conversion.

This IS a much bigger deal than a lot of people realise and there are hundreds of badly executed and dangerous conversions made in Ireland. Only proceed with a design construction profesional.

Here are some of the issues

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,1657,en.pdf

thehegdes wrote: »

#4
Wardrobes in the bedrooms are in a bad shape and need to re-done

#5
The stairs going down to the back garden and the back garden itself are need of several small repairs.

Like with the minor kitchen alteration works attend to these matters first. Make the day to day items your first priorities to fix.

thehegdes wrote: »

The problem is, we have no clue where to start.

We are wondering..

OPTION#1: If we need to simply hire an architect, get him to look at all the things we need fixed and let him make recommendations on how we go about it (this is what we would have done in India btw).

OPTION#2: If we have to go talk to a kitchen guy / a builder (for kitchen + insulation + misc work), an attic guy (attic insulation + attic) and a carpenter (wardrobes) separately.

Do we need to retain the services of an engineer at any stage?

Like the title suggests, at the moment, we are not even sure where to start. So, any advice gratefully accepted.

Also, if you have a recommendation re:
- an architect, and/or
- an attic conversion guy/firm, and/or
- a builder/kitchen conversion guy/firm,
please do send me a PM.

Many thanks in advance for your time and help

Start with the things that affect your every day life now firstly. Locate the small builder as I suggest. Do these first so to gain experience and confidence before tou tackle the big stuff.

For the extension works seek a design profesional - architect / architectral technician or engineer.


AND

Welcome to Ireland

sydthebeat

+1000 to the above

Calahonda52

Agree with above,
just an observation re the following
I would proritize boiler / attic insulation / walls insulation / windows in that order.

Wall insulation and window frame replacement should be considered in tandem and not in isolation as insulating the reveals of standard window frames can be problematic due to the narrow frames.

Re the attic conversion:
as noted this can be a nightmare.
Having lived in Ballinteer, I can take a guess at the house type so you really need to make sure you know what you can do here safely.
Most attic conversions that don't change the roof line in existing two storey houses do not meet the habitable room rules.
There are also rigorous fire regulations in the pdf link above.

While upgrading the attic insulation to say 300 or 400 mm of insulation is a quick and good idea, you need to think about what will happen to it if the attic gets converted......
The final comment is insure you have plenty ventilation in the bathrooms, maybe look at humidity controlled fans.
Good luck