Using renovation company for apartment refurbishement

Noelle85

Hello,

has anyone used any of those companies that look after all aspects of a property upgrade ) kitchen, bathroom, plumbing, painting etc) Meaning you dont have to have different people working on different jobs.

Are these companies any good, any previous experience using those?
I am looking to do a full make over of a 2 bed flat in Dublin.

Thanks

Nawel

hedkandigirl

sorry but did anyone come back to you.... or did you find out yourself

I'm in the same position and looking for help



thanks

wandererz

I've renovated a 2 bed apartment in Dublin over the past 2-3 years.
I split it between :

1) Insulation company to install insulation on outer facing walls.

2) Building company to remove old kitchen, plaster walls, reposition pipes and electrics for dishwasher, washer, fridge, freezer, hob etc. Remove some walls and move electric cylinder location to spare closet. Tiling of kitchen floor.

3) Kitchen company to supply and install kitchen.

4) Bathroom company to strip and install new bathroom and ensuite.

5) i installed wood flooring and underfloor heating myself (With an electrician to hook it up).

I found it better doing it that way as it gave me opportunity to select the best companies for the job and to search for the best prices as well.

Building company did a great job overall but i was displeased with cost overrun.
Would have got them to do the bathroom as well but after first experience could not be sure of final cost. Was lucky enough to have had the cash at hand to pay them.

Kitchen company - this allowed us to search around, read reviews and ultimately go with whom we felt most comfortable with. Fantastic price, no cost over run and
something we were really pleased with.

Bathroom company - just completed and pretty much the same as the kitchen company above. And what a superb job! Worthy of any 5 star hotel or better. A job extremely well done, almost to perfection.

With numbers 1,3&4, they quoted, did their job and asked me to pay as per what was quoted. No more than that. Even though bathroom company worked the weekend and next Monday to finish.

I split things over 3 years as i did not want to take a loan out. I preferred to get the best products or what we wanted, get the best people in for the job and do it when i could afford to.

That time frame is perhaps not what we had in mind originally but it worked out best for us and ultimately was fun in terms of debating on and selecting the right materials and products.


I did this with the view that we were not going to be selling anytime soon and to have a very nice livable space for the foreseeable future rather than get into an 400k + of debt in terms of buying a new house.

Even if i did buy a house I still would have to gut and renovate the kitchen and bathrooms and go through this whole process.

Where i saved in one area it allowed me to be a bit more extravagant in others.
It also allowed me to budget and spread costs over a period of time.

It all depends on what you want to do and why.

If all you need is a quick refurb and perhaps are looking to sell then a single company may be best.
They can come in and get everything done in 2 weeks.

If you're looking to renovate for yourself and for a longer term then patience, value and workmanship are key. It can take longer, but the rewards are far greater.

silent_spark

wandererz wrote: »

I've renovated a 2 bed apartment in Dublin over the past 2-3 years.
I split it between :

1) Insulation company to install insulation on outer facing walls.

2) Building company to remove old kitchen, plaster walls, reposition pipes and electrics for dishwasher, washer, fridge, freezer, hob etc. Remove some walls and move electric cylinder location to spare closet. Tiling of kitchen floor.

3) Kitchen company to supply and install kitchen.

4) Bathroom company to strip and install new bathroom and ensuite.

5) i installed wood flooring and underfloor heating myself (With an electrician to hook it up).

Really useful list! I'm looking at renovating an apartment this year, and I hadn't even thought of insulation - did you have to clear that with the management company? What kind of insulation did you get?

wandererz

silent_spark wrote: »

Really useful list! I'm looking at renovating an apartment this year, and I hadn't even thought of insulation - did you have to clear that with the management company? What kind of insulation did you get?

Didn't have to clear it with management company. I told them about it during annual meeting.
Work was to interior of property so did not concern them.
Improved the BER rating anyway compared to any of the other apartments.
I used a company called easyboard. Their method was a layer of kingspan insulation, followed by a layer of chipboard followed by plasterboard walls.
There was / is an SEAI grant available to reduce your cost.

silent_spark

wandererz wrote: »

Didn't have to clear it with management company. I told them about it during annual meeting.
Work was to interior of property so did not concern them.
Improved the BER rating anyway compared to any of the other apartments.
I used a company called easyboard. Their method was a layer of kingspan insulation, followed by a layer of chipboard followed by plasterboard walls.
There was / is an SEAI grant available to reduce your cost.

Thanks - good to know.

hedkandigirl

wandererz wrote: »

I've renovated a 2 bed apartment in Dublin over the past 2-3 years.
I split it between :

1) Insulation company to install insulation on outer facing walls.

2) Building company to remove old kitchen, plaster walls, reposition pipes and electrics for dishwasher, washer, fridge, freezer, hob etc. Remove some walls and move electric cylinder location to spare closet. Tiling of kitchen floor.

3) Kitchen company to supply and install kitchen.

4) Bathroom company to strip and install new bathroom and ensuite.

5) i installed wood flooring and underfloor heating myself (With an electrician to hook it up).

I found it better doing it that way as it gave me opportunity to select the best companies for the job and to search for the best prices as well.

Building company did a great job overall but i was displeased with cost overrun.
Would have got them to do the bathroom as well but after first experience could not be sure of final cost. Was lucky enough to have had the cash at hand to pay them.

Kitchen company - this allowed us to search around, read reviews and ultimately go with whom we felt most comfortable with. Fantastic price, no cost over run and
something we were really pleased with.

Bathroom company - just completed and pretty much the same as the kitchen company above. And what a superb job! Worthy of any 5 star hotel or better. A job extremely well done, almost to perfection.

With numbers 1,3&4, they quoted, did their job and asked me to pay as per what was quoted. No more than that. Even though bathroom company worked the weekend and next Monday to finish.

I split things over 3 years as i did not want to take a loan out. I preferred to get the best products or what we wanted, get the best people in for the job and do it when i could afford to.

That time frame is perhaps not what we had in mind originally but it worked out best for us and ultimately was fun in terms of debating on and selecting the right materials and products.


I did this with the view that we were not going to be selling anytime soon and to have a very nice livable space for the foreseeable future rather than get into an 400k + of debt in terms of buying a new house.

Even if i did buy a house I still would have to gut and renovate the kitchen and bathrooms and go through this whole process.

Where i saved in one area it allowed me to be a bit more extravagant in others.
It also allowed me to budget and spread costs over a period of time.

It all depends on what you want to do and why.

If all you need is a quick refurb and perhaps are looking to sell then a single company may be best.
They can come in and get everything done in 2 weeks.

If you're looking to renovate for yourself and for a longer term then patience, value and workmanship are key. It can take longer, but the rewards are far greater.

thanks for all your help!! it would be great if you could give me a round park figure on what all that work cost you over that period of time, thanks

wandererz

hedkandigirl wrote: »

thanks for all your help!! it would be great if you could give me a round park figure on what all that work cost you over that period of time, thanks

Insulating walls - approx €1800 after SEAI grant.

Engineered Wood floors & underfloor heating throughout - approx €3500 (may be a lot less but I have to add it all up).
Did 95% of it myself so i was able to keep it down.

Kitchen - installation, cabinets & silestone worktops€6000.
Kitchen appliances (full fridge, full freezer, oven, oven microwave combo, inbuilt dishwasher, inbuilt washing machine, hob, wine cooler, sink, tap) approx €8000.

Bathrooms were a killer.
All equipment for bathroom and en-suite (including wall to wall tiling, sinks, taps, baths, showers, glass, mirrors, fans, towel rails) - approx €12,500.
But i went with probably the most expensive supplier in Ireland.
Installation cost: €5,500.

Plus there was an extra 12k of building work that I wanted. Such as stripping of old kitchen, replastering kitchen walls, tiling kitchen floors, electric switches, lighting, moving electric cylinder to another location including re-plumbing, new walls etc.

Then add in costs for other stuff like wireless thermostats etc. and the figure is around €50K +.

But that doesn't need to be you. I had a crazy dream and just went for it.

One thing I would suggest is (if the place does not have insulation on the outer walls) to get the place insulated first, before you start ANYTHING else.
Get it done during the summer, perhaps when you are away on holiday. There's so much dust through it all that you cannot live in the place.

Feel free to ask any questions.
One thing that I found extraordinary during my research was the lack of people providing ideas of costs or expenditure. Or even the lack of people willing to provide recommendations.

During that time i even stood up in an audience of people and queried the guy off the rte renovation show about apartments. But he seemed to have no clues as to redesigning or renovating apartments.
I find that simply crazy considering the huge number of apartments that have been built in Ireland.
Many of those people simply cannot afford any longer to heave-ho and move to a house.

I could have rather spent the 50k on a deposit on a new house but that would have left me indebted to the tune of about €450k or more.
That's simply not an option so i had an idea and slowly worked towards it.

So have a think about it. If you're in a good area, enjoy living there, have good neighbours etc. then perhaps look at the apartment renovation. What you save in the short to medium term can be put towards that apartment in Spain, France, Portugal etc. that you've dreamt of.

Bob24

Noelle85 wrote: »

Hello,

has anyone used any of those companies that look after all aspects of a property upgrade ) kitchen, bathroom, plumbing, painting etc) Meaning you dont have to have different people working on different jobs.

Are these companies any good, any previous experience using those?
I am looking to do a full make over of a 2 bed flat in Dublin.

Thanks

Nawel

On the specific question of the OP, does anyone have feedback about companies providing an "easy" package?

What's the cost overhead and any reputable ones who do a good job?

Ronaldinho

Bob24 wrote: »

On the specific question of the OP, does anyone have feedback about companies providing an "easy" package?

What's the cost overhead and any reputable ones who do a good job?

I came across this company when I was looking at buying a doer-upper.
http://www.renova.ie/

Might be worth a look.

Bob24

Ronaldinho wrote: »

I came across this company when I was looking at buying a doer-upper.
http://www.renova.ie/

Might be worth a look.

Thanks.

Yes I found that as well as they are all over google when you search for renovation companies in the Dublin area.

They certainly have comme communication and online marketing skills and seem serious and not genuine.

But I didn’t really find much feedback on them anywhere.