Where are material costs heading into 2026? Quantity surveyor Keith Kelliher takes stock of the overall material cost picture at the end of 2025:

·      Reasons for higher costs in Ireland than rest of the world

·      Are prices still increasing and where are they heading?

·      Steel, concrete, timber, insulation outlook: how to factor prices into your design

·      What’s the story with timber?

·      Electrics and plumbing supplies

·      In which months can you expect price increases from suppliers every year

·      Why are materials costing a quarter more on average than in 2021

·      Overview of price and tender surveys

·      Risks and concerns for 2026

·      How to mitigate against high costs as a self-builder

This episode was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Ulster 2025 in November.

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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-construction
• House survey for extensions/renovations
• Professionals you'll need to hire
• Costs relating to fees and taxes
• Curveball costs pre-construction
• Benefits of hiring a QS
• Costs of appointing a builder
• Prelims: what they are
• How the build is broken down in terms of cost elements
• Most common finishes with examples of cost ranges and where to make savings
• Where the budget gets busted
• Is it cheaper to get supplies from NI?
• Where you'll need to invest after the house is built

This episode was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Ulster 2025.

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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

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Modern methods of construction mass timber and ICF are two options for those looking for quick, good quality builds. Self-build expert John Corless chats to Danius Prakapavicius of iDomus Brian Duffy of Amvic about:

·      What is mass timber construction? Layers and how it’s finished internally and externally, pros and cons.

·      What is Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF)? Layers and how it’s finished internally and externally, pros and cons.

·      Design limitations and how to build with modern methods cost effectively.

·      How quotes are put together, sequence of works for both.

·      How much do they cost compared to traditional block build, materials and labour.

·      Structural integrity of systems versus traditional block build.

·      Impact resistance and power washing.

·      Working with structural engineers.

·      John’s thoughts on 3D printing houses.

·      Major benefits to building the house off site.

·      Time and labour savings compared with traditional methods.

This episode was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Leinster 2025. 

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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 plans

This 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?

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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

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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

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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 yourself
• Airtightness and insulation benefits
• Environmental credentials
• How it compares with blockwork, timber frame and ICF
• Process of getting a SIPS home built from start to finish
• Current lead times
• Certification

This podcast was recorded at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Ulster 2024; for show dates this year go to live.selfbuild.ie

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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

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• Why the most common budget buster is not having a budget in the first place
• How to deal with price increases for materials when self-building
• Rate of inflation on materials 4 per cent per year
• Can 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 element
• Pre-existing services, how to prevent nasty surprises
• PC Sums not being realistic, e.g. windows including costing estimates
• Where windows are coming from and how they're designed, knock-on effects with blinds
• Where money goes into windows, ironmongery costs
• Kitchen costs, how the add-ons work
• Bathroom costs, where to spend and where not to spend
• Which trades are more expensive
• Staircase and carpentry costs
• Will modular homes save you money?
• Benefits of employing a quantity surveyor
• Benefits of employing an architectural designer

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