Should you require expert input for your planned home improvement project, scheduling a consultation with a professional architect could set you on the right path. This year, renowned “Room to Improve” presenter Dermot Bannon is amongst numerous architects nationwide dedicating their time to the RIAI Simon Open Door initiative, a partnership initiative between the Simon Communities and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) that has been running for two decades.
The initiative is set to run from April 8th through to April 15th. It helps homeowners across the country take the initial leap towards home refurbishment. The process is simple: with a donation of €120, you gain an hour-long consultation with a registered professional who donates their time without charge. All funds raised are channelled directly towards the charity, previously assisting food and housing programmes amongst other causes.
Bannon understands that the consultation can be a significant advantage for those feeling overwhelmed by the industry or those believing their project might be too minor to require an architect, providing them with valuable professional advice. For larger endeavours, Bannon recommends booking consultations with multiple architects to find the one that aligns with your vision.
To make the most of these one-hour consultations, Bannon suggests preparing as much background information as you can. Typically, homeowners might possess a house brochure encompassing floor plans; photographs too can be beneficial, provided they are of the house rather than inspirational images from social media.
Bannon points out that clients often arrive with copious amounts of Instagram photos or Pinterest boards. However, these can be misleading as they are often superficial and fail to address personal challenges. Instead of the temptation to mirror other people’s homes, Bannon’s advice is to return to basics. Simply grab a blank sheet, note down your living space frustrations, and avoid attempting to replicate someone else’s lifestyle.
Stepping into a meeting with an unbiased perspective can be highly beneficial — rather than dwelling on what others have done, or what has been observed on social media outlets like Instagram.
Looking into the future
Bannon, in spite of his daily duties and charity commitments with the RIAI, is on the hunt for locales for the forthcoming 2025 season; so might we foresee renovators receiving more value for money?
There’s a chance.
“Financial plans haven’t significantly shifted,” he mentions, implying that “consumers are no longer receiving as much value as previously”.
The remedy to this issue, he suggests, lies in employing an intelligent strategy to house design and refurbishment, coupled with an evaluation of prospects.
However, Bannon observes that the recent surge in prices of materials and construction expenses are beginning to stabilise, although a decrease has not yet been witnessed.
“I hope prices will marginally decline as they are costly,” he comments. The increased availability of builders could catalyse competition leading to a reduction in prices.
“What I’ve recently observed is that each quote I submit for pricing is returned two or three fold, with builders ready to commence work in the following week,” he adds.
A greater prevalence of all-inclusive stores presenting refurbishments would also be advantageous for homeowners (currently only 20 are duly registered with Ireland’s Sustainable Energy Authority) as this could play a part in lowering prices. As Bannon points out, formerly people required builders to construct an extension, but now the primary focus is to refurbish the pre-existing home prior to any other construction.
“It’s undeniably the correct course of action,” he states.
Of course, this attracts a cost —roughly €60,000 for an average semi-detached house with three bedrooms. Grants are available to assist with these costs, but in reality, these can heavily influence the total cost of the renovation.
Is it possible succumb to overspending, exceeding the final value of the house on renovations?
“For some individuals, this is about enhancing their lifestyle,” he explains, asserting that even if they overspend by €50,000 exceeding the final worth of the house, they view it as “investment towards our lifestyle”.
Those who avidly watch the TV series will remember Bannon’s refurbishment of his Drumcondra home in 2020. Four years later, would he amend anything?
He jests that while he wouldn’t alter anything about his lifestyle, the people living with him might disagree. Given that the living room section of his dwelling is fairly unenclosed, there are often grumbles about the racket,” he concedes with a chuckle. He adds, “Relatives are known to consistently raise objections; it’s simply their nature.”
You’re welcome to register for this year’s scheme via riaisimonopendoor.ie.