RENOVATING MY OWN HOME

“I PICKmy BATTLES.”

Renovating

Pressure a lot of my own home is

Dermot Bannon talks to us Words: Emer Kelly Pics: Volvo Cars / RTÈ

Dermot Bannon is one of the best known Architects in Ireland and is best known to the Irish nation for his show ‘Room to Improve,’ which is one of the most talked about programmes on the nations lips after it airs on Sunday nights over a six week period.

Mr Bannon has also recently been to Sweden, Melbourne and Sydney for his show ‘Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes,’ which garnered a lot of attention when it aired in February.

As well as running a very busy architectural practice, being a husband and Dad to three young children, he is currently busy working on his new home in Drumcondra but despite all this Dermot very kindly took time out of his busy schedule to talk to this publication.

“Renovating my own home is a lot more pressure than I thought it was going to be, I was actually looking forward to the whole process and when we bought the house and we were applying for Planning Permission I got really excited about doing it and I was pinching myself at the thoughts of getting to do this to our own house,’’ said Dermot Bannon.

“Now that I’m in the middle of it, it’s incredibly stressful because you know every little detail there is to the project. Sometimes you might let things go on a regular job because it doesn’t really matter and you can’t see it but when it comes to your own home, you can’t un-see these things and I don’t want to be looking at this little detail for the rest of my life so that’s why I’m trying to iron out a lot of these things.

“Most of the stress is caused by making sure that you have thought of every little thing. It’s absolutely melting my head at the moment! You want to put in the best of what you can afford when it comes to the house. I don’t think I will be doing anything differently to my own house than I would when it comes to the houses on ‘Room to Improve,’ the finishes won’t be very expensive; I would like some nice finishes,’’ he enthused. “I’ve fairly simple taste and I want this house to be minimal but there are certain things that I would like to put in this house such as a brass splashback,’’ added Mr Bannon. “I’m at the stage where I wish the house was done now and we could just move into it,’’ revealed Dermot.

During the build, Mr Bannon made sure to account for two charging points in his driveway as he is switching over to a Volvo hybrid this summer. “I’m eliminating fossil fuels from the house and we’re taking a G rated house right up to an A rating; there is going to be no gas or oil in the house, there will be a heat pump and it is going to be super highly insulated because I’m determined to have a house where you can walk around in your tee shirt in December as well as having a house that costs very little to run,’’ he explained.

“I’ve been driving a Volvo for a few years now and they asked me recently would I like to test drive one of the plug in hybrids and even though I was a bit dubious (because I didn’t think I would get the range out of it) of taking it for a while, the car really surprised me in a lot of ways!

“The car changed the way I drove; there is a button with ‘b,’ written on it so basically every time we brake or the car slows down we waste that energy normally when we’re driving but with this car, that energy goes back to the engine and then you can plug the car in.

“Generally, for day to day use you get a 40KM range out of it and you have a petrol engine as well. In a day you probably wouldn’t do more than 40KM between school runs and so forth so essentially you can charge the car at night,’’ enthused Mr Bannon.

“I put two charging points into our front garden, whether

“I wish the HOUSE was DONE.”

or not we will have two electric cars I don’t know but the aim would be to have two electric cars in the next four to five years because they won’t be making fossil fuel cars after 2030. If you are future proofing your house and you are trying to make it as close to carbon neutral as possible then you should be thinking about your car especially if you are living in the city,’’ added Dermot.

“I know that I will have to do a country run in the car and for that I will have to use petrol but to make my life easier, I put the charging points in. It also makes total sense to put the charging points at your house as there is a grant available for it as well.

“I loved driving around in this car, more so because it really changed my driving patterns and I really started to think about how you’re using your fuel. I drive slower now and I try not to use the brake as much. When you see how much energy you waste in speeding up too quickly and braking too quickly instead of trying to keep the car at a slow, regular pace it makes you a more responsible driver. The Volvo hybrid is a lovely car to drive,’’ he stated.

In terms of the reaction to ‘Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes,’?

“We picked the houses because they were amazing properties in amazing locations. It was a wonderful trip and I still pinch myself every time I think about it. I think the houses in Melbourne were better; the Sydney trip was great and everyone has an affiliation with Sydney but the houses in Melbourne were cooler. It was my first time in Australia.

We got to see amazing houses and because I was doing the television show it got me access to places that you generally wouldn’t get access to. “The trip to Sweden was an eye-opening one because it showed us how responsible they are.

“They have these luxurious houses with two bathrooms, they haven’t got a clatter of them. The people all live in apartments in the city during the winter and during the summer they head off and live in their summer houses so Sweden was fascinating and it was the trip that I learnt the most from despite it being the closest to home,’’ said Mr Bannon.

As to ‘Room to Improve,’ and problematic clients?

“I’m hoping for more of the same with the show because I think if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it! We have six new projects and six brand new couples. We have houses in fantastic locations all over Ireland and they are all very different builds to what we have done before. I was excited working on them so I hope you guys are excited watching the show,’’ explained Dermot.

“I pick my battles and I do get frustrated with the clients but I wouldn’t give up with them. I would email them in the middle of the night and I would ring them, if they are married I would talk to the husband or wife and try to get them to not give up on an idea I’ve put forward and then there are other times when you have to say right I’m done here if you’ve really fought a battle,’’ concluded Dermot Bannon.

“It’s INCREDIBLYstressful.”

Inconversationwith ALAN KELLY by Emer Kelly

Bathrooms 4U has over 10 years’ experience in full-bathroom refurbishments. They are proud of their strong bathroom renovations background. Now as they are growing and expanding they also pride Bathrooms 4U in electrical work, tiling and carpentry. They strive to provide their customers with a ve star service. They design, t and supply bathrooms in both domestic and commercial markets. They also work with local council authorities to deliver both mobility bathrooms and stairlifts through the grants available”

Bathrooms 4U do bathroom make-overs all over Ireland from Kerry, Cork, Limerick and Dublin.

“The essence of the business model is that we o er everything from free in-home consultation, design, supply and t service and we deliver a complete new bathroom in just ve days. We have a very good reputation and customers nd using us a very handy experience rather than sourcing di erent tradesmen to complete the job” said Alan Kelly of Bathrooms 4U.

“The other side of the business is that we do a lot of the bathrooms for the elderly or people with a disability. Every local authority has money allocated for Grant Aid Bathrooms and it is basically for anyone of a certain age with an illness or disability and their bathroom is rendered not t for use. People can apply to their local authority for the grant and they can receive up to €6,000 (which is up to 90% of the cost of the job) towards their new bathroom. I would call out to the person who has applied for the grant, have a look at their bathroom and give them a quotation for the work which is then submitted to the authority, they are then awarded the money,’’ explained Mr Kelly.

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“Everyone that has gone down this route has been very happy with the work and they are delighted to have a bit of independence back as they don’t need assistance getting in and out of the shower or going to the toilet due to the bathroom facilitating their needs correctly through hand rails, grab rails and so forth.”

As to the future?

“We have lots of work ahead of us and we’re very happy about that. During the pandemic none of our customers cancelled jobs that were booked in and I think that is testament to the company that the work remained there. We’re constantly trying to think outside the box and keep ahead of our competitors; currently I’m doing extensive training with design software that can give customers 3D and 4D of their bathroom so even if you don’t want us to t your bathroom for a small fee I can design your bathroom for you which is really exciting,’’ concluded Alan Kelly.