Jennifer Sheahan answers your top home renovation questions
Jennifer Sheahan has the Bora Pure downdraught extractor in her kitchen. Pictures: Moya Nolan
Well, you did ask. I get many questions from readers and via my Instagram page @workerscottage and I do enjoy answering them when I can. Some questions are very common, some are challenging and interesting — and some are just plain weird if I’m honest.
I have thought about compiling them all into a book (let me know if you would buy it?!), but for today let’s start right here in this newspaper column. Here are some of the most frequent and a couple of the funniest questions I have gotten.
This is like asking how much does a car cost. How long is a piece of string? This is by far the most common question I receive, but too many factors go into the price for there to be a single answer — for instance, where you are in the country, the size of your house, the materials you choose, the level of finish you want, and the mood the supplier is in when they put the quote together.
Here are two rules of thumb to help with your estimates:
Current build prices in Ireland for a full renovation run from €1,500-€4,000 per square metre, depending on your desired standard of finish. This data is from houserenovations.ie, who provide a great breakdown of various renovation costs on their website, as is from July 2024.
Get three quotes for big-ticket items. You can get more if you want, but a minimum of three will give you a good idea of the average price you should expect to spend and some confidence that you are not being ripped off by going with the first quote you get.
Yes. They work well and they look great. Why waste space with an ugly overhead extractor? I have the Bora Pure and I love it.
Mine is not externally ducted; instead, it has a charcoal filter that costs around €80 to replace every 18 months or so; however, you can get them externally ducted through your wall or underneath your floor if you so choose. The mechanism does take up space —expect to sacrifice the top drawer underneath your hob.
Solid wood floors are beautiful, especially if you have them already, but they require maintenance and they don’t work great with underfloor heating — engineered wood works better as it is less likely to warp. Some laminates are absolutely fantastic, and if you want heavy-duty flooring that works throughout your home and requires minimal maintenance then it is a great option.
I have LVT (luxury vinyl tiles) from Moduleo and adore it — basically bulletproof, looks great, and works with my underfloor heating. Carpet is an individual preference, I like it upstairs for cosiness and noise reduction though it does not usually work well with underfloor heating, and I would recommend a synthetic blend to avoid moths from ruining it. Tiles are one of my favourite creations on earth, work well with underfloor heating, and they’re a great way to add colour and personality to your bathrooms, hallways, kitchen areas, and even outdoors.
“This” could be anything and the answer is usually: probably. You can paint most things*. Floors, kitchen cabinets, even tiles.
The process is similar for all — clean thoroughly, sand lightly, prime, paint, and potentially seal with a top coat. Note that there are different paint types for different surfaces and functions so check with your paint supplier first —they will give you great advice on what type of paint to buy and how to get the best results.
*Someone did ask me once if they could paint their Belfast kitchen sink and to that, I say, unfortunately, no. While it is technically possible to paint a sink with ceramic paint, in order to have a properly finished working unit that looks good you would really need to have it re-glazed by a professional.
If you can afford it, consider Aluclad. They are the most durable, require minimal maintenance, and, in my opinion, look best in the widest range of homes. Whether you get double or triple glazing is up to you, but I will say I don’t personally find the difference to be worth the additional cost.
The best solution to needing more storage is to have less stuff, so treat yourself to a good spring cleaning before you go installing more shelving. There is no one answer to this question as every home is different, but I love to consider where storage can be created in existing items, rather than installing additional units. Think about adding drawers behind the baseboards in your kitchen or into your stairs.
Consider where ottomans could provide more storage — as stools in the living room, benches in the dining room, or under the beds in the bedrooms. Extend units to full ceiling height where possible — especially kitchen units and wardrobes. Don’t overlook seemingly small gaps — I always say the hardest working area in my kitchen is the 10cm wide press between my wall and my fridge. It looks like nothing but I can store so much there.
I don’t know. Purple? There are thousands of colours and the one you choose will depend on the light in that particular room, the atmosphere you want to create, and what other colours you have in your home.
Gather swatches and create a mood board to make sure tones and undertones work together. Always paint a sample on the wall of the intended room and check whether it works in various lighting conditions. If you can’t paint on the wall, paint your sample onto a large sheet of white paper and stick it up for a day or two to make sure it works in the space.
I really have no idea.
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