A building energy rating (BER) after a refurbishment is a good indication of the extent to which a house has been renovated. While cosmetic additions such as furniture and the high-end kitchen look great in photographs, the new BER of B2 on 203 Strand Road really tells how much work has been done over the course of refurbishment to the 1950s house.
Purchased as a probate sale in 2017 for €930,000, the house needed “a load of work”, according to the current owners. Besides new windows and doors – the ones to the rear are triple-glazed to minimise heat loss due to their size – an extension was added which now gives this property 186sq m (2,002sq ft) of space.
Designed by award-winning architect Adrian Hill, the construction and refurbishment of the four-bedroom Sandymount property was tasked to building company Cascade Construction.
Fans of the television programme Room to Improve will be familiar with this company, as it was the choice of builders used by architect Dermot Bannon when renovating what is now his family home in Drumcondra, which is also home to the most famous bath in Ireland after all the shenanigans with his outdoor tub.
Eighteen months after purchasing the property the current owners finally moved in, after starting a project “with just four walls”. Now a zoned Joule underfloor heating system warms the ground floor under Kahrs semi-engineered oak flooring, while upstairs has plush pile carpets.
One of the benefits of the property, besides its size, condition and its location on Sandymount Strand, is the fact that there is side access to the rear garden. For houses that do not have this facility it can be such an inconvenience hauling soil, plants and outdoor furniture in the front door, through the house, and out the back. At number 203, the garden has been completed, with a raised seating and dining area off the extension and a large synthetic lawn installed by Sanctuary Synthetics. While green-fingered purists may balk at the idea, today these artificial lawns are a far more realistic green than their almost luminous predecessors, and are very practical for young families.
Requiring no maintenance, they do not get waterlogged, so no more mucky children, and there is never a weed in sight. It can easily be taken up and replaced, should new owners prefer a real lawn underfoot.
The family who currently live here have two young children, one of whom is a newborn baby. So while the beach across the road is a fabulous facility for daily exercise: “When you realise the distance from family during lockdown, it really makes a difference.” For this reason, the owners and their young children are moving to be closer to family and have placed their home, in turnkey condition, on the market through DNG seeking €1.3 million.
For new owners, the choice will be whether to go for a walk on the beach before or after unpacking their boxes, as that is all that remains to do.
