I’m starting a new section here on Cheap Irish Houses this week to showcase some of the fantastic house rescues you all keep telling me you have done yourselves! Maybe its my Sunny Loughisle farmhouse or the TV show, or the Instagram feed, that has encouraged you all to share your stories with me but i love it! First up to inspire you all is lovely Ashling from Roscrea in Co. Tipperary & her family’s pride and joy “Blue Stone Cottage”.
Her journey started out like so many of ours, seeing a house she loved and missing out on it during the bidding process. “There wasn't much more property for sale (in her area)” she says, “but there was one place that caught my dad's eye, so myself my dad and my partner jumped into the car and went out for a drive to see it, it was an old blue stone cottage even though you couldn't really see the blue stone as it was gone discoloured and overgrown with grass and weeds”
She loved the outside space as much as the inside of the house, so a viewing had to be lined up soon! Luckily like so many of us, the stage of disrepair in the house meant there was no week long wait for keys to be organised, mine was so similar, i had the top half of a door, swinging in the breeze lol! “The two things that stood to it were the floor & the roof, both of which were good enough for another while. It has 10ft ceilings too which was a bonus” she says, & after months of bidding, the week before Christmas 2018 the deal was finally done!
“The first week after New year's it was all guns blazing. My partner, my dad & I really got stuck in. I am very lucky as my partner is a plaster by trade & also very handy & my dad is a jack of all trades even for 75 years of age. So after getting all the house cleaned out, as there was cattle living in it, we now had it ready for sandblasting the amazing blue stone. Next was doors and windows & an allowable extension, I could feel it all coming together. People were stopping at the gate telling us we were doing an amazing job. It was lovely to hear, as some days you feel like throwing in the towel. We worked morning, noon & night. We knocked walls ourself praying to god that's all that would come and not the roof aswell but it was all achievable with a bit of hard graft & the help of my dad. I could not be happier! As of the 27th of November 2019 we moved into our forever home for just over €100,000.
I used to get side tracked with the big modern houses. I used to dream of manors & all the Dermot Bannon houses, but reality is I would never be able to afford it or maybe I could but would have a massive mortgage for the rest of my life. I would not change our blue stone cottage. It's our house & no one can take it, our blood sweat & tears live in this house, just like the people who built it the first day and what good tradesmen they were!”
1. Tell me what your budget was like when you bought your house? How much did you have left over for renovation after you bought it?
Our full budget at the time was 100,000 we then had 40,000 left over after buying the cottage. We got a builder to price the renovation & a 40sq meter extension we were quoted €80,000 for both. It was then we decided to do all the work ourselves, we recycled a lot of materials, stove, heating system, doors, bath, some of the windows.
2. Why did you choose to save a house? Was it necessity or could you never imagine yourself living in a new house?
We loved the location it's very scenic. It is only 5 minutes to the town, we saw so much potential, I couldn't get over the 10ft ceilings. This was a one off buy. These are so rare in our town of Roscrea. We would have never being able to buy a site on this road or a house!
3. Whats the biggest tip you could give someone starting out on the journey to save an old house?
Make sure and seek advice on how much it will be to do renovations, if you are not in a position to do it yourself. It's very easy to spend a lot of money on an old house especially with 23% vat on most building materials.
4. Did you have a high point during the renovation?
Yes, when we got the stone sandblasted & windows and doors in. Another one was when we had all the walls and ceilings insulated. Rooms were finally coming together!
5. Did you have a low point during the renovation?
Near the end, our budget was getting tight and the house was still not completed but with a few swaps and changes we got there.
6. Whats your favourite thing about your house now?
The outside space, the kids love it, so much freedom with an acre of ground there is room for all there outdoor toys. The sitting room is also so cosy & spacious I didn't realise this until we had it slabbed, painted & floors down.
7. Is there anything you have chosen not to modernise on your house that you are living quite comfortably with as it was?
We retained as much structure inside as we could. With rooms, we kept the high ceilings, we also chose to repair the roof instead of replacing it. We kept the very large interior fireplace & chimney in the middle of the house too! There was fireplaces in all the rooms but it wasn't possible for us to retain all of them, except for the sitting room. We also kept the stone walls on the front and got a big surprise when we stripped the gable end and found more lovely stone and decided to keep it too.
And there you have it! A little walk through Ashling & her family’s journey saving their cottage! For lots more before and after pics & to follow along with life in Blue Stone Cottage make sure to check out Ashlings instagram account @blue_stone_cottage HERE.
Maggie
xx