You may qualify for a water treatment grant

IF you do not have access to a group scheme or public water supply there is a “Well Grant Scheme” available to householders with private wells who need to remedy serious deficiencies in the existing water supply.

This scheme is designed to bring your water up to EU standards by providing a new piped supply of water for domestic purposes. These improvements are covered under the water grant scheme. They consist of one or more of the following:

• Drilling or commissioning a new well

• Rehabilitating an existing well, including deepening or relining an existing bore or the removal of silt

• Providing or upgrading a supply of water from a surface water source

• Constructing or improving a pump house, piping or other facilities in connection with the supply of water

• Provision or improvement of mechanical or electrical equipment or facilities in connection with the supply of water

• Provision or improvement of facilities or equipment for the treatment of water

How to Qualify for a Local Authority Water Treatment Grant

To be eligible for a well water grant you must meet the following criteria:

1. House is over seven years old

2. The grant is for the applicant’s primary residence

3. You can’t be serviced by Irish Water or a group scheme

4. The cost of the proposed work is more than €750.

The maximum grant available is approx. €3,000 or 85 per cent of overall cost of improvements.

It can also cover 85 per cent of the cost of provisioning a new well up to a maximum of €5,000 if the housing authority agree that it is the most appropriate solution.

A detailed water test needs to be taken before and after any work is completed to ensure the proper water treatment system is installed.

A prior inspection of the work needs to be carried out as well as the issuing of a certificate of approval before any work can commence.

Along with the above, there is also a grant for improving the quality of water. You can apply for this part of the grant by itself.

Alternatively, you can apply for it in addition to the rehabilitation or provisioning of a new well. This part of the funding covers the full cost of the water system up to €1,000.

Perfect Water Systems can carry out detailed water tests and provide assistance in filling out the well grant application forms, go through each step to ensure the householder understands the process.

For more information visit www.perfectwater.ie or phone 1890 989098.

SO you’ve decided you want to design your new home? It’s no surprise if you have a picture in mind of just what your ‘dream home’ would be like, yet turning that dream into a reality takes careful planning and execution.

There are many things to consider when designing your own home so it’s vital to get things right from the get-go.

Before you draw a single line, consult an architect, or buy that cool new software application that will do it all your dreams. At the very beginning of this process it’s not about square feet or floor plans. It’s about how you define your desires.

A good way to start is to visit your favourite neighbourhoods. There is a reason they are your favourites, and it’s most likely because you love the homes there. Don’t consider price or practicality— yet. What you are looking for is what inspires you.

Look for homes for sale in neighbourhoods you love, and make weekend open houses a regular outing during this phase. Each of those will have features that inspire you, and features that will leave you unmoved. Make note of each of those: it’s just as important to know what you don’t care about, or dislike.

Take photographs. Shoot every angle of a building you like, inside and out. You’ll find more detail in the photos than you saw in person, and after visiting several houses they’ll be a great way to recall that thing you loved right at the beginning.

To get organised, get a sturdy, graph-ruled notebook and keep it with you until your home is finished. You can use it to tape or paste in photos, list quotes, contractors, numbers, and anything else associated with the project. Dedicate a couple of pages right up front to things that your house ‘ must have’.

Dedicate another page or two to list of every feature and desire you’ve culled from your various resources, and call this your ‘ Wish List’.

This could be anything from a particular shape of molding to an Italian tile bathroom.

Now that you are getting specific about what you love and what you desire, it’s time to focus: Do you prefer urban or rural living? Do your needs put you in an expansive home with room for the kids to play and the dogs to run, or a cozy bungalow for two?

Do you favour clean, modern lines or detailed, hand-built craftsmanship?

Are you happy with standard construction techniques, or are you considering a sustainable design?

Perhaps the most important of all considerations, what is your budget?

These questions will help guide you as you begin to focus your vision into actionable steps.

The more information that you can provide to your architect or builder about the details of your vision, the more likely you will not only get the design of your dreams, you’ll stay on budget as well.

IF you’re a new homeowner or indeed a veteran one, you’ll have come across the term BER and you might be thinking to yourself, what is BER and what is a BER certificate?

Well, simply put, it stands for Building Energy Rating (BER) and a BER certificate indicates your homes energy performance. It is similar to the energy label for household appliances.

The certificate rates the energy perfomance of your home on a scale of A- G. A-rated homes are the most energy efficient and will tend to have the lowest energy bills. G- rated are the least energy efficient.

Your BER is calculated through energy use for space and hot water heating, ventilation, and lighting.

The number of people likely to occupy a building is also taken in consideration.

This is based on the average number of occupants in buildings of a similar size.

BER assessments are carried out by SEAI registered BER Assessors.

If you are unsure of what your BER rating or have lost yours, everything is available to you through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) website.

If you would like to get a BER assessment of your home, these are carried out by SEAI registered BER Assessors.

BER Assessors are skilled professionals who will conduct a survey of your home to assess the building fabric and to determine the amount of energy your home requires for heating, hot water and ventilation, and lighting.

A full list of what you need to do to prepare for a BER assessment is available on the SEAI website.

DESIGNING and building your own home is a dream many people take on in life, and while it can literally be a dream come true it is also a huge undertaking.

And if you’ve ever watched TV programmes like Grand Designs or Dermot Bannon’s projects - where dreams so often come near to disaster - the one key word that keeps coming up is: planning. Building a house is where that well worn phrase - ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ – really comes into its own.

Building a home is probably one of the most complicated decisions you will ever make, so taking good advice from the very outset is vital.

Starting with where you are going to build, you have to look at the full potential of your site, exploring any pre-existing concerns, complying with local authority guidelines and local area development plans, the advice of planning agents such as engineers, architects and architectural technicians is invaluable.

Not only does the retention of the services of these professionals potentially enhance your chances of gaining outline or full planning when making your application, their support also offers peace of mind to the individual, providing a port of call or liaison to deal with inquiries that may arise.

The retention of the services of certified and qualified professional planning agents can minimise stress, spotting the pitfalls in advance and realise your site’s full potential.

Civil engineers are expert in obtaining, collating and interpreting background information for sites and areas, including the specification and supervision of on-site investigations, which are the starting points for your build, and vital in making a successful application and to create a suitable design plan.

Issues such as difficulties with neighbours and planning appeals can delay projects.

Architects are equipped with the knowledge necessary to advise on the correct procedures which must be followed if an appeal is lodged, planning permission is refused or if you need to appeal against a condition of the permission.

Reputable architects will know which materials and construction systems meet the requirements for each part of the building and can also advise on cost effective solutions with regards to the various building regulations.

Building regulations can be a nightmare for the uninitiated, and include hundreds of building standards and codes of practice. Even for those who already have some knowledge of building, the expert advice of an architect is essential in ensuring the building is fully compliant.

Architects will also endeavour to enhance the value of property through achieving cost effective design solutions.

In fact, shelling out some cash on an architect will, in the long run, save you money.

Planning agents such as engineers and architects can work towards improving the long-term usability and efficiency the project by examining the implications of any issues with the site, design and the features you want in your build.

Sustainable development and environmental factors are becoming ever more important in the planning process and construction industry as all dwellings are now subject to an energy rating system.

Planning agents can identity these issues and offer the most cost-effective solutions while guiding their clients through the planning

process and presenting all their design options.

You may also need to be aware of the new Home Renovation Incentive.

Under the scheme, people who undertake home renovation work are entitled to a tax rebate at a rate of 13.5% - so long as the work reaches the qualification thresholds.

At the end of the day, you want to ensure your dream home is just that, a dream, not a nightmare. Getting the right help and advice from the outset will not only help make that dream come true, but it will also pay off in your pocket and the eventual value of your property.