39. How to solo self-build with Jade Kirwan @my_solo_self_build

Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
All right.
Okay, welcome back to another episode of the interiors podcast.
Today I have a powerhouse with me, another self build story with Jade who you might knowfrom Instagram, her account's called my solo self build.
Welcome, Jade.
Hello, how are you?
I'm good.
I'm really excited to have you on the podcast.

(00:26):
Somebody shared one of your reels.
um I forget what you're doing, but you look like jacked and you're just like doing thiswhole thing by yourself.
And I'm like, my God, is this girl building her own house?
And then I saw that you were actually in Ireland and I was like, I have to have her on thepodcast.
oh
because I love sharing the story and I hope that it helps someone else and inspiressomeone else that like give it a go and God if I can do it absolutely anybody can do it.

(00:59):
Yeah, and that's what I want to dig into.
tell us a little bit about yourself and how this project came about.
So my name is Jade Kerwin.
am a make-up artist in Plameldt Brewery.
I'm 33 this year and I took on a project of self-building and literally building my ownhome.

(01:21):
It's something I've always wanted to do.
I've always wanted to build my own house.
When I was given obviously an opportunity, I said, do you know what?
I was meant to move house and I said, do you know what?
I'm not going to Renton anymore.
I'm going to move home.
and going to suck it up literally and no one likes my phone, but in the current currentlyin Ireland, I think everybody nearly has to do that.

(01:45):
And I moved home and next thing, my own house.
Give me one second, sorry, there's just somebody at the door.
Okay, and so you moved home and the site to build the house is on your father's land, isthat right?
Yeah.
So my dad is retired.

(02:06):
He's a little bit of farming.
And I was obviously in that position where he was willing to give me a site.
Look, people say the site is half the battle.
I can't agree with that.
I think it is definitely a piece to it, but it's definitely not half the battle.
Oh my God.
I think I was into the build maybe six months.

(02:27):
And I said, if I could take all my money back at a bought house.
That's how I
yeah, it's like if I could take everything back, I would have bought.
But I had no other choice, I kept going.
and thankfully I am there now.
No regrets now.
Yep, absolutely.
Yeah.
Going through some of your Instagram stories.

(02:48):
And if anyone hasn't come across your Instagram, I recommend as you're listening to pullit up and go through from the beginning.
Cause you've actually organized it really neatly where people can chronologically gothrough it.
And you can really see kind of when you're in the depths of the moment where you're likeliterally F this.
oh
I think I one or two videos where I'm not very happy in them.

(03:10):
Yeah, that was my goal.
So I didn't start my Instagram straight away.
So I have an Instagram page called my solo self build.
And I started it, I think it was nearly, God, maybe eight, nine months ago, maybe.
And I then started posting in order of how I built.
So I said to myself, I would have loved to have followed something like that.

(03:32):
Like, where's the book?
I'm a, if you're following me, you've seen, I've often talked about this book and I keepsaying I'm bringing it out, but like, where is this book?
Where is this book to tell you step by step?
Like it doesn't exist.
And it's really difficult when you literally haven't a clue.
And I've happily put my hands up and say, I am winging this and I have not a clue.

(03:53):
I'm no expert, but I'm getting there.
And that's why posting an order I thought someone else could possibly find it a little bithelpful.
Absolutely.
And just going back a little bit, when you decided you've always wanted to build so that Ithink it's good that to know that you have that desire, that it shouldn't just be an
option for the faint hearted, let's say you have to have that desire in the first place towant to make something your own.

(04:19):
uh And then when you got the land, did you have many examples of like friends or people inthe area who you knew who had built their own houses or like how did you
How did you decide to take that leap?
So I suppose as a farmer's daughter, really, it's kind of something that's known likethey'll build a house in the land kind of thing.

(04:41):
For me, it was, I don't think I was ever going to buy the house that I would love.
I think I always would have possibly, there's a good bit of country in me.
And I think I would have bought a, my ideal home would be an old cottage.
I loved an old cottage and I would have renovated it.
But like that, I didn't have a clue what to do or where to start.

(05:03):
So at least with a new build, I suppose it took the stress out of the old problems.
I only had the new problems.
see people renovating.
I speak to my clients daily and they all are, some renovating cottages and there's a lotmore problems.
And even when I'm speaking to them, they say, how did you do that, Jada?
What did you do there?
And I was trying to help them, but I'm like, I don't know anything about that.

(05:24):
Cause I didn't do that.
You external walls of cottages that have no insulation and they're this thick and I'mlike, God, I don't even know what you do with that.
Yeah, absolutely.
And different completely different structures like timber and stone versus block work andand just studs.
um Okay, so this is kind of something people do.
So wasn't like you have to wrap your head around that.

(05:47):
What about when it came to planning permission and doing up the drawings for that?
Yeah, like I had to be realistic.
If I'm building on my own, it is very much a solo self-build.
If I was building with somebody and there was two incomes building this home, I would havebuilt a totally different house.
Like, say I go to a lovely house.
Yeah, I love my home, but it's the home that was feasible for me.

(06:10):
And like, I had to make a lot of sacrifices and had to change a lot.
And I had to be realistic and I had to come back to reality and say, you can't affordthat.
And I've no problem saying that.
And if I was to build with somebody, would have been very different.
I know I would have.
And I had to obviously work out what it is I wanted to build.

(06:32):
I knew I wanted stone.
I knew I wanted to any limestone.
I needed sandstone in this area.
And I obviously dug some stone up and I don't like it.
I just don't like the stone of the area.
And like it is beautiful, but it's just not for me.
And I I always wanted to any limestone.
I passed this house, it's actually up in your kind of the Thirlis area.

(06:55):
And I passed it a lot and I've admired it with years.
if someone listens to the beautiful home, I always hear their home.
And my house is very similar to their house.
So that's literally what I did.
I took pictures of houses and God, didn't, I...
took screenshots of homes I liked and ideas I liked and I had a mood board and I was like,okay, you love that idea, but you can't afford that idea.

(07:22):
So that's gone.
And I had to be blocked.
And I had to it's gone.
It's cut out, it's gone.
And that's how my home came about really.
So it's a screenshot of literally maybe three, I narrowed it down to three different homesand combined them all to make my home.
Amazing.
And then did you hire somebody to draw it up to do the planning application?

(07:46):
Yeah, so I had somebody do the planning application.
I had a architect and then I moved once I got the planning, I moved to an engineer.
Now I think each to their own when they do it.
If I could take my time back, I possibly would have went straight to an engineer.
Not that my architect is brilliant.

(08:08):
It's that I just found in my own opinion, sometimes possibly
engineers kind of look at, we'll say how it's going to flow, how it's going to work.
If this is in my own experience, I found that my engineer was like found that that worksbest and that flows best and how you're actually going to live in the home.

(08:31):
Whereas with an architect, I found it was more how it's aesthetically pleasing.
That doesn't always work.
Okay.
Interesting.
That was just my own opinion.
I suppose I really kind of planned this house out and I brought it to him and he wasbrilliant and he got it over the line and I'm forever grateful for that.

(08:52):
And yeah, that's what I would do if I was to go back.
I would probably still do what I did, plan out my home, choose what I liked, what I waswilling to lose, what I was willing to not let go of and keep those things and work around
what it is that I definitely am.
really need to keep from me as a person and the home that I want to build.

(09:14):
And I would have then brought that to an engineer and got it off the line that way.
Yeah, because you did so much research and design, you didn't need much creativedirection, it seems like.
Yeah, that's that was kind of it.
And if you're somebody who doesn't have a great imagination, then possibly, yeah, you doneed your architect.

(09:35):
But for me, I didn't know what to do.
I just copied everyone else.
And he's brilliant.
But I possibly didn't need to get one.
Yeah.
My client's Queen Oni girl actually asked me on yesterday and she said, what should shedo?
And like, she's so creative.
She knows what she wants.
She's been showing me what she wants.
She you just need to go to an engineer.

(09:56):
Oh, but everyone got an architect.
My sister got an architect.
said, yeah, but I don't think you need to.
An architect is somebody who doesn't appear what they want to do or like needs thatcreativity and needs that because they're so creative and they're amazing at what they do,
but not everyone needs one.
Yeah, absolutely.
And like you said, maybe in a perfect world, you know, you could rework the design andrework it.

(10:19):
if you, but sometimes you have to make concessions and maybe that's, that's one somebodyhas to do to get the kitchen of their dreams, you know?
oh So speaking of concessions and your priorities, what were some of the things you knewyou absolutely wanted?
And we haven't mentioned it, but you were building this house for yourself and your son,right?
Yes, my son and myself.

(10:42):
I definitely wanted a story and a half or a two story.
I didn't want the bungalow.
That was just for me.
I've always, it's silly, but I've always lived upstairs and I wanted to continue to dothat.
I love like, my friend actually has a beautiful cottage, but they have a two story, we'llsay more modern side attitude.

(11:08):
That's the vibe that I would love if I was to go down that route.
But for me, it was going to be the story and a half or the two story.
And I wasn't going to add the one story plus the two story to it.
I was just going to go full story and a half uh or two story, whatever was the allowanceto the planning.
And that's when I got the story and a half.

(11:28):
Okay.
Were there any issues with planning actually?
Yeah, so I was declined the first time around and I was very concerned that I got it thesecond time around.
Why did they decline it?
They declined to do to the pitch of the roof.
when I was looking for the two story, I compromised and I came to the store and a half andvery grateful that they allowed it.

(11:53):
What is the other house on the land?
What is the house you grew up in?
What does it look like?
And all the homes around here are all farmhouses and they're all two stories.
There's one or two bungalows then on the the far off side of the land.
But yeah, they are.

(12:14):
it is within its, you must keep within, I suppose, everyone else has in the area.
So it was definitely within that.
So I was pushing for that.
I would have got either or, uh but that would have been my first preference.
Okay.
And then what were your requirements for the house itself?
How many rooms?
What's like open plan living?

(12:35):
Yeah, so I definitely wanted an open plan.
It is very, I suppose in the end then it didn't become as open plan as I wanted.
A lot of things changed along the way and the one thing I wanted and I was notcompromising on was I wanted my stone in front.
I wanted a utility room that I could close the door.

(13:00):
But the typical country house, you walk through the utility room to get to the backtoilet, or you walk through the utility room to get to the washing machine or whatever it
really, I hate that.
oh I just don't like it.
It's just my own opinion.
just, you have to constantly keep it very tidy.
You've like, we all like to just throw a washing basket of clothes somewhere.

(13:23):
And that was a preference for me.
like,
Wellies, my son takes out his football boots.
I could find one boot in the sitting room, one boot is in the hall.
Then there's one wellie here, another wellie there.
You know, I wanted to be able to close the utility door.
I'm not asking for much.
I'm so compromised on that.

(13:45):
actually we did, it would have worked better with the flow of the kitchen at the time ifwe had actually a door coming from the kitchen to the utility.
the architect was like, you have to have it.
Like you have to.
said, no, I will walk up the hallway.
I do not want it.
I want to be able to close that door.
So I got that.

(14:05):
I wanted my sitting room to have a big picture window to look out on.
That was something that I really wanted as well.
And I wanted originally my kitchen to be open-plan kitchen, dining, living.
But I had to reduce the size of that room just because it was going to be too expensive.

(14:28):
Now it's only living and kitchen.
How did you start budgeting all of this versus your requirements?
Because obviously without an architect and a QS and all these people kind of guiding youdown the road, who was it?
Did you have your builder already from the beginning helping you?
How did that transition go?
Yeah, so there's no builder.

(14:48):
I don't have a builder.
So what I did pre-COVID when I first got my planning, I actually did price the builderbecause you've got to weigh it up.
You've got to see what would they have built this house for.
And I weighed it up off that.
then when COVID hit, everything changed.
So I was still going off pre-COVID estimates and prices.

(15:10):
And it was just...
gone totally insane.
So what I actually did was I just kept pricing person by person.
I was willing to say, need to, my goal is to make that house airtight.
My goal was to make that house airtight, make that house safe.
And once COVID hit, once the prices went high, everything else went out the window.

(15:32):
I said, I have to build this house.
I have to make it airtight.
I have to give it everything I have.
There is no way.
that I'm going to quit and there's no way that I'm going to lose because there's not evenan option for it.
I have to win at this.
And I was very much driven.
Everything I have went into this.
I don't have anything else, only for it.

(15:53):
And I had to make it work.
So I made sure that it was airtight, it was enclosed, and it was uh a functioning homewith heating, with what I was going to do without the kitchen.
I was going to do it at the seats.
I was going to do it at the table, the TVs.
I was going to do it at everything and have the bare minimum just to make that airtightbecause the price is a gun mad.

(16:17):
Yeah.
And so that's when you decided that you were going to be doing it, you know, direct labor.
So you employing everyone and organizing it, project managing.
went project managing, went pricing everyone.
I kind of priced the trades I knew that I would be getting that I knew that I wouldn't bedoing that job myself.
And I priced three or four of each person, weighed up.

(16:40):
People say like you go to the middle man, that's up to whoever.
For me, it was the local guy I wanted to go with.
It was the local guys.
If they had done work for somebody I knew, I would ask, I would ask people how they goton.
I would ask them about their experiences and that's how I made my final decision.
But for me, I just tried my best to stay as local.

(17:01):
Like 90 % of that build is local.
And I'm really, really proud to be able to say that because that's really important to me.
I run a small business and only for people supporting me, I wouldn't be here.
Yeah, and I think it's also kind of, it's a little more relationship based then.
So like if something goes wrong and you need them to come back, you know who they are andyou can go or like, you know, if, if they're running behind on something, you know, you

(17:27):
probably have one acquaintance in separation.
So you're going to be more understanding because it's part of the community.
Yes, yes.
And I am really happy that I did stay local because like that, have great relationshipsmade with them all.
And I'm really happy with everyone that came in and I'm blessed that I'm here where I amand they were all great.

(17:49):
Yeah.
So speaking of then the timeline of how it all starts, I didn't realize you got planningbefore COVID.
So you don't break ground until 2023.
When did you start lining up some of the earlier trades?
So you have your drawings from your engineer.
It's saying, you know, like, this is where you need steel.
This is blah, blah, blah.

(18:10):
Who did you go to first?
Groundsman.
was the first thing.
Groundwork was the first thing that was needed and I priced four people for that.
So I have a field.
I remember I stood over there with plan in my hand and I was very emotional and I found itall a little bit overwhelming and I said, I don't know what I'm after.

(18:32):
What am I after doing?
Because I don't know what I'm doing.
And I've always got this far and I'm like, Jade, you've spent so much money.
You're now standing in a field with a piece of paper and that is all you have.
I was like, what are you after doing?
And it really hit me then and I was like, oh my God, I don't know what I'm doing here.

(18:52):
So I was like, right, step by step.
Don't get too overwhelmed with the whole thing.
The first person that needs to come in here has to go off that topsoil and get you yourfoundations in.
And that's when Alan Davis came in.
Alan Davis, famous Alan.
They all love him on my Instagram.
Hahaha!
uh
Alan and myself get along great and I suppose as he came along, he's always up to 90sversus myself and I often video him and everyone seems to get good giggle off him.

(19:20):
yeah, Alan came in.
Alan was brilliant.
He came in from a field.
He was the first man to come in, came in from a field and he got me off the foundations.
Okay, and how long did that take?
God, how long did that take?
He was quick.
He was quick enough.

(19:41):
was in, in, Foundations came in around March, April, two years ago now.
time two years ago.
He was quick enough.
And then the first block comes in.
That was Jamie's turn.
Brilliant blocker.
And so the first block was in, then Alan comes back to fill the foundations then.

(20:03):
And like that, I didn't know that.
I didn't know that happened.
And Alan's working away and he's like, who's your black hair Jade?
And I'm like, she's concerned.
And he's like, okay, is he coming on?
When is he not in after you?
And he's like, no, needs to put in the first block first.
So block.
I was like, Oh God, okay.
It's like, they help you.

(20:24):
Like people say, how do you know what to do?
And I hate, that was what my heart, people say, what was the hardest thing?
Knowing where to go and what to do.
was, it really was.
There is no book.
There is no step-by-step and
I suppose I'm very grateful that who I chose were local guys and they weren't there to seeme wrong and they really helped me.

(20:45):
And he said, no, you need to get him now.
And then when Seamus is there and he doing blocks, you need to organize, this needs tocome in now and this need, need to get, Lentilans need to get there and you need to get
this.
And I'm like, okay.
And they'll help you and they'll guide you.
he's like, you need to order them now because they will take about three weeks, but I'mgoing to need them though in four weeks.
So order them now.

(21:05):
You know, they'll all help you along.
And I remember asking somebody, how do know what to do?
You'll figure it out.
And I hate that answer.
No, that sounds so stressful.
I have actually given that answer and I'm like, don't give that answer, Jade.
Explain what it means.
And it's true.
really is true.

(21:25):
They'll all help you out.
You choose the right trades, then help you out.
Yeah, and I think what I've learned, obviously, we're just managing a renovation with acontractor.
But even then, sometimes you ask, I'm choosing some of my subcontractors I'm bringing tothem.
um I'll say to them, so-and-so wants to get in before you do X.

(21:46):
They have that preference.
And then the builder's like, oh, but actually we're doing this, so I want him to come inafter that.
And then you're the middleman and you're trying to negotiate.
Then you pick up the phone.
and happy.
Yeah, and then you bring them in, you're like, would it be okay if you did that?
Yeah, that'd be fine.
Just can I come in for one day to do to leave these things?
Or can I come in that day to drop that off?
Would that be fine?

(22:07):
Yes.
So you're negotiating because people have different preferences of how they do things andthey work in different ways and they may have different experience.
ah And then it's based on people's availability to which I'm sure was one of the thingsyou always had to manage because you're managing the budget, the people on the site.
uh
and as well as the timelines.

(22:27):
So was that tricky?
Yeah, like I work full time, so...
There's that piece then.
Yeah.
And running my own business and trying to be a mom and literally trying to be everywhere.
And that was the hardest part.
And obviously I'm grateful that my clients are aware that I'm building and veryunderstanding.
Like I can pick the phone up in work when necessary.

(22:49):
And it does make things a little bit easier, time, time and trying to coordinate everyone,but they're there and like that he needs to come in, but he wants to come in for one day
first.
And I'm like, but no, that
The other guy doesn't want you to come in.
wants to do another job first.
And they all are coming back at me and I'm responsible for everything.

(23:10):
So I have to make the right decision.
I'd be trying to compromise with them all.
And at the start, I was probably too soft.
And then I got a little bit sterner and then I'm like, and now they know what I just say.
No, no.
And I know what you can or no, leave him or, know, and it just works out and they all getalong.
They want, they want to be finished as quick as well.

(23:31):
So they're happy to.
together and get it done.
Yeah, and I think that's good.
You probably gained your confidence as you went on and started learning.
You were probably like Googling stuff and like following other accounts and being like, Ithink there's always room for pushback.
There's the way everyone would ideally like to do things, but then there's the compromise.
So if you say no, that person's not going to be like, okay, now it's impossible.

(23:55):
They're usually like, fine, I'll call Patty.
or like when it comes to building, say what steps is it?
You can do them in different orders.
And it's only now I've seen that and I found it really hard.
Like I insulated the house when it was enclosed.
You can insulate the house at foundation.

(24:16):
There's loads of different ways to do it.
That way is much easier.
I didn't know that.
So if I knew that, I suppose back then, would I have done it then?
Possibly, yeah, possibly.
Interesting.
them into every single room.
Yeah, well, I would have thought the same because, I mean, I would have thought that likewith rain and stuff that they could get damaged.

(24:38):
Yeah, no friends of ours now have recently done it that way.
And I actually was really interested in it.
And I was asking them, I said, you insulated now.
And he was like, yeah.
So he just has the flat of the foundations and he just slaps them all in and done.
The wall goes up then.
Wow.
Wow.
And then you probably have a little bit.

(24:59):
Yeah, you interesting.
Then your screen gets poured in and then the blocks come up.
Whereas I put them in after.
But once again, my goal at that time was to enclose that building, make it safe.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, because you can see in some of your highlights on Instagram, you're like cutting theawkward bits.
Yeah, which I guess it's much easier to just lay it all flat when there's no verticalstructure in there.

(25:26):
Yeah, yeah, goals and different priorities and some people are under pressure and somepeople aren't.
Yeah.
And I guess it's about asking.
It's like, would there be any other like, and asking maybe like sort of the stupidquestions sometimes.
And you're like, well, is there any other way to do this?
Could I do this before?
Could I do this after?
And they're like, no, you can't.
Why?
And then you kind of can go learning as you go.

(25:48):
you know, people, think people trades, sometimes I ask stupid questions on site.
like, would that be possible?
And they're like, no, I'm like, okay, why explain it to me?
And then you, you can kind of understand it a little bit more and gain your confidence,but
maybe there is a different way of doing it, just like you discovered.
Yeah, I'm like, I'm still learning and I'm not an expert and I'm learning as I go and I'mlearning different things.

(26:10):
I suppose even I say that to people that I'm speaking to, I'm going to build and I said,you know, can put your insulation down at that stage if you want, or is your priority to
close the building, then go with the way I did.
And they'd ask me about it.
do know you can actually do that?
I only learned that.
Or do you know different things like that?

(26:31):
And it can help somebody else because they can make their own decision.
But I never knew that.
never knew.
I thought there was a certain stage of how you build your home, but there's not.
There's loads of different things that you can do certain steps before others.
And like, I do tell everyone that is like, that's why it's so complicated.
Because when you don't know what's going on and you're starting, you've just signed up tostart this journey that you have to now commit to and you don't even know how to do it.

(26:58):
And you're there trying to figure it out, but it turns out there's loads of different waysto do it.
There's no right or wrong in this step.
Some of them can be done in different order.
Yeah.
And I think if you go on like, I sometimes end up on the self-build forums, becausethere's always trades answering questions, uh and just to get different opinions.
But they all have different preferences of how they like doing things.

(27:20):
Like I was just looking at like, okay, do you tile?
Do you tile on like onto a cement board, onto ply, or do you plaster first and all of thisand loads of different people have different opinions.
If you look at the UK, they have different opinions, the US is a whole other world.
But look, as a makeup artist, some people like to do their eyes first and some people liketo do their base first.

(27:42):
You can everything.
But I suppose when you don't know what you're doing, that's when it gets that little bitharder.
Yeah.
And tell me, how are you managing the budget and the ordering of some big things at thispoint?
like, like he was talking about the lintels, you obviously have to order steel and thingslike that.
You have to order windows quite far out.

(28:02):
And I assume you were managing a self-build mortgage too, that's like phased.
So how are you managing all of that at this point?
I suppose I looked at what was needed at what time and within what period and weighed itall up then.
So before I did anything, I kind of had an estimate on prices and what people are going toneed and what money I suppose I'm going to have at that point and where it can be spent

(28:31):
and what is the priority through each month as I went along.
And what I did then was ordered
I found out all the information.
have this little diary literally here beside me and everything from day one is inside thatdiary, everything.
So this was needed at this time and this needs to be ordered by this date to have it bythis time.

(28:52):
You have to make the calls.
You have to make phone calls.
You have to write it all down and you have to get back in contact and get it done.
Okay, great if you have somewhere to store things that you could have and maybe sit there.
Companies are great.
I dealt with local company, TGMS, and they did all my build materials.

(29:12):
They're amazing.
like, they wouldn't put pressure on you.
You know, like he'd say, oh, I don't need that now for another three weeks.
Well, what if we give you in two, we can hold on for two.
I'm like, that'd be great.
They're all very helpful.
And you just have to plan what's needed in what month, when it's needed, what time periodyou are able to.

(29:35):
Gatiss, Oriderus, and I suppose that the fun was there for that point.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, I think you often see the, what's it called, the Gantt charts.
Like a lot of people work that way where you have the different stages and like the startdate and the end date.
And I think that would be probably a really good way of managing it, especially knowinglike, okay, they need a 20 % deposit to place the order.

(30:00):
And then they need this amount in the middle and this amount at the end.
And that's a probably good way of managing the timelines and the budget.
And like it is, and I find that like even that there is always, there's calculations onevery page.
And try to thought of what, what do I have and what don't I have and that needs to waitand is this needed?

(30:21):
And then I go back and like, do we need to do that now?
No, yes.
I'm like, okay, that has to go in.
Do I need to have that?
No, you can do that later.
And I'm like, okay, I'm going to push that out.
It does work out.
does.
really does.
It's just like.
Some people only need 20%.
Some people only need 10%.

(30:42):
Some people do ask for it in full.
Like, you you need to weigh it all up and make sure that it's just ordered in time.
And I used to set reminders for different dates.
So obviously my work diary, I go about each day in work and at the top of every page, I'dlike, by Thursday, order this.
By Friday, order this.
So when I'm in work then, I'm like, okay, on my luncheon, need to make all them phonecalls and order that.

(31:04):
or they're closed at lunch.
need to change my lunch time to accommodate when they're available.
Or I need to get a gap in between clients because they don't want to hear me on the phone.
They want me to ask them about their day and where they're going.
still have to be a business woman and I still have to find time then to be a mom as well.
And it is hard, time, time was the hardest part.

(31:25):
I'd so say time was the hardest part.
I assume you did quite a bit of work before you went to work, right?
Yeah, have to literally work.
working here, I'm working in the house, I'm working everywhere.
Insomnia is my best friend and in a way, in a way I don't like that I've insomnia, but I'mtelling you it helped me for the last two months.

(31:47):
people see and poor Jack, my son, he came over the night before with me.
I was against the clock.
I had a really busy day at work.
I couldn't finish any earlier.
I couldn't finish any late.
So literally we went over there after work.
We stayed there till two in the morning and we went back over then I went back over atfive.

(32:07):
He came back over at six and he then went to school and I went to work just to finish themembrane.
Yeah.
Like so time.
Trying to it through there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I actually, want to get to the point of like you explaining which things did you doand which things did you have to bring experts in?
Cause I think that's where a lot of people are like, okay, how much am I going to save bydoing direct labor?

(32:30):
And what do I need to be able to do?
So actually another question just on the ordering of materials, did you, was there a lotof structural materials you had to get or did each of those trades like the, I assume the
block work, you know,
You didn't order that.
He orders what he needs or the timber for the studs.

(32:54):
Do you order that or just the carpenter?
No, I ordered everything.
was like, everything.
didn't want, I didn't give permission to trades to go.
Now some trades do you open an account and you leave them users to get what they need toget.
I didn't do that.
So I actually had, actually did every part of my ordering myself.

(33:18):
So I was the teacher, Manny's is who I dealt with in care.
and they had my plans so they could send it out to the reps.
And I suppose that's I avoid to get into QS.
So I would say, here's the plans, this is the square foot, this is the area of what Ineed, what for, how much do think I need?
And let's say they said 50 units.

(33:38):
I'd say, me 45.
And I'd always say, give me 45 and I'll see how many I have to go back and get.
if I need to any, rather than have too much, I always had too little.
And I was like, I'll go get two more.
Let me get two more of them.
And I did.
It was always, it was always, it wasn't ever far off, but no, I didn't give trades anypermission to order themselves.

(34:05):
Maybe one or two picked up one or two things, but they'd often ring or text me and say, Ijust need to get that.
And I'm like, yeah, that's fine.
Get that.
So, but big orders.
No, I did it all.
They literally arrived to work with their tools and I had sitting waiting.
So I assume part of the benefit of that is you were getting great prices.

(34:26):
Yeah, well as well, I wasn't...
When it's your own money, you're not going to overbuy.
I'm not saying they would have, but if it's just grabbing what they need, I need 50 units,go 50 units.
Whereas I'm going to be like, can I save on one or two units there?
Let me see.
Do we really need 50?
Maybe we only need 48.

(34:48):
I suppose I was looking for the best price and I was trying to buy, like I bought myinstallation.
There was a price increase in installation.
I bought it before that and just stored it.
Things like that, it was happening.
If I waited until when I needed it,
I would have paid double the price.
Yeah, or people might do sales of things, right?

(35:10):
And if I saw it, I'd be like, can I jump on that?
Or can I do that?
And how long can you store that?
And how long until I have to take it?
And then, I suppose, find space for it.
And getting the building enclosed, that was one of the main goals.
It could then be used for storage.
Yeah.
Why was that one of your main priorities?
Because for most people it's because they're renting.
Were you still renting or were living at the main house?

(35:33):
At point I had moved home, I didn't have other estate and the impact of renting.
But safety, safety and storage, I had nowhere to store anything.
didn't have empty sheds, they were all being used.
I didn't have anything like that.
I needed to be able to store products and I wanted it to be safe.

(35:53):
I wanted to be able to lock the key.
didn't want anyone in there, anyone vandalizing or anything like that.
It just goes on.
Yeah, I think in the countryside much more so than in cities, because in cities likethere's houses, know, there's terraces and there's people right across the street.
Whereas in the countryside, you know, a van full of guys can pull up, steal whatever is inthe house and leave and no one will even hear them or notice it until the site reopens.

(36:22):
So that's an interesting consideration.
dispose once it was weatherproof that was an option as well.
Putting the roof on and keeping rain out.
Yeah.
So tell me, when did you start rolling up your sleeves and get put to work?
God, the first thing I did was, what's the first thing I did?

(36:47):
The RSJs, I battoned the RSJs.
That was the first thing I did.
I priced someone to do it and it was crazy price.
And then I was like, what is a baton?
What is an RSJ?
What is this?
So I looked it up and I YouTube'd it and I was like, I can do that.
Yeah, so this is essentially the RSJs are the structural steel.

(37:10):
Yeah, so anything that was steel, so it would have been like corner window, uh slidingdoor, the apex front door, anything that had structural steel holding the main structure
that was needed there, so the block work there to have glass possibly underneath it.
Yeah, so they need to have them slabbed.
So the slab is nothing to stick to.

(37:31):
What are you going to stick the slab to?
And I was slabbing the internal external walls.
So to have...
something for it to connect to, to hold the slab in the wall, you have to batten it.
So it's when you put pieces of timber into it.
YouTube does, and I bought them and it cost me 48 euro as opposed to 500 euro.
uh And I messed up loads of it.

(37:55):
And then I eventually got bang of it.
That's incredible.
you're basically, let's say most steel comes in like a U shape, so you're putting piecesof timber alongside that to then slab.
so the slab can go onto it.
So I put mine on 400 across.
So I literally, how I did it now, would I do it a little bit different now?

(38:19):
Possibly.
But I put the timber up against it, drew a little line with a pen and I was like, okay,that'll do, it.
But I always cut it a little bit bigger so you can wedge it in.
I literally hammered it the whole way in with a hammer, glued it on the back and it wasbatted straight into the horse's chain.

(38:40):
So did something then to connect to and it was strong and was sturdy and it wasn't goingto commit.
Wow, incredible.
And okay, so that's the first thing you did.
And then what did you move on to after that?
Then I had a double RSC actually in the hallway that had a cavity in it.

(39:00):
And I went back to the plans and I went back to the structural build and I said, there isa cavity there.
So that means air is going to come in.
So where's that air coming in?
So I had to go up to the block air face point is now upstairs.
And I'm like, where, what block is on that?
He's like, I have a coverage.
And I'm like, yeah, but is there air coming in?
So I actually had to, I stuffed that with rock wool as well.

(39:22):
Then I air tight taped it to keep any draft out of it.
But yeah, I drew up, God, maybe three four different ideas of how to cover that and how toslab it because it's the underside of it then needed to be slabbed.
And there was no way of slabbing it because there was no batting on that side.

(39:45):
Yeah, so how do they do it?
we dropped the sides that were batted, we dropped an extra piece on each side that itcould connect to left and right underneath.
Because some people say, like, you don't want to drill up into the RSC, you don't wantthat extra hole, you also don't want rust, rust can come through.
And you don't want it to rust in time, depending on heat and depending on the cold insideoutside, the dots will show up.

(40:12):
So often people slab and in the background here you can see I did this.
and there's polka dots on the wall.
And the reason that there's polka dots on the wall is I did not spray the mushrooms.
the mushrooms what's that?
mushrooms and you slab the wall this mushroom holds it on the wall and spray them so theycome through depending on heat or cold they nearly rust through and now this was a

(40:37):
renovation a very long time ago but I'm currently in my my studio for anyone listening butI did not make that mistake in my house I sprayed every single one of them
Amazing.
Okay, wow.
So you really like, and I assume you're watching YouTube videos and all and askingquestions from whoever was on site because they have obviously seen people do all this

(41:02):
stuff.
Yeah, like you had to, gathered as much information as possible and two of my friends.
have just built and they gave me information as well what they did and if it was somethingthat they didn't do and I was chancing doing it myself then I had to research it, had to
look it up, it gathers much information to make my final decision myself then.

(41:24):
Back to block work, so if we're back to the block work the blocks are going in.
Do you fill the cavity or do you blow it in and bead?
Potato, potato, it doesn't matter like tomato, tomato, it doesn't matter like it you cando either or there's no wrong answer.
But for me, what I did is I fulfilled the cavity plus an internal externals lab on thehouse.

(41:46):
Because in my opinion, it's all about insulation.
It is all about the insulation.
If you insulate, you put all your money into your insulation at this point, it'll pay offin the long run.
Yeah, absolutely.
And you did you have to get to an A2 because it's Wow.

(42:06):
And is that part of that's part of the what's it called mortgage requirements, right?
You could be your test and you'll be told what your goal is to get to.
Amazing.
okay, so tell me some of the other some of the trades you brought in during this time.

(42:27):
Yeah.
I'd block layers then the block layer.
I act with the roofer.
The roofer was done.
The roofing was done.
And then I, the next trade I got in, it's something some people do themselves.
And I weighed this up and I, it was a really big decision for me to not do this jobbecause when weighing it up, I said, you know what?

(42:50):
It's one less headache.
If I go to work, they'll have it done in 10 days.
and I'll have it done in five weeks.
Wow, okay.
Me going to work in five weeks is more beneficial than taking however long time off work,which I'd have to then do pushing it longer probably would have taken me six to seven

(43:15):
weeks.
I have to take some days off work.
And then I still have to buy the slabs.
It was the slabbing.
So I actually hired two guys into the slabbing, which they had done in 10 days.
And it was the best decision I made.
As much as I could save this money, when you weigh it all up, have to weigh it up.
Is it more beneficial for me to go to work?
It was.

(43:36):
It was.
So they had that job and they did amazing job.
then after that, after the slabbing, we had first fix electrics and I had first fixplumbing.
So my electrician, David O'Mahony, he's amazing.
Him and his team came in and did the first fix.
Then I had Connor Dempsey, DMC Plumbing and Heating.

(44:00):
was in, but actually like that again, Connor's preference was to come in just atfoundation stage.
So he's not kangling at the foundations, put down pipes.
He actually put the ground back that far ago.
So day one, when some plumbers come in though, at first fixed stage to put in bits, heactually had a lot of his stuff already done.

(44:22):
Yeah, the pop-ups.
Yeah, so just different preference.
And actually, I found that very neat and tidy.
really liked it.
At that point, there was less pulling and dragging out of the house and I was really happywith the finish.
Yeah, I think that makes sense for a new build.
And actually, I had a question on that because obviously that defines the layout of yourbathroom.

(44:43):
So have to make some decisions very early on about even a lot of the sanitary ware andwhere everything's going to go because otherwise you might end up with a toilet in the
middle of your shower.
I remember he rang me and he's like, Jade, where's the toilet going?
I don't know.
So you have to then start planning what way you'd like your bathroom and you don't need tohave a roof on.

(45:09):
And ideas change and our styles change and what you would like would change.
So you actually have to take away everything to do with style out of your mind.
In my opinion, this is what I did.
I took everything to do with style away.
And instead I said,
Where would the toilet be more aesthetically pleasing?
Where would the sink be?

(45:29):
Do you want wall hung or do you want standing?
They're the decisions you need to make right now and everything else you can change lateron.
Yeah, and I think when it comes to bathroom layouts, you're always restricted in spaceusually.
uh So there's not a lot of, there's not too many ways you can do it really that makessense.

(45:49):
And I think doing a lot of research into like different layouts of bathrooms, like go onPinterest and be like, okay, if you put the toilet against there, there's usually a wall
there before the shower.
Do I have space for the wall and the width of shower I want?
And then what kind of space does that leave me for the vanity?
Like you're just kind of playing
Lego.

(46:09):
I think there's only so many ways you can do it.
Yeah.
And like you can change it.
just means you do have to do a little bit more pull and dragging out of it.
And I suppose I always put that in the back of my mind.
If I ever do change it, I change it.
So be it.
even I found Connor was brilliant because he used to say to me, look, if change your mind,I'll make it work.

(46:33):
And I think that's the case with a lot of things.
Yeah.
And I found that he was brilliant like that, that he didn't, nothing fazed him.
Whereas some trades I found would get a little bit, I don't want to say crass, but likethey would, they would nearly be like, a decision now, move on.

(46:54):
And I thought, but I changed my mind.
So no, fazed him and he was brilliant and neat and tidy.
And that's just what I loved.
And yeah, I had to make all of them decisions.
I didn't even have a roof on, I had to decide where a toilet was going.
And had you even thought about the sanitary ware and gotten quotes on that?
Yes, because I actually went into Clammill Plumbing, into Breary.

(47:17):
And I was very unsure about two of the bathrooms and one I was fine with.
So I knew I wanted wall hung.
100 % wanted everything wall hung.
I wanted everything off the floor and I wanted to be able to go sweep in and mop in andhave no issues.
just did, that was just my own preference.

(47:38):
And like the trades once again are brilliant.
Like Connor said to me, do you want wall hung or not?
You have to tell me now.
Cause I have to put that into the wall and I'm like, Oh God, sure.
didn't know.
do want wall hung.
Whereas I was speaking to somebody before and they're like, mine never asked me and now Idon't have wall hung and it's too late.
And I'm like, Oh, mine did.
So like it's up to getting once again, I'm back to, I've got great trades and I am sograteful for them.

(48:02):
And they all ask the correct questions when they were meant to ask them and helped me andguided me.
I'm not lying when I say that and they really did.
Like they're amazing and they were rooting for me and I know each every one of them wasand they helped me when they could.
But regarding like the layout, Clamber Plumbing had this really cool 3D design.

(48:26):
So they can actually move around each item in, they get the dimensions of your room.
You view it on a screen.
and they can move it.
So I'm like, no, I don't like it that looks, they'll move it and then move something elseand move something else.
So every style could change, but I wanted to see what the layout work.
And I found that amazing.
They come up with a great idea.

(48:46):
Like I have a floating wall in my ensuite and I love my floating wall because the reasonfor that wall is so I didn't, I didn't want to open the door of my ensuite.
And the first thing I see is the toilet.
I just didn't want it.
And no matter what way, I couldn't think outside the box, no matter what way I drew this,like
At that time, my desk in work was just usually a bathroom, toilets all over the shops.

(49:08):
And I'm like, I can't draw this without looking at the toilet.
And there's nothing wrong with it, but I just didn't want that.
And I couldn't, I kept just thinking about moving it.
That's all I could think about moving it, moving it, moving it.
Whereas they thought outside the box and they said, let's hide it, build a wall.
And I said, why did I never think of that?
You get so caught up in it and you just think move it.

(49:29):
It's not about moving, you need to think outside the box.
And they built a wall and I...
that wall and I love that wall now.
I found them so helpful and they know that you're coming to them at a very early stage andthey don't mind.
They want you to come back obviously and I did because I'm so grateful for how they helpedme and I went back in and I brought all my stuff with them and it's really out for me once

(49:51):
again it's really important to support local and if I needed anything I have it in 10minutes in my hand.
Amazing.
Building those relationships, I think, with suppliers, I sometimes would be like, OK, Icould get that washing machine cheaper from this place, but this same crowd have been
helping me and answering all my stupid questions for the last two years and storing thingslonger than they need to and letting me know when there's a sale.

(50:15):
And I think there's something to be said for that loyalty.
uh And I think, to your point about the 3D tools that Clonmel Plumbing used, I think a lotof bathroom and kitchen companies will offer that.
how much they'll let you go back and forth on ideas, I don't know.
But usually if you say like, can you give me two layouts?
Some of them will be happy to do that because you're gonna end up spending, you know,could do a bunch of bathrooms, it's a lot of money.

(50:41):
It's hard to envision.
You're either a visual person or you're not.
It's hard to visualize like, what it's going to look like.
I have to see it.
I'm like that.
Like I could be there and be like, can you show me?
And they'll show me.
Or they could say, Jade, that tray was, I remember them telling me that tray is 1000 by900.

(51:01):
And I'm like, okay, can you show me?
And they're like, yeah, we have one over here.
I'm like, great, because I have to see it.
I don't want, I can't, I can't visualize that.
need to see it.
And that's what I loved.
Or even the other day.
So that was nearly two years ago.
And the other day, two years later, well, a year and a half, a year and 11 months later, Ineeded a piece.

(51:25):
And the plumber was finishing with me that day.
And Connor said, can you pop into the lads and get that piece?
And I'm like, oh yeah, okay.
I have that in 10 minutes back in his hand.
He has it fixed.
He's gone.
You can't get that online.
just can't.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, and think most people who don't work in the industry struggle to visualize things.

(51:45):
So it is really important to be like it.
So you're not surprised when the walls go.
Yeah, or when the walls first go up and you think it's really small.
Yeah, that's true also.
I crying, was like, oh, and I remember one of my really good friends, she's built recentlyand she's like, no, no, no, trust me, once it's plastered, you'll be fine.

(52:09):
It's true.
does feel, it goes through phases, I think.
okay, and what else?
So then you're at First Fix uh Electrical, and did you do electrical layouts?
How did you decide, or was it just on the spot, spraying on the walls?
Yeah, myself and David walked the site for the first, for when we were marking it.

(52:34):
Oh my God, it was the coldest day of the year.
It was, think I've never been so cold.
It in February.
I'll never forget it.
It was three and a half hours.
I thought he was joking.
He texted me, he said it'll be about three hours.
And I was like, yeah, haha.
I thought it was a joke.
I was like, is this a joke?
Like I can show you really quickly where I want stuff.

(52:54):
No.
It does take that amount of time.
I thought I'd walk in and be like, okay, sock it there, sock it there.
You have to go sock it there.
What lights are on the roof?
How many?
How many switches are on the roof?
Where are you going to have a wall light?
Is that a second switch or is it the same switch as the other one?
Where are the stats going?
Where are they doing?
What door?
What way is the door opening?
And I was like, why?
he's like, cause it's going to hit the stats.

(53:16):
I'm like, my God, there was so much, but you know what?
Once again, a good trade makes your life so much easier.
Like he walked me into every room and he literally was like, okay, pretend you're in theroom.
Where would you like to your hand to turn on switch?
And I'm like, yeah, don't forget this and don't forget that.
Like he thought of really good ideas for me and I stole them and I did them and beside mybed, I can switch on and off the lights downstairs.

(53:45):
And yeah, like really good ideas or like he made sure that.
when I'm coming into the hallway that I can turn on the upstairs landing.
So said, yes, you're going up all the way upstairs in the dark because you want to turnoff the downstairs landing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or my son, I can turn off my lights from my bed.
And so can Jack.
He can turn off the lights in the bed.

(54:06):
So laziness as well.
Or like we measured exactly.
And he said, you know what size bed you're getting?
And I said, well, I already have mine.
And I can know what Jack's going to get.
He said, we're going to put the sockets and the switches.
perfectly measured to that bed.
So there's no stretching out of the bed and it's all aesthetically pleasing and it's allcontinued.

(54:27):
like, I just found him brilliant for that.
But yeah, three hours of marking.
Did I do a plan?
No.
I knew what I wanted as a make-up artist.
I love white light.
I love white light.
My house is very much white light.
My friend jokes, she always wears her sunglasses in the house.
It is a bright house and it is lovely, I love that.
I don't like yellow light.
I don't like a warm tone.

(54:48):
That's so funny!
m
Even he was like, another spot on like another spot.
And he's like, are you sure?
And I'm like, I want another spot.
And like, have spots everywhere and I love them.
But I also then had to come back to reality and he'd say, dude, you're not going to leavethem on.
And he was like, oh, that's when the wall lights came in and there's soft lights then forthe evening.

(55:12):
But did I do a plan to answer your question?
No.
But I very much went around and was very
did the work.
Doing room by room, I already had a layout for roughly what I wanted, brought it with me.
And as we walked into every room, he added to it, he was like, you should do this, it'scool.
Have you seen this?
It's cool.
Or I don't think that will work.
And he gave his opinion.

(55:33):
I gave mine, we bounced off each other.
It wasn't that he was like, into that room, okay, done, you're happy, done, move on.
He didn't.
He was like, are you sure you're happy?
Let's go back over it again.
And like, he was very thorough and like, I really appreciate that now at the stage I'm in,I'm so happy with everything.
or like I hid all my isolated switches.
Like, so they're all here.

(55:54):
They're all hidden.
None of them are on show on the counter.
Small things like that.
He's like, it's nice to hide them in a pantry or hide them in a bifold.
I was like, my God, yeah.
Cause they're not very pretty.
So let's things like that.
And I actually came back then.
So if I changed my mind, as I walked around myself later on, I made a list and I like, canI add this?

(56:15):
Can I add this?
Can I add this?
Like absolutely we'll add all three of them.
They were added in and then it was cheese.
Yeah, and I think the changes are a key thing.
em Being able to go on site regularly like you were is how you can be like, oh, actually,I think that's wrong.
being able to make those decisions and make those changes before it's too late, becausethings will be rattling in the back of your head and you're like, does that really work?

(56:41):
Does it not?
Does that really work?
em And working with good trades allows for that to happen without it being hassle.
Yeah, that they accommodate it and it's not a big deal.
Whereas trades that make it a big deal nearly make you go, God, I can't tell them I'mchanging something else.
Yeah.
I never had that.
I knew that they'd all help me and accommodate.
They could get out to me about it, but this will do it.

(57:01):
Yeah.
They can and joke about it when it's done.
Or I'll say, aren't you happy you did that now?
Isn't it much nicer?
And they'd agree.
And tell me, when did you do all the insulating?
So just after that, started in.
So I started the floor installation.
Look, the floor installation to have it done was really expensive.

(57:24):
It was something that I was not willing to pay when I knew I could do it.
At this point, the roof was on, the house was safe and it is enclosed.
And I just said, you know what, you can do that after work, you could do before work andyou can do it over the weekend.
Will your social life be gone?
Yeah, but my social life is gone as a make-a-brutus anyway.
I really do much.

(57:46):
go to work most weekends.
I'm not off weekends.
I gave all the time I had when I could to insulate that house.
I insulated every inch of that house by myself.
Every inch.
And like, I had a handsaw.
Now I see people and they've like way more efficient and they're doing it way better.

(58:09):
I literally had a measuring tape, a straight stick and a handsaw.
That's what I had.
And what are people using just like mechanical?
I like their cutting or they're using electrical items or machines to cut them.
They're like, I saw a guy on TikTok the other day and he had built this machine that helike slices down the installation firm.

(58:33):
I'm like,
That sounds dangerous.
Yeah, but I my little hand saw that was blunt after three cuts.
had go buy another one.
I found it in my dad's shed.
It wasn't even in a new one.
had go buy a new one.
I said, that's not really cutting great.
It was hell.
And I got the hang of it though.
And I did the upstand.
Some people do the upstand, some people don't.

(58:55):
There's a debate to see if you do an upstand, a 25 mil upstand, will it conduct the heat,stop the heat traveling into the block?
Yeah.
I went with the opinion that it may possibly, so I put an upstand around the whole, eachand every room, had the external of each and every room with an upstand as well as the
slabs, so I've got 150 slabs upstairs and downstairs.

(59:19):
Okay, and then what about the studs?
Did you do some stud work?
Yeah, so I have the, so when I was originally doing the block work, wanted to chairNisha's, but I just, I didn't know where they were going.
It was all very last minute.
She's like, where are they going?
And I'm like, I don't know.
And I said, can you just leave them because I'm going to have to do a step out anyway forthe, the toilet because it was wall hung.

(59:45):
So it has to built around the wall hung unit.
So the more I thought about it, I was going to build which often a lot of people see.
The wall hung you in it has a little box and people like put something up on top of it,maybe a candle or something like that.
I just didn't want that.
still wanted a flush.
So instead I stood up the entire wall and that way then I was able to put Sharon niche uhin that and a niche over the shower as well.

(01:00:11):
So I made sure that whatever wall the toilet was on, the shower was on the same wall.
So I did the whole wall in a stud and then I could add in the niche in each one.
I guess, yeah, you have minimal stud work in new construction.
And that's kind of a big difference, whereas your friends doing kind of a cottage revamp,any new walls, any new partitions are going to have to be stud work.

(01:00:37):
at least we didn't have too much, everything had been done up by the block layer.
Yeah, so literally it was only two walls, three walls all together.
just put the niche at whatever height I wanted, had to take into consideration, obviously,the floor is 150, it was 75 with the screen and done the four heating pipes.
I had to the two of them together to imagine I'm actually going to be standing at thislevel.

(01:01:01):
So where do I want them?
So each shower has two and I wanted to put spots in them.
So I came back to David and I said, can we add lights in them?
He's like, of course.
I've got light into them as well and they're a nice feature.
And then when I had the cavity over the back, over the toilet, instead of boxing it, I didthe full wall and instead I added a little niche in it so I can now put a light in there

(01:01:22):
and it just looks, I think aesthetically pretty.
I think that bit nicer to do that.
But yeah, it was cause they were wall hung.
I had to have that stood there and then that had to get slapped.
And then in the shower it had to have
there's a waterproof cement board.

(01:01:43):
So that's what I put there.
So that had the cement board on it.
And before it got slabbed, the plumbers had to put in all their pipes, because I'm goingto then cover them.
So it was slabbed and then the showers were tanked and then they were tiled.
Amazing.
what was, I think the other big job you did that you document on the Instagram was afteryou got your windows in was the air tightness tape.

(01:02:07):
So walk us through that and then we'll have to do a fly through of the rest of the build.
Cause I know it was a two year process and we're trying to condense it down, but.
Yeah, so the air tightness, once again, I didn't have it in my budget to do the, paysomeone to do that air tightness.
Air tightness is definitely something everyone can do.

(01:02:27):
It's very tedious.
You have to be committed to it.
I used the Holtz pre-folded air tightness tape.
got it in T.G.
O'Malley's in care.
I found it brilliant because it was pre-folded, but literally I had to air tightness.
every single window and door of that house.

(01:02:48):
It was...
Oh my god, I regretted every one of the windows and doors when I was going around.
I used to go over my lunch from work and be like, just get one more done, just get onemore done.
And you see on my Instagram, I use different techniques when doing it.
I use a little paint roller because I saw that on YouTube.
I saw a really good tip on YouTube on...

(01:03:11):
I'll actually post it again on my story for people, but it...
this guy, how he does the corners.
So he used to snip the air tightness tape and a strip and then fold them into a rightangle and pop each one into the corner.
So I used to do that.
used do four corners and then just four strips.
So much easier than going around each corner, trying to get it to fold in.

(01:03:33):
It's like a present.
just, you have to be neat and tidy when doing it.
But the reason that I didn't want anyone to help me,
is if I am a little bit of a control freak like that and do I trust someone would do it aswell as I did it?
No, I didn't.
I know that if you helped me, I'd go around and check what you did.

(01:03:53):
So I said, why bother somebody?
I'll just do it myself.
I'll know what's done right.
And I won't be thinking about it.
Okay.
And then at what point in the build are you now?
Let's say when the windows came in.
So the windows came, the windows and doors came and I got keys.

(01:04:14):
That was actually the first, this was one of the happiest times.
I three happy moments in my build.
And that was the first one.
So the doors are in the air, tightness is done, the slabbing is now going on.
So once the slabbing then is done, the underfloor heat, I have the insulation done on thefloor.

(01:04:35):
I'm spraying all the mushrooms from the slabs and the underfloor heating is going down.
I am then going around.
I have to roll out before the underfloor heating.
So I have to roll out my plastic tarp over it.
if your insulation has, I had you need to learn downstairs.
if your insulation has a foil on it, the screeds and the foil get a chemical reaction andthey have to be covered.

(01:05:03):
that's why.
down to cover it.
Whereas upstairs I had core insulation.
Core insulation does not have a foil on it, so it doesn't need any covering.
So your under-frohutant pipes can stick straight down into the core.
Whereas downstairs, I had to cover it all with plastic.
Wow, okay, well that's good to know all these minutiae.

(01:05:24):
yeah.
I didn't go back, would have put core everywhere, but you need an extra allowance.
it's 150 core or 150 unilene is the equivalent of 200 core.
So it's an extra 50, but I didn't have that allowance downstairs, only upstairs.
But it's a good product.
It's just that bit easier as well.
But yeah, so then we have done for heating, then we have the screen is poured, then yeah,the flaps are done.

(01:05:52):
We're kind of onto plastering really.
and you decided not to yourself.
I don't think anyone plasters themselves.
oh
talent in itself, Craig Condon from Clamelle was my plaster.
He is incredible.
I highly recommend Craig to everyone.
I give his number out all the time.

(01:06:13):
He's just amazing.
He never gave me an ounce of trouble.
He just was there when he said he'd be there.
He's quick and efficient.
And I put on a at the Weber render on my house.
So, so many people used to pass and they'd painted the house already.
You're not even in and you're painting.
said, I'm not painting.
The house is a Weber.

(01:06:33):
It's a renderer.
It's a white.
It's by a company called Weber.
So it's white renderer.
You can choose different color renders.
The reason I went for the renderer is I liked the white finish.
I was weighing up in time how much it would cost to paint the house.
Painting houses are very expensive.
I painted it myself.
When I can just put the rendering now.

(01:06:56):
And it's done.
You can always paint a render, but at least it's white for now.
And if I ever choose to paint it, I can do so.
And so he did the inside and the outside of the house.
Then, yeah, as he was actually doing the outside, I was still putting up insulation slabswhere I did, where the stud was done.

(01:07:17):
So I had to then slab the vaulted ceiling and I had to slab the walls where my stud isstuck back in here.
So I had to go around and slab them, up my plasterboard.
All those things were still being going on while he was outside and I'm watching how quickhe's moving and I'm trying to get it done inside until I'm stared at the other end of the

(01:07:37):
bedrooms and I'm still working on this room.
actually I think there was one room I didn't think he'd get to and I was in work and herang me, he's like, I'll just slab it there for you, the slabs are here.
He did it for me and like, he's just brilliant.
said, I've got done now and I'm going to plaster it.
said, make sure you spray the mushrooms.

(01:07:58):
You know, the guys, know I've said it, but like they were brilliant.
They were brilliant.
Whoever I had was just brilliant and helpful and I like that.
There wasn't a touch of plaster on my home.
So many people say to me, you covered the windows doors.
I never covered one window or door in that house.
Wow.
ah
Wow, that's impressive.

(01:08:18):
Clean and tidy.
That is the one reason I should ever go with him.
He is efficient.
He's quick.
He's good at what he does.
The guys with him are great.
But I never had to buy any of the stuff to cover.
So it's one less expense for me.
I didn't have to go around and cover it.
So that's more for me.

(01:08:38):
He literally was so clean and tidy.
Gary works with them.
Gary's going around.
Gary's cleaning as he's plastering.
They literally are one step behind each other the whole way around.
I arrived over in beautiful weather watching the house be plastered and Gary's comingalong behind cleaning my face and soffits.
He's cleaning my clothes.
The amount of people said to me when they came in and they were finished and oh my God,you got your windows cleaned, brilliant, who did you get out?

(01:09:04):
I'm like, no one, the plasterer cleaned them.
Like my windows are spotless.
There wasn't any plaster on anything.
And so many people are texting me they ask me on Instagram.
How'd you get the plaster off the windows?
And I'm like, I didn't, because I didn't have it.
My guy was so clean and amazing.
Yeah, it does look amazing looking.
a huge part to it as well.

(01:09:25):
Yeah, so then we're plastered and I then got my ESP connection actually and that was veryexciting.
I had electricity and then Alan came back.
So I got Alan back.
I was so pleased with him.
came back again and he did all my, he came back again for me to video him for everyone.

(01:09:50):
For me to torment him.
But he did all my safety tank and my percolation and they were all done later.
Some people do them earlier on.
I had electricity and I still didn't even have a safety tank.
Wow.
These are considerations you don't even think about in the city.
was like, I remember when I was going through your Instagram, was like, septic tank?

(01:10:13):
It's like, of course.
uh
Well, he actually dug the trench for my water and my ESB.
They were connected and then he came back when the weather was better and we did thesafety tank and the percolation and all like the drainage and all the pipes like that.
So that was, that was lovely.

(01:10:33):
It was a lovely wet day.
Actually the day we did that, you can see on my Instagram, me going around with a sea swimjacket.
It was so wet.
We actually found a lovely horseshoe that day in the front garden.
So, kick that, so that's a little bit of luck.
Oh, I see that, yeah.
Then what did I do?
Then we moved on.

(01:10:53):
to choose.
I now have my shelf.
So now I have a builder's finish is what they call it.
So now everyone's back to their second fix.
So the electrician, the Romani's crew come back and they're doing their second fix.
We have Connor, the MC, plumbing and heating are back and they're doing their second fix.

(01:11:15):
At this point is where self-builds will do different things.
So you might kit out one bathroom and kit out the necessities and the essentials and whatis actually needed.
So then you're buying your bathroom stuff, you're buying your floors.
went to Casey Tiles, Lamna Flooring in Clare and I picked out my tiles and my floor.

(01:11:37):
I have a beautiful herringbone tile.
That was the second thing that was my favorite part of the house was actually, yeah,getting, I suppose breaking ground.
getting the keys and my herringbone floor.
uh With the underfloor heating, a tile they say works best.
So I have a herringbone all downstairs and upstairs in the bedrooms I have a laminate thatlooks very similar to it in color.

(01:12:03):
I just wanted to keep a nice flow throughout the house.
The cases were incredible to deal with, they were so good and they were great to hold theproduct till I needed it or leave it, they were just brilliant and they have such a great
amount of stock and
huge vast amount of styles and something for everyone over there is brilliant.

(01:12:23):
And went into camel plumbing, picked out what I needed, picked out what I wanted and whenit was going to be delivered, had to coordinate that the guys would be there to fit it.
Yeah, that's kind of where I'm
Whistletop tour.
My stairs then is a concrete stairs and a slab so my stairs, they only make them obviouslywith certain measurements and that so my first two steps were the same as the third,

(01:12:53):
fourth, fifth step which is that bit more narrower so I had to pour the two steps,literally mixed concrete, poured them just to add in the two more steps that were a little
bit longer and in time hopefully I'll clad them then with timber.
Okay, okay, amazing, yeah.
So you did some concrete pouring yourself.
Yeah, just the first two steps of the series.

(01:13:16):
Amazing.
I can see that now.
I can see the line where the previous concrete had dried.
Yeah.
Perfectly amazing.
went down floored and oh then my shower seat that's my little shower bench seems to bevery popular.
Yeah I always wanted a seat in the shower and originally the shower was actually meant tobe on that wall but with the vault in the ceiling it just was caught for hype I knew it

(01:13:43):
wasn't right so I moved it to the fair wall where originally wanted the seat which threwout the seat realistically there possibly shouldn't be a seat there now.
But I would know I wanted and making it work.
And I looked them up and they were so expensive to get and they were so expensive to buy.
were 350 euro.
And I think I'm at the end of this now.
Like the budget is gone.

(01:14:05):
Like I was like, I don't have 350 euro for a seat.
So I did a little bit of research and then I actually built that seat for less than 20euro.
Wow, incredible.
And at that point, you were probably finalizing the kitchen too, right?
Yeah.
So the kitchen, I was trying to finish that off.
And so he gets tanked and tiled.

(01:14:28):
I was then the planning of the kitchen.
I planned that kitchen to an inch my life.
my God.
It is, I changed it so many times myself before I ever approached anybody.
And then I approached Tony Harvey Kitchens and Kamel and he was amazing.
I brought my plans to him.
He made one or two tweaks and he told me why.
And I totally agreed with him.

(01:14:48):
Like that again, you want people around to make, they want their product to look great aswell.
So I moved on to the kitchen and my kitchen arrived, got my quartz up in Eagans inKilbegan.
They were such a dream to deal with and so efficient.
And it was actually very interesting to watch them put it in and the machines they used toconnect the quartz.

(01:15:12):
So yeah, once it was, the kitchen was in, uh a Kalama glass and mirror then, my backsplash is a big mirror.
It's something I always wanted.
Everyone thought I was mad.
I know it's going to work.
I know it's something that I want.
oh
the makeup artist, the spots in the mirrors.
There are so many reasons behind it.
It was going to make the room look bigger.
When I'm cooking, I'm facing the mirror and I suppose I want, I didn't want anything onthe island, but putting the hop in the island, the room possibly would have flowed that

(01:15:41):
lit, had a little bit more of a flow to it.
But I wanted a clean island.
I didn't want to sink on it and I didn't want a hop on it.
So what I did is I put it on the wall where the mirror is.
So even if you're behind me, I can still see you.
So you can still see next to that person was another reason as to why I put it on.
And yeah, after the kitchen went in, the kitchen's incredible.

(01:16:02):
I love my kitchen so much.
It's beautiful.
It's huge.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
I love it.
I suppose I got building on what I needed to get in.
That was my next school at that point.
What is the necessity to get in?
For me, Jack didn't care about a wardrobe.
He wanted me to leave the stuff in a locker and that's fine.

(01:16:23):
But for me, I needed my wardrobe.
So that's when I got my IKEA packs and I built my wardrobe and I tweaked it a little bitto suit me.
put it on kitchen legs.
So many people online, see they put it on 4x2s.
They do timber bases.
For me, I put it on the kitchen legs so I could level it a little bit easier.
Yeah, so I built all of that and yeah, got in a bathroom, got in the beds and the wardrobeand that's where we are now.

(01:16:55):
Yeah, so now we're just shy of two years you moved in.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's incredible, very inspiring.
I think it's clear to see how you really were making it up as you went, but now you talkabout it like a pro.

(01:17:15):
Actually, yeah, just when he says that, I'm like, said that as if it was easy.
It wasn't.
It was hard times.
And I cried more than I smiled.
And I have no problem saying that because that's honest.
I said that the other day on my Instagram stories and the girl wrote to me, said, I'm sohappy you said that because I'm crying every day and I'm wondering do I quit?
And I'm like, I cried every day.

(01:17:35):
You can't quit.
You have to keep going.
And what she's doing, I reassured her, said in my calculations, I think you
on average, we're going to save about 90,000 doing the way that we've done it.
I like, keep thinking of that.
Keep that 90,000 less that you have to pay back.
I was like, think about it that way.
And do know what it is a little bit of help and I'm not done by all means.

(01:17:58):
not done.
don't even have doors hanging in my house and I have no skirting board.
People are like, skirting board as a gift.
And you know what, it's coming together bit by bit and that's real life.
I don't have seats, I don't have a couch, I don't have TVs.
And that's life.
I prioritized the structural build of the home.

(01:18:21):
I prioritized my installation and I prioritized other things.
There was hidden costs everywhere.
And the hidden costs took the hit for the couch and the table and stools and everythingelse.
And that's fine because I'm so proud of how far I've got.
And I'm so, I made those sacrifices and you don't need them.

(01:18:41):
We don't, we don't need them.
We, I prioritized the other day, we wifi.
I prioritized wifi over stools.
I'm like, can sit in the car then Jack, it's fine.
But we have wifi now.
Everything is going to come in time.
And if somebody is listening to this and they're building and they're struggling andthey're finding it hard, just know that if you don't have to move into this show house and

(01:19:02):
if you do well done, I envy you.
And I think you're incredible.
don't put that pressure on yourself.
You will always make it a home and you'll change your mind.
And I love that I've moved into a shell simply because the things I would have done sixmonths ago, if I had the funds to do it, I now know wouldn't have worked and I would have

(01:19:23):
a waste of money.
I love living in my space and I love doing it room by room and revealing it to everyoneroom by room and showing real life and people find that relatable.
And that's why I people like following along on my Instagram and
they find it's relatable and they find that it's real life.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think as you live in the space with all the work you did in it, you know each roomso well.

(01:19:50):
You're so handy now.
You're like, you know, these little finishing touches, you're like skirting.
I could do that, you know, with a cup of tea.
Even my friend the other day, said, you've still got skirting up.
But I don't need skirting up.
It looks aesthetically nice, it's not going to affect the bill.
I'd rather get a TV now before I'll do the skirting.

(01:20:13):
I'm going to get stools.
Like I prioritize what is necessary next on my necessary list is to get two stools for theisland.
I need four, but I'm to get two.
And I'm going to think then I'm going to look at getting the TV.
Then I'm to look at getting the couch.
And I have them in order of what I care more about.
Yes, that's the very end of that list.

(01:20:33):
Absolutely.
don't mind.
The floor?
Yeah.
Well, thank you so much, Jade.
think thank you for those parting words of, know, it is really hard.
And I think the other thing is every day that goes by and you put more money in it, it'simpossible to go back.
So you just have to keep going.

(01:20:53):
Yeah, you really do.
And that is your drive.
And, you know, in hindsight, and I look back now, I would I do it again, I do it better.
Much better if I used to do it again.
And I suppose anyone that's there, find, find, along on someone's page or look atsomething that's your goal.

(01:21:16):
See that it is possible and look at me now, I'm two years, just short of two years and Idid it and I did it on my own and I had no experience.
And you can definitely do it and reach out and ask for help if you don't ask, you won'treceive.
So always ask for help, ask for advice, gather as much information and you will get there.

(01:21:38):
You really will.
And you'll be so proud when you do.
Thank you, Jade.
Amazing work.
Super inspiring.
uh you know, and you've done all this while working for yourself too.
And like you said, being a mom and it's really cool, like as an experience for your son,like he got to watch his mother build a house.

(01:22:05):
Amazing.
Thank you so much for your time, Jade.
So people can follow along on your Instagram at my underscore solo underscore.
self underscore built.
And there's just amazing content there.
And there seems to be just an amazing community around the self building that I'vediscovered as I've interviewed more of you guys on the podcast.
And people are really generous with sharing their tips and experiences.

(01:22:30):
So just like Jade said, find accounts, get inspiration if this is the route you want togo.
Yeah, exactly.
Thanks so much, Jade.
All the best.

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