The last draw-down – The eternal conundrum

This is the biggest conundrum facing self-builders and architects in Ireland (forgetting about SI 80 in March this year!): In order to draw-down the last payment from the bank, banks & solicitors require the following documents: 1. Certificate of Compliance Read More …

A long overdue job done on our house – the joys (& woes) of self-building…

Even after ‘completing’ our house and living in it for the last 7 years there are still jobs that need to be done. One of these jobs we finished this weekend… Below is the BEFORE photograph… Our house – AFTER: Read More …

Responsibility of stage payment certificates and why architects shouldn’t rush to the bottom

I’d just received a blank Stage Payment Certificate from Ulster Bank (ah, not them again!) and realised there was a subtle difference in the wording on the form: “I confirm there have been no changes to the specification and costings Read More …