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‘The Wexford Thatcher’ episode from the Hands series is a tale of thatching in the South East of Ireland, taking the us right through from the harvesting of the straw to Paddy Casey the master thatcher applying his craft.

Many people enlist the help of a qualified professional to carry out all the works on their renovation project however there has been a growing movement towards self-builders in an effort to drive down the costs of renovation. While this provides immense personal satisfaction and hands on experience with the project one of the biggest problems encountered is that of safety on site – both for themselves and their property. The following are some of the safety issues and precautions you should be aware of before taking on your renovation. As always I would urge you to engage a fully qualified Engineer to evaluate the structural integrity of the property before you begin any work.

Discovering the age of your cottage is much like trying to uncover your family tree, the further you go back the more difficult it becomes. As a general rule, cottages are an architectural style all of their own, transcending the years and fashions. The style is rarely indicative of its age, a larger style cottage may be deceptive as it could have started out as a two bedroomed cottage and have been extend over the years as the inhabitants became more affluent to become a thatched mansion. Conversely, that run down turf shed or ruin on your land could be a cottage hundreds of years old who’s owners fell on hard times. The following are some of the best ways of tracing the age of your property:

Whitewashed walls, neat golden thatch, glossy red doors and dancing fireplaces are all images brought to mind when contemplating cottages and modern media such as magazines and books help to perpetuate this fantasy. What you don’t see is all the work that goes into bringing a derelict cottage back to life and maintaining it. Although cottage enthusiasts love their homes and wouldn’t change a thing, most do agree that renovating a cottage is once in a lifetime experience, best left behind them. The process requires endless reserves of patience, adaptability and creativity, not to mention a substantial budget. Before you consider buying a cottage, take the following points into consideration:

On an extended holiday in Ireland, Canadian couple, couldn’t understand how so many of our traditional old stone cottages lay derelict and abandoned. They decided to find their own cottage here for renovation and through 5 long summers of hard work and great vision, they extended and renovated a stunning, modern and yet still charming cottage in the rolling hills of Southern Kilkenny. They embraced our traditions, retaining many of the cottages original features such as small, deep window openings and exposed stone walls whilst bringing it up to modern standards with additions such as underfloor heating and a timber framed extension. Read on to find out more about their cottage renovation experience.