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Extension/Remodel

01/06/2021

We’re as Committed as You Are

Extending or renovating your home is already such a huge commitment, it shouldn’t feel like a battle with your builder. When you’re working with a builder who is already difficult to reach during the build or remodelling, it’s often an exercise in frustration to have them back to fix the job. Often, as far as they’re concerned, the moment they receive payment their work is over and done with. The trust you place with a builder is serious. Unfortunately, it is the norm for builders to see their work as a mere transaction with a customer. There’s often a lack of respect for the trust you place in them. There’s often a lack of concern for their responsibility and little care for the stress such a big undertaking can create in their client’s life.

We’re as Committed as You Are

From the first day that we work with you, we are thinking about things from your perspective. We will do whatever is necessary to reduce stress and disruption. Our commitment to our clients is about respect. We are committed to reducing disruptions that often occur during the build, and the many hours when you have builders in your home. It’s there when you have issues that can occur after we leave. It’s there when you have fixtures, fittings and finishes which can have their own faults and problems. For us, the day of the handover is not the end of our relationship with our client.

A Commitment to Client Satisfaction

We know how it feels to have to chase after someone when you have an issue. This shouldn’t happen. We have a team dedicated to supporting you after the handover. Whether you’re at the beginning of your experience or years into it, we’re always just a phone call away if you need anything. We offer a 10-year warranty on every extension and renovation we perform. If there’s anything you need, you won’t have to chase. Your needs will not be an afterthought. With one conversation, a full-time team member will be on the case. They will take responsibility for your problem and ensure that your issues are quickly addressed. And as with everything else we do, when we find an issue, an oversight, or an error on our part, we will find what went wrong and try to seek out a solution so that it never happens again.

Extension/Remodel

31/03/2021

Create a Space You’ll Love For Life

Did you ever have that experience when you were younger, where you’d look at people further on in years and think, “I’ll never do that!” And then, lo and behold, the years pass, you change, and you find yourself fascinated by thing your younger self would have rolled their eyes at?

A bit of gardening, anyone?

We’re all different, with our own unique qualities, but we’re also human. So as we move through time, we tend to develop different interests and needs. Some of our interests may change or grow, and the people in our lives change and grow, too. Some changes are more predictable than others; When you’re forty you may prefer more nights in than late nights out. When you’re sixty you’re more likely to choose a rock garden over rock climbing. And so, if you’re planning a long-term renovation or remodel, it makes sense to consider how your needs will change in different life stages.

Asking the right questions

Once you start down that path of inquiry, the questions can start flowing. How do you envision your needs next year? Will you want, or need, a home office or separate workspace? You may have spent more time around the house lately. Does the experience have you wishing for a separate space of your own? Where could you be in ten, twenty or thirty years from now? Do you love where you live or do you dream of being elsewhere in the future? Is the next home renovation one you’re intending to last a lifetime? What kind of surrounding space might ‘Future You’ enjoy — one that requires minimal maintenance, or one that allows you to keep your fingers nimble and green?

What about your loved ones? Where will they be? In what life stage will they be? Will you need space for some of them to visit, or stay? There is also the question of building technology. How self-sufficient would you like your future home to be? Would you prefer a space that gains much of its heat and light passively from the sun?

Finding clarity can sometimes feel overwhelming

So many questions can arise during the early stages of a new build or remodel. Many questions may feel unanswerable, and that can sometimes bring a sense of uncertainty. The feedback we have received from our clients is that having a team of building professionals helped tremendously. We help you find clarity and create a dream home that serves you now and in the future. If you’d like further clarity, give us a call on 021 4365 866.

Extension/Remodel

08/03/2021

Opening Up in Lockdown

Helping our clients open up their homes during lockdown has been a truly positive experience. We’ve all struggled in one way or another over the past year. We’ve all had to find ways to occupy our minds, to connect with friends and family and, as much as we can, stay connected with the wider community. Some have been less fortunate than others. And all we can do is be thankful for the small blessings we have had. One of the genuinely nice things we’ve been able to experience is the chance to make our client’s lives better. Helping them to open up their home spaces, extending or customising to meet their needs.

Opening Up in Lockdown

For most of us, the lockdown has brought with it an unavoidable sense of cabin fever. The lockdown has also been worse for some of us; being stuck in your home can put you face to face with its architectural problems. When our spaces don’t serve us, with low ceilings and close walls, the world can feel that bit smaller and duller. We’ve all undeniably felt first-hand just how much our environment affects our mood, our health and even our relationships. And while nobody has it in their power to wipe away the world’s woes, in our own small way we have been happy to, at least, help some families and home-owners open out from their confines. It makes a world of a difference to step into a warm, fresh space, to stretch out your arms and soak in more sunlight. When your home space is built from the ground-up to support you, the effect overflows into other areas of your life.

We’ve seen the wider community following along in some of the incredible transformations we’ve been able to share. And some of our clients, too, have kindly shared their experience with the wider community, offering a little glimpse into their homes and their personal lives.

Let’s Look Forward to the Future

One of the keys to a happy life is to always have something to look forward to. For many, this hasn’t been the easiest thing to do with many of our usual outlets and ways of expressing ourselves being cut off completely. But let’s look to the future, and start making 2021 something to enjoy.

Would You Like to Work With Us?

When you add an extension and remodel your home, you have a wonderful opportunity to make your home serve you better. To work with your psychology, your routine, and your lifestyle. And it’s also a chance for you to express your own personal style and taste. Before we begin a build, we’ll help focus your ideas through the lens of our understanding of architectural design. Share with us your ideas and we will help you turn them into something even better than you expected. Give us a call on 021 4365 866 and let’s discuss your plans.

Extension/Remodel|New Homes

01/02/2021

Let The Light In

Most Irish homes were built in the last century, with low ceilings and close walls. Because these confined spaces with low ceilings and small windows are so ‘normal’ to us, we often don’t notice how they can affect us. A new build or renovation, if it’s carried out using modern design principles, can profoundly change your experience.

Let the Light In

There have been many insights made in the last decade around how a building’s shape can shape our mood. If you are renovating your home today, you have an opportunity to experience something new. In the past, windows were a huge source of heat loss, and the technology wasn’t there to produce large glass panes. Today, glass can be produced with much larger dimensions and with excellent insulation. When these modern, large windows are well-placed, with consideration to sunlight at different times of the day and different seasons of the year, you can allow much more light and natural heat into your home and into your life.

The visceral experience you feel when stepping into your newly renovated home, illuminated naturally through modern renovation principles. We check in with our clients after they’ve settled into their new home, and we often hear comments about how the sense of light, open space and the comfortable temperature has transformed their mood. The difference is like night and day.

Step Into a Happier, Healthier, Home

Architectural design and materials have progressed massively in recent decades. Today, there is far more understanding of the health impacts of different materials and designs. From heating and humidity to ventilation. For example, we know today that many buildings and materials render their occupants susceptible to all sorts of invisible health issues. Many older buildings having poor air quality, with high levels of carbon dioxide, moulds and toxins. These can aggravate or cause a range of health issues best expressed in the term, “sick building syndrome”. Thankfully, today we have the understanding and the means to create living spaces that better support our health.

Take a Breath Of Fresh Air

Draughts are a problem in a traditional home. We’ve all felt that finger of icy air that creeps into our muscles and bones, causing stiff necks and shoulders, tension and pain. We try to fend it off with thick layers in winter and heating at full blast. And because the heating takes a lot longer to reach a comfortable than it does to drop when we open a window, we often feel reluctant to open up our windows for too long. It’s because of this that a draughty home can hurt our health. Because we’re always fending off the cold, we don’t allow in enough fresh air. This means that the air tends to have a higher level of Co2, with elevated levels of trace toxins. In this way, many of us unwittingly live our lives in a sea of stale air that subdues our senses and hurts our health.

With an architect who takes these things into consideration, you can escape the dreaded draught. And with heat exchange technology, it’s possible to expel from your home all that stale air, all of those toxins, and pump in fresh, healthy air in its stead — all without loss of heat or the slightest draught. Just a cosy ambient temperature, allowing natural sunlight and optimal health.

Extension/Remodel

01/02/2021

Our Team Is Changing the Industry

At the end of each year, we think back and reflect on our successes. And as always, it’s down to our incredible team. There are no ifs or buts about it, our team is changing the industry. We are proud to work alongside some of Ireland’s most conscientious, diligent, and skilled industry professionals. They truly are a dream team who make all the struggles and hard work so rewarding.

Dream Homes Built by a Dream Team

Every person on our team plays such a crucial part of our work. It starts with the first phone call and meeting. From there, our team creates great designs, builds a 3D model to allow our clients to experience their home and make adjustments before we get to work. Our quantity surveyor (thank you, Ian), builds a specification with precise costing. Our Planning Permission expert (thank you, Gráinne) handles the planning application and helps prevent unnecessary issues or delays. David, our Contracts Manager, gathers the finalised plans and prepares with our site team (Edgar, Fergal, Kevin, Colin and their crews).

The Proof is in the Pudding

Nobody can fake excellence. The proof of our team’s work is in the pudding. They create beautiful, elegant, well-constructed architecture, executed on schedule, within budget, and all using modern remodelling principles and materials. Every. Single. Team member plays a crucial role — they know that small things are not small. It’s the small things that make or break a complicated process. Every member of our team understood this — that’s why we asked them to join us in the first place. And minute after minute, hour after hour, they work diligently to ensure that every fine detail goes smoothly and according to plan.

Changing the Industry

One of the greatest stresses you can experience in your life is building or renovating a new home. We believed it didn’t have to be that way. Leading by example, we worked hard to create streamlined procedures and processes — and showed what is possible when you truly care about the client and the work. Our team took ownership of responsibility and lifted the burden of stress off the shoulders of our clients. Every year we have strived to improve; This year was no different. Looking back and observing the industry today, we believe that our team has succeeded in elevating the standard in every aspect of our work. We hope that our team’s success will inspire the competition to step up to the plate and help us change the industry for good.

Extension/Remodel

07/01/2021

Simplify the Complex

When you simplify a complex system you end up with something elegant. Think of a leaf, a cactus or a rose; It’s both simple and complex, and that makes it elegant. For us humans, it takes a lot of work to make things elegant. It’s what we do at Sigma Homes — and we do it well. From our designs to our building procedures, we make things work seamlessly.

The most elegant designs take a lot of work. The greatest renovation or remodel work, the one that makes everything look easy, is very, very hard to pull off. There is great complexity in creating a brand new home that exceeds expectations. It’s not just about quality and style, but also about the intelligent use of space and light, not to mention good sound-dampening and thermal insulation. Complications can arise when creating a home because you have multiple pieces in the puzzle. In any build, we work across multiple disciplines, with multiple individuals working on a multi-layered timeline where each piece of the puzzle depends on everything being set properly in place. We have worked hard to make this whole process as elegant as possible. By doing so, it’s possible for us to deliver results that radiate an indefinable sense of quality.

It’s the Small Things That Matter

We have spent years thinking about the small things because we know that it’s the small things that get you. Here is an example of your typical building situation: Say you were planning a kitchen renovation and decided to hire contractors yourself. You arrange a build date, and everything looks good to go. But something came up to halt the entire operation. Problems often start with a small thing. Say the pipework wasn’t laid correctly before the concrete got poured. A relatively small thing, but the delays cascade. It might take another week or more until the pipework is fixed in the correct place, and the concrete can’t be poured until that’s resolved. When you have complications added to an already-complex process, one error or oversight inevitably cascades. Before you know it, you’re delayed by months with no end in sight. This is the typical problem of the industry, and one of the reasons why we created Sigma Homes.

Simplify the Complex: Bringing Vertical Integration to Building

Some things are complex. We have no way to make creating a superb home into an easy process. But what we have succeeded in doing through years of study and research, is to identify and eliminate all unnecessary or avoidable complications. We take the fractured nature of a typical build and bring it all in-house using modern design principles such as Vertical Integration. Vertical Integration is a design concept that is all about bringing as much as you can under one roof. so that everyone is on the same page and communicating with one another effectively. Compare this to when you hire an architect on your own. They might produce an astounding design, but will they be thinking about the availability or workability of the materials he’s proposing for the build? When you hire an electrician or plumber or builder, how much thought will they give to the overall project? How much awareness will they have of the other tradespeople’s needs? The reality is, in these situations communication is almost always a factor that causes delays and expensive oversights. Contractors are more likely to be concerned about getting in new clients than they are about taking care of their existing ones. They probably have their own way of doing things which work fine when they do things alone. But often those ways are more habitual than well-considered, and they result in conflict with other individual tradespeople’s processes. What we have achieved with Sigma Homes is simplicity in the process of the build. Vertical integration. Everyone needed is on on the same team, singing from the same hymn sheet.

What We Bring to the Table

The typical problems that plague the building industry are simply unlikely to happen with Sigma Homes. That plumber in the earlier example? We’re unlikely to have that issue. The whole team has worked together to create a clear process and system with the big picture in mind. We work to prevent the types of delays and mistakes that are typical in the building industry. We know that most quality issues are down to a lack of pre-planning or oversight. So we have processes that are founded on planning and supervision. When something causes a delay, we work on making sure that error never happens again. That takes effort. That takes work. Simplifying these processes is very very hard, and that’s why we’re the only ones doing it. Each team member checks over the previous team member’s work, and everyone is used to working with one another as a team. And honestly, that’s a big part of why we love our job. Together we strive for excellence. We hold each other accountable to the big picture so that we can all improve and grow. And at the end of each project, we have the privilege of seeing our client’s faces as they view the results of our efforts. A beautiful, quality home which we have delivered for them, on time and within budget.

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you, call us today on 021 4365 866

House Extensions|Renovation

27/11/2020

Do You Need Planning Permission?

We’re often asked by clients, “Do you need planning permission to get an extension?”. The worry is, of course, the stress of all the paperwork, the hopes of getting approval, the dismay and disappointment if you’re not approved, and then having to repeat the whole ordeal again. When you’re looking at the big picture at the early start of a home renovation or extension, it can feel intimidating, to say the least. Thankfully, we can assure our clients even at this early stage with two answers that are equally true.

Do You Need Planning Permission?

Our first answer for many of our clients is this; You absolutely don’t need to get planning permission to completely change your home. You would be amazed what adding just two or three hundred square feet to your home can do when it’s done strategically and with an overall vision in mind. You can create a home that really works. A common problem with traditional Irish houses is that the proportions are all wrong. You have important rooms like your living area that are too long and narrow, hallways that are too tight and small, kitchen and living rooms that aren’t centred, poorly placed doors that can make your living room feel a bit like a corridor. By strategically adding space to your home, the other rooms and partition walls can be reconsidered. Together, we can look at how you live, how you’d love to live, and we can re-envision your space to support you and your family.

Our Second Answer

So, do you need Planning Permission? Our second answer is for you if perhaps you need more space. Say you have a bigger family or more ideas of what they’d like your home to be. For you, we’d say you might need to get planning permission — but this absolutely does not have to be a source of stress for you. Sure, if you were doing this alone it could be problematic. But the reality is we do this every day. We know what the planning authorities need and want in a design. So we take your dream and ideas, and together we can create a plan. We ensure that what you want can be achieved with swift and painless approval. We are happy to manage the planning application process. Rest assured that no matter what steps you need to take, we’re here to help you. If you’d like to see what’s possible, feel free to give us a call today. We would be delighted to stop by to meet you, discuss your ideas, and give you an opportunity to see what we can accomplish.

Extension/Remodel

29/10/2020

Considering a Remodel?

If you’re considering some remodel work, you might be startled by some of the possibilities available to you when you’re working with a builder who is using modern design principles and methodologies. This is our livelihood, so you’d think it’s normal for us. But it’s still a moment of excitement and anticipation for us on handover day. Remodelling the old confines into bright, open, warm spaces that make you feel like you’re stepping into a zen garden. On handover day, we get to present the finished space to the homeowners. The best is when some members of the family are seeing the space for the first time since work began; You get to witness their faces light up when they see the old building completely transformed.

Feel the Design Come Alive From The Moment You Step Inside

Using modern remodelling principles, you’re no longer confined to what you’d expect from an Irish home. You have an opportunity to break beyond your expectations. Design is essential for us. We love to tie-in the great things about the old with the spectacular things about the new. Home extension and remodelling work are usually about adding another room — which is fantastic. Or adding more space — which is great…but it can be all that and much more.

When Considering a Remodel, It Can Be More Than Just Space…

Because it’s not just about having more space, it’s about being able to plan out that space so that its angles, contours and surfaces give you a visceral a sense of openness. A perfectly good, spacious house or bedroom can still end up feeling somewhat claustrophobic. With poor lighting, low ceilings, narrow hallways, spaces can seem to shrink. Once you start adding in gear, clothes, ornaments and toys, perhaps without well-thought-out storage, it can starts to look like an ‘object orphanage’ — a place where things go when they don’t have a place to call their own. The solution isn’t just to add more space, though that will help tremendously. To truly break free of the dreaded clutter, it helps to bring modern design principles to bear on the problem. When you hire the right architect, you can have the exact same space but with a very different feeling. Rooms in your house can feel brighter, more open, more liberating. Everything in your home will have its place. With excellent design, it will feel like coming home.

Renovation

28/09/2020

What Do You Need?

What Do You Need? At Sigma Homes, we’re constantly seeking better ways to answer this question. We constantly ask ourselves what can we do to make your home more comfortable. What can we do to make the renovation experience feel easier for our client? We work to stay at the cutting edge of the latest building technologies, materials, designs and finishes. A big part of our job is to do the painful work for our clients so that, for them, the entire experience from start to finish is seamless, easy and enjoyable.

We are always looking out for better quality building materials that will improve the quality of our client’s home and their life. We constantly add and add to our skills, our materials and our repertoire of products and styles. We know that each new client we work with has their own unique preferences, and we strive to make it as easy as possible for them to find the exact thing they’re looking for. No matter how big or small the job, from a full renovation to a bedroom remodelling, we learn from the experience so that we can make it even better the next time.

What Do You Need To Make This a Pleasurable Experience?

Everyone knows that renovating can be one of the biggest (and potentially most stressful) projects you will undertake in your life. There are a hundred little things that can become difficult. Take one example: choosing your finishes. We all know that it can be an exhausting process that can easily take up hundreds of hours of your time. When you think about it, the bulk of this time is wasted. As you pore through catalogues and websites, you must view hundreds and hundreds of products, colours or ideas that are not even close to what you want.

We have found countless areas like this in the renovation process, where we have been able to improve our client’s experience. During our initial meetings, we get to know your preferences; We learn about your style, your ideas, your wishes, expectations, as well as what you don’t want. From there, we can go over our massive library of possibilities and, after deliberation and discussion, we will present to you some ideas we think are most in-line with your tastes and preferences. Very often, we get such a good sense of what our client wants that they are thrilled with one of the ideas we present to them — or they only need to make a few refinements. And in the rare times when this doesn’t quite match, we are often able to pinpoint what isn’t matching their needs and present a different idea that is exactly what they want.

Whatever the hard work entails, we can bear the burden for you. Whether it’s sorting out planning permission for you or helping you find the best styles and designs, we listen to what you need and do the painful work — so that you can enjoy the experience.

Renovation

05/08/2020

Fully Customised Kitchens

At Sigma Homes, we produce fully customised kitchens that have been designed from the ground-up to suit you, your family and your lifestyle. As bespoke kitchen renovators, we know that you have a vision and we’re here to help you make it a reality. Our client’s satisfaction is what matters to us.

An Unfortunate Reality In The Industry

We hear so much positive feedback every day, and we use this feedback to ensure we are always providing the best service possible. But we’ve heard too many stories from clients who, before meeting us, had a bad experience when hiring a builder on a different project. As we listened, we realised we were essentially hearing the same story over and over again. The gist of the story is this. The client has an idea of what they want and what they don’t. They are careful about the builder they choose. They have call-outs and meetings and receive quotes, and finally, after countless hours and discussions with different builders, they chose the one who seemed like the best fit. The contractor was polite, seemed to be very knowledgeable, open and enthusiastic about the ideas discussed. They genuinely seem eager to work with them to fulfil their vision. Great!

But once the renovation starts, things begin to go downhill. The original plans and designs, which had been discussed and agreed upon, seemed to go out the window. It seems the builder has his own way of doing things; the placement and sizes of units, which was agreed prior to building, are altered without discussion with the client. Colours and finishes are changed. And often, the client only found this out after the contractor has ordered the units are already installed. When the client raises an issue, pointing to the original agreed plans, the contractor argues, becomes defensive and instead of promptly rectifying the problem, they instead become difficult to reach. The build gets delayed by weeks or more as the builder seemingly disappears off the surface of the earth. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual story, and it’s one of the “norms” in the industry that we have always sought to disrupt.

Fully Customised Kitchens That Delight

We are constantly evaluating what goes well and what can be improved in our processes. That is why when we won the Best Of Houzz Award for Design, we reflected on what had got us there. We realised one of the key factors was this: When a client chooses us, we are on their side.

From the very first meeting, our goal is to use our knowledge and expertise to fulfil our client’s wishes. We want our client to see their newly renovated home for the first time and feel delight. We want what’s best for our client based on their needs. No cookie-cutter solutions, no “standard” design. Just high standards and designs which we can feel confident will, at the very least, reach our client’s highest expectations. In the early stages of design, we will, of course, offer suggestions if we think it will better achieve our client’s vision. But it’s just that; a suggestion. And from the initial meeting and throughout the planning phase, we will be making sure that the plans we agree upon are precisely what our client wants. Of course, we are open to making changes later in the project — but that will be on our client’s terms.

If you’d like to meet with us to discuss your ideas, give us a call today on 021 4365 866

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