What is a Quantity Surveyor?

Quantity surveyors are like ‘accountants for construction’. We look at every element of the design for the project, estimate realistic figures for each element, such as carpentry work, electrical work, windows and total this before adding a project contingency and VAT @ 13.5%. This gives the homeowner comfort in knowing the approximate cost of the work, before getting prices from builders”.

Limited Budget

If your budget is minimal and you are limited to upgrading an existing room, here are some suggestions that may help with productivity:

• Consider all of the distractions affecting your productivity and write them down. Identify which ones can be solved easily, which would take more work, and which are impossible to remove. Focus on the easy-fixes first, such as trying a different room or a second elevated screen connected to your laptop which could help your posture.

• Consider all of the rooms in your house, is there a room you may have glossed over initially when you started working from home? Some rooms could be re-organised / have their uses swapped to create a better, more productive space

• If your employer is suggesting that working from home will extend further than government restrictions, ask them if there is any budget for upgrading employees working from home setups. Using a laptop for eight hours a day at a kitchen table when you’d normally be on a PC at a standing desk is obviously going to affect how your body copes with prolonged screen use. 

Larger Budget

If your budget can stretch to getting some work done in an existing room, the following might improve your work from home setup:

• Increasing window or rooflight size to let more natural light and ventilation in (may require planning permission)

• Stripping plasterboard linings to partitions and installing acoustic insulation. The partition is then re-lined with sound-reducing plasterboard, re-skimmed and painted

• Replacing an existing door to a heavier, sound-reducing door and installing acoustic seals

• Adding additional lighting, sockets and perhaps a Cat6 data point for a hardwired connection to the internet as opposed to wireless connection over WiFi

• Custom fitted joinery can greatly improve a room’s functionality, incorporating a dedicated desk for your needs and storage space like drawers and shelves to reduce clutter.

• Standing desks are rising in popularity and rightly so - our bodies are not designed to be sitting for 40 hours per week. Alternatively a good quality desk and chair that offer ergonomic support will make the day more bearable and will reduce back pain

• Personalising the room with pleasing paint colours, wall-hung paintings, alternative floor coverings or fabrics to your liking will make the space more enjoyable to be in. Being surrounded by clothes horses or christmas trees will only frustrate you further

Attic Conversions

When considering an attic conversion in a typical semi-detached 3-bedroom house, costs can range from €15,000 - €30,000 depending on what the room is intended to be used for.

If none of the spaces available to you are going to work long-term, it may be prudent to look at converting the attic or extending at ground and/or first floor level. An architect can guide you through how using existing spaces can be re-purposed or opened up in the most practical way. The quantity surveyor feeds into this process with cost advice on the vital work and also adding suggestions for additional options that may be considered.

 At a minimum attic conversions require alterations to the ceiling joists, a new staircase, some rooflights and lining of the walls and ceilings as well as radiators, lights and electrical sockets

A simple storage or office area would be on the lower end of the cost scale, while adding extra partitions, internal doors, a dormer window or ensuite will push costs up significantly. You may also have to upgrade the doors on the existing ground floor hallway and first floor landing to comply with fire regulations, a cost often overlooked. Depending on the size of the attic conversion, there could be three to eight weeks of having builders and their tradesmen in, moving materials up and down the stairs, all while you are trying to live and work in the home.