Most quantity surveyors will tell you a 39-unit multi-development in rural Ireland takes 3–4 weeks to price properly. We did it in 3 days.
Not because we cut corners. Because we have a system, the right team, and we’ve priced enough Irish new-build schemes to know exactly where the numbers live before we open the drawings.
This is the full story of the Charlestown Housing Development — Lavey Beg, Co. Mayo — a 39-dwelling scheme for AGK Construction Ltd. I’m writing this because every week I speak to developers and main contractors in Ireland who are either waiting 3 weeks for a QS firm to turn around a BOQ, or they’re relying on a contractor’s rough estimate that’s missing €200k in site costs before anyone even breaks ground.
Ireland’s construction industry is moving fast right now. Residential output is at its highest in over a decade. Planning permissions are flying through. The problem is, the pricing infrastructure hasn’t kept up. If you’re a developer or a main contractor trying to move quickly, you need your numbers fast — and you need them right.
The Project
AGK Construction Ltd came to us with a planning-approved scheme on the edge of Charlestown, Co. Mayo. Thirty-nine new-build dwellings, across seven house types, on a greenfield site. The construction method was ICF — Insulated Concrete Formwork — which changes the way you price almost everything compared to a traditional cavity blockwork scheme.
Gerard Koopmans, the director of AGK, needed a full Bill of Quantities before he could go to tender. He needed it broken down by house type so his subcontractors could price each trade against verified quantities. And he needed to understand the total scheme cost before committing to funding.
He sent us the planning drawings on a Monday. We sent the completed BOQ on a Thursday.
The Seven House Types
One of the things that makes a multi-unit development more complex than a one-off house is the unit mix. You can’t just price one house and multiply by 39. Each type has a different floor area, different window count, different room arrangement, different volume of materials. You have to price each one individually, then roll up to scheme level.
Here’s how the Charlestown scheme broke down:
- House Type A — 3-Bed Semi-Detached: 106.8m² GIA — €200,576 per unit — €1,878/m²
- House Type B — 4-Bed Semi-Detached: 125.6m² GIA — €217,547 per unit — €1,732/m²
- House Type C — 3-Bed (various configurations): 90.0m² GIA — €180,719 per unit — €2,008/m²
- House Type D2 — 4-Bed Detached: 125.6m² GIA — €221,896 per unit — €1,767/m²
- House Type E1 — 4-Bed End Terrace: 125.6m² GIA — €216,435 per unit — €1,723/m²
- House Type E2 — 4-Bed Mid Terrace: 125.6m² GIA — €214,369 per unit — €1,707/m²
- House Type F — 3-Bed Terrace: 95.0m² GIA — €178,058 per unit — €1,874/m²
Each figure is a complete per-unit cost — substructure to handover, all 12 zones, materials separated from labour on every item. Gerard multiplies each type by the unit count in his scheme to get to his total contract value per house type.
Why ICF Changes Everything
If you’ve only ever priced traditional cavity blockwork, ICF will catch you out. The build sequence is different, the materials are different, and there are costs that simply don’t exist on a blockwork job.
ICF uses pre-insulated EPS foam formwork panels. You build the wall shape out of foam panels, then pour concrete into the core. The foam stays in place permanently — it’s your insulation. The result is a fast, airtight, highly insulated wall that satisfies TGD L 2023 without any additional insulation work.
But here’s what most builders miss when pricing ICF:
The concrete pump hire. You can’t hand-pour into ICF panels — you need a concrete pump on site for every pour. In Co. Mayo, that’s roughly €600–800 per day plus mobilisation. On a 39-unit scheme with multiple pours per unit, that’s a significant cost that needs to be in the prelims, not hiding in a contingency allowance.
The ICF specialist/supervisor. Your standard blocklayer can’t just pick up ICF without training. You need someone on site during every pour to oversee panel alignment, bracing, vibration, and consolidation. We priced an ICF specialist at €350 per pour — 117 pours across the scheme — €40,950 in prelims alone.
The first floor structure. This is the one that bites developers every time. On an ICF scheme, the first floor is typically I-joists or Posi-Joists at 400mm centres with an 18mm T&G chipboard deck, acoustic mineral wool, joist hangers and restraint straps. It’s a full zone in its own right. We’ve reviewed other BOQs on ICF schemes where this entire zone was simply missing. That’s €8,000–12,000 per unit not in the price.
Airtightness taping. Under TGD L 2023, you need to tape all ICF-to-window junctions. It’s not expensive — maybe €200–400 per unit — but if it’s not in the BOQ, it’s a variation waiting to happen.
The Items Most BOQs Miss on Irish New Builds
We’ve now priced dozens of Irish residential schemes and there are about eight items that show up missing in contractor estimates time and time again. On the Charlestown job, all eight were included from day one.
Radon barrier system. Co. Mayo sits in a high EPA radon risk area. A 1200g polythene radon barrier with sump, joint tape and installation is a legal requirement — not optional. It’s roughly €800–1,200 per unit depending on floor size. Not in enough BOQs.
BC(A)R Assigned Certifier. Every new dwelling in Ireland requires an Assigned Certifier under the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations. This is a mandatory professional appointment. We priced it as a Provisional Sum in the Preliminaries — roughly €1,500–2,000 per unit depending on the certifier appointed. You cannot legally complete without one.
Homebond 10-year structural warranty. €1,500 per unit. Mandatory for new residential in Ireland if the units are to be sold. Non-negotiable. Often missing from developer BOQs because the developer assumes the contractor deals with it. Somebody has to pay for it — price it in from day one.
BER assessment and airtightness pressure test. Required for every new dwelling before a completion certificate is issued. One BER assessment + one pressure test per unit. Allow €350–500 per unit. On 39 units, that’s €13,650–19,500 at scheme level.
ASHP at gross cost. The SEAI grant of €6,500 per unit for an Air Source Heat Pump is fantastic — but it’s the developer’s/homeowner’s grant to claim, not the contractor’s. The contractor prices the ASHP at full gross cost. We see BOQs all the time where the ASHP has been priced net of grant. That’s not how it works. On this scheme, ASHP was priced at €9,500 for 3-beds and €11,000 for 4-beds — gross, before any grant deduction.
MVHR whole-house ventilation. Required under TGD F 2022 for airtight new builds. An ICF house will pass your airtightness test — which means you need MVHR to maintain indoor air quality. Allow €3,500–5,500 per unit for supply and installation.
Concrete pump hire for ICF pours. Already mentioned above — but worth repeating. It’s not a small cost and it’s almost never in the prelims of a first-time ICF contractor’s estimate.
Road bond and civil bond to Co. Mayo County Council. Every housing development in Ireland requires a bond lodged with the local authority to cover the adoption of public roads, footpaths, and public lighting. The bond amount depends on scheme value but it’s typically 5–10% of civil works cost. It needs to be arranged before commencement — and someone needs to allow for the cost of arranging it.
The Scheme-Level Numbers
Here’s the full picture for the Charlestown scheme at contract value (one of each house type, before multiplying by unit count):
- House types (all 7, one of each): €1,429,599
- Preliminaries (full 39-unit scheme): €848,565
- Sitewide external works: €538,540
- Subtotal ex VAT: €2,816,704
- VAT @ 13.5%: €380,255
- Total inc VAT: €3,196,959
The preliminaries at €848,565 deserves a closer look. On a scheme this size, prelims represent roughly 30% of the total build cost before externals. That’s not unusual for a greenfield site in rural Connacht with an 18-month programme. Site management, foreman, ICF specialist supervision, insurance, bonds, welfare, plant — it adds up fast when it’s properly itemised.
The external works at €538,540 covers roads, footpaths, foul drainage to mains, surface water drainage, water mains distribution, ESB underground ducting, gas networks connection, telecoms, street lighting, and individual plot landscaping per the planning conditions. On some schemes we see a single line “site works — €250,000 PS.” That tells you nothing. This BOQ itemises it zone by zone so AGK can go to his civil contractor with exact quantities.
How We Structured the BOQ
Every house type tab in the BOQ follows the same 12-zone structure in build sequence order:
- Substructure — foundations, ground floor slab, radon barrier
- Superstructure — ICF walls, internal blockwork, first floor structure
- Roof — trusses, OSB, breathable membrane, concrete tiles, dry ridge, gutters
- External envelope — windows, doors, silicone render, airtightness taping
- Internal linings — plasterboard, skim, acoustic quilt, floor screed
- Kitchen — PC Sum supply, installation labour
- Bathrooms and WC — sanitaryware PC Sums, tiling, fitting
- Plumbing, heating (ASHP + UFH) and MVHR ventilation
- Electrical installation
- Floor finishes — LVT ground floor, carpet bedrooms
- Internal joinery, staircase and decoration
- External works — driveway, boundary, drainage connections (per unit allocation)
Materials come first, labour comes second, in every zone, every time. Every line item has a quantity, a unit, a rate, and a total. Every rate is based on Connacht 2026 labour and material costs — not London rates, not Dublin rates, not a national average from a data book that was last updated in 2022.
Turning It Around in 3 Days
The honest answer to how we did this in 3 days is that we have the system, the experience, and the team to move fast without cutting corners.
Day one was drawings review and scope confirmation. Seven house type packs downloaded and reviewed. Room schedules extracted. Floor areas verified. Window schedules pulled. ICF specification confirmed. We don’t start pricing until we understand exactly what we’re pricing.
Day two was quantity takeoff and pricing — all 12 zones across all 7 house types, plus preliminaries and external works framework.
Day three was review, corrections, and delivery. We cross-checked the summary figures against £/m² benchmarks for each house type, verified the prelims arithmetic, and issued the final BOQ with the project summary document.
Gerard had his numbers by Thursday. He could go to his bank, his subbies, and his planning engineer with a document that held up to scrutiny.
If You’re Working on a Multi-Unit Development in Ireland
The Irish residential construction market is the busiest it’s been in over a decade. Planning permissions are moving, funding is available, and contractors are busy. The bottleneck right now isn’t planning or finance — it’s accurate pricing that moves fast enough to keep up with the market.
We price multi-unit housing developments, apartment schemes, mixed-use developments and one-off new builds across Ireland. We work from planning drawings or construction drawings, whichever stage you’re at. We turn around a full BOQ in 48–72 hours for most schemes.
If you’ve got a multi-development in Ireland that needs pricing — send us the drawings. We’ll tell you within a few hours whether we can help and what the turnaround looks like.
→ david@rapidqs.co.uk or rapidqs.co.uk
David Baker — RapidQS
