SelfBuild Ireland Reviews 

I went into my account to cancel but I was told I have to send an email to the marketing department. I can't see any reason for making this more time consuming. If you subscribe online you should be able to cancel online.

Reviewing Magazine.

To cancel you have to contact their marketing.

The magazine itself was good but companies making cancellations difficult should be avoided.

We really enjoyed the exhibition In the UL exhibition hall. We found it beneficial to discuss certain mortgage aspects with all of the mortgage providers.We also found it helpful to discuss certain aspects of planned house worth the various house.
I listen to all the podcasts and find help information in quite a few although I would echo what another review here has said - the sound quality is frequently quite poor.
I'm a paid subscriber to the website which I find does a good electronic copy of the magazines

I contacted this company as I was at a loss as to what to do with my back garden. They made the design process very easy and once I sent them measurements and photos, they got down to business and gave me a fab design which matched exactly what I was looking for. Very good value.

I thought the area was very cramped for the amount of exhibitors present... There was no real sense of organization... We did not take anything useful from the show however this may be due to the fact we did pretty extensive research prior to starting our build.. The coffee was good and the food stands took up 1/4 of the available space which would explain the lack of space for exhibitors... Marketed well executed poorly...

The website and magazine are both valuable resources for anyone hoping to build their own home. The information on the website covers both Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland and I've included some of my favourite parts below. I'm hoping to become a self builder soon in Co. Down (if planning goes well). I've been a subscriber for around 2.5 years.

1. The projects section is excellent. You can hover over the drop down and select projects by House type, Cost, Build Type or Location. You can then see a multitude of projects with pictures and interviews with the homeowner/selfbuilder and learn what worked best for them. The pictures can give you ideas and inspiration for your own self build project. The interviews can provide insight into some of the highs and lows and pitfalls to avoid. There is also a section with a list of suppliers used by the selfbuilder so if you love their roofing or windows or tiles you can see the supplier listed. Therefore, I can look at houses in my local area and find top suppliers based on great reports and pictures from the projects section.

2. Building Cost Guidance - there is a 'Build Cost Hub' section on the website where you can get an idea of costs in the current year, how costs might change going forward and things to consider when thinking about building.

3. Newest Tech in Heating and Energy - with the seeming phase out of oil and gas central heating and a greater emphasis on heat pumps, air and ground source and everything that comes with it, I was very unsure as to what might be best to future proof my new build. With guidance from articles written by local suppliers and experts, I think I'm beginning to get a better grasp of the options which puts me in a better position when discussing plans with the architect.

4. Regulation update notifications - as a member, you get updates sent to your email regarding new and upcoming regulations that will impact the self build space. This could be crucial for getting plans in before a regulatory change that could affect your chance of gaining planning permission or could save you money by meaning you alter your plans in certain ways to abide by upcoming reg changes. I also like reading these updates just to stay abreast of the current trends in selfbuilding in ROI and NI. These reg updates are available on the 'News' section of the website.

5. Self Build Live Belfast - I can only comment on the Belfast self build event as that's the only one I've been to but this is a great event for meeting all kinds of suppliers. It's usually very popular but is held in the great Titanic Exhibition Centre with lots of space for attendees and exhibitors. There are architects, energy companies, hot tub suppliers, roofing, paving, glaziers and everything you might need for your self build journey.

There are a few other areas on the website that I don't use as much like podcasts, videos, house plans guidance, and online events but they're all valuable resources for potential self builders.

Insufficient directions for those using public transport. Expected to find stands with info on screeds, hollow core, insulation etc.

Excellent magazine and website with tons of very practical and useful information and great ideas for anyone starting out on their self build journey or renovation/extension project. Really love the Projects section where you can see first hand the ups and downs of taking on new builds and a wide range of renovation and extension projects throughout Ireland. The website, podcasts, presentations and group discussions are brilliant too. Definately worth checking out.

Fantastic Magazine - great information, well presented and with a good range of articles. Worth every cent!

Self Build Ireland is an amazing and credible resource site

The magazine is a fount of knowledge about the variety of issues faced by self builders including site selection, new technology in building process and heating and ventilation to providing an east way to connect with suppliers. Thoroughly enjoy reading the case studies provided.

I went to SelfBuild Ireland in the UL Sports arena in Jan 2024. I was not impressed.

Far too small a space for the amount of stalls and human traffic.

Near impossible to move around without always having to juggle for position with strangers instead of looking at stalls made for an unpleasant experience.

Audio quality for the talks was really poor. Mic and PA system were very unpleasant on the ear.

Also the talks happened in the center of the main space so people were constantly walking around and through the space, making noise and distracting the eye and concentration of everybody. I don't know how this wasn't picked up the previous day and improved on.

Wrong space for this size of crowd. Far too small. Audio for talks needs to be handled professionally.

While I was building our home in 2016-'18, I found the magazine to be very helpful. It was one of the few things that came in the post that was welcome!
I liked the regs. explanations, the adverts, the sponsored articles the finished home reviews.
I would have preferred more practical advice as I was a hands-on self builder. I'm sure the advertisers wouldn't like to see too much actual building tips though! Like, how to lay a DPC or membrane, how to fit draughtproofing tape, how to get a good finish on concrete etc..

Excellent show. Our stand with natural stone cladding was very busy on both days. Lots of great enquiries. Very pleased with show and will attend next year.

Hospitality area for exhibitors was very poor indeed. Is a missed opportunity as exhibitors do want to meet other exhibitors and network. Also a very good opportunity for Self Build staff to meet exhibitors.
Should be much more up-market/high quality and does not need to be free of charge.

Important up to date information, learning something new all the time.

The live event is good, some good info in the magazine and online. The sound quality in the podcast is very poor, there is no excuse for that even with it recorded live at events. Good quality recording equipment is not expensive these days.

Apart from a little hard to find initially, it was an interesting and informative show, with lots of vendors. Someone else mentioned that there was a second tent, which I wasn't aware of, otherwise I would have visited it as well. There was a list of vendors attending on the show's website, but to the best of my knowledge no links to the vendor's own websites (I"m open to correction). Also it would have been good if that list were left up online after the show for attendees to follow up from, but as soon as the show finished the website shut down (unless I missed something).

We decided to attend this show relatively late on and the team were really helpful with all the logistics which was particularly helpful as we were travelling from the UK. Our stand was well located and we had a very successful 2 days meeting a new group of customers. The only thing that could have improved our experience would be having a scanner system to collect the visitor details.

Staff very professional, efficient and responsive. Event was well run and well attended. Fulfilled our expectation and we got out of the event what we hoped. We hope to attend the next event.

We had a very unpleasant experience, very poor management,
Given the Wrong stand and no electricity, they blamed everyone from the contractor to the company that took the stand allocated to us, even though the wrong name was on it, Dumped in the back of the 2nd tent it was like a morgue, Still unresolved
Our Reputation was damaged massively.