Current News

*Air Tightness Testing at Cork University Hospital*

Flynns have recently completed Air Tightness Testing on behalf of Pearse Contract at the New Cardiac,Renal and Oncology department at Cork University Hospital.The work involved air tightness testing on the new isolation rooms and isolation lobbys at the new facility.

*Motorway Surveying work on New M7*

Flynns survey division were recently engaged by Bothair Hibernian who are the main contractors on the newly built M7 Limerick to Nenagh motorway to carry out surveying works.The works involved surveying and snagging of completed drainage work reviewing of CCTV footage of drainage lines as well as surveying of the new road signage on an 18Km stretch of the motorway.

Home Energy Saving Scheme now open for business - unprecedented level of interest in insulation gran

Home Energy Saving Scheme now open for business – unprecedented level of interest in insulation grants
Insulation will create thousands of jobs and halve energy bills – Minister Ryan
Dublin, 25th March 2009
Energy Minister Eamon Ryan today announced that the €50 million Home Energy Saving Scheme is ‘open for business’.

From today (25 March) Sustainable Energy Ireland will accept applications from householders wishing to save money and energy by insulating their properties.

Announcing the opening, Minister Ryan said, “Since I announced that I had secured the funding for this scheme, there has been an unprecedented level of interest from the public. Sustainable Energy Ireland has received 94,000 calls and website visits. SEI has assured me that from today applications received online will be processed in under 3 days. I am pleased that so soon after the initial announcement we are up and running, with all the proper procedures in place.

We need even more qualified contractors to come on board in order to deliver this scheme. I would urge contractors to register with SEI and secure a major business boost for themselves in the process. The level of public interest is such that contractors can be assured of work for themselves and for new employees through this Government scheme.

Sustainable Energy Ireland will emphasise quality throughout the scheme, ensuring that homeowners get the best workmanship and value for money.

Insulation is the single best way of saving money on energy. This Scheme will see homeowners save up to €700 annually on their energy bills. This, coupled with recent reductions in electricity prices is great news for consumers in these tight times.

Construction workers will benefit from the thousands of jobs this scheme will create. It’s good news for our pockets, for the economy and for the environment”.

Householders and contractors can apply online at www.sei/hes or by calling the dedicated phone line 1850 927000

Eligibility:

• The scheme is aimed at older houses that would not typically have the energy efficiency features of recently built homes. The scheme is open to all houses built prior to 2006. Houses built from 2006 onwards should be built to the Building Regulations 2002 standard, which specifies high quality insulation and heating controls

Objectives:

The objectives of the Home Energy Saving Scheme are:

(1) To reduce energy use and CO2 emissions from the existing housing stock, and

(2) To support the development of the energy services industry in Ireland.

Eligible measures:

The table below sets out:

• The eligible measures and the set grant amounts available.

• The typical improvement in BER rating that could be expected from each individual measure, done in isolation. Note that in estimating the total potential BER improvement, if the full range of measures is installed, the potential BER improvements for each measure should not be added together.

• The typical payback period for each measure, arising from energy saved.

Measure Grant rate Typical net BER improvement Typical payback (years)

Roof Insulation €250 10-20% 3-6

Cavity Wall Insulation €400 15-20% 4-5

Internal Wall Insulation €2,500 25-30% 7-10

External Wall Insulation €4,000 25-30% 15-20

High efficiency boiler plus heating control upgrade €700 25-30% 4-5

Heating control upgrade only €500 15 -25% 4-5

Building Energy Rating €200

Minimum investment:

• A minimum level of investment is required of householders to participate in the scheme. Householders must avail of measures (excluding BER) involving a minimum grant payment of €500 for a first application. This means that householders cannot avail of a grant for roof insulation or cavity wall insulation only. These low cost measures must be undertaken together or with another measure.

Heating controls and boilers:

• To avail of the €500 grant for heating controls, a homeowner must install a range of time, temperature and zone controls on their heating system and electric immersion water cylinder. This low cost measure can improve a home’s BER rating by up to 25%, yet has a payback of only 4 to 5 years.

• While heating controls can be added to an existing heating system, it is particularly attractive to any homeowner replacing their boiler to also install heating controls at that time. Under the Building Regulations 2008, anybody replacing an existing oil or gas boiler must install a condensing boiler with a minimum seasonal efficiency of 86%. Condensing boilers with an efficiency of up to 95% are available on the market. This additional efficiency can lead to significant savings. A grant of €200 towards the cost of these higher efficiency boilers is available to any homeowner who is also installing heating controls.

Wall insulation options:

• To insulate the walls of their home, owners may have a choice of cavity wall, internal or external insulation, depending on the construction of their home. Homeowners should seek professional advice on which option is most suitable for their home.

• Where a house has a suitable cavity, then cavity wall insulation is the most economical investment. Where this is not possible the options are either internal dry lining or external insulation. Internal dry lining, while considerably less expensive than external insulation, will ultimately reduce somewhat the internal habitable space of the home and may not be practical where there is decorative internal plasterwork. External wall insulation may prove preferable where a significant upgrade to the external facade is already envisaged. Both may result in additional works in order to reinstate electrical, plumbing and glazing fixtures.

Building Energy Rating:

• A BER assessment is not required for participation in the scheme. However, a BER carried out prior to works can provide useful advice to a homeowner on the upgrade measures he or she needs to take to improve the home’s energy efficiency. A BER conducted after the measures are finished can establish the impact of the works and give the homeowner comfort regarding their investment.

• To avail of the BER grant of €200, a homeowner must have a BER assessment conducted before and after works. Anybody wishing to secure the services of a registered BER assessor can find details at www.sei.ie/ber . Homeowners should shop around for the best price.

Air Tightness Testing of Cork County Libary

Flynns were pleased to be appointed by Bam Contracting for the air tightness testing of the new Cork county libary building the works invoved air tightness testing of both the floor voids and and a single air tightness test on the seven story building

Air Pressure Testing

The revised building regulations of 24th of January 2008 introduced mandatory air pressure testing for new dwellings. All new single dwellings require an air pressure test from the 1st of July 2008.

Key Implementation Dates

From the 1st of January 2007, all new homes for which planning permission has being applied for must have a BER Cert. Transitional BER exemptions will apply to new dwellings for which planning permission is applied on or before 31st of December 2006, where new dwellings involved are substantially completed on or before the 30th of June 2008

1st of July 2008 a BER cert will be required for new non domestic buildings offered for sale or rent. Transitional BER exemptions will apply to new non domestic buildings non domestic buildings for which planning permission is applied on or before 30th of June 2008 provided the new non-domestic buildings involved are substantially completed by 30th June 2010

Date for mandatory requirement for BER Certs for existing buildings is fast approaching

1st of January 2009 BER Certs will be required for any existing building offered For sale or rent. There is a maximum fine of up to €5,000.00 for not having a BER Cert when required

FER Announce Land-Surveying Service - May 2009

FER provide a specialised Land and engineering surveying service to Architects, Construction firms, Quarry Companies, Road Paving Firms, Civil Engineering Companies, Engineers, Solicitors and Private Clients.

We provide topographical surveys and associated services for a wide variety of clients anywhere in the Ireland and the UK.

Our Services include the following:

· Topographical Land Surveys
· Engineering Surveys
· Boundary Surveys
· Title Surveys
· GPS Surveys
· Setting-Out
· Legal Mapping
· Land Registry Mapping
· 3d Ground Modelling
· Volume Analysis Surveying

Our extensive experience in providing high precision, large (and small) scale projects within a wide range of environments ensures that our work is always of high quality and specifically tailored to our clients needs.

When required we also produce cross-sections, elevations, area and volume calculations. Interior and exterior measured building surveys are also catered for.

LoCall 1890 337 337 for more information

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