The older blocks between Sandyford and Stillorgan
Not every flat in this part of south Dublin is in a glass-fronted block beside the Luas. Around Stillorgan, Kilmacud and the older edges of Sandyford there are smaller, low-rise developments built before the apartment boom: two or three storeys of flats around a shared stairwell, duplexes stacked over ground-floor units, and a surface car park with a numbered space for each home.
In some ways they're simpler to clear. There's rarely a concierge to sign in with or a lift to book. But there's usually no lift at all, the stairwells are narrower, and the car park was laid out for residents' cars rather than a removal van. A clear-out here comes down to carrying and parking, so that's what we plan. For the newer managed blocks along the Luas, see our page on full apartment clearances in Sandyford.
Walk-up stairs: how everything comes down
In a walk-up, the stairs set the pace. Before the day, we look at your photos of the stairwell to see how wide it is, where it turns, and whether a window ledge or handrail is in the way. Then we decide what gets taken apart in the flat and what can go down whole.
- Beds, wardrobes and tables are dismantled in the room they're in
- Sofas lose their feet and go down on end around the turns
- Bags and boxes are kept to a weight one person can carry safely on stairs
- Covers go down on any carpeted landings and in the hall
- The stairwell stays passable for neighbours from start to finish
More flights mean more time, and sometimes a third pair of hands. We price for that honestly at the start, so the fixed price already includes the floor you're on.
spotless.ieDuplexes: two staircases, one plan
A duplex is really two jobs. The bedrooms are upstairs inside the unit, so wardrobes and beds come down the internal stairs first, then out through the front door or down the shared stairs to the car park. Internal duplex stairs are often steep, with a tight turn at the top, which is why bedroom furniture is taken apart upstairs instead of being wrestled down whole.
We start at the top and work down, finishing each room before moving on, so nobody is carrying past half-cleared rooms. A small balcony or back terrace with garden furniture on it goes last. Some upper duplexes also have a hatch into the roof space on the landing, so take a look before you book. Boxes stored up there are easy to forget, and they can go on the same visit if we know about them.
Small car parks and where the van waits
Older blocks around here usually have a modest surface car park with numbered spaces and a visitor bay or two at most. Our van needs somewhere near the stairwell door for a few hours. These are the options that tend to work:
- Your own space, if you can leave your car elsewhere for the day
- A visitor bay, if the management company or residents will let you reserve it
- A neighbour's space, borrowed for the morning
- The road outside, where there's legal parking within a short carry
Tell us which of these you have when you send photos. If nothing is close, we stage the load inside the flat and bring the van in only when everything is ready, so it's in the car park for as little time as possible.
Clearing a walk-up or duplex near Stillorgan? Send photos of each room, one of the stairwell and one of the car park, and tell us the floor. We'll come back with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Who books these clear-outs
Owners moving out of a duplex they've lived in for years. Families emptying a parent's flat after a death; our Sandyford bereavement clearance page explains how we work at the family's pace. Tenants at the end of a lease, and landlords getting a unit ready to re-let, which is covered on our Sandyford flat clearance page.
A short list for the week before
- Set aside or label anything you're keeping
- Check the block's shared shed or bin area for anything of yours
- Ask a neighbour to move their car if it's parked across the stairwell door
- Mention a piano, a safe or anything unusually heavy
We go through presses and drawers before they're emptied, and sweep or vacuum the floors at the end. Anything with more use in it is kept back for reuse if possible, metal and electrical items are recycled, and the leftovers go to licensed facilities, all under permit NWCPO-25-13287-01.
For flats in Dublin's converted period houses rather than purpose-built blocks, see flat clear-outs in Dublin. Our main apartment and flat clearance page covers the service everywhere, the Stillorgan house clearance page deals with family homes nearby, and the Sandyford page covers Dublin 18 as a whole.
