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Ballinteer's estates, fifty years on
Most of Ballinteer was built in the 1970s, as estates of semi-detached houses between Dundrum and Rathfarnham, with Marlay Park on one side and, later, the M50 along the other. The families who bought them raised their children there, and plenty of the houses still belong to them. Those children now have homes of their own, but a good share of their things never left.
That's why Ballinteer clearances so often come down to the same two places, the attic and the garage, and why they so often happen when someone is getting ready to downsize.
The attic: what to tell us
An attic is the one part of the house we can't judge properly from a phone photo, so a few details help us price it accurately:
| Tell us | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| How you get up there | A folding ladder, a fixed stairs or just a hatch changes the time |
| How much is boarded | We stand and stack only on boards, never on the insulation |
| Roughly what's up there | Boxes and bags are quick; old furniture and cases take longer |
| Whether it was converted | A converted attic room is cleared like a bedroom |
| Water tanks or pipework in the way | So we know where we can't set things down |
If you can, take photos from the top of the ladder in each direction. Our attic clearance page and the attic clearance guide explain how we work up there.
The garage, door to back wall
Ballinteer garages fill from the back forward: the oldest things against the far wall, the newest just inside the door. Expect paint and DIY leftovers, a chest freezer or spare fridge, bikes, camping gear and furniture that moved out of the house at the last redecoration. Fridges and freezers go for appliance recycling; tins of paint and garden chemicals take a separate route, so point them out. Shelving and benches can come down too. See garage clear-outs.
Getting ready to downsize in Ballinteer? Send photos of the rooms, the attic from the top of the ladder and the garage with the door open. We'll come back with a fixed price on WhatsApp.
Your children's things, and a deadline
In a lot of Ballinteer houses, the hardest part of the attic isn't the lifting. It's that half of what's up there belongs to grown-up sons and daughters: school reports, sports trophies, college notes, a box of toys kept for grandchildren. Parents don't want to throw it out without asking, and the children never quite get round to collecting it.
A deadline solves it. Tell everyone the date the attic is being cleared, share photos with anyone abroad, and ask them to say what they want kept. On the day, we bring everything down, set aside the claimed boxes, and clear the rest. Nobody has to make the decision for anybody else.
Downsizing from a Ballinteer semi
When the move is to an apartment or a smaller house nearby, the attic and garage are best done first, weeks ahead. The removal company then only quotes for what's actually going, and the final clearance after the move is smaller.
Furniture is usually the sticking point. A 1970s house was furnished for a family of five; an apartment has room for a sofa, a table and a bed. Pieces that won't fit but still have years in them, like a solid dining table, a good wardrobe or a nest of tables, are set aside for reuse where possible, so letting them go feels less like throwing them out. Anything the family wants is collected before we arrive.
If you're moving into a managed block, our apartment clearance page covers lifts and management companies. If the house is being cleared after a death, the family sets the pace; see bereavement house clearance. For a home that has become very cluttered, see hoarder clearance.
Marlay side or M50 side
Access is easy in most of Ballinteer: estate roads, front drives and a short carry. Houses on corners or in cul-de-sacs sometimes share parking, so let us know if a neighbour's car will need to move. A side passage helps with the shed and the garden; without one, everything comes through the house with the floors covered. See shed clearance for the end of the garden.
Price and paperwork
The quote is a single figure, worked out from your photos and agreed before we pencil in a date. Three things move it: how much there is, how far it has to be carried, and whether there are items like fridges, mattresses or electricals with their own disposal route. Nothing gets added on the day.
Every Ballinteer job is fully insured, and Spotless holds waste collection permit NWCPO-25-13287-01 as an authorised waste carrier. What can be used again is kept back, scrap metal and appliances are sent on for recycling, and the remainder ends up at licensed sites. If the carpets are staying for the sale, we can clean them once the rooms are clear. For how a full clearance runs from start to finish, see house clearance or our Dublin house clearance page.
