House clearance in Clontarf

Three neighbourhoods, three kinds of house

Clontarf, Marino and Donnycarney sit side by side, but clearing a house in each is a different job.

Clontarf

Clontarf's older roads, running back from the seafront, are lined with Victorian and Edwardian houses: big rooms, high ceilings, long back gardens and, in some, a basement or a return. Further in there are 1930s houses and later family homes. Large period houses often take two days with a bigger crew, mainly because of the stairs and the number of rooms.

Marino

Marino was laid out in the 1920s as one of the first big public housing schemes of the new Irish state, with terraced houses set around greens. The houses are compact: small rooms, narrow stairs and a short hall. Furniture often has to come apart to get out, and the roads are narrow, so we keep loading quick.

Donnycarney

Donnycarney's homes, along and off the Malahide Road, are mostly mid-century semi-ds and terraces, often with a box room, a garden shed and an attic reached from the landing. Where there's a driveway, loading is simple.

The seafront and the side roads

The coast road through Clontarf is busy at most times of the day, so we don't load from it if there's another option. For seafront houses we use the driveway where there is one, or a side road nearby. Elsewhere in Dublin 3 it's mostly on-street parking, and where there are pay-and-display or permit rules we plan around them. Tell us about parking when you send photos, and we'll sort out the rest.

Clearing a period house for sale

When a Clontarf house is going on the market, the clearance usually has a deadline: the estate agent wants it empty for photos and viewings. We clear it top to bottom, including the attic (attic clearance), the garage (garage clear-outs) and the garden shed (shed clearance), and leave floors swept or vacuumed.

If the house needs to look its best, two extras help: carpet cleaning for carpets that are staying, and power washing for the front path, the driveway and the steps. Our guide to preparing a property for sale has more ideas.

BeforeAfter spotless.ie

Heavy furniture and awkward stairs

Older houses come with older furniture: mahogany wardrobes, sideboards, pianos, cast-iron beds. Some of it came in before the stairs or doors were changed, and it won't leave the same way without being taken apart. Let us know about anything very heavy when you send photos, so we bring enough people and the right tools.

Old doesn't always mean valuable, but if you think a piece might be, have it valued before we come. We don't value contents ourselves. Furniture in good condition is set aside for reuse where possible, and metals and appliances go for recycling.

A short checklist for executors

If you're handling a parent's or relative's estate, the clearance is one job among many. A few things are worth doing before the crew arrives:

• Agree it within the family. If there's an executor, they normally decide what happens to the contents, but it saves upset if everyone knows the date.
• Check the obvious places for papers. Wills, deeds, insurance and pension documents, old bank books. We'll hand you anything like that we find, but a first look helps.
• Talk to the insurer. Cover can change once a house is left empty, so it's worth checking the policy.
• Let family collect their pieces first, so nothing anyone wants goes by mistake.

Our guide to how bereavement clearance works covers probate and timing in more detail.

How pricing works in Dublin 3

Every quote comes down to four things: how much there is, how hard it is to get out, what needs separate disposal, and how long it will take. Send photos of every room and outbuilding, and we'll give you a fixed price before anything is booked.

There are apartment blocks around Dublin 3 too, which bring lifts and management companies into the plan; see apartment clearance. If you're clearing a parent's home, our bereavement house clearance service lets you set the pace. For a home that has become very full, we offer discreet, patient hoarder clearance. And for anywhere else in the city, see our page on house clearance across Dublin.