Howth Head, house by house
Howth is really two places. Down at the harbour there's the old fishing village: terraces and cottages on steep, narrow streets around Main Street and the harbour front, with the DART terminus at the bottom. Above it, Howth Head rises to the Summit, and the houses get bigger and further apart, with detached homes along Thormanby Road and Carrickbrack Road, houses set into the slope with gardens stepping down below them, and some reached only by a private lane or a flight of steps.
No two of those houses clear in quite the same way. The question that decides the plan is almost always how we get from the front door to the van.
Steps, slopes and long carries
Some houses on the Head sit above the road at the top of a steep drive; others sit below it, down a run of steps. Either way, everything we take has to be carried, and that changes how we organise the day:
- A bigger crew. For a long carry, more people means shorter relays and less strain on anyone.
- Furniture taken apart indoors. Wardrobes, beds and sideboards leave in pieces small enough to carry safely on steps.
- Bags kept to a sensible weight. Easier on the steps, and no split bag halfway down the garden.
- The right van. Where a Luton can't get close or turn, our smaller van shuttles loads to it.
All of that is worked into the price from the start, so a hard carry never becomes a surprise on the day. If you can, send one photo from the road looking towards the house and one from the front door looking back.
Some houses share a private lane or a drive with neighbours. In that case we agree with you beforehand where the van will stand, so nobody's car is blocked in, and we keep the lane clear between loads. Paths, steps and gateposts get the same care as the inside of the house: we carry rather than drag, and nothing heavy is rolled down steps.
spotless.ie
In the village
Clearing a house near the harbour is less about distance and more about space. The streets are narrow and steep, there's little room to stop, and when the weather is good the village fills with visitors. We bring everything down and stage it inside before the van pulls up, load quickly and move on. Older village houses also tend to have tight stairs and small rooms, so big furniture usually comes apart before it moves. A weekday morning is the easiest time to work here.
Gardens, garages and outbuildings
Houses on the Head often have as much outside as in: terraced gardens, sheds tucked into the slope, greenhouses, garden furniture and years of cuttings. We clear all of it as part of the house, or on its own. A rotten shed can be emptied and taken down (shed clearance), a garage under the house cleared to the floor (garage clear-outs), and a big roof space emptied through the hatch (attic clearance).
Clearing a house on Howth Head? Send photos of each room and the outside, plus the steps or drive, on WhatsApp. We'll work out the crew and give you one fixed price.
Family homes and estates
Many Howth homes have been in the same family for a long time, and a clearance often follows a death, or a move somewhere easier to manage than a house on a hill. We go at your pace, set aside anything personal and leave closed any room you're not ready for; bereavement house clearance explains how. If the house is being prepared for sale or for probate, our Howth property clear-out page covers that side in detail. A home that has become very full can be cleared gently and in stages through hoarder clearance, and apartments near the harbour come under apartment clearance.
Bigger houses on the Head often hold a lot of good furniture, pictures and books. We don't value contents, so if you think something could be worth selling, have it looked at before the clearance date. Whatever is left in decent condition is set aside for reuse where possible rather than going to waste.
How the price is set, and where things go
We price from photos, taking in the volume, the carry, the number of people needed and anything that needs special disposal. You get one fixed figure before booking, usually the same day. What leaves is sorted, with reusable pieces set aside, metals and appliances recycled and the remainder taken to licensed facilities under our waste collection permit, NWCPO-25-13287-01. On steep ground in particular, it matters that we're fully insured on every job.
Close by, see Sutton and Bayside. For the rest of the county, there's house clearance in Dublin, and our house clearance page sets out what every clearance includes.
