Why we built this
We were planning an extension and spent weeks digging through Boards.ie threads, Reddit posts and planning registers trying to figure out one simple question: what will this actually cost?
Every thread had different numbers. Every builder gave a different quote. The published "ranges" were so wide they were useless — anywhere from €30k to €120k for the same job. So we built the tool we wished existed.
How it works
untangle.ie analyses renovation cost evidence from public sources:
- Planning registers: declared development costs from Dublin City Council and other Irish councils.
- Forum discussions: real homeowner experiences from Reddit (r/ireland, r/irishpersonalfinance) and AskAboutMoney.
- Public cost guides: 2026 contractor rates, supplier price lists and trade-body publications.
For your project, the calculator returns:
- A typical cost — what most similar projects in Ireland actually come in at.
- A tight range — a realistic high/low band, not a worst-case spread that's useless for planning.
- A detailed breakdown — where the money actually goes (structure, services, finishes, project costs).
- Hidden costs — VAT, contingency, snagging, the things people forget to budget for.
What we're not
- Not affiliated with any contractor or developer.
- Not selling anything.
- Not a lead-generation site for builders.
- Not collecting your data to spam you.
Just a free tool to help Irish homeowners plan better. See the Privacy Policy for the full picture.
The data
All cost data comes from public sources. We anonymise everything, aggregate it, and update estimates as new data arrives. When the sample size for a given project type is small, we widen the confidence band rather than make up a tight number.
Methodology, sources, and limitations are listed on the Terms page.
Get in touch
Found an error? Have a suggestion? Want to share your real renovation costs to improve the dataset?
Use our contact page to email admin@untangle.ie. We read everything.
Built in Ireland.