Searching for a home to buy off plans can rapidly become a depressing experience. Being presented with diagram after diagram of unimaginatively designed boxy little houses can be enough to quash anybody’s dream of a new start in a new home, particularly with the accompanying “no changes allowed” mantra. Don’t like magnolia walls? No changes allowed. Prefer a second bathroom to a fourth bedroom? No changes allowed.

The few who succeed in buying one of Griffner Coillte’s new houses are likely to have no such difficulties. In fact, this developer seems to encourage changes by buyers, in order to show off what it can do with its factory-built, timber-framed houses. You want a balcony on this side rather than that side? Not a problem. Prefer to have your kitchen elsewhere? Not a problem.

Founded in 2002, the company makes modular buildings largely from wood and is a joint venture between Coillte, the state forestry board, and GriffnerHaus, a leading Austrian house manufacturer. Placing “great importance on aesthetics, ecology and design”, Griffner Coillte established a manufacturing facility in Mullingar last year and is beginning to scale up its operations. New to the market are seven of its houses in Co Wexford, five of which are in Kilgobbin, three miles from Enniscorthy, and two in Duncannon, close to the beach. Two of the Kilgobbin houses and one of the Duncannon houses have already been sold.

Adrian Haythornthwaite, of selling agents Sherry FitzGerald Haythornthwaite, believes the construction methods used by Griffner Coillte represent a move away from the traditional house-building habits in Ireland.

“Today it is lashing rain in Wexford,” he says. “Somewhere in the county a poor devil is standing on a roof and holding on with one hand while trying to fix a beam in with the other. Think about it. He could be sitting in the Griffner Coillte factory watching a computer cut the wood and fit the roof together. All he would have to do is press a button.”

Some Griffner Coillte houses can be built in the factory within a week, assembled on-site in another fortnight and finished in another month to six weeks. Haythornthwaite says, however, that at the moment buyers would probably wait the same amount of time for one of these houses as they would for a traditionally built house. “What you will have is no delays,” he adds. “If they say it will be ready on May 29, it will be ready on May 29.”

Although the speed of construction is currently not much of a selling point, the flexibility offered by these properties certainly is, as each house is custom-built for the buyer. “These houses are the way of the future,” says Haythornthwaite. “They also offer complete flexibility in the way that you live. For example, I was selling one to a man who realised that it had a balcony. He had small children and didn’t want the balcony so Griffner Coillte extended the floor over it in such a way that it could be removed at some point in the future.”

Another big plus is that the energy consumption of the house is close to half that of a traditionally built home, thanks to the heavy use of exposed timber, a good number of floor-to-ceiling glass windows with low-emission glazing and efficient insulation and heating systems. In another nod to eco-friendly living, only solvent-free natural wood stains are used inside the house. The building materials also improve soundproofing.

The houses have prefabricated timber-frame walls which are clad externally in timber and/or render. Buyers can choose from a wide range of solid or semi-solid hardwoods for the internal floors, although kitchens, halls and bathrooms can be tiled. Plumbing, heating and wiring are all pre-installed.

Downstairs, the homes are largely open-plan, with the living room, sun room, dining area and kitchen all leading into one another. This floor also has a separate hall, toilet and office. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms and a bathroom. In the larger houses, two of the bedrooms are en-suite.

Kitchens are not fitted as standard, but buyers have an allowance for both fitted units and appliances, including electric hob, oven, dishwasher, refrigerator/freezer, extraction vent, washing machine and tumble dryer. There is also an allowance for fitted units in the utility room. Buyers can also decide to go for a number of optional extras, including a balcony. As with all new homes, the houses are covered by a 10-year structural guarantee.

The three remaining Kilgobbin houses are priced from €450,000 to €550,000, depending on size, which can be either 2,000 sq ft or 2,800 sq ft, and the size of the site, which varies between 1ݗ acres and just under 3 acres. The Duncannon house is 2,600 sq ft, stands on six acres and is on the market for €490,000.

Buyers tempted by the thought of a customised eco-friendly property on a generous site might think that these houses are a bargain, but compared with other new homes of a similar size in Co Wexford, the Griffner Coillte properties are about €100,000 more expensive.

Haythornthwaite says it is worth paying. “For that premium, you are getting flexibility, a building that is warmer and more modern, and one that is designed totally for you. In Kilgobbin, you can get a state-of-the art modern home with tremendous mature trees and you are only five minutes from town.”

Over time, the agent believes many more such houses will be built in Ireland. “Coillte has 1.25m acres of land under wood in this country,” he says. “There is plenty of room for these houses to be put in other places.” Essentially, Griffner Coillte is using these houses to show off what it can do, but in the future, buyers who don’t need over 2,000 sq ft should be able to order a smaller property.

Griffner Coillte, www.coillte.ie; Sherry FitzGerald Haythornthwaite, 053 46046, www.sherryfitz.ie

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