How can I design my home so it uses water more efficiently?

Q I'm about to commence building my first home. While I don't necessarily agree with the water charges, I do believe as a country we need to make a more concerted effort to conserve water. In this context is there any particular way I should build or design my home so that it uses water more efficiently.

AThere are many ways to implement water conservation measures in both a new or existing home. It is considerably more cost-effective to install certain measures such as rainwater harvesting during the build process rather than at the post construction stage. While there is not space within this answer to explain all water conservation measures, I can provide you with a brief overview of some of the terminology and ways that water can be conserved through a number of different devices and installations.

Tap aerators are of most use to those taps in the home that run on average around 15 litres of water per minute. Adding an aerator to a tap of this type can reduce the flow rate to as little as six litres per minute. Check that new taps or shower heads are fitted with aerators when you buy them for the house.

Grey water is the generic term given to waste water from showers, baths, washing machines and wash-hand basins in your home. Properly treated and stored, this water can be recycled and reused for flushing toilets and landscape irrigation.

Alternatively, rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse, rather than allowing it to runoff into the storm water drains or soakaways. A dedicated tank will be installed for rainwater storage in the roof void/attic space, and this is connected to the various toilets in the house, which should have dual-control cisterns (if rainwater harvesting is not to be installed). This tank would normally be in addition to the primary cold water storage tank also located in the roof void, which supplies water to your wash hand basins, bath and showers.

Whoever you intend to use to design your home – be it a chartered building surveyor, a registered architect or chartered engineer – you should ask them to incorporate water-conserving devices/systems within the specification, most of which will come at little or no additional cost when incorporated as part of the initial build, providing immediate cost savings once the house is occupied. See water.ie for more tips.

Oliver Held, MSCSI, MRICS, is a chartered building surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland’s building surveying professional group.

Renovation scheme

Q In 2012 I bought a house that had been derelict and uninhibited for the previous 20 years. Having discovered that it was a listed building, I secured planning permission and commenced renovating the house in 2013. For this purpose I appointed a single contractor to do the bulk of the work, apart from finishing out work such as painting, installing wardrobes, etc.

I had planned to claim the home-renovation tax incentive against some of the works done to the house, but on reading the terms of the scheme I found that they specify that the "complete renovation of an uninhabitable house" does not qualify for the relief.

Can you clarify what this means in my case? I understand it means that my payments to the main contractor who renovated my house don’t qualify. However, after he completed his work in early 2014, I spent considerable sums on painting, landscaping the garden, installing built-in wardrobes and fitting the kitchen. I paid for the latter services myself directly and did not secure them via my contractor. Do these works qualify for the home-renovation tax incentive?

A Renovation of an uninhabitable house is not covered under the Home Renovation Incentive Scheme (HRI) scheme and therefore you will not be able to claim under the scheme for the renovation works completed in 2013.

The works undertaken in 2014 would be eligible under the scheme provided that you were living in the building, the works were undertaken by HRI-registered contractors and the total value of the works exceeded the minimum value of €4,405 (excluding VAT).

Homeowners should note that if multiple works are being undertaken – for example, tiling, plastering, painting and decoration, and landscaping – then the total value could exceed the minimum spend threshold and therefore the works will be eligible under the scheme.

The HRI scheme will only cover for works that attract a 13.5 per cent VAT rate, ie painting and decorating, tiling, fitting kitchens, landscaping, bathroom upgrades and more (refer to Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland HRI guide for full list of qualifying works).

Therefore, if you supplied materials directly for some of the works (eg paint), then they would not be eligible under the scheme, as these would attract a 23 per cent VAT rate. In addition the works need to be completed by a tax-compliant contractor.

For homeowners who are eligible under the HRI scheme, the process for selecting and applying for the scheme is as follows:

1. Seek a number of quotes from HRI- registered building contractors

2. Select a contractor for the works and obtain a final quote for the works

3. Request a copy of the building contractor’s tax clearance certificate, ensure that it is in date and retain for safe keeping

4. Obtain a copy of contractor’s insurance and retain on file

5. Obtain a letter from the building contractor regarding the programme for works (including start and completion dates)

6. Give the building contractor your property identification number, which can be found on the local property tax letter.

7. Request the building contractor to upload your details and the works details onto the Revenue’s HRI online system.

8. Retain all payment receipts and invoices from the building contractor

9. Ensure that the payments have been made and are being uploaded and notified to Revenue by the building contractor.

More information on the HRI scheme can be found on the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland website www.scsi.ie or the Revenue website revenue.ie. Kevin Brady is a chartered quantity surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland’s quantity surveying professional group.

Send your queries to propertyquestions@irishtimes.com or to Property Clinic, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2. This column is a readers’ service. Advice given is general and individual advice should always be sought