Get a foot on the ladder in Stocking Lane from €420,000

Stocking Lane and its environs in Rathfarnham has seen a lot of new-build activity in the last two years. Notables include the Regency Homes-built Scholarstown Wood, a selection of three-, four- and five-bedroom homes designed by O’Mahony Pike architects where three-bedroom terraced houses, 116sq m (1,250sq ft) in size in phase two, launched last February, varied in price from €470,000 to €485,000.

Nearby at Abbott’s Glen, a development by Francis Rhatigan’s Winterbrook, prices for thee-bedroom duplexes, which launched last November, started from €310,000 for a property of 102sq m (1,098sq ft).

The latest name to join in the activity is Tolmac Construction, a general contracting firm that worked on Milltown Golf Club and St Gerard’s School as well as private one-off housing. The company built Moyglass Glade, a small development of 14 three-bedroom houses in Lucan that launched in January 2016 and sold for €286,000.

It is now completing the final phase of Airpark Square, a development of 23 homes in an established estate that was built in 2006 and already comprises 82 houses and 20 apartments.

Mid-terrace

There are 13 three-bedroom mid-terrace houses, 102sq m (1,103sq ft); eight four-bedroom end-of-terrace properties, ranging in size from 131sq m (1,414sq ft) to 134sq m (1,453sq ft), and two five-bedroom semis, 170sq m (1,840sq ft). Prices for the three-beds start from €420,000 while prices for the four-beds start from €495,000 through agent DNG.

The A2-rated houses have good ceiling heights and air-to-water heat pump systems. There are two interconnecting rooms, a livingroom to the front that leads, via double doors, through to the large eat-in kitchen where the units and quartz countertops have been installed by Keane Kitchens, who also did the wardrobes. Appliances are not included in the asking prices. Neither is the under-stairs storage, but it can be installed at an additional cost of €1,049 by Smart Storage.

The houses also boast small but smart utility rooms where washer and drier can be stacked, as well as triple glazing throughout – essential given the estate’s proximity to the busiest thoroughfare in Ireland.

“It’s clear and obvious that the M50 is there,” says Dennis O’Brien, the site manager, who says he has more than 880 houses under his belt, having worked with Kingscroft for years.

Acoustic mats

He’s ensured that the loud and steady sound of traffic is dimmed down by acoustic mats applied to the motorway-facing houses to absorb the traffic hum, and any additional noise trying to sneak into the houses via the extractor fans has been silenced by a sneak diaphragm-like device installed in the ducting.

It works too – at least when the windows are shut. When you’re in the houses you can’t hear a thing.

The bedrooms are decent-sized, with the master boasting extra storage above the stairs bulkhead. The ensuite in the master bedroom has its own window and feels bright and airy.

The bathrooms throughout are nicely finished with each shower (the one in the family bathroom is set in the bath) featuring two heads, a rainwater one and a regular shower one. The showhouse has been decorated by designer Sharon Creagh.

Each house comes with two parking spaces.