Attention to detail is the hallmark of Foley Construction, an industry-leading family-run building contractor with an impressive portfolio of bespoke new homes dotted across the County Waterford countryside. Building Ireland headed south to Kilmacthomas and sat down briefly with eponymous founder Charlie Foley to find out more.
The highest quality permeates every project delivered by Foley Construction, who boast an enviable track record in consistently transforming their clients’ visions – even the most ambitions ones! – into reality.
Hands-on proprietor Charlie Foley derives immense pride and satisfaction from creating immaculate, breath-taking living spaces through meticulous, expert workmanship and this is why Foley Construction has become the go-to contractor in Waterford for exquisite bespoke, one-off residential new builds.
Very much the traditional builder who spends most of his hours onsite, Charlie, who has been in construction all his working life, honed his skills and appetite for general building while working as a roofing contractor. “I started off as a roofing contractor and went into building contracting in 2016,” he reveals, reflecting on the genesis of Foley Construction.
“I was a sole trader up to then and the general contracting is going very well. Working as a roofing contactor gave me a solid foundation and we’ve been very lucky to have had the opportunity to work on some fantastic projects for great local people.”
What Charlie omits to mention is that one of the houses built by Foley Construction for a regular client gained national recognition when featuring on RTE’s Home of the Year 2024. This project showcased not only their exacting construction craftsmanship but also their commitment to realising clients’ visions, as the homeowners successfully reached the competition final.
While the focus these days is very much on the top-to-bottom construction from scratch of turnkey dream homes, Foley Construction also enjoys a stellar reputation for groundworks and remodelling / renovation projects, and Charlie invests the same attention to detail into every project large or small, with absolute client satisfaction the non-negotiable end goal each time.
In the residential construction sector, Charlie and his team offer full-service solutions, from initial design to final construction, ensuring every project reflects the unique vision and needs of clients. The team is dedicated to delivering high-quality, durable and energy-efficient homes that provide comfort and long-lasting value.
With an unswerving commitment to invariably reaching the very highest building standards, Foley Construction helps homeowners create the perfect sanctuary for their families.
“We get all of our work through word of mouth or repeat business,” says Charlie. “I’ve never done any advertising, apart from the website, which only went up last year.
“The beauty of it is that all our projects tend to be in the country, without any need to go into towns or the city. There’s no traffic around and it’s hard to beat the peace and quiet of working in the country.”
Generally, the work tends to be close to home and within the Waterford county boundaries, which keeps downtime to a minimum and allows for more quality time spent where it counts – onsite!
At the time of writing, Charlie was at various stages of five different new build projects. “We’re just finishing up two homes at the moment – one in the Dungarvan area and one in Bunmahon,” he told Building Ireland. “I’ve just started another project very locally and have another one due to start in Carrick-on-Suir. We’ll also be starting another one in the Leamybrien area in the very near future.”
While Charlie’s vision, ethos and work ethic are very much the driving forces behind Foley Construction, he points out that he would be nothing without the priceless input of his wife Linda, his team of direct employees and subcontractors, and also his clients, with whom he forges strong and lasting relationships:
“I keep a small crew of four or five with me all the time and the rest are subcontractors. I’ve had the same lads with me for a long time now and they are the backbone of the business. They know what I expect and they are great lads. You’re nothing without your staff. As well as my own men, I’d also use the same subbies time and time again. They play a huge role, too, and never let me down.
“Linda is a great help, too. She does all the paperwork for me and it simply wouldn’t be possible without her help.”
Any sign of the next generation coming along to take the reins? “Our young son, Oisin, is only five, but he is showing an interest already and he’s a good lad to work so we’ll see how it goes!”
Although Foley Construction is being kept busy with a nice steady stream of projects, Charlie has noticed an inevitable slowdown in the amount of people building houses, on the back of spiralling costs of materials – a situation that is frankly unsustainable for the industry going forward:
“We’re going well but it’s definitely not as busy as it was a few years ago,” the Waterford builder states. “Prices are catching up with people and that was always going to happen. The cost of building a new house today is very high.
“I can’t see how this can continue … the cost of labour hasn’t changed too much but materials have to come down.”
Nevertheless, industry volatility aside, as the tenth anniversary of Foley Construction approaches, the company has earned a wonderful reputation through exceptional workmanship and it’s very much a case of onwards and upwards…
“I’ll stick to the one-off builds. For better or for worse, I do tend to get a lot of bespoke builds and that’s become our speciality,” Charlie concludes. “We’ll keep doing what we are doing and maintain those high standards we’ve built our reputation on. We do very tidy work and attention to detail is everything in construction – that’s how you get a quality finish, which in turn leads to more work…”
Foley Construction,
Kilmacthomas,
County Waterford.
Tel: 087 2203952
Email: [email protected]
Web: foleyconstruction.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, January 2026, Vol 12 No 1
