Delivering luxury building solutions across an array of projects, from high-performance, contemporary new homes to bespoke extensions or the painstaking restoration of historic buildings, Toorak Construction has earned a stellar reputation industry-wide as one of Cork’s premier contracting firms. We spoke to founder / proprietor Kieran O’Donovan about the professional and personalised services provided.
Toorak Construction is a modern home building company offering a unique and personalised approach to delivering quality residential and commercial construction projects. Having spent several years subcontracting, Kieran O’Donovan formed Toorak Construction in 2016 to offer a more professional, personal and client-focused service.
At Toorak, an experienced and highly-skilled team of construction professionals is on hand to invariably deliver projects – be it contemporary new builds, value-added extensions, conservation restorations or commercial works – that exceed client expectations, covering all aspects of the building process from foundation to finish.
A personal touch is evident in everything Toorak Construction does and this methodology has been instrumental in the success of the company to date. “I take a very personal approach and am heavily involved in every project we undertake,” the Cork contractor confirms. “We have an excellent team of foremen who capably manage the day-to-day on-site activities. This enables me to act as the client interface and liaise directly with them to ensure they are satisfied the project will meet their expectations.
“In the early phases of every project, I meet our clients personally to ensure their requirements and objectives are fully understood and communicated to the Toorak team. This approach sets us up for success from the outset. Their needs and expectations are central to everything we do. Ultimately, our goal is to realise their vision and ensure they are satisfied with the end-product
“I have extensive industry experience and offer all clients professional advice and design suggestions. However, I like to empower them to take responsibility for their own design and contribute their own personal ideas whenever they can.
“Once we are aligned on the project goals with our customers, we always deliver as per the plan. We are a customer-focused company and pride ourselves on the excellent customer-relations track record we have developed since 2016.”
Transparency is another area where Kieran excels: “I think it is important to adopt a transparent approach when it comes to pricing. We invest significant time and resources at the front-end of our projects to ensure our estimates are as accurate as possible, in the current uncertain economic climate.
“Once the overall project cost estimate has been validated by our Quantity Surveyor, I sit down with the client to discuss the estimate in detail and identify potential opportunities to optimise the design and value engineer some savings for the client. I like to take new clients to view previously completed projects. It helps them visualise their own finished-home and they immediately get an appreciation for the excellent workmanship and quality that are synonymous with Toorak.
“We have excellent working partnerships with Cork-based Engineering and Architecture firms. Our partners share our passion for a customer-focused approach and our values are aligned in terms of delivering a high-quality finish for the best possible price. We keep our clients informed on the progress of their project through weekly, biweekly or monthly meetings. As the job progresses, I encourage the client to come on site regularly to see the tangible progress that has been made. The site visits afford the client the opportunity to see the evolution of their project first-hand whilst also allowing them to make minor amendments to the design that may have been difficult to visualise during the early design phase.”
Prior to the establishment of Toorak Construction six years ago, Kieran worked as a carpentry subcontractor, trading as Toorak Carpentry from 2005 and providing unrivalled services to main contractors all over Cork. He worked in Australia between 2002 and 2004, where he amassed invaluable experience serving as foreman on the construction of high-end, contemporary homes in Sydney.
At the time of writing, Toorak Construction was engaged on a major extension / renovation project on a contemporary home in Glandore, West Cork, while Kieran and his team have just completed the magnificent restoration of a pair of 4,000 sq ft Georgian homes in Kinsale, both of which were completely stripped down and fitted out anew, one with fully restored windows and one with brand new windows.
“Two years ago, we finished the restoration of another old house in Kinsale, which we completely gutted out, stripped it back to the four bare walls and fitted it out again from scratch,” he notes. “In Douglas, we finished two lovely new build homes in January and May of this year, one approximately 3,000 sq ft and one 4,000 sq ft. At the moment, we are engaged in the development of six units in Moneygourney for a repeat client.
“We have an agile team and we’re comfortable taking on anything from small scale renovation projects of €100,000 to €150,000 up to larger €7-, €8- or €9-million projects. We broadened our horizons four or five years ago by taking on a large-scale conservation project, which was a new departure for Toorak at the time. We managed a number of specialist subcontractors and brought the project to a successful conclusion. That has led to a raft of new enquiries from architects overseeing similar jobs and it underlines our flexibility and adaptability as a company.
“We’re pricing two more conservation jobs at the moment. The restoration projects bring some unique challenges and uncertainty when working on properties that are over 200 years old. While our primary line of business is contemporary new builds, there is great satisfaction in successfully completing a restoration of an antiquated home.”
To ensure that optimal workmanship is delivered to the highest standards every time, Kieran has surrounded himself with a brilliant team. “We have 21 direct employees, including our own in-house carpenters, and we use the same electricians, plumbers and plasterers all the time. We enlist the services of an additional carpenters for maybe 40 weeks of the year to assist the core team through particularly busy periods.
“We have great tradesmen working here and that really is key to the success of the company. I have carpenters of a quality that you won’t get anywhere else, one of whom is with me 14 years. We’ve built up a strong team and the electricians, plumbers and other subcontractors we work with know the high standards we want and expect on every project.”
Toorak Construction also boasts a proven track record in delivering commercial projects, having recently carried out roof repairs on a local school and fitted a new lift in the convent in Bandon. Indeed, this is an area in which Kieran sees scope for expansion.
“I think there could be a slowdown coming in residential new builds,” he concludes. “We would usually have between 10 and 15 projects on at any given time. I love residential work and that will continue to be our primary focus going forward. However, we are also looking for opportunities to diversify with more commercial projects. We like to maintain some variety within our portfolio of projects.
“The company has progressed and developed well over the last six years against a backdrop of economic prosperity. We have built a team that has the necessary in-house skillset to undertake a wide-ranging array of projects. We look forward to what the future holds for Toorak Construction with optimism.”
Toorak Construction,
Gortnaclogh,
Ballinhassig,
County Cork.
Tel: 021 2455415
Mobile: 086 0502351
Email: [email protected]
Web: toorak.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, December 2022, Vol 8 No 12
