Based in Borris-in-Ossory, Co Laois, Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd provides its clients with the full range when it comes to construction and carpentry work. Building Ireland touched base with founder Brian Comerford to learn all about this thriving venture situated in the O’Moore County.
Business is good these days at Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd and the plan for Brian Comerford and the team in Ardvarney, Borris-in-Ossory, Portlaoise, Co Laois is to try and keep things that way.
Up and running two years now, the company has enjoyed a quick rise – even in these unprecedented times – as its books are currently full up with projects right through to 2022.
It’s very much a family venture as Brian’s wife Claire does the bookkeeping for Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd, while his brother Shane is one of two full-time staff members.
Building Ireland caught up with Brian recently to find out more about the company – from its origins to the current projects it has on-going at the moment.
“We’d go into a greenfield site, start one-off houses and do all the groundworks, carpentry, slabs, everything,” he outlined.
“We try and do everything ourselves on the project, which makes it easier for the client to just deal with us on their projects.”
Since its establishment in 2019, Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd has more or less hit the ground running with regards to growth and the projects which it has carried out for clients to date.
The work seems to keep on coming too, with another busy summer ahead for the company as the Comerford are currently on projects around Naas and Portlaoise.
It had been the vision for Brian when he set-up his carpentry and construction venture after having spent years immersed in both fields, gaining invaluable experience along the way.
“I spent most of my time after school in carpentry and from there I went working with a builder, Holland Homes in Durrow,” he explained.
“It was always an ambition of mine to work for myself and I always liked to see a job done right.
“So, while I was working away, I said ‘Why not do it for me?’ and pushed myself to set-up my own company.”
So far, the business has thrived – even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the government restrictions which have followed in order to combat the spread of the virus.
Essential works kept Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd ticking over throughout the lockdown periods and the fact that it has stayed small as a company certainly helped along the way.
Now, business couldn’t be better as restrictions continue to ease and things start to open up more and more across the country.
“We are very busy at the moment, thank God,” said Brian.
“To be honest, this past year has been crazy to try and keep things right with the restrictions and everything else and, on top of that, the price of materials has gone crazy.
“Last year, we were sort of closed down on a lot of our projects because of Covid and the lockdown and were just allowed to carry out essential work.
“We were doing farm builds, parlours and stuff like that, which was great because this area we’re in here is a big farming area and it kept us busy during the lockdowns.”
Having a diverse range when it comes to your services is certainly no harm and Brian Comerford knows it now more than ever, having stayed busy with essential work throughout the government lockdowns of the past 12 months or so.
At the moment, Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd is occupied with a couple of private house projects within the locality and has another one to come later this summer.
“Right now, we’re on a new build in Naas,” said the MD.
“We also have a new house started in Portlaoise and another job lined up for August, which is beside us, so we’re doing roughly three houses a year.”
So, what has been the secret to success so far for the company?
For Brian, he has always viewed it as imperative to share the same vision with the client when it comes to a project and knows that tidy work goes a long way in this game.
“I think a lot of it is down to our attention to detail,” he said.
“As I say, first appearance is everything so we always keep a job tidy here. I take a lot of pride in the work that we do here and have a huge passion for building.
“We try and give the client a vision of what the project is going to look like once it’s finished and I think that helps too.”
No doubt there’ll be more demand for Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd services again in 2022.
Looking towards the months ahead, the Managing Director is keen for more of the same with regards to the current rate of work they have in Ardvarney.
“The hopes are to stay as busy as we are now,” said Brian.
“Hopefully, 2022 will be better for everybody and we’ll have no more lockdowns and there’ll be a return to some sort of normality.”
Hear, hear.
Comerford Construction & Carpentry Ltd
Ardvarney,
Borris-in-Ossory,
Portlaoise,
Co Laois
Mobile: 087 414 6883
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October, Vol 7 No 10
Comerford Construction & Carpentry
