Based in Thomondgate, Limerick. Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. are experts in domestic development, specialising in residential new builds, conversions and renovations; delivering high quality workmanship in each of its projects.
Building Ireland spoke with the company’s founder and owner Kenneth T. Griffin to discuss the challenges and opportunities with regard to housing development in and around Limerick City.
By taking a client-centric, detail-orientated approach to project delivery, and a can-do attitude Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. delivers positive outcomes for customers, so much so that he currently has project contracts running through the end of 2021 into 2022. However, ever-ambitious, Kenneth is quick to say that he is always open to new business and project opportunities.
Established in 2015, the company has enjoyed a rapid and steady rise, offering its client’s services in extensions, renovations and attic conversions, spanning the full building spectrum, ranging from humble bathroom conversions to more ambitious grand design projects such as retrofitting a BER G detached 1973 house to modern Passiv Haus standards, which included jacking and floating the entire second-story of the house in mid-air temporarily while structural work was carried out to the ground floor.
At Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd., they are passionate about building safely and cost-effectively, and are not afraid to engage with new technologies such as crystic fibreglass roofs, external wrap-around insulation, liquid floated floors, heat recovery systems, electrically heated air systems, and heat pumps in addition to the more traditional construction trades. While Kenneth is a mains trade contractor and project manager in order to deliver additional services he has established a trusted network nationally with experts and fitters in the Passive House design, thermal bridging and architectural detailing arena, which he can call upon if required. In this way he keeps costs down for the client, in that they pay for a mains trade contractor, but can be confident there is a back-room network that can be called upon if and only when required.
Building Ireland met with Kenneth to discuss the projects and technologies he is excited about at present and to learn about the history of the company from its origins to its current iteration.
“We’re in operation six years now and have three-full time employees plus several teams of subcontractors,” Kenneth outlined.
“If someone contacts me, I’ll meet them, scope the work and design and price accordingly. Given the accumulated knowledge I have from previous works I often find that I can show a client details from a previous project in my portfolio and we can work from there. If the client wants something different or if I feel the project warrants it, I will recommend hiring an architect or other designer as required. I find this approach satisfies most clients and keeps unnecessary costs down, giving clients better value within their budget.
“We offer a design, build, and deliver package for clients. We can manage and carry out the project in its entirety delivering a turnkey project or for customers who want to be more involved we can work with clients and accommodate novated subcontractors as selected by the client eg. specialist window companies or heating system installers etc., giving the client the best advice on industry standards and technologies.”
Certified, registered and fully insured, Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. treats your home as if it were their own. In Kenneth’s own words “Limerick City is a small area, word of mouth spreads fast, I am from the area, as are my staff and subcontractors; we are in effect carrying out work for our friends and neighbours and all we have is our reputation. We are always looking for the next contract, and the best way to do that is to leave the previous customer happy. If we are beaten on price for a contract I always advise the client to go visit previous clients and projects of our competitors. Experience has taught me that the cheapest price can sometimes be the most expensive in the long run. At Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. we don’t aim to be the cheapest, we leave that for other contractors; we aim to provide excellent value. To have what you want, the way you want it, at an affordable price, stress free, is infinitely better than paying for something you don’t want, the way you don’t want it, at a cheaper price.”
It’s this approach and ethic which has helped boost the company’s growth in the short space of just six years.
Today, the company is building a reputation for its work around Limerick and environs, but this is not Kenneth’s first business, he is a qualified stonemason who ran a successful blocklaying business with a staff of six blocklayers up until the worldwide recession in 2008.
“I initially managed my own company block-laying very successfully,” he recalled. “I set up my own stonemason company in 2001 and was involved in large operations during the boom, however around 2008 when the construction industry went into recession, block-laying work dried up and I had to diversify to keep the company going and find employment for my staff. I identified a gap in the market, noticing that while people no-longer had large amounts of money for large value spends such as new houses, they did have smaller amounts of money for renovation projects. It was then I began to specialise in house renovations, on the basis if you can’t afford a new or bigger house, a more cost effective solution is to renovate or extend your existing house.
“Following decades working in the construction industry I had experience in the wider construction trades outside of stone masonry, and additionally growing up my father was a carpenter and my brother’s is an electrician, so I had a very good grounding in other main trades from an early age.
“I did an extension to my own house in 2009 and accumulated more knowledge through successive projects. You could say I made all my mistakes on my own house, so I didn’t have to on client’s houses. Over time as I left satisfied customers throughout Limerick, my company became sought after. I believe in establishing trust with my customers and delivering the project as agreed without quibble. I believe in a collaborative approach to project delivery, that by working with clients instead of against them, we can deliver projects in a stress free manner.”
It’s that approach which has helped Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. grow into the thriving business it is today. Although business is now booming, I asked Kenneth how Covid-19 had affected his company.
“In 2020, we had to shut down our contracts with private individuals for four months (due to the Covid-19 pandemic) and it was one of the hardest things for us to do as we felt we were letting our customers down. Thankfully however we are up to speed again with these contracts and are glad to say all commitments have been fulfilled.
“We were not hit as badly this year as some of the other contractors in the area, as we are an approved public works contractor and have had projects under various grant schemes such as mobility grant scheme, grants for the elderly for home conversion etc. through Limerick City and County Council which were deemed essential work, and could be carried out with appropriate Covid safety precautions in place. So, essentially we have been very busy during lockdown.”
The projects keep coming for the company, with plenty of work lined up for the Summer and months afterwards leading into 2022.
Kenneth says the company’s exposure through its social media pages over the last couple of years has been instrumental in building his client base.
“We focus on social media here. I do a lot of videos of the projects that we work on, showing before, during and after construction and put them up on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram,” he said. “The best indicator of future performance is past performance; I find that once people can see what we are capable of, the concept of how we can engage with clients to build their future sells itself.
“I’d say around 50% of my work comes through traction from our social media pages and the other 50% comes from referrals.”
As for projects at the moment; Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd. is immersed in a number around Limerick with plenty more on the way.
“We are currently working on a 105-square metre extension on a bungalow on the Ballysimon Road and we also have a two-bed granny flat on-going on the North Circular Road,” Kenneth said.
“We’re working with engineers and architects on a number of jobs. We’re finding one of the biggest concerns of clients at present is energy efficiency and how can we reduce the maintenance and running cost of properties throughout their lifetime. We are currently working with experts on airtightness and thermal bridging to develop simple details we can replicate on projects going forward. Recently, we carried out works to a number of premises which involved pumping cavities with 100mm of Kingspan Platinum Bead, wrapping the exterior envelope of the property with 200mm of exterior insulation, and incorporating thermal bridge details at all exterior windows and doors. This may seem an extreme measure but it resulted in the buildings incurring minimal heating costs for five months of the Winter months and zero heating costs for 7 months of the Summer months, benefiting from solar gain heating. These robust measures more than pay for themselves over the lifetime of the building in terms of consistent comfort level, reduced maintenance and heating costs.
“At the moment, we have nine extension jobs and two houses renovations on our upcoming works schedule. Some jobs will be more complex than others, we cater to the clients wishes and budget.”
So, what has been the secret to success so far for Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd.?
How has a small start-up grown into a thriving construction firm with a reputation for carrying out excellent projects in the short space of six years?
According to its owner and founder, taking care of the customer first and producing quality work goes a long way in this line of work.
“I treat all of my customers the same and I’m very fair to people,” Kenneth pointed out.
“At the end of the day, I believe our success is due to the high quality of our product. We only have one way of doing things: the right way, we only have one standard method of operation, we don’t offer a sliding scale of quality related to cost, we price fairly and won’t compromise on quality. On many occasions where we have been slightly beaten on price in winning tenders, clients have later come to us to put right corners cut by contractors who have priced jobs too low and aren’t able to deliver on the client brief.”
At Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd., quality isn’t expensive, it’s priceless.
Looking towards the coming months, the team at 35 Crossroads, Thomondgate, Co. Limerick will be keen to continue providing quality for clients and satisfying market demands.
“We just want to keep doing what we’re doing here at the moment,” said Kenneth.
“Good trades people are very hard to get. It has taken me a number of years to build up my network of subcontractors and technical support, but now that I have a good team in place, I just want to move forward with the next project and the one after that, providing a service I can be proud of, leaving a legacy of satisfied customers.
“The focus for us is to grow and hopefully 40 years down the line I’ll still be doing this, if I’m still here!”
Kenneth T. Griffin Construction Ltd.
35 Crossroads,
Tnomondgate,
Co Limerick.
Mobile: 085 815 1317
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, August, Vol 7 No 8
Kenneth T. Griffin Construction
