Over the past eight years and counting, L.M. Costello Construction has established itself as one of Ireland’s premier homebuilders. Specialising in ICF and carpentry, proprietor Larry Costello and his trusty team of meticulous tradesmen invariably deliver high-performance, rapid-build homes with the most exacting precision and attention to detail.
Since its inception in 2015, L.M. Costello Construction has professionally and promptly delivered an exceptional portfolio of energy-efficient, bespoke, new-build homes from coast to coast and across a large swathe of the midlands.
Embracing modern methods of construction and specialising in an insulated raft / ICF walls / roof waterproof shell package, L.M. Costello Construction also offers clients a Project Management option on the completion of the house or a full turnkey package from start to finish. Whatever the client wants. The County Laois based contractor has the capacity, manpower and experience to always achieve complete customer satisfaction.
By invariably providing a product and service of exceptional, industry-leading standards, word has spread to the point where L.M. Costello Construction’s reputation for excellence now precedes them and hands-on founder / proprietor Larry Costello – who takes an active interest in every project from inception through to completion – has never been busier. He believes that ICF is the future of construction:
“I’d say 95 per cent of the houses we build are ICF now. That’s our speciality -, ICF and insulated rafts. I’ve got out of traditional builds almost completely at this stage and might only do one of those a year. ICF is fantastic and I can’t see it ever going back to the way it was. I’m living in my second ICF build myself at the moment and I definitely wouldn’t go back to living in a traditional build.
“The performance of the house is second to none – you can’t beat it for heating and running costs. From the building and contracting perspective, programming the job is so easy with this system. There are no weather-related interruptions to the schedule. You can still get all the work done in rain or in the middle of winter, whereas with block-laying you can be held up for weeks due to bad weather. For me, ICF is the only way to go – for speed and performance, this system delivers outstanding results.”
Reflecting on the genesis of L.M. Costello Construction, Larry reveals: “I’ve been trading for eight years in Ireland since returning from the UK. I set the business up as a limited company three years ago and operated as a sole trader prior to that. Things are going very well and we are covering between 25 to 30 houses per year at the moment.
“The main package I offer is a shell of insulated rafts, ICF walls and the roof, which is provided using all my own direct labour. There’s a great draw for that package and once the envelop is ready we can recommend subbies to go in and finish the house off – the same electricians, plumbers, plasterers, etc. that I’d use on our own turnkey package, only I let the clients deal directly with them. My subbies will always go because they are getting 25 houses a year out of it and it pays them to make themselves available.
“We do a handful of turnkey houses every year as well because some clients just prefer the whole thing finished, and we’re always happy to provide that service. The third package we offer is a Project Manager on top, where we do the shell and then provide a Project Manager to oversee the rest.”
Irrespective of which package he provides, nine times out of ten L.M. Costello Construction will remain involved in some capacity after the shell is finished. “We’re still available on the phone and will help out and provide our expertise any way we can,” Larry confirms. “It’s a bit like Stockholm Syndrome – people see me on site and they see things going up quickly and with no bother, they have confidence in you and they’ll generally all ring you up when it comes to the fit out side of things.
“Regardless of which package the client wants, the whole process is very efficient and quick. It took us a while to get to where we are but we are here now. We have everything programmed and lined up with our suppliers and subbies and it’s working very well. If the client has the money ready and we’re not waiting for drawdowns, we can get the shell of the house up in three to four weeks and it’s ready to go.”
Originally from Galway and now residing in the O’Moore County, Larry covers a large catchment area spanning from Dublin / Meath / Kildare across the entire midlands region and west into Roscommon and Galway.
L.M. Costello Construction generates direct full-time employment for a superb team of seven, who are an integral part of this wonderful success story. “They are all carpenters – one apprentice and the rest fully-qualified and experienced. As a carpenter myself, I stick with the carpenters. I used to do a lot of joinery fit outs of apartments and I kept all the best guys and have a good crew of Irish lads here with me now,” Larry concludes.
“They are all knowledgeable and they all know exactly what is going on on-site at any given time. Clients can talk to any of them at any time and they know every project inside-out.
“We do all the joinery ourselves as well and I’d have my own lads back second-fixing on a lot of the sites. We’d do 15 to 20 of those every year and that work keeps the lads happy. They are a nice crew of lads and most of them are with me six or seven years already. I’m very happy with them.”
L.M. Costello Construction Ltd.,
Acragar,
Mountmellick,
County Laois.
Tel: 087 9060052
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: L.m.costello_construction
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May 2024, Vol 10 No 5
