External insulation grant guides, wall check and reference
Every house-type guide, wall-size cost table, grant per square metre breakdown, FAQ and ETICS technical glossary on externalinsulationgrant.ie.
Free, no obligation. One registered contractor prices it, not five.
- €8,000detached grant
- €6,000semi-D grant
- 15glossary terms
- 11house & cost guides
Every guide on this site
By house type, then the money.
Your grant against your walls
Four quick taps. You see your grant, your wall, what a job that size typically costs and what's left. Your number is only asked for at the end, if you want a price.
An average semi-detached house: about 91 m² of outside wall, a typical job of about €23,200, the €6,000 grant, so about €17,200 left to pay.
How this is worked out
The grant is SEAI's fixed amount for your house type. The wall area is the median outside wall on the BER register for homes of your type built before 2011, or the smaller or larger quarter if you picked those. The typical job is what grant-funded external insulation typically costs for your house type, scaled to that wall. Your contractor prices your house after a look: it's a guide to plan with, never a quote. SEAI decides every grant.
Tools and reference
| Resource | What's inside | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Grant Against Your Walls Check | 4-tap grant & wall tool | Pick your house type, size, earlier wall grants and county to see your grant and typical balance. |
| Master FAQ Hub | 15 questions answered | Straight answers on fixed grant amounts, second wall measures, planning and scaffolding. |
| External Insulation & ETICS Glossary | 15 terms defined | Plain-English definitions of ETICS, 0.18 W/m²K U-value, NSAI Agrément, grey EPS and silicone render. |
Questions people ask
How thick is an SEAI-compliant external wall insulation wrap?
Most Irish homes require between 100 mm and 150 mm of graphite-enhanced EPS insulation—plus roughly 8 mm to 10 mm of reinforced basecoat and silicone topcoat—to bring an uninsulated solid or hollow-block wall down to the required 0.18 W/m²K U-value.
Do I need planning permission to wrap the outside of my house?
External wall insulation on the side and rear elevations is generally exempt from planning permission in Ireland. If the wrap alters the front elevation finish on a terraced street, sits inside an Architectural Conservation Area, or involves a Protected Structure, check with your local authority planning office first.
What happens to pipes, meter boxes, flues, and satellite dishes on the wall?
Your SEAI-registered contractor extends rainwater downpipes, soil vents, outside taps, and alarm sounders outward to sit flush on the new face. Boiler flues and gas or ESB meter boxes must be extended or recessed by a registered RGI gas installer or Safe Electric electrician.
Can external insulation be fitted over pebble dash or roughcast render?
Yes, provided the existing dash or render is structurally sound and well bonded to the blockwork beneath. Loose or hollow sections are hacked off and dubbed out with mortar before the new insulation boards are mechanically and adhesively fixed.
Every guide, calculator and county page
Jump straight to any specification guide, our interactive calculator, the technical glossary or your county page.
Price & Specification Guides
Calculator, FAQ & Glossary
Your grant against your walls
Four taps to your grant, your wall and what's left. Then, if you want, one SEAI-registered external insulation contractor who covers your county rings with a price.
Related 2026 Ireland Specialist Cost & Technical Guides
Cross-referenced Irish pricing benchmarks, SEAI/Revenue grant rules, and county specifications from partner reference hubs:
- Midland Insulation (midlandinsulation.ie) — 2026 Ireland Cost & Spec Guides: Home insulation and SEAI insulation grants across the Irish Midlands (Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Kildare, Tipperary and Meath) and
- Window Grants (windowgrants.ie) — 2026 Ireland Cost & Spec Guides: Guide to the SEAI windows and doors grant in Ireland (opened 2 March 2026): amounts by house type, eligibility including the BER Heat Loss Indicator,
- Windows Grant (windowsgrant.ie) — 2026 Ireland Cost & Spec Guides: Getting an Irish home ready for the SEAI windows and doors grant (windows EUR 4,000 detached, 3,000 semi-D or end of terrace, 1,800 mid-terrace, 1,500
- House Wrap (housewrap.ie) — 2026 Ireland Cost & Spec Guides: House wrap (external wall insulation) in Ireland: the SEAI grant by house type (€8,000 detached to €3,000 apartment), costs before and after the grant
- Rendering Ireland (rendering.ie) — 2026 Ireland Cost & Spec Guides: House rendering in Ireland, all 26 counties: our price guide (€35 to €90 per m² supplied and applied, a 3-bed semi €4,000 to €10,000, a detached house