A detached house on around a third of an acre with a reasonable guide price attached is something of a rarity in Dublin 4. Number 42 Sandymount Avenue, a two-storey three-bedroom house will be auctioned by Gunne on May 20th.

Selling agents Gunne expect a price in excess of £450,000. buyer will most likely look for planning permission to extend the house, so the fact that it needs a great deal of refurbishment may not matter too much.

owners moved here in the 1960s and little has been done to the house since then, although some of the original steel windows have been replaced with aluminium double glazed ones.

It is a very pretty looking redbrick house with a wood-clad porch and beautiful gardens. Built in 1928, it has a double fronted facade that makes it look larger on the outside than it is inside. Typical of the period, it has a nice hall floored in oak parquet, and reception rooms that are designed for family living not grand scale entertaining.

To the right is the small livingroom which has a bay window and its original 1920s fireplace and tiled inset. The small diningroom on the other side of the hall is lovely with three windows, one to the front, another to the side and a third a set of French windows which open on to the back garden. This room also has its tall mahogany original fireplace.

The kitchen is in nearly original condition and has a large picture window that overlooks the garden. There is a walk-in larder which unusually has a small window and another walk-in cupboard.

There are two windows on the landing, one at the front of the house, the other on the way up the stairs at the back. Upstairs the three bedrooms are the usual mix of two large doubles and one small single.

The nicest is the one over the diningroom and mirrors it, in that it also has three windows.

A nice feature in this room is its original cast-iron fireplace. The bathroom is small and functional and there is a small hot press on the landing.

The third of an acre of gardens is a major selling point in this house and not just because it means there is plenty of room to expand. It is fully planted with mature fruit trees, cherry blossoms and tall box hedging and extends back to the YMCA hockey grounds so the house is not in any way overlooked. The front garden is also secluded from the road behind a tall wall, and it features a mature tree and a driveway to the garage.