Forum menu
It looked like London clay so I reckon give it a few months and their proverbial gold fish bowl will be ready for a few fish.
armchair expert v architect... hmm, I Imagine the architect has thought of that.
I liked it, was cool, without being over the top, thought the basement pool / gym was a bit cramped though...
For a Grand Designs that had "car crash" written all over it based on the trailers and the speil about party walls and basements this episode sorely failed to deliver.
In the end it all seemed to go OK, couple we either very good at hiding their male chickenish tendencies or were atcually genuinely nice, house got completed despite issues with the builded (who was again a very nice chap) and the finished product was actually very good.
Pool and gym were a bit OTT but as a house and a peice of architecture it was very nice.
Kev is losing his touch as well, not a single pregnancy yet this series.
I liked the part that was above the ground; a nice-looking, sensibly sized house. I wonder what it would have cost to build just that part, in a sensible part of the country?
Unfortunately, they had to dig a big hole and fill it with pretentious status symbols first.
MrsBouy loves these programmes, me I'm a bit meh over them. As often Kevin has a good sense of style and honesty which at some point does err on the side of pretentiousness, but he's often probed the right angle, invariably money.
As to the designs, some have been wonderful textural spaces, this in particular had some lovely features, the air, the light the space but again it was stuck in the back garden(s) of a part of London that is seen as trendy and up and coming (cough, for the last 15yrs at least so no surprise it was built there)
Invariably these places are soulless, clinical, cold and open to the elements which takes the owner(s) down a route of constant repair, upkeep and money. Eco credentials creep in with a simple sledge hammer effect and a doom bell ring, just how many tons of concrete were used exactly ? All that steel ? All that glass ? It looked like a tunnel for the Crossrail link at one point and suspect it could have been given the right planning permission.
Refreshing too see another "architect" bashed for lack of foresight, does make you wonder what you pay for professionalism in this country, nice to own up and offer to pay for the lack of actual structural surveys, dear God.
But really the programme has lost it's way, less a design from the heart Homelife and into an echascetch by 4 year old whilst on the toilet doodle and reality camera up the owners nose and scope out the cracks in their personality feux celebrityism. I fear the programme production company have derailed the original scope in favour of selling reality TV made for the whining beat the Joneses crowd.
Kevin's too good for the show, his own build a shed programme was worth more in both concept and production than all of the last Grand Designs season put together.
In a couple of weeks time they're doing a newly-built property from out my way that's built on the edge of an airfield and strongly resembles....an aircraft hangar.
I'm still undecided on that one.
armchair expert v architect... hmm, I Imagine the architect has thought of that
I imagine the architect thought "hmm, that looks nice, now lets see if the engineers can make it work...."
I am of course a bitter civil engineer. The below ground drainage would only be an issue if the main sewers were not very deep, and even then a small pump would sort it out.
In a couple of weeks time they're doing a newly-built property from out my way that's built on the edge of an airfield and strongly resembles....an aircraft hangar.
Cool! I always wanted to live in an aircraft hanger - what's not to like?
Wonder if it will be like that barn one. That was weird. Built a pretty much basic three bedroom house in a massive barn...
Well i got my planning permission today and will be talking to the structural engineer via my architect on wednesday. the upfront costs are a bit of a pain but i'm reckoning it will save me money and hassle in the long run. i do not expect to spend over £1m!!!, mind you i dont plan a pool!!. Money wise i am absolutely astounded that they could access that sort of cash, his company must have been worth a mint!. I watch GD now more on the basis of the people rather than the build, i warmed to the couple last week and not to these guys even though they both appeared to be the concrete shows!. last weeks seemed to have a bit more heart and soul whereas last nights was a bit showy for me. My favourte remains (predictably) the guy who built his place in the forest for about £20...
ps. How does that house drain into the sewer? Does it require a pump and what happens if that goes?
Does it require a pump and what happens if that goes?
Shit happens. That's what happens.
Quite liked the end result last night and really wanted to hate Mr Eco Taxi but in the end quite admired him and his variable hair style. Wonder where the money came from though?
I do prefer the smaller projects built by people on a tighter budget. 9 years ago me and the missus did our own bit of mini grand designing by spending £120k on a rebuild/extension and it is a massive rush/nightmare!
Anyone know where abouts in Camden this house is?
The money side was a mystery.There was a brief segment where she mentioned that his dad was crapping it..I suspect some family money entered the fray.
I must have missed that bit. I did get the feeling it was more largely self funded. I didn't have any sympathy for them in terms of the money side, they knew how much it was going to cost and fitted it out with a really high end build (the guy was obviously a bit of an obsessive about this) and might have racked up another £100K on the finishings.
Although I felt quite sympathetic to them especially when the whole kitchen and bathroom unit's were in their one bedroom flat.
Just watched this and tbh I really found them thoroughly annoying (the trendy looking dutch bikes also put me off) and the building did nothing for me. I also couldn't work out if the pool was supposed to be swum in or just to look good: looked to narrow for a swim.
[i]Did I miss seeing a driveway or a garage? [/i]
You've not been to London have you?
Right at the end though when they were discussing money, you need to watch her face - the last look. In deep shit would be my guess.