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Grand Designs
 

[Closed] Grand Designs

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T minus 10 minutes.


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 8:50 pm
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ta muchly


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:05 pm
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No clear idea if it's possible and what it might really cost. Good start!


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:10 pm
 Drac
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Isn't that the same line every week?


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:10 pm
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It's a tried and tested formula, so why change it?


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:12 pm
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How long before somebody ends up pregnant?


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:15 pm
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Well, it's basically a big multi-storey shed in the sky.

If only they'd given McMoonter a call


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:16 pm
 Drac
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Have they run out of budget yet?

Have they decided to spend more on the windows then first planned?

Are they really using the natural light here to make you feel outside?


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:17 pm
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'self sufficient' - tick


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:19 pm
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It ain't no tree house, that's for sure!


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:27 pm
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Also, quite handily, we have been able to view the progress from the overlooking Sainsbury carpark. Most amusing.


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:31 pm
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2 years into the 9 month project. Standard GD performance


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:35 pm
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Looks nice on the outside, really not keen on the inside. Just doesn't hang together for me.


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:53 pm
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Meh

Not doing it for me


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:55 pm
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How did they get building regs sign off on that raised walkway entrance without a handrail?


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 9:56 pm
 bol
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I love that. Inspiring.


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 10:00 pm
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Stunning, love it! Love all the upcycling of the RR tiles, the gym floor and lab work tops, as well as the walkway.
The views from the various windows are fabulous and the ties in the kitchen are gorgeous.
The random old furniture works for me as well.
I could happily live there, there isn't anything I'd change.


 
Posted : 21/09/2016 11:42 pm
 hora
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It's in a conversation area so we can't use concentrate ....no Tescos used up all that on two sides of your small plot of land..

Why soo much wood used in a cold damp country?


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 6:25 am
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Loved it too.
I was surprised the council gave it PP.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 7:58 am
 isto
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Have they run out of budget yet?
Have they decided to spend more on the windows then first planned?

We get it.....you dislike grand designs. To be fair though. I think the majority of people building their own house (that I know of anyway) could probably tick the above.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 8:27 am
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We get it.....you dislike grand designs. To be fair though. I think the majority of people building their own house (that I know of anyway) could probably tick the above.

I like Grand Designs but some of the regular tropes are rather tiresome. The main one is people starting with, or claiming, budgets that are not even close to achievable even if they'd just added up the obvious big ticket items (even if you allow for 'architect' pricing).

We've just about built our house 'on budget' but that was done by having realistic planning figures for costs and a proper contingency (which all got spent)


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 8:35 am
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Great episode, and I loved the end result. So much better than the tedious teletubby exterior/massively expensive german glass/eco bawbags airtight insulation/white paint interior recipe.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 8:54 am
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walkway entrance without a handrail

I thought that, but I'm thinking it's not finished yet? Didn't look like there was any glass / barrier in most of the handrail around the deck.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 9:29 am
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I liked both it and the people building it, not often that happens it's usually one at best.
It's one of my favourites I think, I'd actually like to live in it.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 2:20 pm
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Next week's looks like it is going to be utterly bonkers.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 2:35 pm
 Drac
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We get it.....you dislike grand designs.

You're wrong.

Were there rainy shots of it dripping into the interior with Kevin saying this could put them weeks behind?


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 5:23 pm
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I generally liked it and them.

Can't believe a bike website hasn't pointed out Pedersen bikes were made in Dursley. In fact, the "tree house" looks like it is just off Long Lane where Mikael Pedersen had a bike track in the back garden of Raglan House. The house is still there, but the back garden and old Lister works now look flattened and full of bland new builds.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ @51.682393,-2.3511611,3a,75y,194.92h,97.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRqpJLnDKqXVADGa2-2Ex8A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 5:47 pm
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i liked the wallpaper!


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 5:55 pm
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Thought the structure was interesting. The timber cladding will look much better in its context when it's weathered. Project cost discussion at the end was predictably woolly. Handrails a bit lacking but with some judicious use of interpretation the access ramp may be considered the approach to the building not the actual building.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 6:32 pm
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Why do they show so many unfinished houses during each series? Surely be better off waiting to they're complete.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 6:34 pm
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Probably wouldn't be a programme!


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 7:40 pm
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Why do they show so many unfinished houses during each series? Surely be better off waiting to they're complete.

Think about it. It's very obvious, given the recurring subject most weeks.


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 10:24 pm
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' johns a city banker earning 1 million per year but this is his second mortgage for the build. Hes had to get another loan as his flat in london is still mortgaged '


 
Posted : 22/09/2016 10:46 pm
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Just caught up with this. Beautiful result and deserved as he in particular seems like a talented and down to earth guy. But...

How did it take 3 "structural engineers" and £14k to work out that triangles are strong than squares. It took a year before the bloke with thick-rimmed glasses wearing a scarf indoors stuck some braces n and just about halved the quantity of steel they needed. IANASE (though IAAE) but that just seemed obvious.


 
Posted : 25/09/2016 10:20 pm
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Have they decided to spend more on the windows then first planned?

No. Not windows Drac. You mean 'bespoke glazing system' 😉


 
Posted : 25/09/2016 10:44 pm
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Pretty good reversing by the tractor driver too.


 
Posted : 26/09/2016 7:19 am
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I liked the house but the location was terrible. If I was spending all that money building my dream house I'd build it in the middle of nowhere with the nearest neighbour a minimum of half a mile away. I can't help thinking when they open the windows or sit outside in the summer all they're going to hear is engines from the supermarket carpark. Terrible.


 
Posted : 26/09/2016 8:15 am
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jekkyl - Member

I liked the house but the location was terrible. If I was spending all that money building my dream house I'd build it in the middle of nowhere with the nearest neighbour a minimum of half a mile away. I can't help thinking when they open the windows or sit outside in the summer all they're going to hear is engines from the supermarket carpark. Terrible.

It's not always easy to buy land in the places like that though, plus access, planning permission etc. Then if you throw in budget, you're making it harder again.

Whilst we'd all love our dream location, the reality is often far more complex.


 
Posted : 26/09/2016 8:22 am
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If I was spending all that money building my dream house I'd build it in the middle of nowhere with the nearest neighbour a minimum of half a mile away.

You want to build a house in the place that [i]you[/i] and everyone else would object to if you weren't the person building it. It what [i]everyone[/i] wants and what everyone wants nobody else to have. 🙂

And incidentally - I've lived in exactly that scenario - one neighbour 1/2 a mile away, nearest hamlet about 3 miles away, nearest town 10 miles away. And you know what you can hear? - all day and night? With 2ft thick stone walls and 4" of insulated dry lining? Traffic. When its that quiet you can hear everything. The sound of traffic was the first thing anyone commented on when they came to visit.

Conversely I've also lived two places in central Glasgow - both corner properties with 10ft tall single glazed sash window - that people always described as 'eerily quiet'.

The problem with any properly quiet location is every noise you can hear seems significant.


 
Posted : 26/09/2016 9:48 am
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If I was spending all that money building my dream house I'd build it in the middle of nowhere with the nearest neighbour a minimum of half a mile away

For me a nice view would be good, as would enough outside space to have a veg patch, but I want to live within walking distance of some friends, a pub, some shops and entertainment. A holiday in the middle of nowhere is wonderful but for me nothing worse than being stuck there. I go slightly stir crazy at the SIL's in France where there a 30minute walk from the village - having to get in the car for everything isn't my idea of fun.

They were pretty well screened from the supermarket car park and their views into the hills were lovely.

Thinking about it, that plot would have suited me fine.


How did it take 3 "structural engineers" and £14k to work out that triangles are strong than squares.

That's exactly what I said today. More to the point, did two different structural engineers take the job on, charge him a shit load of money and then say "sorry, can't solve this one"


 
Posted : 27/09/2016 8:04 pm
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For me a nice view would be good, as would enough outside space to have a veg patch, but I want to live within walking distance of some friends, a pub, some shops and entertainment. A holiday in the middle of nowhere is wonderful but for me nothing worse than being stuck there. I go slightly stir crazy at the SIL's in France where there a 30minute walk from the village - having to get in the car for everything isn't my idea of fun.

They were pretty well screened from the supermarket car park and their views into the hills were lovely.

Thinking about it, that plot would have suited me fine.


Same here. The views were lovely, and really gave the feeling of remoteness, while having all the benefits of local amenities within really easy reach.
A very close friend of mine owns a house that many would think ideal, it's a 16th C farmhouse on the Fosseway, close to Castle Combe, and surrounded by the South Cotswold countryside.

[img] [/img]

It's so appealing that it was chosen as the English home of a character in a Japanese animé called [i]Kiniro Mosaic[/i], and attracts a lot of visitors as a result:

[img] [/img]

It's also a hotel, restaurant and tearoom, as well as Caron's home, and it really does posess a lot of the things that people really desire.
However, the two nearest villages, Nettleton and Castle Combe offer limited facilities Nettleton has a small shop and post office, Castle Combe has neither, both involve a long walk along either narrow lanes or along footpaths, each taking about half to three-quarters of an hour to walk to, the nearest main road is a mile along the Fosseway in one direction, over two miles in the other.
There are no buses that use the Fosseway, the nearest supermarket is in Chippenham, seven miles away, and as for peace and quiet, yes, it is quiet, but has the constant white noise of the M4 around two-three miles away.
I increasingly realise that, as you get older, the restrictions placed on you by living in a home somewhat removed from everyone else comes with its extra price; that of needing a car for everything, and if you should find yourself unable to drive, then things get very difficult indeed!
Just to give an idea of how spread out everywhere is, Caron's home, called Lugbury Farm on the map, now called Fosse Farmhouse, is right in the centre, all the lanes are narrow, the Fosseway is, just, two lane, but in places needing passing places, in some very steep and narrow.

[IMG] [/IMG]

I think there's a bus a couple of times a day that stops at The Gib, just to the North-East. it's a mile walk.


 
Posted : 27/09/2016 9:19 pm
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We've never moved on from every ad break being preceded by "Black!" in a fast show stylee.


 
Posted : 27/09/2016 10:03 pm
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Same here. The views were lovely, and really gave the feeling of remoteness, while having all the benefits of local amenities within really easy reach.

I know the area around castle combe. Way too busy for me. Thanks to Amazon everything you'd ever need is a single click and 24 hours away.


 
Posted : 27/09/2016 10:09 pm
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Thats positively cosmopolitan CZ 🙂 - a couple of folk I used to visit for work lived [url= https://www.google.com/maps/dir/ @58.5488153,-4.4576126,19z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!1m3!3m2!1s0x48901091a4694a0d:0x23c09c9832bbf91!2sTongue,+Lairg,+UK]here[/url]

Forget buses - apples are are a newsworthy event. Neither of them drive but they both travelled globally with their work. Its just that the beginning and end of each trip was half a day in the post-bus. 🙂 In fact it was a surprise how many people I used to meet up that way who didn't drive or have a car in the household. IIRC at the time buses to Thurso were once a fortnight.


 
Posted : 27/09/2016 10:18 pm
 cozz
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Looks like this is going to be a classic

Couple of knobbers from London with too much money

Buying a beautiful old house in the country with character

And ruining it
A massive black barn in the back garden. No view of the rear lawns and beautiful trees anymore
Budget of over 800 k for a big shed
Crack on !


 
Posted : 28/09/2016 9:12 pm
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