£1.3 was the budget - presumably they went significantly over that?
why? because London
London.Other than that I can't fathom why anyone would pay £1,300,000 for a 3 bedroom house on, basically, a bypass. That road was so busy!
I rather liked it, maybe apart from the JCB staircase.
Having not watched the last few series, do they ever do the builds now where the budget is 75p and it's built by the owner from sparrows nests and tramps blankets any more?
Last weeks was the first I'd watched in ages because it just became so terminally generic years ago. Oh look... another expensive visitor centre.
Since last series in fact because you are commenting earlier in the thread....
why? because London
Just picking that up - do contractors and materials cost significantly more because of London? Obviously the property cost is a major factor (£715 million iirc?) but would the rest of the budget be similar to the rest of the UK?
London.
Yeah. I know. I work in t'Smoke.
It's not ALL that busy though, is it? 🙂
Bitter? Why on earth would I be bitter about some middle class fluff on channel 4?
No idea, could be lots of reasons. Maybe you would love to build your own house but can't afford it, so put other people down that do. Maybe not, I dunno.
I think you're over-analysing
I just think it's dull and tedious.
I just watched George Clarks Shed of the Year, and there's more flair, passion, imagination and creativity exhibited in 30 seconds of that programme than in a whole series of Grand Designs
Was it on Grand Designs many, many moons ago that a couple bought an old water pumping station in Huddersfield or something - they did the whole thing for something like £75k and (as their one treat) had half a Mini converted to be a desk in one tiny corner of one of the huge rooms?
That one is still my favourite house project I have seen on TV - just two normal people doing what they could with a very limited budget.
Edit - [url= http://www.wowhaus.co.uk/2014/01/18/grand-design-for-sale-the-water-works-four-bedroom-property-in-chesterfield-derbyshire/ ]here it is [/url]
Having not watched the last few series, do they ever do the builds now where the budget is 75p and it's built by the owner from sparrows nests and tramps blankets any more?
Yes there was a couple of those last series, they were quite interesting to watch.
£260k of groundworks on that site wouldn't have helped. Handmade kitchen, bespoke staircase, the lighting , handmade tiles, double skin of dense breezeblocks to dampen noise from the road etc will have increased costs. Same house on an easier, quieter site would have been considerably lessbut would the rest of the budget be similar to the rest of the UK?
Was it on Grand Designs many, many moons ago that a couple bought an old water pumping station in Huddersfield or something - they did the whole thing for something like £75k and (as their one treat) had half a Mini converted to be a desk in one tiny corner of one of the huge rooms?
That's my favourite one too! That's kind of my point. That was genuinely interesting. Something different. And done on a budget that was an [i]actual[/i] budget.
All the ones now tend to look the same (visitor centre), and the 'process' seems to involve nothing more creative or imaginative than upping the budget by another half a million quid (again!)
£260k of groundworks on that site wouldn't have helped. Handmade kitchen, bespoke staircase, the lighting , handmade tiles, double skin of dense breezeblocks to dampen noise from the road etc will have increased costs. Same house on an easier, quieter site would have been considerably less
Thanks for the reply but that wasn't quite what I was asking. Is there a significant London premium for those things?
Found [url= http://www.planetpropertyblog.co.uk/2013/10/03/grand-designs-waterworks/ ]this article[/url] about it too - apparently they bought it off the water board (who weren't actively trying to sell it, they just found out who owned it and asked them) for £40k and had a £100k budget. It also came with 5 acres of land! I didn't realise but that was on the first series of GD too - I guess back then there was no TV benchmark, just people realising their own dreams.
Found this article about it too - apparently they bought it off the water board (who weren't actively trying to sell it, they just found out who owned it and asked them) for £40k and had a £100k budget. It also came with 5 acres of land! I didn't realise but that was on the first series of GD too - I guess back then there was no TV benchmark, just people realising their own dreams.
The linked article says it's now on sale for £750,000.
I was watching on More 4 the episode where the architect restored a listed ancient monument castle in Yorkshire. I could watch that again and again.
Last nights was remarkable for the sheer cost of building on what looked like (to a non Londoner) a truly appalling location
Thanks for the reply but that wasn't quite what I was asking. Is there a significant London premium for those things?
Yes and no. Labour is more expensive, delivery costs and things like skips on streets can be a lot more. Materials themselves are roughly similar.
The house from GD last night had significant extra costs due to its site so you could knock off a few hundred thousand to build it somewhere else.
I was watching on More 4 the episode where the architect restored a listed ancient monument castle in Yorkshire. I could watch that again and again.
Yeah I liked that one - didn't they have a winch to take food up to the viewing platform at the top? Or did I dream that?
Yes, some of the early projects were very interesting and inspirational.
Then maybe because land is stupidly hard to get hold of, it's gradually got less interesting. Everyone wants a return on investment and therefore have to appeal to a mass audience.
I haven't watched for a while, but there are still some interesting ones occasionally like:
The cave.
The shipping container one.
No7 on [url= https://www.granddesignsmagazine.com/kevin-mccloud/82-kevin-mccloud-s-top-grand-designs-tv-houses ]this list[/url] (with the charred larch and wavy boards that kevin kept taking the piss out of).
Basically, I preferred the 'House that 100k Built' as I like to see innovative solutions to the budget problem.
It seems to me (because I'm a cynical old git) that the programme is now no longer driven by interesting projects like in the beginning, but on selling advertising space to German window manufacturers in [url= http://www.granddesigns.magazine.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0ejNBRCYARIsACEBhDO9aoYr6l0dZX2oQCIy-tVonKc_j4vsmvBod5QkiiG5Kn_1uQqbxRYaAps2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKTF6srcpNYCFUKj7QoduRkMow ]Grand Designs Magazine[/url]
I don't believe that there aren't people doing interesting things on budgets of less than a couple of million quid, it's just that they don't fit into the aspirational middle class target demographic, so they don't get any coverage.
Lets be honest, the production costs of GD are next to nothing. Turn up every few months with a camera drone to see how far behind schedule they are, and how many more hundreds of thousands of pounds they've spunked? They must be making a killing!
Everyone wants a return on investment and therefore have to appeal to a mass audience.
They are the least interesting ones, when people are obviously using the programme as an advert for a sale.
"Martin, an architect, and Charlotte, a self employed interior designer, have spent squillions buying a plot in a desirable part of London, built a box and painted it white. It's now on sale with Kevin's raised eyebrow engraved above the expensive and redundant Japanese whalebone fireplace.'
That waterworks building was absolutely amazing, I didn't remember they did it for that budget, that's pretty amazing
Labour costs more down in London. I suspect materials are the same, or mostly the same, but it costs more to live down here so people are paid more so things cost more
I don't believe that there aren't people doing interesting things on budgets of less than a couple of million quid, it's just that they don't fit into the aspirational middle class target demographic, so they don't get any coverage.
I haven't watched GD for some time for precisely this reason - the chequebook builds have, to my mind, driven all the innovation and interest out of it. Remember that charcoal-maker's cottage in the woods from years ago? That's the stuff I like to see.
The first few series had some genuinely interesting builds on
The early ones included a castle tower in rural Ireland and an old water works. Apart from the occasional use of unusual materials, for years they have all been new boxes with glass walls. Visitors' centres indeed.
On the subject of who pays, my neighbour is on a short list to have the bra-less gardner do a makeover of his garden. He has to pay for it all, and when he said he only wanted to pay about 1.5K they pushed him up to 3K. I'm expecting a stainless steel lawn.
but it costs more to live down here so people are paid more so things cost more
Half the builders who work down here spend weeks up there. Premier Inns must be making a fortune from them. 🙂
My three favorite eplisodes have been Yorkshire Castle, Italian farmhouse/artist retreat where he built a swimming pool into rock in the garden and the Ben Law, woodsman who built the amazing house in the woods
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Was that the guy who chopped down his own trees with a hand axe, and lived in a tent for two years? That was a proper job that one.
The guy who mixed up enough cob to build a small castle, that one was quite good.
I didn't even watch the Doctor I-don't-like-NZ episode just gone, but it sounds blander than unsalted porridge.
Going back a bit, but I'll never forget the [url= http://metro.co.uk/2011/02/01/grand-designs-houseboat-neglected-by-couple-washes-up-on-beach-635385/ ]Medway Eco-Barge[/url].
Going back a bit, but I'll never forget the Medway Eco-Barge.
never forget it on account of it being really really rubbish.
I didn't even watch the Doctor I-don't-like-NZ episode just gone, but it sounds blander than unsalted porridge.
The amusement factor was mainly speculating what it was the husband had [b]done[/b] in NZ.
Going back a bit, but I'll never forget the Medway Eco-Barge.
That was particularly awful. Didn't they fail to finish it?
They never finished it.
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I just think it's dull and tedious.I just watched George Clarks Shed of the Year, and there's more flair, passion, imagination and creativity exhibited in 30 seconds of that programme than in a whole series of Grand Designs
GD isn't necessarily about the actual builds - it's often about the struggle to build them or sometimes there's a very underplayed story, as in the Dr from last week. It can be very subtle but these are the things that keep me watching, not the actual building.
And I like Kevin M. He's a lot less rude than I would be in his situation. (Last night I might have had more to say when the neuroscientist suggested that if you couldn't see the main road it wouldn't be a problem. I've lived on a main road and it was awful. Dust, pollution, vibration, noise. These would only be marginally improved in an expensive build.)
wow last weeks ex NZ family episode is brutal (just watched it tonight), Kevin is extremely abrasive, and I absolutely feel for the guy - he's a broken man.
Right, come on shed boy, give us something good!
25 mins in I reckon she will be preggers
I'm not even going to take bets on that
On the NZ theme, I caught the first episode of the new season of Grand Designs NZ earlier. Not a German window in sight 🙂
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The best one for me is Angelo’s place in the rock caves not too far away. Met him a couple of times, nice chap and his Rock House wine is spot on, mountain biker too
Bingo was thinking Kev the stud had the snip for a moment
It's Napoleon Dynamite!
Looking good so far tho..
I was always sceptical of all these folks who fell pregnant whilst embarking on a massive project, I smelt a (love) rat! Does Kevin not have 6 kids of his own? Is he (insert building material euphemism here)....?
Stunning.
Oh yes, that has to be one of my favourite Grand Designs for a long time.
That was a million pounds less than last week's, but I covet it so so so much more
Those people from last week are probably watching this feeling sick as a dog.
Nice people, nice house and the Grand Designs Impregnator strikes again.
😆Right, come on shed boy, give us something good!
And boy, did he deliver! But possibly not the baby...
Stunning house, so much to love about it, design, location, (and [i]what[/i] a location), materials use...
I can’t think of anything about it I’d want to change. The outside staircase is something I see locally, only constructed from stone, with no handrail, and is a feature I’ve always liked about re-purposed industrial/farm buildings.
The polished, stained cement floor is beautiful, looks like one huge sheet of slate, and that huge end window and veranda is just perfect for breakfast and evenings, I’d be out there all the time.
And the cost, well, there’s a house for sale just down the road from me, pretty much identical to mine apart from it’s been done up a bit more than mine, asking £230,000, and they’ll probably get it. Mine’s been valued at £185-190,000, and his came in at what, £270,000? 😯
Sounds like I'm going to have to watch that one!
Construction industry professional, brings in a well designed and well organised project. No great surprise there... good advert for his practice too.
Loved the house.
