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Was it just me or did anyone else think the "friendly neighbour" requiring £5k for having a crane on their land (empty field with metal mats laid out so the ground wasn't damaged by the crane...) for 2 days was taking the pi$$ a bit?
Anyway, I liked that house a lot, fast and (almost) stress free build. Bet that would have been at least double the price and three times the build time if it wasn't manufactured off-site and trucked in. Quite liked the Corten steel too.
Made a nice change that episode, Nice couple and a clever build loved the QR code stuff. Though what is it with GD and putting bloody baths in bedrooms next to windows with no blinds (no blinds on any windows for that matter)
Yep, enjoyed that...nice couple, not the usual mega budget with equally mega size mansion & a great advert for modular
...just didn't like the stairs, style or colour
bloody baths in bedrooms
Regardless of next to window, bath in bedroom was a no for us particularly with an en suite with shower
Was it just me or did anyone else think the “friendly neighbour” requiring £5k for having a crane on their land (empty field with metal mats laid out so the ground wasn’t damaged by the crane…) for 2 days was taking the pi$$ a bit?
I felt that was put in there for a little “jeopardy “, otherwise it was going to be a straightforward build with no real issues.
Same with the car that was parked well off of the road. Did you see the gap on the lorries left hand side ?
If I was the friendly neighbour then I would want an informal contract to say if there was any damage then it would be paid for to be put right.
It’s got to have a feel of “The Apprentice” about it, where you are almost willing for it to go wrong for the entertainment value
Did you see the trail for next week? Looks like being ruinous for anyone playing the drinking game.
Another +1 on baths in bedrooms too.
Just caught up on last weeks regional airport terminal. There was definitely something going on with that glass. I can understand that the Latvians were losing money because of the overrun on the flooring, but the MD of the contractors saying that the glass was not included didn’t sound right. What was going on with the contract? I wouldn’t pay a tradesman £250 without a written quote, he shelled out €125k up front that may or may not have been included.
And 7 bathrooms? How many arses did they have between them?
Anyway, the result looked quite smart, but he’s going to have to make a lot more documentaries in North Korea to cover a £1m overspend. They could always sell it to a footballer for £5m I suppose.
Will watch this week’s tonight. From the trailer I’m not sure that I understand the transparent hard hats.
Good showcase for volumetric off-site construction. Winners all round there. I'm a fan of volumetric anyway having done some volumetric key worker housing in the mid 2000s. Great fun working on it from scratch with a motivated team.
Yeah, baths in bedrooms is a terrible idea.
I liked the cladding, I like larch and the rusted steel was nice I thought. All timber cladding wouldve been a bit much
I'll have to rewatch now for the hardhats, was it I'm Alan partridge season 2 vibes?
I got more light up yoyo craze from 2011 vibes, tbh. And was disappointed whenever a GD bingo phrase was uttered there weren't sparks across the hat
There should be a 'most contrived or weakest jeopardy' award as well as GD bingo
Car on grass verge is a good one.
Cranes, tight sites, tight timeframes...all the excitement of a full build in one weekend. Love it.
Loved the Corten steel and the hard hats 😎
Ha! My dads last place had a bath in the master bedroom when they moved in, so they moved the master bedroom to one of the other larger bedrooms for ~3 years until they had the cash to remodel the *actual* bathroom and remove the bath in the bedroom... Just used the room as storage and had showers instead.
Weirdest looking room in the house.
We had to have "the conversation" with my mum a few years back when she had a shower fitted in the corner of a large, odd shaped bedroom. She proposed putting an open plan loo next to it, visible from the bed.
Bless her, she was still sticking to her guns until we asked her to imagine rolling over one morning and coming face to face with my dad laying cable about 15ft away.
She didn't get it fitted.
Caught up with it. I liked them and was glad that it didn't destroy them.
There are giveaways that it is going to be OK.
1. The opening date is within the last 18 months.
2. The logo on the contractors jackets hasn't been pixilated out.
3. They don't have a kid called Jasper.
When's the next one supposed to air? Looks interesting . . . in the true spirit of Grand Designs. ;o)
She proposed putting an open plan loo next to it, visible from the bed.
We moved into a house in the early 70's which had a downstairs loo, nothing odd about that I hear you say, apart from the room it was in was about 3.5m x 3.5m with the loo in one corner.
A friend once had a flat with a glass door to the toilet. It was slightly obscured glass but none the less it felt a bit weird.
Anyway, I liked that house a lot, fast and (almost) stress free build. Bet that would have been at least double the price and three times the build time if it wasn’t manufactured off-site and trucked in. Quite liked the Corten steel too.
Me too, I love Corten steel, the way it oxidises over time and with a larch cladding that goes grey it all blends together.
If I found myself with the sort of money to buy a nice plot and have a house built then I’d be all over that company and architect like a rash! Properly thought out and really well built, being able to just truck the modules in and put them together as pre-prepared units like that takes so much stress out of the process. Separate bathrooms with shower are a must, though! I don’t need a view while soaking in the bath.
Back to the first episode it's a bit of a classic - oversized and designed for kids who've already left home by the time they've built it.
What really puzzles me about a load of the 'modern mansions' that get built is the multitude of seating areas in open plan spaces. This house was typical - that lovely library space they've built outside their bedroom (but will almost certainly never use) is open to the double height space in the games room where people are likely to be making a load of noise and having music on. Our kitchen/diner is connected to our living room through a short open corridor - it's great for the two of us but stops working if we have people staying and someone wants to watch tv in the living room while we have the radio on in the kitchen.
And baths in bedrooms are a terrible idea - you really don't want all that damp air in a bedroom, even if it's got a ventilation system. there seems to be stuff put in hotel rooms because it's something you'd not have at home and people then copy it thinking it's luxury without thinking if it's a good idea.
Thought it was a particularly good advert for the small modular builder. Was very well done and he had a lovely little setup. I'd love to do something similar. Having worked for a few of the bigger players in the industry, I can certainly see that volumetric is the way forward for a huge number of builds.
Was also great to see the TopHat factory at the very start, I was one of the first in the factory and it's great to see how it's moved on since I was last there.
for comedy value still hard to beat last series when the essex boy built a state of the art flood resistant ultra modern house on stilts and then filled it with chintzy bric a brac straight from his grandma's house. And created a 'garden' by dumping turf haphazardly below the stilts
Has there been a 3D printed house yet? I can't think of one of the top of my head. Maybe that's going to be next. Maybe out of mud, or something.
… And I’ve said it before – so many of these houses look like upmarket creative workspaces I’ve used. Some elements were fine but I’m not sure I’d find it a comfortable space to live in – but that may just be me
Flipping that around, upmarket creative workspaces are trying to look like the houses people like? It's just that 99% of houses are inspirationally devoid mock-tudor boxes?
His idea and interest.
She's not so sure.
He's at sea half the time.
It's on archeological site.
Pandemic incoming.
Hmmm
Edit: and £1.4m overall cost...
This could be fun 😂
"Waterproof membrane"...eek!
oh dear
I’m chuckling in anticipation. This was all filmed 4 years ago 😂
Twodogs
Full Member
“Waterproof membrane”…eek!
Told you! 😂
I'm already getting 'Guy who built a lighthouse and wrecked his marriage grand design' vibes but if anyone can find a million down the back of the sofa it might be this bloke
Anyone who believed they could build that for £1m is deluded. And yet by the end we’ll be told it’s only 50k over. Find out in half an hour.
If he pulls this off then I refuse to be overawed with anything DIY ever again. He s there doing first fix electrics etc
How can he have a job that relies so much on his communication skills but can’t trust an electrician to fit some lights and switches to his specifications?
Surely his job means he has to rely on a team because he can’t do everything all the time on board?
Well that's impressive.
Snatched success from the quagmire of OCD.
And it's stunning.
(Although they won't say, I bet they're £500k over)
Well that was one of the best GDs ever for me. I thought they were a pair of lunatics at the start but they grew on me and I love the house when I had expected to hate it. You have to give him respect for the monumental achievement. Christ knows how much it cost in the end though.
I hadn't anticipated that he was Thunderlips: the ultimate man, who can turn his hand to particularly difficult plastering, joinery and electrical work and do it to a high standard in his spare time Silly me
It’s a very nice hole in the ground. I’m not sure I could live without more of a changing view out of most of the windows.
But it’s impressive.
No mention of the tech behind the house; I wonder what the heating system is? Hopefully not just a dirty big gas boiler…
Monumental effort, commitment and skill. Credit to him and them. Bet it’s 500k over, but truly stunning. Great result.
Impressive, but horrible.. But I couldn't live there.
I suspect he must be a nightmare to work for
It’s a very nice hole in the ground. I’m not sure I could live without more of a changing view out of most of the windows.
But it’s impressive.
No mention of the tech behind the house; I wonder what the heating system is? Hopefully not just a dirty big gas boiler…
Ground source heat pump possibly based upon a brief section when he was unravelling the black pipework with 2 other guys. Certainly had the space available and I think it was a horizontal system, not vertical. Looked like a mvhr system in place too judging by the ductwork shown on the ceiling before it was boarded over.
I'll echo davosaurusrex, I really enjoyed it. The guy seemed quite cold to begin with but when they showed the family moving in and his kids were hugging him, he very much showed his warmer side.
when they showed the family moving in and his kids were hugging him, he very much showed his warmer side.
For me, he showed his 'really awkward at giving hugs' side 😄
House was nice. I didn't like their attitude that all trades are incompetent. The builder's right to reply piece was interesting.
The builder’s right to reply piece was interesting.
Indeed. It suggested that the client had directly said 'no', causing the roof covering issue (and others?).
Good episode but didn’t like the end result much. Which is unusual, most houses end up with some kind of wow even if grudgingly. That one I just kept thinking what they could have had with £1m+. Something with more going for it than that hole in the ground.
Wonder how much ch4 pays folk to be in programme. Surely something to compel folk to share on TV.
Not that it would go far in compensating for some of his poor and expensive decisions. Glad the contractor got right of reply.