Grand Designs - 11th March

[Mello]

I bet those stairs were'nt forty grand.

Overall I quite liked it, but I'd never live in a place like that. It did look a bit like a primary school.

[C8PPO]

Dargie said:

Markh said:

Dargie said:

WTF was going on with the furniture? Ultra modern home, furniture from my grans house!?!

nah the Juxtaposition of the furniture was cool I thought (although maybe unintentional in this case)

I see what you're saying, but no, it was all wrong. Modern in a traditional setting, cool, traditional in modern, cool. Crap furniture in a modern house just makes the house look cheap. People tend to forget about furnishing their shiny new box and just throw in any old rubbish.

Kev said something about the furniture - I think it was along the lines of them having spent all their cash and having had to bring whatever they already owned. There certainly wasn't any "cool juxtaposition" going on!

[sleep envy]

in that case why not live in the bungalow and consolidate until they had enough cash to pay for the build not using credit cards and being able to aford furniture

madness

[C8PPO]

As for the house itself - pretty much just another square, glass-heavy, "architect designed" place, apart from the fact that the glass was clever. Ultimately very boring, I thought; very much following the "majority look".

For £700k plus the site I think you could have something a lot more interesting than that.

[Republik]

Did anyone actually like it?

I only caught the end and it instantly reminded me of these:

[sleep envy]

DDg said:

SJobson said:

DDg said:

Just curious - was it a £650k budget including the plot or additional to it? Ta'.

That was just for the build - they didn't mention how much the plot cost them.

Yikes! I just can't see where that sort of money went - concrete, laminated wood... okay the windows were probably pricey, but £650k??!!!!

demolition
remediation
substructure
mechanical installations incl heat recovery plant
electrical installations
swimming pool incl retaining walls and plant
external glazing/windows
utilities
prelims

need I go on?

Edited by sleep envy on Thursday 12th March 12:40

[sleep envy]

DDg said:

To come up with £650k, yes, you do need to go on...

are you F or M RICS?

[sleep envy]

DDg said:

Ahhh, I see, the old classic 'I'm-on-an-internet-forum-and-I'm-desperate-to-show-my-superior-knowledge-about-my-chosen-profession-in-a-condescending-way' behaviour. Actually, no, you don't need to go on. Please...

the internet where everyone is an expert and professional knowledge counts for nothing

[SJobson]

If you're splashing £650k then surely you'd budget in that for a professional project manager. It was prefab and had no apparent internal finishes; £650k feels like a lot, to me.

[sleep envy]

SJobson said:

If you're splashing £650k then surely you'd budget in that for a professional project manager. It was prefab and had no apparent internal finishes; £650k feels like a lot, to me.

TBH if they had a switched on architect he would have recommended they speak to a capital allowances expert - he would have been cost negative

[Markh]

C8PPO said:

Dargie said:

Markh said:

Dargie said:

WTF was going on with the furniture? Ultra modern home, furniture from my grans house!?!

nah the Juxtaposition of the furniture was cool I thought (although maybe unintentional in this case)

I see what you're saying, but no, it was all wrong. Modern in a traditional setting, cool, traditional in modern, cool. Crap furniture in a modern house just makes the house look cheap. People tend to forget about furnishing their shiny new box and just throw in any old rubbish.

Kev said something about the furniture - I think it was along the lines of them having spent all their cash and having had to bring whatever they already owned. There certainly wasn't any "cool juxtaposition" going on!

Just it can be a bit obvious to raid a copy of Wallpaper and buy some flash Italian sofa's or some design classic's (Eames, Zitt etc)

[C8PPO]

The architect they did have looked like a rampant bumlord, IMO. Not that that has any relevance to anything whatsoever. Just an observation.

[matt12023]

hmm half the buildings on this show now seem to resemble national trust visitor centres

[ratbane]

sleep envy said:

SJobson said:

If you're splashing £650k then surely you'd budget in that for a professional project manager. It was prefab and had no apparent internal finishes; £650k feels like a lot, to me.

TBH if they had a switched on architect he would have recommended they speak to a capital allowances expert - he would have been cost negative

No need for a PM. Elliot Cabin Hire could have planned that one for them.

[SeeFive]

matt12023 said:

hmm half the buildings on this show now seem to resemble national trust visitor centres

I have to agree with you there. This week has been the culmination of a completely uninspired set of programmes, from a misplaced American Mill to glass portacabin. This programme must be the housebuilding equivalent of "Kit Car Crisis".

Not a good series IMO.

[SJobson]

ratbane said:

No need for a PM. Elliot Cabin Hire could have planned that one for them.

Heh

[cardigankid]

C8PPO said:

The architect they did have looked like a rampant bumlord, IMO. Not that that has any relevance to anything whatsoever. Just an observation.

Well if he detailed it I take my hat off to him, bumlord or not. That's not to say there weren't a few problems.

[Oakey]

SeeFive said:

matt12023 said:

hmm half the buildings on this show now seem to resemble national trust visitor centres

I have to agree with you there. This week has been the culmination of a completely uninspired set of programmes, from a misplaced American Mill to glass portacabin. This programme must be the housebuilding equivalent of "Kit Car Crisis".

Not a good series IMO.

Have any of the houses from this series had carpets? From memory most of them seem to be hard floors. Also, a vast majority also don't seem to bother with curtains or blinds. Are they all exhibitionists?

Someone already mentioned about the acoustics earlier in the thread, you don't need to wonder what they'd be like, it's very apparent at they end of each show as the owners proceed to rave on about their build with their comments echoing around the house.

[cardigankid]

sleep envy said:

SJobson said:

If you're splashing £650k then surely you'd budget in that for a professional project manager. It was prefab and had no apparent internal finishes; £650k feels like a lot, to me.

TBH if they had a switched on architect he would have recommended they speak to a capital allowances expert - he would have been cost negative

Eh? That was a private house, not a commercial building. Tell us more...

I agree with the other guy. Money doesn't go far these days, God knows, but £650k should still buy you quite a bit of house.In my opinion however, with the exception of serious country houses, prefabrication or mass production are the future.

Prelims? Surely she was managing the subs by herself. Either that or, like Britney Spears, she was more likely miming. Plus of course she wouldn't have needed Portakabins.

Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 12th March 13:43

[cardigankid]

Oakey said:

SeeFive said:

matt12023 said:

hmm half the buildings on this show now seem to resemble national trust visitor centres

I have to agree with you there. This week has been the culmination of a completely uninspired set of programmes, from a misplaced American Mill to glass portacabin. This programme must be the housebuilding equivalent of "Kit Car Crisis".

Not a good series IMO.

Have any of the houses from this series had carpets? From memory most of them seem to be hard floors. Also, a vast majority also don't seem to bother with curtains or blinds. Are they all exhibitionists?

Someone already mentioned about the acoustics earlier in the thread, you don't need to wonder what they'd be like, it's very apparent at they end of each show as the owners proceed to rave on about their build with their comments echoing around the house.

Curtains don't look good on the minimal art gallery look, nor does clutter or even comfortable seats, or big fireplaces with baskets and firedogs, and carpets are barely acceptable. It's all about fashion, and we are still in a phase of reaction to Victorian clutter, strange as it may seem, 108 years on. In another 100 years (drink plenty of mineral water) they will be laughing at us, I'm sure, and living in these elegant minimal spaces on recliners which are only there to look at, will seem as ludicrous as putting skirts on the exposed legs of pianos.