Grand Designs 25/2

[ajprice]

A 'Grand Design' for £150k with no architect . So not loadsamoney grand and fairly roughly designed. I liked the result, being built I didn't think it would turn out as well as it did. I like this show more when it isn't Mr & Mrs Timothy Ponsonby-Smythe with their 7 figure uberbox. Kevin is good this series too, I liked the bit with the tile cutter, speaking French then saying he's not afraid of making a tit of himself .

[B52er]

Please tell me I wasn't the only one to notice the HAIRY PITS!!!! not a level of cultural integration I'd be accepting... heh heh heh

to be fair to them tho it turned out better than i thought it would.....

[Matt..]

lost in espace said:

danoli777 said:

Did he say the total spend was 147k which inlcuded 12k for the site?

They had a lot of free labour and used mostly free/recycled materials so where did all the money go?

I am building a biggish house, believe me it goes easy!

Yeah but surely labour is a big percentage of a house build? £147k seems a LOT for what they got! Especially when you consider the labour was virtually free, as were all the walls. There weren't many finishing items, so excluding the site, that's £135k on what exactly!?

[MitchT]

B52er said:

Please tell me I wasn't the only one to notice the HAIRY PITS!!!!

No, me and SteveNorthEast noticed too - scroll up to 21:20

[B52er]

yeah, soz.... just jumped right out didn't they! nice.

[Deva Link]

Matt.. said:

lost in espace said:

danoli777 said:

Did he say the total spend was 147k which inlcuded 12k for the site?

They had a lot of free labour and used mostly free/recycled materials so where did all the money go?

I am building a biggish house, believe me it goes easy!

Yeah but surely labour is a big percentage of a house build? £147k seems a LOT for what they got! Especially when you consider the labour was virtually free, as were all the walls. There weren't many finishing items, so excluding the site, that's £135k on what exactly!?

I was only half watching it but didn't hear any mention of the opening front windows/doors - they didn't look cheap and on other Grand Designs the glass costs are typically immense.

[Catz]

Well surprise, surprise!

I logged on here and expected to read more or less everything I have. Well done PHers you have not disappointed me.

Personally I liked their "earthy" approach to the build, it was very organic and showed their personality. Unlike some of the contemporary builds where it's almost as though the owners need to show their materialism to the world by building a home which is clinical, full of expensive gadgets, not homely in the slightest and is basically a show house.

As for the sponger/don't want to work comments ... I'd like to see some of you put in the hard graft that they did. The volunteers all looked pretty happy to work their socks off too, so they must have been staying in a place with a good atmosphere and rapport among workers and owners otherwise they'd have walked.

I'm no carbon friendly eco warrior, think my cars tell that story, but I liked this build. It looked like somewhere you'd feel comfortable to visit and be able to relax in.

Peace out!

[BBYeah]

Nice project, nice people. I hope they'll be very happy there.

Hairy pits, so what? I doubt she would have had a lot of time for personal grooming and her husband / boyfriend probably wasn't bothered either.

[Mobile Chicane]

Matt.. said:

lost in espace said:

danoli777 said:

Did he say the total spend was 147k which inlcuded 12k for the site?

They had a lot of free labour and used mostly free/recycled materials so where did all the money go?

I am building a biggish house, believe me it goes easy!

Yeah but surely labour is a big percentage of a house build? £147k seems a LOT for what they got! Especially when you consider the labour was virtually free, as were all the walls. There weren't many finishing items, so excluding the site, that's £135k on what exactly!?

The (local) stonemason, sparky and roof tiler were all paid, as was the carpenter they'd brought over from England.

Plus I'd imagine that the composting toilet , woodburners in every room, kitchen and bathroom fittings all had to be paid for with cash.

[M3333]

Catz said:

Well surprise, surprise!

I logged on here and expected to read more or less everything I have. Well done PHers you have not disappointed me.

Personally I liked their "earthy" approach to the build, it was very organic and showed their personality. Unlike some of the contemporary builds where it's almost as though the owners need to show their materialism to the world by building a home which is clinical, full of expensive gadgets, not homely in the slightest and is basically a show house.

As for the sponger/don't want to work comments ... I'd like to see some of you put in the hard graft that they did. The volunteers all looked pretty happy to work their socks off too, so they must have been staying in a place with a good atmosphere and rapport among workers and owners otherwise they'd have walked.

I'm no carbon friendly eco warrior, think my cars tell that story, but I liked this build. It looked like somewhere you'd feel comfortable to visit and be able to relax in.

Peace out!

+1 well said. I thought it was great!

[Plotloss]

Good result, interesting project.

I can't help think though that they'd have needed half the workforce if they'd engaged meat eaters...

[sleep envy]

I thought it was great and I liked the end result, not sure about any of the niches and the chemical loo though

the flagstones in the kitchen looked awesome

just a shame they didn't spend some time designing it though - it looked like a load of garages before they installed the glazed walls

[Chuffer]

I liked this one. For the budget they had and the final result they achieved, I think they did a great job (helped no doubt by some free construction materials and free labour).

Some things I would change (preferably the wife.... oh and maybe the kids too) but overall seemed a worthwhile project.

MitchT said:

B52er said:

Please tell me I wasn't the only one to notice the HAIRY PITS!!!!

No, me and SteveNorthEast noticed too - scroll up to 21:20

I noticed that straight away. Maybe he prefers the more 'natural' woman

[Truckosaurus]

I may have missed this detail, but were the tyres bolted (or similar) to the layer below or just held in place by the dirt?

On the whole I liked the place, it was built for a fraction of the cost of the usual GrandDessie offering, and the scenario of getting free (or cheap) labour from friends and family isn't too outrageous for many self builders (although charging them for food seemed a bit of a p1ss take).

[Meeja]

Truckosaurus said:

I may have missed this detail, but were the tyres bolted (or similar) to the layer below or just held in place by the dirt?

I did wonder that myself, and as someone else has commented, WTF happens when you get a couple of weeks of truly miserable driving rain?! Bye-bye Earth Ship?!

[UncappedTag]

God damn hippies. But on a budget that guy who built his house in the forest and insulated it with hay blows this mud hut into the last century.

[Jasandjules]

Meeja said:

Truckosaurus said:

I may have missed this detail, but were the tyres bolted (or similar) to the layer below or just held in place by the dirt?

I did wonder that myself, and as someone else has commented, WTF happens when you get a couple of weeks of truly miserable driving rain?! Bye-bye Earth Ship?!

They were filled with sand I think (which at least will help if they drop a spliff in bed)..... But still, not exactly secure?

I was only half watching as we had guests, but the couple actually seemed quite nice (which I didn't want to find them), but I still hate the eco warrior approach. I also wondered exactly what hard work they were getting away from, they didn't look like they know what hard work was in the first place (though I must confess they seemed to graft when it came to building the place).

[Podie]

Bungleaio said:

People come and build their house for them and they have to pay for the privilege.

You say it like it's a bad thing..?!?!

They've laboured to build their house, AND given them money. I've got a garden I want landscaping, and it's seeming like a pretty bloody good idea to me...

[bored-of-coding]

He obviously bought the plot with the ex-wife (10 years ago)
and he got the kids in every possible shot, playing happily.

call me cynical ..

[cardigankid]

robinhood21 said:

I'd be surprised if those walls ever fully dry out.

Summed up in one. Damp patches like that aren't going to just disappear. I really didn't like this one at all, probably because I have no desire to live in a cross between a rabbit burrow and a hutch. The whole thing looked like the kind of den we used to build when we were 9, except our dens were homelier, better lit and had a longer design life. Bilbo Baggins Hobbit Hole looked a lot more attractive. I don't fancy his chances of getting a mortgage for that off the Abbey National either. Bruce Goff, maybe even Frank Lloyd Wright, did bottle walls many decades ago, and did them better. As another poster mentioned, tyres contain hydrocarbons and are classified as hazardous waste, sadly for those of us who wash them down and coat them in Tyreslik every other weekend. As for the chemical toilet, I would prefer to dig a latrine in the garden than sit on that thing, or more likely drive the 10k to the nearest respectable hotel to use their bog. Worst of all was Kevin's comment at the end - 'that is how we should all be living'. That is going backwards to cave dwelling. It makes a Persimmon 3-bed semi look a pleasant change. All this PC environmentalism is going to turn into a lunatic Eco-Nazism if we don't get a grip.

As to the couple, he was a caricature from 'It's Grim up North London' while she was an unattractive Seth Effrican biltong basher. Professional environmental crapmerchants out pushing their wares. I don't know why it is but these abrasive pushy demanding and very mercenary Boer chicks really turn me off. I don't wonder Kevin didn't give her one.

Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 26th February 08:59