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Grand Designs - a question for the devoted


Mungler
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This has been the topic of much discussion (on and off) in the Mungler household.

 

Does anyone remember the argumentative old boy whom they made two episodes about and who designed and part built (wokka wokka) a house with a wooden roof that was seriously curved, that then seriously failed and then made the inside of the house seriously wet.

 

The first episode (Grand Designs) was a number of years ago and showed this chap (who could walk into an empty room and get in an argument) hosing bag fulls of cash to build his dream home - it could have been perfectly sensible and on budget had he opted for a roof made of traditional construction. But oh no, he wanted to prove a point that he could have a bent wooden roof which he then proceeded to commission at enormous expense.

 

Anyways, the roof arrived, it failed and it then flooded the house - that was also decked out with lots of carved wood which then sucked up all the lovely water and.....

 

The second visit (in the next series - Grand Designs Revisted) was watching him faff around and generally make no progress because he had blown all his money (and laid off all the other trades) in pursuit of suing the roof manufacturers who incidentally probably just went to Court played the Grand Designs video to the Judge and then "rested their case".

 

So then, this guy must be famous.

 

There must be a name, a website and an update.

 

What know ye?

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This has been the topic of much discussion (on and off) in the Mungler household.

 

Does anyone remember the argumentative old boy whom they made two episodes about and who designed and part built (wokka wokka) a house with a wooden roof that was seriously curved, that then seriously failed and then made the inside of the house seriously wet.

 

The first episode (Grand Designs) was a number of years ago and showed this chap (who could walk into an empty room and get in an argument) hosing bag fulls of cash to build his dream home - it could have been perfectly sensible and on budget had he opted for a roof made of traditional construction. But oh no, he wanted to prove a point that he could have a bent wooden roof which he then proceeded to commission at enormous expense.

 

Anyways, the roof arrived, it failed and it then flooded the house - that was also decked out with lots of carved wood which then sucked up all the lovely water and.....

 

The second visit (in the next series - Grand Designs Revisted) was watching him faff around and generally make no progress because he had blown all his money (and laid off all the other trades) in pursuit of suing the roof manufacturers who incidentally probably just went to Court played the Grand Designs video to the Judge and then "rested their case".

 

So then, this guy must be famous.

 

There must be a name, a website and an update.

 

What know ye?

 

Sounds like a normal day in Essex building control to me.

 

We find a nice blue tarpaulin is far more weatherproof than going to all the expense of a normal roof. Cuts down on building time, is far cheaper and you get around planning a lot easier as it comes under the category of 'Livestock storage'

 

Really do I have to educate all you Essex boys?:lol:?:lol:???

Edited by starlight32
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I watch loads of these and never seem to see the finished results, if any ever get finished that is :lol:

 

The one you mention seemed doomed to failure from the start, it made interesting viewing but I reckon it must have finished him :lol:

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Here you go.....

 

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/grand-...nghamshire.html

 

Don't annoy Tom, he's got a temper!

 

Yep, remember him now. Fight with his own shadow, that one. Very entertaining.

 

Why do most of these "grand designs" seem to fall into one of two categories?

 

1. Some kind of sub- Le Corbusian nightmare with a bit of Dali-on-acid bunged in for good measure, bringing to mind a Stasi regional office on the other side of the looking-glass.

 

2. A supposedly environmentally friendly over-sized hutch so shoddily constructed out of twigs and organic monkey **** that the wolf, if he wished to gain entry, could choose whether to huff or puff - either would do, both would be a waste of breath.

 

Robert

 

 

 

 

ROFLMAO

 

Spot on there :oops::good:

 

 

 

 

 

 

i rember him he bought a plot of land and flattend the house already there then sunk old oil drilling pipes into the ground and built off them . i also rember he broke one of his ankles on site then to top it he had that topsy turvy roof ;)

 

 

 

That is the fella.

 

Now then, this was many years ago now - I hadn't realised the first one was 2001 and so long ago, it seems like yesterday.... and don't policeman look younger and younger these days. I digress....

 

So, it was a long time ago and there must be an ending out there.

Edited by Mungler
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I think the two that I have been most impressed with were the guy that built a house out of wood found on his own woodland, lined it with bales of hay and then made the roof shingles. A really impressive eco house for someone that needs to live where they work.

 

The other one was the flatpack house on more 4 the other night. Huge. I mean, seriously huge. and it cost them 230k to build. I could do with a bit of that.

 

All the others seem to be a bit up their own **** and out of touch with reality. 25k on lighting? I mean, for ***** sake....

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spot on with the woodland guy, really nice house!if i remember though didn't he have to knock it down if he ever moved out?as only he had permission to live there!seems a shame, still its better than some rich towntie buying it for a weekend place!

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I think the two that I have been most impressed with were the guy that built a house out of wood found on his own woodland, lined it with bales of hay and then made the roof shingles. A really impressive eco house for someone that needs to live where they work.

 

The other one was the flatpack house on more 4 the other night. Huge. I mean, seriously huge. and it cost them 230k to build. I could do with a bit of that.

 

All the others seem to be a bit up their own **** and out of touch with reality. 25k on lighting? I mean, for ***** sake....

 

Do you mean the Hoffhouse?

 

I think I saw that was for sale for something like £4.5m, not a bad profit but I guess the huge plot they had was worth a packet.

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No, not that one (although that was very impressive too!). This one was a more conventional one with a wood frame. Can't for the life of me think where they had it put up, but Wales rings a bell. Had a lime scree floor.

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No, not that one (although that was very impressive too!). This one was a more conventional one with a wood frame. Can't for the life of me think where they had it put up, but Wales rings a bell. Had a lime scree floor.

 

That might have been repeated on E/More/This&That 4 the other night. Lime floor (no end of problems, as it was too cold when they poured it), timber frame in Wales. Wool insulation. A lot of glass and so on.

 

Robert

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are you talking about the guys who lived in the woods i a ramshackled tree house..... dug the clay for the walls out of his pond ?

all medieval looking with trees and hay bails for walls ?

this one was pure genius and made for my own dream house........ oh to have the time and the money !!!

 

i looked into buying the self build norwiegen log cabin types and the hoff house..... buy the house kit and building it... no problem....... buy the land.... FORGET IT.....

a modest yet spacious kit house can be bout from £50'000 upwards but the land will cost you over £100'000 for a peice if **** plot which would totaly unsuitable for the design of the building..... you cant win....

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Usual rule is 2/3 the cost of building a house is in the land.

 

I have done two self builds in the past, and always they have gone over budget. You do learn from your mistakes though. My first build was what they call 'garden land' and inevitably you are still living in someones back garden. My next remedy on the second build was not to allow Mrs Starlight to have any involvement in the selection of fixtures and fittings... as mentioned earlier there was a slight cost overrun by 25%. You have got to go high spec to make money-but they just won't give you the planning on what you really want to properly achieve this. For me to get past what I wanted second time round they wanted a load more of ecologically friendly designs built into the property as it was a sensitive area. Biodigester for the toilets and liquid wastes, recycled rainwater system for the cisterns etc,etc just to name but a couple of proviso's.

 

Log cabins are ok but they don't work out as cheap as you think. If you have the dosh now is the time to build.... lowering plot prices and builders starting to get jittery wanting the work. Brickies last year round here were after 500 quid a thousand laid.

Now its around £300 and will drop further.

 

And a stark warning to all..... Not long after I sold the last place the council announced they had granted planning for 200 housing association properties up the road- I don't think I would have ever sold it it it had happened earlier.

 

Regards starlight32

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Did you see the one last night in Tuscany?

 

The couple bought a _CASTLE_ on top of a hil for 110k and then spent 350k doing it up. A castle for ****'s sake! A whole castle!

 

I'm not jealous that they either had the money for the project or that the area was fantastic. ****.

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