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Original poster

Grand Designs anyone?

317 replies

SlantyBaws · 06/01/2021 21:09

Anyone else watching?

New series started tonight. Bonkers toff from SW London wants to convert a building in a cemetery.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 28/01/2021 09:30

I liked the singing - it was frivolous, it didn't need to be Sinatra standard :)

I quite liked the house - much better than last weeks anyway! The space seemed to work better. I don't understand how the heat works though. I also couldn't work out how they could have the windows open in summer if it needs to build up the heat. I suppose the sun heats the floor and earth anyway...? Plus, like someone else said, it's built up the heat store now so maybe not as important.

mummabubs · 28/01/2021 22:10

Just watched this weeks episode, normally we turn it off as the credits roll but fate meant we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the performance, wondering what the heck was happening 🤣🤣

thenightsky · 28/01/2021 22:15

Going back to last weeks episode, I didnt watch the whole thing but nearly every house on GD has a wall if glass usually that comes from Germany, took up a third of the budget and weighs 5 tons.

DH said that too! He also added that the glass is, 9 times out of 10, late being delivered.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 29/01/2021 08:22

What did they do with the original house they lived in? Did they sell that off? I didn’t hear what the plan for that was.

I hope they are allowed to open the windows in summer. We know someone with a similar heat exchanger glass house. It’s so so hot al the time, it’s unbearable really. Even in winter. Windows never seem to be allowed to open. It’s very strange. I love fresh air.

BigRedBoat · 29/01/2021 08:55

I would have liked more explanation of how the soil heating works, presumably that didn't make hot water too? How do they stop it being unbearably hot in the summer? It looked lovely at the end though.

SoupDragon · 29/01/2021 08:58

I think they mentioned at the start that part of the budget was coming from savings with the remaining amount coming from the sale of the original house.

redsquirrelfan · 29/01/2021 11:48

The original house was sold - they mentioned some of the proceeds were going to the sister. I was a bit surprised that they were selling a house that had been in the family for generations but she obviously wanted her share of the inheritance and couldn't afford to buy his share out and vice versa.

Frodont · 29/01/2021 12:41

All these houses look the same inside! They even had the same table as last week with the blue running through it (naff)

Frodont · 29/01/2021 12:42

Dd pointed out that the most eco solution would have been to stay in the original house

EssentiallyDelighted · 29/01/2021 12:43

@Frodont

All these houses look the same inside! They even had the same table as last week with the blue running through it (naff)
They had the same multicoloured dining chairs as one of the others too
Frodont · 29/01/2021 12:45

It must belong to the show surely

DobbyTheHouseElk · 29/01/2021 13:21

I noticed the acrylic table too. It really stood out. I wondered if GD had a job lot.

Thanks for letting me know about the original house. I assumed it was sold. I always wonder what buyers think when they are buying a house with the old owners so close and in the garden! Presumably some sort of shared access to the road?

EssentiallyDelighted · 29/01/2021 13:54

A friend of mine has done that (bought an original house with the previous owners building in the bottom of the very substantial garden). There was some sort of mess-up with access for water pipes or similar but otherwise it's been fine. No TV programmes involved though.

HangryPants · 29/01/2021 18:23

I didn't understand why they were calling it an eco house. Surely all of that concrete and polystyrene counts against the geothermal heating?

HangryPants · 29/01/2021 18:24

And I'm another who would have liked to know if you can get the windows open. I hate sleeping without an open window.

EssentiallyDelighted · 29/01/2021 18:42

Yes, you really would want to throw them wide open to the forest and the atrium in summer.

UntamedWisteria · 29/01/2021 19:52

Eco house my arse.

The vast quantities of concrete used - not to mention all the brand new furniture - would have more than cancelled out the carbon savings from the 'earth' central heating.

And I also wondered if it would be unbreakably hot in summer.

LarsErickssong · 03/02/2021 21:12

Surely they can't do this for anyone close to £250k?! I would've said £450k easily!

LarsErickssong · 03/02/2021 21:12

Gah *anywhere

MistyMinge2 · 03/02/2021 21:18

I'm no architect or builder, but surely it's blatantly obvious £250k is nowhere near enough.

Why the hell didn't they check all this stuff out before they bought it? Surely better to lose a few thousand than tens of thousands. My verdict at the moment is they're absolutely mad.

LarsErickssong · 03/02/2021 21:27

Yup I really can't fathom why they didn't do all this beforehand!!

SoupDragon · 03/02/2021 21:29

This has to be the quickest the budget has been blown due to "surprises"

CaptainMyCaptain · 03/02/2021 21:29

It makes me laugh, on this kind of project, whenever they say they were surprised to uncover rotten beams - I'm no surveyor or architect but it's pretty bloody obvious the place was rotting away.

SoupDragon · 03/02/2021 21:30

I can only assume they didn't have any kind of survey first 😂

MistyMinge2 · 03/02/2021 21:39

He's going to be a worn out husk with serious back issues by the time it's ready.