Grand designs

[gigglybug]

Hi all,

Yesterday I caught a bit of Grand Designs and it was great!

The guy was building his own wooden framed straw bale house, with the help of volunteers, and it ended up costing him about £23,000! Because most of the building materials came from the land. He had solar panels that were originally from the Big Brother house, and was totally self-sufficient for water, energy, fruit and veg.

Did anyone else see it? I think it was More4

Definately one to download if you can find it!!

[Milims]

I've seen it a couple of times - it's the best one ever!

[Green Aura]

Makes me sob - he's built my dream house! I've seen it so many times - OH recorded it and I've got my own little dvd.

[mybarnconversion]

One of the few Grand Designs that is to be truly admired - rather than the usual overly wealthy fools building themselves mansions ...

It's a shame that the series doesn't feature more such builds - the last series was particularly thin on such ... you've reminded me of one of my recentish rants on the subject of the lack of green focus in Grand Designs

[Shabba]

I'm thinking this sounds like Ben Law's house in Sussex. I had the honour of actually seeing it close up when I attended one of his courses in his woodland. It really is the most beautiful house, although a lot smaller in reality than it looked on tv. He has written a book about it "The Woodland House" available from Permanent Publications, and it's a really good read with lots of gorgeous photos of the building process and the finished product. This guy is really living the dream, and I'm thoroughly jealous! Didn't actually get to go inside but he does do guided tours of the house a couple of times a year. I think you can book them through the Sustainability Centre. Not sure of the web address but if you google for it you'll find it.

[Thomzo]

Yes, I too have seen that one. Didn't he extend it when he got married and had a little'un? It really is a lovely place but he will have to pull it down if he ever moves out.

Kevin McCloud is a heart throb of mine. Or was until he started an eco building project here in Swindon on a green field site (or actually two of them). There is so much brownfield land around here

My favourite episode is the one where they are trying to convert a barge into a houseboat and making a right B*lls of it.

But most of the houses end up looking the same. Square glass boxes that are totally impractical, would cost a fortune to heat and can never be cleaned. The only thing that varies is the ratio of wood cladding to glass.

Cheers
Zoe

[Shabba]

I know this is off topic somewhat but this thread seemed to be heading a bit towards a general moan about the standards on Grand Designs so I decided to join in because that programme drives me mental sometimes! Did anyone ever see the episode where a couple were converting an old chapel? I remember it distinctly because the chapel had a balcony seating area all around and that part of the building was listed so they weren't allowed to remove it. However, they were allowed to box it in so it was completely encased and invisible, which resulted in these hideous protrusions on the ceilings in all their downstairs rooms! What on earth is the point of listing part of a building? And then allowing people to completely cover it up? Kevin wasn't impressed.

I had a particular problem with this couple because they also built a swimmimg pool room right in the centre of the house, which they insisted was as a physical therapy thing for their disabled son but you could tell from their attitude throughout that it was a real status symbol for them.

What really bugs me is the people who claim to want to incorporate all kinds of eco technologies into their new homes, but them make them 10 times bigger than they really need to be which is a massive waste of resources and energy in itself. Why does every family of 4 think they need a seven bedroom house to live in, with an ensuite for each kid's room? Everyone seems to be obsessed with having these huge open plan living spaces that look like show homes rather than somewhere you could really feel cosy and comfortable living in.