Building The Dream Series 10

[Phaedrus]

I am a big fan of Charlie Luxton's Building the Dream and just noticed that Series 10 is starting on More4 on Weds 24 March at 9:00pm.

Building the Dream - Episode Guide - All 4 (channel4.com)

[nod]

40 minutes ago, Phaedrus said:

I am a big fan of Charlie Luxton's Building the Dream and just noticed that Series 10 is starting on More4 on Weds 24 March at 9:00pm.

Building the Dream - Episode Guide - All 4 (channel4.com)

?

[ProDave]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Vijay]

Just a reminder it's on tonight

[Phaedrus]

Hmmm!  Series 10 is no longer showing on the All4 site or the TV schedules.  Not sure what's going on?

[ProDave]

17 minutes ago, Phaedrus said:

Hmmm!  Series 10 is no longer showing on the All4 site or the TV schedules.  Not sure what's going on?

I was just wondering a few days back why I could not find it.  It's been replaced with aon old Ugly house to Lovely house.

 

Next week perhaps?

[nod]

Does anyone know when the above is going to be on ?

[recoveringbuilder]

3 hours ago, nod said:

Does anyone know when the above is going to be on ?

I was expecting one night a couple of weeks ago as it was advertised in my telly paper and then it didn’t come on! Had a look online and it was saying starts in May?

[nod]

27 minutes ago, recoveringbuilder said:

I was expecting one night a couple of weeks ago as it was advertised in my telly paper and then it didn’t come on! Had a look online and it was saying starts in May?

Yes same here 

I think they replaced it with something else he’s done 

on more 4 Perhaps look out for it on 4 

[Phaedrus]

Series 10 was due to start on 24 March but was postponed at the last minute for reasons as yet unexplained.  The Facebook page provides some teasers for the new series but no confirmation of new start time.

 

Building the Dream - Home | Facebook

 

 

[Phaedrus]

[Phaedrus]

So Series 10 Episode 1 was shown tonight.  Below are my show notes.

 

Location:

Hertfordshire (Potters Bar)

 

The Self-builders:

Bob (retired firefighter) & Wendy (chartered accountant & writer).  Experienced with renovations & an extension.  Eight children.

 

Setting the Scene:

Oct 2016 – Charlie visits to meet the self-builders & review site and plans

Secured planning permission for four bedroom chalet bungalow on back garden plot.  Nominal value of plot £350k.  £350k build budget.

£950k expected value for completed house.

Targeting completion in 12 months

Eco-features: Solar panels and rainwater harvesting

Impressive westerly views towards green belt – Charlie suggests changing ground floor layout to take advantage of this with a large kitchen diner with bifolds in west elevation.

Suggests replacing two small dormers with large, long dormer clad in zinc

 

The Build:

Aug 2017 – Groundworks underway after approval of revised plans.  Ridge height too high so site lowered by 2m.  Piling and groundbeam (£30k) required.  Muckaway cost £10k.  Total groundworks cost £50k.

Block & beam floor installed.  Timber frame (standard 140mm with OSB sheathing) erection commences.  Posi-joists.  Kingspan Kooltherm insulation, Protect VC foil air-tightness layer, Protect TF200 Thermo external membrane.

Sept 2017 – Roof timbers erected.  Windows (look like Aluclad uPVC) being installed.

Oct 2017 – Charlie returns.  Expecting completion June 2018.

 

The Visit to Another Self-build:

Larch clad four bedroom barn style home in Loughborough.  Double height hallway.  Power floated concrete floor.

 

The Build contd:

Dec 2017 – Roof tiles & solar panels (12No) installed

Feb 2018 – Brick skin has been (miraculously as we never see a single brick being laid) installed.  Plasterboarding ongoing.

Apr 2018 – Polished porcelain floor tiles being laid.  Decorating with help of family & friends (to save v £6k quoted)

May 2018 – Plumbing.  Kitchen fitting.  Self-builders move in in late May.

July 2018 – Charlie visits completed home (called Luxton Lodge).  Double height hallway with skylight above.

 

The final figures:

Actual build costs £350k including VAT but with some landscaping incomplete giving total cost of £700k.  Bob put in a lot of work himself (shown fixing cladding and doing plumbing).(However, why does this figure never include design or the other project costs?

Actual valuation of £1.2M (2018 prices).  Impressive figures but as usual with these backgarden plots, the reduction in value of the original house never seems to get mentioned.

 

 

[ProDave]

Damn I missed it.  Recording the end of it now on More 4+1

 

Annoyingly it is not being repeated at a different time on 4 Seven or any other channel I can find.

[Phaedrus]

50 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Annoyingly it is not being repeated at a different time on 4 Seven or any other channel I can find.

 

It's available for playback on All4

Building the Dream - All 4 (channel4.com)

[Phaedrus]

Series 10 Episode 2 was shown tonight.  Below are my show notes:

 

Location

Surrey (Beare Green near Dorking)

 

The Self-builders:

Chris & Gemma (Wedding cake designer).

 

Setting the Scene:

Nov 2013 – Charlie visits to meet the self-builders & review site and plans

Purchased 2.5 acre plot with bungalow demolished & planning permission for four bedroom, 1.5 storey, replacement house with 5% bigger footprint.  £500k plot cost and £300k build budget for a timber frame Arts and Crafts style house.

£975k expected value for completed house.

Plan to start in Jan 2014 with targeting completion end Oct/Nov 2014 (10-11 months)

Charlie suggests layout changes to make most of upstair rooms in roof which are very restricted.  Also suggests eliminating the fourth bedroom to create an even grander double height entrance hall (Charlie loves a grand entrance hall!)

 

The Build

Jan 2014 – Groundworks started but delays due to bad weather.

May 2014 – Pour concrete foundations

July 2014 – Erecting timber frame.  Kingspan Therma PIR insulation.  Clay tile roof erected three weeks later

Dec 2014 – Delays due to submission of planning amendment.  Want to increase footprint by 30%.  Timber frame modified.

Feb 2015 – Brick plinth & chimney being built.  Aluminium bi-fold doors installed.  Windows delivered the wrong size requiring adjustment to window apertures.

Claims to have saved £50k by doing work themselves but projected out-turn cost is now £309k.

 

The Visit to Another Self-build:

Four bedroom, timber frame New England style home in East Sussex.  Dressing room behind headboard partition in bedroom.

 

The Build contd

June 2015 – Renderboard & render installed

Dec 2015 – Chris’ father died suddenly so build took an understandable backseat.  Fitting sections of oak cladding – progress slow due to water damage requiring planning & resealing.

March 2017 – Progress slow due to indecision about design of rear extension.  Plasterboarding upstairs.  Gemma pregnant – baby girl arrives in Sept 2017.

Feb 2019 – Took time out to enjoy family.  Kitchen being fitted.  Plastering ongoing.

June 2019 - Charlie visits, home not nearly complete & family still living in hut on site.  Expecting second child in Nov 2019.

June 2020 – Still not complete.

 

The “final” figures:

Actual build costs £297k with projection to £320k to complete.  Giving “total” costs (usual caveat) of £820k.

Actual valuation of £1.2M (2019 prices).

[saveasteading]

The final figures:

(However, why does this figure never include design or the other project costs?

 

I Believe it is a deliberate, but unofficial,  principle of  some (mostly) Architects, to avoid analysis of their and other consultants' costs.

It encourages the client to proceed at their fee stage.

It also helps the project look like better value than it is, after the event (eg on tv and in references)

 

In one such case, I pointed out the difference between what the client was being told, and their stated tight budget (the Architect was not telling him that he was only quoting the 'build' cost, and also not allowing any contingency). The Architect's response was, utterly shockingly, "the client will always find more money". I told the client and declined the project: their problem, not mine.

 

Is there any way to change this?

 

 

[Bonner]

Following my experience, I just don’t believe the build costs in most of these programs! It seems they don’t include all the fees and subsidiary expenses. Also, much of the uplift in value is market increase which is realised by other properties. Still enjoy watching the programs, just don’t believe everyone is going to make £x00,000 added value by self building.

[Phaedrus]

2 hours ago, Bonner said:

Following my experience, I just don’t believe the build costs in most of these programs! It seems they don’t include all the fees and subsidiary expenses. Also, much of the uplift in value is market increase which is realised by other properties.

Agree, the difference between build costs and project costs has never been mentioned in any of the episodes I've seen.  Also the fact that the undeveloped plot value would increase over time (in a rising market) is ignored.  Charlie just asks them what they paid for the plot even though it has sometimes been purchased a decade earlier!

 

2 hours ago, Bonner said:

Still enjoy watching the programs

Me too ?

 

3 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Is there any way to change this?

Increased education and awareness of self-builders through forums such as this.  Homebuilding & Renovating Show also do a pretty good job of covering all elements of the project including design costs, fees and preliminaries.

[saveasteading]

Kevin McCloud's Swindon project didn't go too well did it?

Maybe he only allowed for the build cost.

 

... urged to apologise after people who bought bonds were told the “best case” scenario was a 74% loss.

[ToughButterCup]

40 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Kevin McCloud's Swindon project didn't go too well did it? ...

 

How on earth do you do Due Diligence on a project like that? How many levels of unknowables are in play?

 

Quote

... As for the issues facing homeowners at Kings Worthy, when they were first raised by a local councillor in March of this year, Mr McCloud's firm issued a statement saying that a 'Brexit-fuelled construction' crisis had hit the industry, causing soaring construction costs and a shortage of skilled workers....

 

...'Kevin McCloud shouldn't be on television. We saw the new series and just thought, "What a joke." ...

( downloaded  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7509363/Grand-Designs-guru-Kevin-McCloud-reduced-investors-dreams-RUBBLE.html 07/05/2021 [With apologies] )

 

Ahhhh, that'll be it then. Brexit. 

[Argento]

The Beare Green Project. Charlie Luxton took the couple to see a self build single storey house in Sussex. Very beautiful. Has anybody got clues as to where the owners may have bought the self-build house which they constructed in 6 months? Anyone know if this house has appeared in a magazine. It was so beautifully thought out. Geoffrey & Lorraine are the owners and I compliment them.

[SuperJohnG]

Just watched last week's. The finish (when they do finish ?) was fantastic really nicely finished and all looked high quality. 

[Redoctober]

On 09/05/2021 at 11:30, Argento said:

The Beare Green Project. Charlie Luxton took the couple to see a self build single storey house in Sussex. Very beautiful. Has anybody got clues as to where the owners may have bought the self-build house which they constructed in 6 months? Anyone know if this house has appeared in a magazine. It was so beautifully thought out. 

 

Hi @Argento I too saw the programme and was impressed with the property the couple went to see. However, I didn't get the impression it was a "complete" self build in as much as I think it could well have been a re-build on an existing property, if that makes sense?

 

The reason I say that is because I thought the central chimney breast was a strange "design" feature to have if building from scratch. To me it looked like a supporting wall and they decided to "incorporate" it rather than knock it down etc. If you look closely, the "chimney breast" wasn't being used as a fire place and the reverse side was nothing more than a display area for crockery. 

 

I have no idea as to the construction company were etc but don't be surprised by self build properties being completed within 6 months.

 

It all comes back to that magic triangle - Budget / Time / standard of finish.

 

You can often achieve two of these elements but rarely all 3 - [Rarely used as it can be done and has been done but isn't that common]. 

[Phaedrus]

Series 10 Episode 3 was shown on More4 tonight.  Below are my show notes:

 

Location

Hampshire (Harbridge 15 miles north of Bournemouth)

 

The Self-builders:

Ryan (Digital Consultant) & Jenny (Self-confessed Townie)

 

Setting the Scene:

Sept 2016 – Charlie visits to meet the self-builders & review site and plans

120 year old barn stripped with scaffold enclosure up

Purchased for £305k with planning permission for three bedroom conversion/refurbishment.  Spanish slate roof and larch cladding.  £230k build budget.

£850k expected value for completed house.

Plan to complete within 18 months

Charlie suggests front elevation is too symmetrical and double height glazed entrance/statement window should be moved to one side.  Likes their double height entrance but suggests turning stair to give more room to front door.

 

The Build

Nov 2016 – Foundations being underpinned.  200Te of material removed.

Jan 2017 – Remainder of steel frame installed.

Ryan moves to static caravan on site but Jenny stays put in flat in Bournemouth.

Apr 2017 – Roof installed.  Formwork erected for concrete staircase.

May 2017 – Concrete staircase cast.  Glass arrives – door frame 20cm too small due to Ryan’s error

Aug 2017 – Charlie returns to site, his suggestions to relocate entrance and not to go for a concrete staircase have been ignored.  Windows installed.  Larch cladding almost complete.

£250k spent to date with Ryan doing plenty of work.  Overspend on kitchen, windows and concrete floor.  Forecast another £50k to complete by April 2018.

Lots of reclaimed brick.  Exposed pine ceiling timbers painted white without any noise insulation – not sure how this meets building regulations?

 

The Visit to Another Self-build:

Four bedroom, Victorian detached in Beckenham bought for £1.3M in 2013 and refurbished with an industrial look.  Created different wall textures using wooden panelling and stripping back plaster to brick & painting white.  Pocket sliding doors with glazing above.  Quartz island with herbs growing in cut-out.  Lots of large bulb pendant lighting.

 

The Build contd

Nov 2017 – First fix nearly complete.  Plastering underway.

Dec 2017 – Kitchen assembled.  Second fix electrics underway.  Cladding ground floor internal walls in reclaimed timber.

Feb 2018 – Steel balustrade being fabricated.

Sept 2018 - Charlie visits completed home.

 

The “final” figures:

Actual build costs £300k.  Giving “total” costs (usual caveat) of £605k.

Actual valuation of £950k (2019 prices).

[eandg]

Watched the first two earlier in the week. Still utterly perplexed as to how normal people can afford to live in the South East given house and land prices. And equally as confused as to why it took so long for the second couple to get anywhere near to finishing their house (or why they had bespoke furniture kitted out in rooms they'll not use while the nursery hasn't even been boarded six years on) - presumably a financial issue they didn't want to disclose.