Discussion
A
irocfan said:
WRT the rusty house - both mrs Iroc and I were wondering why on earth you'd not spend a little extra and remove the dropped kerb and driveway leading to a brick wall
My OCD wouldn't have stood for that, the drop kerb to a brick wall then the drive way opening having a raised kerb! It looked back to front, and where are these people parking their cars? I'm always shouting at the telly to show me the garage. Craig Philips (first winner of Big Brother) was on Celebrity Pointless last night and talked about his long term house build plan that he is finally going ahead with and has been in touch with Grand Designs, not sure when it was recorded but it wasn't long ago. So it could appear on the next series or the one after.
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He's also a tradesman so it will be interesting to see how he approaches a build vs people with vision/money but no practical skills.
Given he does TV work you would think he would do the build as his own show.
FourWheelDrift said:
Craig Philips (first winner of Big Brother) was on Celebrity Pointless last night and talked about his long term house build plan that he is finally going ahead with and has been in touch with Grand Designs, not sure when it was recorded but it wasn't long ago. So it could appear on the next series or the one after.
That should be a good show. Craig seems like a really decent bloke. He gave away his BB winnings to a girl with downs syndrome to fund treatment. He's also a tradesman so it will be interesting to see how he approaches a build vs people with vision/money but no practical skills.
Given he does TV work you would think he would do the build as his own show.
Chaffs said:
Heads up .. Weds night 21h for the new series.
I'm not hopeful!This used to be such a wonderful TV program; I never missed an episode. However, the last series seemed to really be scraping the barrel for good projects and Kevin has lost his charm and replaced it with sarcasm.
I really hope I'm wrong......
Unfortunately, I agree.
It used to be interesting and informative as well as dramatic. It seems drama is easier to script.
I think of builds including tile arches with a green strip two stories tall, or the rebuild and renovation of a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a woodsman's beautiful handcrafted lodge (actually, I can think of three of those, all stunning) compared to the use of prefab or SIPs - then I realise all of these (ignoring several others that have truly had an impact, it is this series that sparked a dream I will fulfill of designing and building my own house) were at least three series old...
Surely there are still people rebuilding old mills, water towers and humble 60s bungalows? Or creating modern masterpieces with wing'd roof and acres of shiny detailed surfacing?
It used to be interesting and informative as well as dramatic. It seems drama is easier to script.
I think of builds including tile arches with a green strip two stories tall, or the rebuild and renovation of a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a woodsman's beautiful handcrafted lodge (actually, I can think of three of those, all stunning) compared to the use of prefab or SIPs - then I realise all of these (ignoring several others that have truly had an impact, it is this series that sparked a dream I will fulfill of designing and building my own house) were at least three series old...
Surely there are still people rebuilding old mills, water towers and humble 60s bungalows? Or creating modern masterpieces with wing'd roof and acres of shiny detailed surfacing?
Sway said:
Or creating modern masterpieces with wing'd roof and acres of shiny detailed surfacing?
One of the architects I use is on this series. His design takes its form from a shell and the drawings and model look really interesting. The key will be in the detail of the surface (as you mention), the original plan used a variety of different woods to create a beautiful patterned effect. There's been a 'bit of a to do' with it though (it is GD afterall...), but I don't know the outcome as everybody has to sign non disclosures before they start filming!Think he's the only architect to have done the show twice, so he's delegated the TV work to somebody else in the office. Sadly I couldn't blag myself a seat at a desk in the office when they came up to do some filler shots. I'd bought a black polo neck jumper and everything....
Kevin was on the radio this morning, he was saying that they're generally filming around 20-25 projects over a period of several years, and what makes it into the series is really based on what gets finished at the right time.
But I'd agree that most of the really memorable projects are from a few years ago, and I think of stuff like the place in Italy on the top of a mountain where they gathered up old pieces of stone that had fallen off and rolled to the bottom over the years, and the massive place in France that they restored and turned into a B&B. Oh and of course the one in Spain somewhere that Kevin mentioned looked like a supermarket filling station. And the Swiss place, featuring the local builder Mr b
d. Though I guess a recent one was the really tall water tower conversion in London, with no ground space but an incredible view.
But yes, probably four new ones before we get 'revisited'.
But I'd agree that most of the really memorable projects are from a few years ago, and I think of stuff like the place in Italy on the top of a mountain where they gathered up old pieces of stone that had fallen off and rolled to the bottom over the years, and the massive place in France that they restored and turned into a B&B. Oh and of course the one in Spain somewhere that Kevin mentioned looked like a supermarket filling station. And the Swiss place, featuring the local builder Mr b
d. Though I guess a recent one was the really tall water tower conversion in London, with no ground space but an incredible view.But yes, probably four new ones before we get 'revisited'.
Frik said:
Isn't one series always going to struggle in comparison to a cherry-picked selection from the past 160 episodes?
I see where you're coming from, but I don't think so. Previous series (I'm talking 3-4 years and prior) had, for me, interest in every episode. Whether the end result was of interest didn't matter - the rationales, technical approaches, 'lifestyles' being created were very interesting. Every single episode. Then the odd episode or two of revisited builds that were either incomplete initially, or to see if the finished result had delivered the benefits aimed for.
Now I find myself half watching, only really paying attention for the last ten minutes as most of that seems to be lost.
Remember Kevin doing an 'experiment' pretty much every episode? The last time I can think that happened was the floating house on the Thames...
Sway said:
Unfortunately, I agree.
It used to be interesting and informative as well as dramatic. It seems drama is easier to script.
I think of builds including tile arches with a green strip two stories tall, or the rebuild and renovation of a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a woodsman's beautiful handcrafted lodge (actually, I can think of three of those, all stunning) compared to the use of prefab or SIPs - then I realise all of these (ignoring several others that have truly had an impact, it is this series that sparked a dream I will fulfill of designing and building my own house) were at least three series old...
Surely there are still people rebuilding old mills, water towers and humble 60s bungalows? Or creating modern masterpieces with wing'd roof and acres of shiny detailed surfacing?
The woodsman house was possibly the best one for me. Especially the revisited on where he now had a wife and family.It used to be interesting and informative as well as dramatic. It seems drama is easier to script.
I think of builds including tile arches with a green strip two stories tall, or the rebuild and renovation of a Scheduled Ancient Monument; a woodsman's beautiful handcrafted lodge (actually, I can think of three of those, all stunning) compared to the use of prefab or SIPs - then I realise all of these (ignoring several others that have truly had an impact, it is this series that sparked a dream I will fulfill of designing and building my own house) were at least three series old...
Surely there are still people rebuilding old mills, water towers and humble 60s bungalows? Or creating modern masterpieces with wing'd roof and acres of shiny detailed surfacing?
Sway said:
Frik said:
Isn't one series always going to struggle in comparison to a cherry-picked selection from the past 160 episodes?
I see where you're coming from, but I don't think so. Previous series (I'm talking 3-4 years and prior) had, for me, interest in every episode. Whether the end result was of interest didn't matter - the rationales, technical approaches, 'lifestyles' being created were very interesting. Every single episode. Then the odd episode or two of revisited builds that were either incomplete initially, or to see if the finished result had delivered the benefits aimed for.
Now I find myself half watching, only really paying attention for the last ten minutes as most of that seems to be lost.
Remember Kevin doing an 'experiment' pretty much every episode? The last time I can think that happened was the floating house on the Thames...
When I started watching GD everything was new and exciting. I've even build my own self-build during those years which made me understand even more about what happens during a build and what is the latest and greatest in terms of technology etc.
Like all things there comes a time when what once made something special, becomes the norm. I think GD has reached that point.
Interestingly, I prefer GD Australia these days!
Frik said:
Isn't one series always going to struggle in comparison to a cherry-picked selection from the past 160 episodes?
Maybe, it's possible that we've reached so many builds now that surpassing them in terms of interest is getting more difficult than when anything at all was just more interesting than the latest new housing estate.I suspect some of the people featured seem to be doing the build so they can get on Grand Designs at least as much as actually wanting to do the build, in a similar way to people going on Dragons Den for the sake of it. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
I've gone from having almost cleared off the hard disk in my recorder in preparation to switch it to another one, to having more than 50% full of stuff that needs watching, in what seems like a couple of weeks.
droopsnoot said:
and the massive place in France that they restored and turned into a B&B.
This was my favourite. Buy some random place on the internet and couldn't speak a word of French in rural France whilst trying to organise the restoration, to seeing the magnificent building they produced at the end, from sheer will and determination. Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff