Room to Improve.

The Princess Bride

What a lovely couple, one of the nicest and most down to earth we've seen throughout all the seasons of RTI.

I'm not a fan of the kitchen and living area, for all the space created in the refurb, I thought it looked quite cluttered in the end.
Fair play to them for recycling so much, makes a lot of sense.

KevRossi

Build was €215 according to the QS

-€40k for the grant
-€10k for stuff that Joe sold
-€15k for Joe doing a deal with Sola
-€30k for a load of work done on the black

So cost €120k or so to build in real terms.
They would have sold the house in Nenagh so came out of it very well. One really nice house for a swap for 2 older ones and probably have €100k left over when all bills are paid.

HeidiHeidi

KevRossi wrote: »

Build was €215 according to the QS

-€40k for the grant
-€10k for stuff that Joe sold
-€15k for Joe doing a deal with Sola
-€30k for a load of work done on the black

So cost €120k or so to build in real terms.
They would have sold the house in Nenagh so came out of it very well. One really nice house for a swap for 2 older ones and probably have €100k left over when all bills are paid.

That's a whole lot of assumptions you're making there!

splinter65

KevRossi wrote: »

Build was €215 according to the QS

-€40k for the grant
-€10k for stuff that Joe sold
-€15k for Joe doing a deal with Sola
-€30k for a load of work done on the black

So cost €120k or so to build in real terms.
They would have sold the house in Nenagh so came out of it very well. One really nice house for a swap for 2 older ones and probably have €100k left over when all bills are paid.

I’d be very surprised if she sold her house in Nenagh

Vicarious Function

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

I think that's because they're shown in showhouse condition, with not a single personal effect in place. Come back in three months' time, and it'll look like someones actual personal living space.

I think, in a lot of cases, for the final photo-shoot in this type of program, local furniture suppliers loan or rent out furniture to the production company for a type of staging. Very often, by the time the building is complete, the owners haven't enough funds left to furnish the place straight away. This may or may not have happened in this case.

Penn

I get that they have to show a bit about the owners for entertainment purposes, but in a lot of episodes they get the balance completely wrong. We saw almost nothing of the house being built or any clue on quite useful information with regards a lot of the energy upgrades the house received. Why was it important to bring it to an A2 BER Rating? What were some of the measures they used to do this? How much is it expected they'll save on energy and heating bills over the next few years etc? This could have been a very informative episode for people in that regard and could have made them think about doing the same to their own houses.

Instead we got "It'll cost a lot of money to bring it to an A2 rating, but at least the house will be warm. Anyway, lets go look at wedding suits which no architect has ever done with their client ever in the history of the world"

There's always pointless scenes like that. I remember one episode they showed Dermot go into the local shop to buy penny sweets (me hole) and talk about the clients with the shopkeeper. Such nonsense.

They need to strike a better balance between the entertainment of the life of the couple etc, and the actual build/house.

FFVII

Penn wrote: »

I get that they have to show a bit about the owners for entertainment purposes, but in a lot of episodes they get the balance completely wrong. We saw almost nothing of the house being built or any clue on quite useful information with regards a lot of the energy upgrades the house received. Why was it important to bring it to an A2 BER Rating? What were some of the measures they used to do this? How much is it expected they'll save on energy and heating bills over the next few years etc? This could have been a very informative episode for people in that regard and could have made them think about doing the same to their own houses.

Instead we got "It'll cost a lot of money to bring it to an A2 rating, but at least the house will be warm. Anyway, lets go look at wedding suits which no architect has ever done with their client ever in the history of the world"

There's always pointless scenes like that. I remember one episode they showed Dermot go into the local shop to buy penny sweets (me hole) and talk about the clients with the shopkeeper. Such nonsense.

They need to strike a better balance between the entertainment of the life of the couple etc, and the actual build/house.

It's been this way for 10 years

Galwayguy35

Always amazes me how people are able to come up with and extra 50 k when they say there is no more money in the pot.

Yer man joe was a gas character, he's the most easy going fella I've ever seen.

Had to laugh at Mary picking up Dermot on his "yaaard" pronunciation.

downtheroad

splinter65 wrote: »

She went to school with me and I’m 54 so look, neither of us need a stair lift yet....

Well Joe isn't 54 and after shelling out €215k I wouldn't fancy having to spend again in a few years when a bit of future proofing could easily have been incorporated into this build.

Radio5

Princess Calla wrote: »

That is always the point I make...so many of the families have young children and while it's great to keep an eye on them, there will be toys EVERYWHERE! Before you know it they'll be teenagers wanting and needing personal space especially when boyfriends/girlfriends appear on the scene.

That's so true. Many people I know who went with the open plan kitchen/living idea have ended up building on what they call a TV room when the kids reached the teenage years or returned home after college .

It's strange that Dermot doesn't entertain any other style. I get that a lot of house are dark and need to be opened out for light and, as in this case, to make the most of the location. There must surely be a time when the kitchen needs to be a separate space from the living area.

Princess Calla

Radio5 wrote: »

That's so true. Many people I know who went with the open plan kitchen/living idea have ended up building on what they call a TV room when the kids reached the teenage years or returned home after college .

It's strange that Dermot doesn't entertain any other style. I get that a lot of house are dark and need to be opened out for light and, as in this case, to make the most of the location. There must surely be a time when the kitchen needs to be a separate space from the living area.

Plus how do you escape the inlaws when they visit

Penn

FFVII wrote: »

It's been this way for 10 years

Yeah but sometimes they have a much better balance between the personal lives of the clients and the build itself, though usually when there are issues with the build so that can be used for entertainment.

But when they force Dermot into some of these situations it just comes across as ridiculous. Dermot being at the wedding, fair enough. Going to his suit-fitting was just stupid.

Princess Calla

The worst was when he got into the hottub with your one....that episode really sickened me.

I really liked Joe in this episode, loved the way everything was sold...I really felt for him when the shed went....he probably spent more time in there than the house. I didn't really like the garage, would have preferred he got a man cave back.

I would love to know their backstory, I was expecting to hear his mam had died and now the Mrs is moving in, but that's just me being pure nosey.

Overall I think the house was gorgeous, loved their wardrobes and bedroom.

May they have many happy years together.

Sleepy

We saw a 30 second scene of Dermot helping Joe pick out a wedding suit. Joe saw an opportunity to get his wedding suits for free!

Loved the ethos of recycling all the materials instead of sending skip loads of re-usable materials to the dump.

FFVII

Princess Calla wrote: »

The worst was when he got into the hottub with your one....that episode really sickened me.

You know, you should go see someone to see if you can be brought out of that way of thinking.

It's bad enough you no doubt think like this with your own circle but someone you don't on the telly!!

If that wasn't nearly everyones favourite ep I'd have said nothing.

Wildsurfer

Penn wrote: »

FFVII wrote: »

It's been this way for 10 years

Yeah but sometimes they have a much better balance between the personal lives of the clients and the build itself, though usually when there are issues with the build so that can be used for entertainment.

But when they force Dermot into some of these situations it just comes across as ridiculous. Dermot being at the wedding, fair enough. Going to his suit-fitting was just stupid.

You're not seeing the deeper meaning to the suit fitting scene. Dermot was showing Joe that he could go outside his comfort zone and pull it off... as he was trying to do with the build. Dermot the psychologist.

harr

Liked this episode, the couple were fantastic and really Likeable and far dues to Joe for selling on the unwanted stuff. The end result was nice and suited this couple but in general I am not a fan of open plan. I have seen friends go open plan with extensions only to fit sliding doors when kids hit the teenage years. Missed opportunity to have a nice balcony leading out from bedroom.
I agree with others to much needless stuff With Dermot being over the top mates with the clients, need to see more building work and show how stuff works like the new heating for example..I recon joe was definitely getting a nice discount from builders for plugging the business so much for them .

HeidiHeidi

Wildsurfer wrote: »

You're not seeing the deeper meaning to the suit fitting scene. Dermot was showing Joe that he could go outside his comfort zone and pull it off... as he was trying to do with the build. Dermot the psychologist.

Dermot needs to go back to persuasion school then, Joe wound up in exactly the same suit he'd initially picked!

recipio

I would be nice to see some details of the heating system - did they fit underfloor heating? - also the heat exchange system - we didn't even get a glimpse of that !. Its the same with 'Grand Designs', they seem to think the human story is more interesting - not always IMO.

prunudo

recipio wrote: »

I would be nice to see some details of the heating system - did they fit underfloor heating? - also the heat exchange system - we didn't even get a glimpse of that !. Its the same with 'Grand Designs', they seem to think the human story is more interesting - not always IMO.

At least with Grand Designs format Kevin Mcloud doesn't have a vested interest in the project. He throws out alternative views and often criticises the choice the people are making. Makes for a better programme in my mind.

BarryD2

klose wrote: »

I get dermot is not everyone's cup of tea but it's interesting to see his arguments and back and forth with the owners of the houses and his stubbornness in his opinions, it's a big part of the show.

For stubbornness you could also read arrogance i.e. I'm the architect and I'm right.

Princess Calla

FFVII wrote: »

You know, you should go see someone to see if you can be brought out of that way of thinking.

It's bad enough you no doubt think like this with your own circle but someone you don't on the telly!!

If that wasn't nearly everyones favourite ep I'd have said nothing.

Well thanks for the personal attack!!!

The whole scene was unnecessary, what had it to do with the finished product?

While I appreciate a certain amount of getting to know the client is necessary, a certain amount of decorum should be shown.

I wouldn't appreciate seeing my mum or dad getting flirty in a hot tub on national tv. I would find it very disrespectful to their spouse.

Your world view is obviously different.

BarryD2

There is more room for a show that follows people who actually roll up their sleeves and get stuck into their own building projects. That'd be real public service broadcasting unlike the fluff that Room to Improve typically serves up.

Vicarious Function

Joe got good mileage out of the "carry the bride over the threshold" episode. His quips really made me laugh.

Princess Calla

Vicarious Function wrote: »

Joe got good mileage out of the "carry the bride over the threshold" episode. His quips really made me laugh.

She was morto with him making out she was heavy, she's only a slip of a thing!!

I chuckled all the way through the episode.

LirW

I'd love to see an episode where in the end people put their old furniture back in. Like the 7 year old well worn in couch and the kitchen table second hand from adverts. And all the outdated sleigh beds because this is what they had.

I remember a Grand design episode where the guy said to Kevin at the end that he is so broke if they'd go to McDonald's together right now, he couldn't pay for it.

Vicarious Function

LirW wrote: »

I'd love to see an episode where in the end people put their old furniture back in. Like the 7 year old well worn in couch and the kitchen table second hand from adverts. And all the outdated sleigh beds because this is what they had.

I remember a Grand design episode where the guy said to Kevin at the end that he is so broke if they'd go to McDonald's together right now, he couldn't pay for it.

I'm sure if anyone has the time to go through the credits at the end, there will be hidden in somewhere a reference to a furniture supplier that would have done the "staging" with free or lent furniture for the final photoshoot. Personally, I think reusing their old furniture would have been a mistake.

Riskymove

BarryD2 wrote: »

For stubbornness you could also read arrogance i.e. I'm the architect and I'm right.

the flip side is why hire an architect like Dermot and then tell him you know better

in almost every episode I have seen they love the things they argued against initially

Quazzie

BarryD2 wrote: »

For stubbornness you could also read arrogance i.e. I'm the architect and I'm right.

He is an experienced and well regarded architect and would have an opinion worth more than 99.9% of the population in this field. I think he has a right to state that he is right when it comes to house design. The vast majority of people don't know what they like until it's plonked in front of them.

iamwhoiam

Quazzie wrote: »

He is an experienced and well regarded architect and would have an opinion worth more than 99.9% of the population in this field. I think he has a right to state that he is right when it comes to house design. The vast majority of people don't know what they like until it's plonked in front of them.

Most people know what they don't like though.If I don't like green or navy or wooden floors for example I would like to be given the courtesy of being listened to