Room to Improve.

dec1892

Deub wrote: »

I love the wooden floor.

Does anyone know what type of floor that was? solid, laminate or engineered wood?
Looking at getting my house done so looking to get ideas for it

Forest Demon

Am I the only one without a spare half a million in ireland?

CarrickMcJoe

After all the worry about the heat of the stove cracking the plaster, in the finished house there's tiles behind the stove but curtains right beside it......
Fabulous house overall.

pjordan

FC1 wrote: »

I would love to see RTE do a ''room to improve revisted'' show to see how the houses functioned once they were being lived in. We only see the clients gush about the house when they have moved in the day before but what are these houses actually like to live in!
Do they still love Dermot a year on when all the glass he puts in is filthy and cobwebs are hanging down the double height space!

For what it's worth....

We're back in our new "Old Cottage" for nearly 16 months and we still love it and it is still a delight to wake up in pretty much every day. It actually still gives me the "wow" factor from time to time even and it obviously does for others too as we still have the slow drive bys and even the odd curious daring soul popping in for a peek. Mind you, the fact that we've never bothered to put any blinds in our big front kitchen window or patio door (don't think they'd work great TBH) probably adds to the intrigue and curiosity factor for passers by!

Of course, there have been some niggledy bits that, given the time again or had more time to contemplate with less urgency for decisions, we'd probably tweak or change (things like light switch and socket positioning and a roof light in the study which we should have included along with the other ones we installed) but I imagine that goes for literally every house, even with the best of architects on board.

As for the house itself, it has performed admirably again except for the odd wee glitch here and there. We had some minor issues with our roof light in the kitchen but they were promptly addressed by The folding door company and some minor issues with windows which were equally promptly addressed by Munster Joinery. The insulation and heat retention and solar gain in our (high ceiling-ed) kitchen has been brilliant to the extent that we have only lit our stove about 5 times and then more for atmosphere than heat.

One notable point which we had anticipated in any case is that, whilst we love out kitchen and it is a great place for socialising (we hosted 57 people in June for a 1st communion!), entertaining and cooking, we pointedly have taken the decision not to have a TV in there, so we have found ourselves consciously retreating to our cosy sitting room in the old part of the cottage (now well insulated with a new stove also) in the evenings to watch Dermot on the TV! (and it does afford more privacy for chillaxing too I suppose!)

The only down sides so far?

One of the things on my wish list was an outside room, which I had envisaged as at least partially covered to facilitate all year round BBQ-ing. The concept was sketched in initial drawings, but in the end we ended up with a pleasant walled patio (which was costed outside of the main budget and cost more than we'd expected or intended) which didn't exactly fit my idea of an outside room (Mind you as it happens last summer we had a terrible infestation of midges, so maybe an outdoor room in Ireland in such context mightn't actually be the best of concepts!). However I imagine in time we'll find some solutions for this and actually when you do open the door onto the patio (which is quite a feasible option from April to Oct) it does bring the outside in.

Equally, none of the other landscaping came in within the budget and we had to find addition funds to get this done and have only gradually managed to civilise it from the mud heap that was left after construction completion.

And finally, we do hear occasionally still from some of the team, so it's not all just for TV. They are very sincere and nice people, even the bould Dermot, (even if he has a proven ability to drive one to distraction and extreme frustration at times!)

lulu1

Lovely couple

But really when you say your budget is 200k and you actually overspend by 75k and your still smiling a bit far fetched

I mean are you just going to pull the extra 75k out of your back pocket

lulu1

Lovely houses but I could not call them homes and that is just my opinion

CarpeDiem85

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Christ no! I would probably be snobby too and certainly not buy a council house! In a housing estate in a Midlands town built about 8-10 years ago.

Anyone know where approx in Donegal that house they looked at was? Don't like the house at all but my huband's ears pricked up when he heard them mention Muckish (we can see from his parents house)

It's in a place called Downings, down the road from me. I thought they shot the place beautifully. It's a stunning place anyway but they did a great job. I can't place where exactly that house they showed is but here is very popular with Northerners and they build mega houses. It's around by the Atlantic Drive somewhere.

lulu1

CarpeDiem85 wrote: »

It's in a place called Downings, down the road from me. I thought they shot the place beautifully. It's a stunning place anyway but they did a great job. I can't place where exactly that house they showed is but here is very popular with Northerners and they build mega houses. It's around by the Atlantic Drive somewhere.

I would say it is probably a holiday home belonging to someone from the north

WoolyJumper

I loved how your one kept doing that old fashioned Irish thing of saying "yeah" while simultaneously breathing in. Really nice couple tonight.

dec1892

WoolyJumper wrote: »

I loved how your one kept doing that old fashioned Irish thing of saying "yeah" while simultaneously breathing in. Really nice couple tonight.

Sounds like you really liked her ;-0

amdublin

pjordan wrote: »

For what it's worth....

We're back in our new "Old Cottage" for nearly 16 months and we still love it and it is still a delight to wake up in pretty much every....

Hi pjordan,

You'll have to give us a bit more clues/a reminder as to which couple/ house you are.
There were a lot of places that could be described as the old cottage iirc

Were you the fella with the inflatable hot tub?

pjordan

amdublin wrote: »

Hi pjordan,

You'll have to give us a bit more clues/a reminder as to which couple/ house you are.
There were a lot of places that could be described as the old cottage iirc

Were you the fella with the inflatable hot tub?

Ah jays the most memorable part of our project. Myself and Dermo in the hottub! That and the ridge tiles....

Yep that's us!

pooch90

I actually loved the dining table,any ideas where he purchased?
Don't think it deserved 10minutes of the show though.
Over all, I really liked this house and thought it would make a lovely family home.
Budget was crazy though!

Bored_lad

dec1892 wrote: »

Does anyone know what type of floor that was? solid, laminate or engineered wood?
Looking at getting my house done so looking to get ideas for it

They put down underfloor heating so I would guess that its engineered wood.

fruttituttii

Why do they never paint the walls? They're always white which annoys me so much

hoodwinked

fruttituttii wrote: »

Why do they never paint the walls? They're always white which annoys me so much

we are going to build and everyone keeps telling us to paint all the walls white at first and then after a few months living there paint them the different colours we want once we settle in and do up the rooms...

CarrickMcJoe

hoodwinked wrote: »

we are going to build and everyone keeps telling us to paint all the walls white at first and then after a few months living there paint them the different colours we want once we settle in and do up the rooms...

Yes, It is a good idea to do this as it gives you time to get the feel of the house, pick materials and fixtures etc and match colour to them.

In Dermot's case he just loves white and grey as a finish colour. For me, white is too cold and clinical as a permanent finish.

AlanG

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

So essentially they paid 260 K for a site and then a further 275 K

535 K - nice house but saucy.

Closer to 560 I would say: they actually paid 268k which with stamp etc would work out between 275 and 280.
Believe it or not a lot of clearing work had already been carried out on site before filming started so that would have cost a bit.
The 275K in the build budget would not include any furniture or other extras a contractor would not supply.

That said it seems to be a 2350 sq foot house at least so it comes in well below 300 a square foot which is considerably cheaper than many other houses in the area.

WoolyJumper

dec1892 wrote: »

Sounds like you really liked her ;-0

She seemed like a lovely person....

I tend to be prefer someone a little more masculine though

eggerb

The estate agent (here) reckoned it was "Ideal for a tradesperson or DIY enthusiast" ... I'd love to see a DIY enthusiast tackle that!

donegal.

AlanG wrote: »

Closer to 560 I would say: they actually paid 268k which with stamp etc would work out between 275 and 280.
Believe it or not a lot of clearing work had already been carried out on site before filming started so that would have cost a bit.
The 275K in the build budget would not include any furniture or other extras a contractor would not supply.

That said it seems to be a 2350 sq foot house at least so it comes in well below 300 a square foot which is considerably cheaper than many other houses in the area.

when they quote their max budget on the show, does that include everything? like appliances or furniture etc

eggerb

Looks like the costs didn't finish after they moved in ... Fingal County Council came looking for €3,639 development levy as part of a Retention Permission Application. Final grant date only last Monday 23rd Feb.

eggerb

AlanG wrote: »

That said it seems to be a 2350 sq foot house at least so it comes in well below 300 a square foot which is considerably cheaper than many other houses in the area.

Based on the planning docs, I think it is closer to 1650 sq ft / 154 sq m.

boccy23

How can people who are spending upwards of €300K on ethir build afford to go on hols for 2 weeks in the middle of the build??? :eek::eek:

Bored_lad

boccy23 wrote: »

How can people who are spending upwards of €300K on ethir build afford to go on hols for 2 weeks in the middle of the build??? :eek::eek:

The holiday was probably booked before they started the build.

Sunny Dayz

Did the program say they went away for two weeks? Did it say they went abroad? How do you know they didn't take a mid week break down the country or a mobile home in Courtown?

dec1892

Bored_lad wrote: »

They put down underfloor heating so I would guess that its engineered wood.

How does engineered wood last in a kitchen? Could it cope ok with spillages etc?

pjordan

dec1892 wrote: »

How does engineered wood last in a kitchen? Could it cope ok with spillages etc?

Good quality engineered flooring (with a 3-4mm veneer) should stand up to most of what's thrown at it. Obviously we're not talking wet room conditions here but it's well able for what to expect in the average domestic kitchen. If one is precious and likely to fret about any minor scrapes then it's maybe not a great option but over time the floor weathers and scratches uniformly and so ends up adding to the character. And ultimately with a decent veneer one has the option of sanding and refinishing it after a few years of wear and tear.

John_Rambo

fruttituttii wrote: »

Why do they never paint the walls? They're always white which annoys me so much

It's part of the revolt against magnolia walls, plastic covings, downlighters, shaker style kitchens and pine doors.

donegal.

fruttituttii wrote: »

Why do they never paint the walls? They're always white which annoys me so much

its the same reason the patios are always wet.
it looks better on tv.
white = bigger / brighter.