The Great House Revival

elperello

I thought the layout was a bit eccentric but overall they did a nice job.

Fair play to anyone who toughs it out in a mobile home while building.

Princess Calla

I'm on the fence about this one.

When they exposed the original walls I was loving it but then they plastered over it, the finished look was underwhelming.

I didn't like the black corrugated replacement of the lean to....I would have preferred glass I think.

The interior decoration wouldn't be my style but at same time I wouldn't be critical of it either....it felt more like a cottage that had been inherited with furniture rather than a "new build".

Alot of money for a two bedroom bungalow/cottage. However I think they were also in it for the experience/adventure so probably money well spent in their eyes.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118971996#Comment_118971996

The interior decoration wouldn't be my style but at same time I wouldn't be critical of it either....it felt more like a cottage that had been inherited with furniture rather than a "new build".

In fairness, we've mostly (not aiming this at you in particular) been critical of the houses for looking like show houses when finished, so this one for me was a breath of fresh air, in that it didn't have that "new-build" look about it - especially not having a fitted kitchen. I particularly loved the pharmacist's cabinet, that was just gorgeous, I've always coveted one of those (and a suitable room to put it in!)

When they exposed the original walls I was loving it but then they plastered over it, the finished look was underwhelming.

I would have originally thought this as well - but that cottage that Hugh brought them to disabused me of that notion! Plus, I don't think those stone-build cottages were ever meant to have been left unrendered (I'm open to correction on that), it's just that the render (if not concrete) disintegrates a long time before the walls, so when we see the old houses, what we see is stone walls. But when lived in they wouldn't have looked like that.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118971789#Comment_118971789

Just browsing their Instagram account old_house_new_house.

Power floated concrete floors with underfloor heating throughout. Never heard of power floated concrete before.

Be right back

The boys might not always want to share a bedroom?! Just 2 bedrooms, wasn't there?

siblers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972049#Comment_118972049

I couldn't imagine having cement floors. Doesn't seem very comfortable

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972136#Comment_118972136

It's no different to tiles really.

Addle

Shocking that they had to bring in labourers from France!

Don’t think there are many (any?) female labourers in Ireland?

Addle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118971960#Comment_118971960

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118971896#Comment_118971896

I love those type of stairs too, in the same material as the wall so from a distance it looks like there’s a floating door. I’d love to renovate/build a building with an external stairs like that!

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972359#Comment_118972359

I'm not sure if you are serious or not but anyway.

He was French so I suspect they were family or friends of family who either wanted to get trained up in the family business or wanted a chance to earn a few bob and learn conversational English or a mixture of all 3.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972026#Comment_118972026

I don't particularly like the show house interiors either. There was just something about the interior that didn't do it for me at all. It was abit of a mish mash.

harr

I would have liked to see the stone kept on the outside but it doesn’t seem it was possible.

I don’t love the interior of barn conversion it just a bit industrial looking for me. Cottage part is ok but lack of bedrooms would be a concern. I currently live in a 3 bed house and definitely could do with another couple of rooms . I definitely think the layout could have been done better with the kitchen being huge compared to rest of the rooms .

€400,000 for a two bed house in rural Galway no garden and no utility room . For that money barn could have been knocked to incorporate the old cottage into a new build. Surely not that much sentimental value in a barn.

Staplor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972053#Comment_118972053

The upstairs bedroom had a massive "wardrobe" room about the same size off it. I would guess that wardrobe may be repurposed in time.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972540#Comment_118972540

I haven't seen the show, or know the history of the people involved. But there can be huge sentimental value in a barn. It's a connection to a past way of life. For me, in my similar situation, I'd rather keep the barn, than the house.

recipio

A brave couple, they would have built a nice house for 400K but choose to renovate. It's a bit scrappy but they clearly like eclectic look. I don't like the three types of roof especially the red metal decking. A standard dark metal deck roof would allow the building to recess into the landscape ?

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972968#Comment_118972968

I wonder was the red a nod to the fact that it had been a barn? An awful lot of barns/sheds in that part of the country from my childhood memory had red corrugated roofs (I remember being sent up a ladder to paint one!!). I presume the colour will soften with time.

I do agree though that the three different roof surfaces joined together didn't really gel. The exterior definitely didn't do it for me - although I can't say what exactly would have done it for me! (bar keeping the door in the old cottage)

And yes, I think they get credit for not knocking, but renovating - I'm guessing it would have been far cheaper just to flatten and rebuild new, but they have a far more interesting and unusual home now.

recipio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118973000#Comment_118973000

It's the second programme I can remember where Hugh liked a red roof. I think it's a bit of a trendy idea among architects that old galvanized roofs abound in the Irish countryside and should be replicated on houses. In fact most were just galvanized steel painted with red oxide paint which lasted no length. Modern steel roofing has more robust coatings fortunately.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972540#Comment_118972540

yeah I had wondered why they rendered the outside and lost the beautiful stone work. At the start of the program the husband had a kango hammer and was removing the old render to reveal the stone so I thought it would be left exposed. They had rendered the inside which presumably was their insulation so why the outside also, perhaps the inside render wasnt enough to keep the house warm? The other house they visited in Connemara was an exposed stone cottage and Hugh commented on how warm it was inside so it seems not rendering the outside walls can be done.

Agree with you on the barn, I didnt think it was worth keeping either and thought they would have been better off knocking and building a modern extension on to the stone cottage. But they obviously liked it so wanted to renovate it instead. Thought it was a mistake not to at least put a mezzanine level in it as it is a lot of vertical space that is not being used. Hugh commented that the barn was full of light but it actually looked a bit dark to me and could have done with a few roof lights. It was also a very narrow width for such a tall space. The proportions weren't right to my eye, probably becasue the proportions of the barn were never intended as a living space to begin with.

AFOL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118972053#Comment_118972053

They mentioned the third bedroom was being used as a home office for the moment until they had money to rebuild the milking shed as one.

Gru

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118973954#Comment_118973954

That confused me too, if the mobile home was ok to use as a residence/work space for them for the winter they were in there, why did she put her office in the 3rd bedroom and not in the on site mobile home until the milking shed was built? surely it would have been more logical?

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118975203#Comment_118975203

Yeah agreed that made no sense.

Also at they start they mentioned that the utility room was going in the dairy shed - its absolutely crazy to put the utility away from the house. I hope they came to their senses on this and put a small utility room in the house somewhere.

The finished house was ok - but not a great house for the money spent. They could have bought a nicer/larger house in the Galway countryside for less money. The interior looked like they ran out of money and cut a few corners and then tried to make it look industrial which doesn't really suit the house type. The kitchen/diner/seating area just looked too narrow and long - I dont think the height actually helped here at all in fact I think the height may have made the space look narrower. They would have been better off to have put a bedroom or office in the roofspace. I liked the sitting room but having their bedroom just off it is an odd layout. The timber ceilings looked awful - they would have looked better plastered and painted and probably would have been cheaper to do.

Outside was a mish mash of clashing colours - if the walls were white instead of cream I think it would have unified the red roof, grey/green windows and black wooden link space better. The yellowy cream was a bad choice.

waterwelly

Nice project, one of the better of this series, except maybe the lack of bedrooms, and a bit too open plan, teenagers will want friends over and the layout of the house could have facilitated hangout spaces a bit better.

Sunny Dayz

The stone they revealed when they look off the plaster was lovely, it was such a pity to cover it over again but I suppose it being covered over to begin with was what preserved it. Not mad on the barn conversion, I noticed when Hugh came in at the end to view it, his voice was echoing in the room. Not mad about the black link between the two buildings, think it was too stark, glass would have been better but probably more expensive.

recipio

Did the 400K include the 180K cost of the building. ? The Government takes a large chunk in tax of course.

houseyhouse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118978079#Comment_118978079

I don’t think so. So it was 580k total. A big spend for a house that size in rural Galway

C. Eastwood

What a disgrace to see adults working on a dangerous building site without Personal Protection Equipment for Health & Safety reasons. Worst than that they allowed 2 young children on the site without any PPE and also allowed them to use tools.

PPE is so cheap.

This of course in contravention of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

It’s only waiting to happen.

riclad

They intend to turn the barn into a home office in the future, they had to pay 50 per cent of the extra cost of the materials, eg cost of building materials went up since 2020. I don't agree he said the building was perfect, it looks like a mix of old new , the black connecting middle unit looks odd. Still he's a good presenter. A kitchen with 20ft plus high ceilings looks strange to me, I'd like if they copy channel 4. Show a 3d computer model of the plans at the start of the program 580k alot for a house with no home office room . I think hes a better presenter than the grand designs presenter

Thargor

Haha 350k budget, this should be good, 3.5 milllion more likely for castle restorations. Seans Castle on Grand Designs is still one of the best eps of GD for me:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6h8iyg

touts

We actually finally have a great house.

But this pair want to rebuild a 16th century castle a large 17th century house AND a new build extension. All for €350k. So they are going to do it DIY with apparently no history in building let alone protected structure building. And all because they are American medieval re-enactors and like the idea of owning a castle to play in.

Ambitious is a polite way to put it. If they pull it off it will some achievement.

The Princess Bride

This is easily the most ambitious, and most fascinating project out of all the episodes (and series) so far. Looking forward to seeing how it works out for them both.