My Bungalow Bliss

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119956274#Comment_119956274

The other property program RTE had on a few weeks ago was like that, couples who were renovating with budgets around 100k and doing most of the work themselves while an Australian builder showed them various building skills. All the couples on that show had to stick to their budgets becasue they had no more money, it was far more realistic to how it is for most people.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119957089#Comment_119957089

That was a great programme. I was actually thinking the exact same.....the couple from drimnagh did a great job! The circus pair was lovely too. The one in cork was a complete new build and really looked like it was going to fail at one point.

All the renovations had a lovely finish. Granted you do need abit of diy skillset and elbow grease but does show what can be accomplished when architect's don't have an agenda!

Muahahaha

Watched episode 4 last night, it was a well finished job but couldnt get over how much Hugh and the architects were felating themselves

Trondheim

Watching that show on RTE player is the business. From 1 hour of programming, there are about 5-10 minutes in total that are interesting.

• Original house
• Plans
• Finished house

Everything else is just filler.

House looks lovely now.

The big issue for me is that the front door opens into the kitchen/dining/living room. This is still Ireland. So it's December, and you have your main room nice and toasty. Then somebody comes selling lines, or pizza delivery or whatever, you open the front door, warm air out, cold air in. If you have a hallway or porch that isn't a big issue, but if the front door opens into the main room, now all of a sudden you are cold and have to spend money warming the room up again.

The house looks fantastic, but sometimes the architects prioritise form over function.

Similarly, the metal roof outside that doesn't cover the whole area. On a wet day, it will be main dry under the cover, apart from the back corner which will have rain pouring down, making the outside covered area miserable.

myate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433963#Comment_119433963

I should have filmed our own bungalow reno so!! Quick version, bought end November '19, roughly 1000 sq ft (3 bed/1 bath), started demo & reno immediately, and moved in 1 week before lockdown March 2020! Had a strict budget of 100k, stuck exactly to 100k - I project managed and got the various trades when needed. Not a full gut job in that we left subfloors alone, didnt touch roofs. We added a small kitchen extension, no need for planning it was that small! We opened up a couple of doorways, reprofiled a wall from 90 degrees to an angle to allow for an island in kitchen. Instead of back to back fireplaces in living room/dining room, we busted through & made 1 double sided one for a wood burner. Bedrooms were an easy pull everything out, repaint, refloor and put in ikea wardrobes as they did the job & weren't expensive. Only 1 bathroom, so we spend a bit on it, around 10k. Didn't retrofit it as such as insulation was pretty good. We did put in new triple glazed windows & doors, all new radiators, a new boiler as we had to move the old one anyway which I sold & it paid for most of a new one! The bones of the house are the same as when we bought it, but you wouldn't recognise it inside, all without gutting, busting down a million walls, or adding anything very substantial. We had an architect do the plans for us, in fairness his vision of flipping the kitchen round was great, but plans only, he wasn't involved in anything else. We knew the internal finishes ourselves to and made very quick decisions & stuck with them.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119971520#Comment_119971520

That is how you do it - if it is your money.

Well done. That is how the Bungalow Bliss show should have progressed, but of course it was all about showcasing the architects, and Wallace.

It reminds me of pop groups who are just beginning to make it and are chauffeured around in big limos and stay in five star gaffs. Fantastic - until they realise it is their money paying for the bling - and they end up with nothing. Of course they only realise the true facts when they come looking for their share.

techman1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119433613#Comment_119433613

I heard Hugh Wallace being interviewed about this last episode that was shown recently, he was actually full of praise for the original bungalows and disagreed with the premiss that they littered the irish countryside with "construction litter" which was the attitude of a prominent architect in an irish times in the 70s. He said that the original bungalows provided rural people with relatively inexpensive sturdy houses which they could build themselves as Jack Fitzimons provided all this basic information in the original publication.

Now I think in reality an urbanite like Hugh would not really be that enamoured by rural bungalows but reading between the lines Id say he now regrets how the program was made and probably might have went with your ideas of more modest upgrades leaving the original structures largely intact. I think the covid lockdowns and construction inflation along with severe housing shortages the Ukraine war and refugee flows have completely changed peoples attitudes to such grandiose spending on houses.

Therefore the original "bungalow bliss" series seems totally out of step with people's attitudes now and Hugh Wallace has probably now picked up on that , it is interesting that dermot Bannons show (which got record viewings) is also now finished after all those years. That means that they have detected that the public's attitude to these programs has completely changed

Sam Russell

This type of programme is proposed by a proposition of what the final programme will look like, plus who will fund it.

Now they choose to employ architects who were paid, I assume partly, by the home owner. It was in the interest of the architect to spend a large budget because they get a percentage of that spend. Now to blow a €100k budget by more than double is outrageous. All of the four programmes followed this pattern and spent well over an amount that represented value for the homeowner.

The better architect would have done a better job within the limited budget.

They started with cheap housing designed by Jack Fitzsimons except the one on the cliff, which was in fact just a holiday home. Not one followed the Bungalow Bliss philosophy of adequate housing built at low cost.

All four programmes were extravagant in every aspect. I hope there will not be a second series.

recipio

I think Hugh is a bit naive in his new found love of the bungalow. They were mostly built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Ireland was a different country then with low wages, emigration and low expectations. You had to get down on your knees in front of the ' Bank Manager ' to get a mortgage. Things like storage space, house orientation and general efficiency were largely ignored. I well remember visiting houses with the entire family sitting around a range, peering up at the TV which was seven feet up on a bracket shelf. The kitchen usually had a fluorescent light glaring away with a washing machine churning in the background. The ' good room ' was reserved for visits from the parish priest. In other words priority was given to the budget - no need for good design as Jack Fitzsimons had done it all. However who can blame people now for pushing the budget if they get to stay in the family home?

I think the real culprit is the outrageous taxes that the Government levy on building in Ireland. They could allow first time builders a zero VAT rate as they do in Northern Ireland.

Sam Russell

I agree with the zero VAT on housing.

Most people living in private rented accommodation would be delighted to get the opportunity to build a one-off Bungalow Bliss design anywhere near their work. Particularly if they could do most of the work themselves, with the help of a few handy mates.

myate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120007380#Comment_120007380

Home of the Year is also finished & not going ahead in the new year.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119949255#Comment_119949255

Tell you what. I would steer well clear of any architects involved in any of those houses in that series. Total con artists. Imagine going so over budget for what they delivered. Not a clue between them all.

sligeach

Watched an episode this evening. It was a couple, Bobby and Ciara, who bought a bungalow in Wicklow out in the countryside for €350,000. They had a budget of €130,000. The architects on the show came back with a design for around €250,000, way over their budget.

Unfortunately there were extra costs as the internal block walls didn't have proper foundations, so they had to come down and built back up from scratch. The couples had originally intended on just putting in a new polished concrete floor with underfloor heating.

I think they didn't make the most of the house. Hugh at the start of the show stuck his head up in the attic and said it had the volume of a 2 bedroom house and he would be interested to see how it would be used. It wasn't, unless you count the double height kitchen/living/dining area using some of the space.

Anyway, the finished house came in at €662,000 for a 3 bed bungalow, they didn't extend the house in any way and the layout pretty much stayed the same.

Did anyone else watch the episode, and if you did, what did you think of it? Hugh was saying they all deserve a clap on the back. I'd say they need a slap in the face. I don't know, Bobby was saying he's happy, but at the very end I think he has some doubts. €662,000! What on Earth? I see it's from November 2021.

yabadabado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637180#Comment_121637180

I felt so sorry for that couple.

I liked the way it finished but the cost was outrageous and the pro's involved didn't give a **** imo.

ollaetta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637249#Comment_121637249

I'd love to know how much that fancy bespoke front door cost. Totally glossed over why they should go for it.

Trondheim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637180#Comment_121637180

If i recall, they ended up with the front door opening directly into their living room. So despite all of the money spent on insulation etc., every time they open the front door, all the heat will escape from the living room. That whole series was an advertisement against architects.

Trondheim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121652849#Comment_121652849

So here are the plans: https://www.rte.ie/documents/tv/2021/12/ep-2-wicklow-bb-s1-ground-floor-plan-construction.pdf

You can clearly see the front door opens directly to the living room/kitchen/diner.

So all of that money spent on insulation, air tightness etc. is all for nothing, as every time they open the front door, the heat from the main room will escape. Imagine a house that costs €662,000 and still has the front door opening into the living room! You might put up with that to save space in a terrace house in Dublin, but not in a bungalow.

inajock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121637249#Comment_121637249

Washed their hands and walk out the door. Hugh saying how lucky they were to have had architects involved in the build. Plenty of style on show but no understanding of how 1970s bungalows were actually put together. A hard watch.