Room to Improve (v2)

Didn't like that house in Ranelagh at all. A glorified hallway with added courtyard. I can only imagine how much that cost them.

They said they were too far outside town for the derelict grant but were hoping the net would be widened to include them in the budget. Then the news clip they played mentioned an increase in the amount of the grant but didn’t say anything about distance from town but they were suddenly ok.

I assume the bit where he suggested that the criteria might be changed was filmed after the budget rather than before.

The echo in the kitchen / dining was noticeable all right. And were there any blinds? Do not think so. at night time it would be like being a goldfish in a bowl, and looking out you just see your reflection in the glass?

Looked nice in day time on a calm dry day all right. Wonder what the BER was with all that glass? I know it was probably triple glazed but still surely not as cosy as a well insulated wall 40 cm thick or whatever?

Someone mentioned it could do with another show like what they did for Big Brother or Love Island to provide the detail. That wouldn’t help answer any of the questions like how the builder from Buncrana ended up with the job (or would even have been interested in quoting for such a job) or the grants (how they qualified for some of them) or the QS from doing a favour to re-appearing later own in the show. I think we’d need another tribunal for that!

The builder is registered in Buncrana, the same small town at the top of Donegal the quantity surveyor is based in.

And according to the supplier list, the skimming plasters were from Buncrana as well. The firm that supplier the doors and floors was from Buncrana. The electrical contractor was from Buncrana. Did the whole village of Buncrana make the 9 hour round trip to build the house in Urlingford each day?

So you are right, something not adding up here.

Another interesting thing from the supplier list is that the client Grainne went for a Granite kitchen worktop....as well as the expensive wooden floor...even after Dermot brought her especially to the house in Dublin to show her she did not need expensive finishes everywhere.

In the beginning of the programme, the clients were very budget conscious, did not know if they could afford the extension or not etc. Their budget was 200k. Then they got grant after grant and ended up spending close to half a million, inc the lime rendering at the beginning? And at the end when asked how much it cost, did not even know / could not care less? If she cared she would know?

And another thing: the husband early in the project was chipping away at the plaster with a kango type drill on the inside walls in the old house early in the programme, and shovelling it out in wheelbarrows etc. A dusty, hard labour job not everyone would be up for, in fairness. So I assumed if the client were on a 200k budget they may be painting the inside of the house at the end themselves? But no, a painter is listed, at least he was from Tipp. so had not far to travel.

Dermots glass box extension.

And the question remains: who paid the Q.S. fee when the clients said they could not and CoCo TV (who make the programme) said they do not?? Dermot got her down for one day as a favour to him but she remained later in the programme?

We have had Tuberty-gate, lets not have another inquiry in to shady dealings etc. It does make for great tv though : not so see the designs ( watch Grand Design for that ) but to see the crack.

Ah now if that fine Stone farmhouse was there in that family(untouched as Dermot said) for 200 years then there was old money there, you're goin back to the 1820's when the majority on this island were in simple mud or stone structures in the countryside unless they were gentry or squireens... No flies on that couple only dead wans, lovely couple though they were, I'd guarantee you, the poormouth worrying about the budget was for the gallery imo