Kevin McClouds Man made home

Fiskar

Been watching this with interest since it started 3 weeks ago (meant to post earlier) on CH4. Have to say it has been very enteraining and interesting. Episode 4 coming up next Sunday at 8pm. It will be on More 4 and E4 at some stage.

McCloud aims to build a manmade cabin on his 20 acre remote sight, has to be mobile as no planning permission allowed for fixed structures.

Week 1 - Find Oak tree, cut by hand, blast split with explosives, frame made from old trailer bed, slats for roof and walls made from oak. Old for oil lamp from biofuel.

Week 2 - Make stove from a John Tann safe, Make flooring from milk, clay, chalk and straw with horsehair binder, makes glass windows old style and from rabbit skins a glue for the door frame.

Week 3 - make cooker from biogas from faeces, make reclining chair from old farm equipment with a freshly shot deer carcass, and finally a wicker bed and matress.

Alot of hunting and really olde worlde skills being used.

Any one seen it yet?

Tzar Chasm

wouldn't be a mad fan of his lavatory facilities, I like the biogas concept but the actual structure could benefit from a roof.

other than that fair play to him, there were a few lads on grand designs who did this on an epic scale, i'm thinking of that fella who made charcoal, and got permiddion to build in a national park, that was a magnificent dwelling, there was also a lad who built his walls from old cartyres amazing insulation by all accounts.

gjc

Theres something about kevin that floats my boat !!!!!! /faint/

bonniebede

mobile homes require planning permission too if you plan to live in them, so why make it mobile?

Khannie

Sounds good. Going to check it out. Thanks for the tip.

The Sparrow

I thought it was pretty awful. I switched it off half way through programme 1.

It is basically man makes shed and spends multiple episodes coming up with ridiculous and often pointless gimmicks to drag out extra running time from something that is barely interesting enough for one episode. All of this alongside his made up wacky chums who drive wacky vehicles and a series of hilarious animations.

So, yeah, I didn't like it!

bonniebede

you can catch up on 4 od

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/kevin-mcclouds-man-made-home/4od

eth0

Seems fairly impractical to me, if I was building an off the grid shack I definitely wouldn't go about it the same way

gjc

gjc wrote: »

Theres something about kevin that floats my boat !!!!!! /faint/

Could we rename this thread the Kevin McCloud appreciation club /swoon/...I'd live in that hut any day jacks or no jacks...thanks Fiskar for this post I did not know about the programme but spent today catching up on the real player.

I've been watching the series since the start, and I'm really enjoying it.

There are slightly gimmicky elements to it - e.g the bio-fuel (it would be far more practical for him to build a wood burning barbecue / oven or even open fire) / the making of the glass (he could have easily recycled some old windows). That said, it's TV, and he has to make it entertaining.

Kevin seems to be very passionate about low impact housing (watch a couple of episodes of Grand Designs, you'll catch on to it) and he's using this program as a platform to make a point about using renewable energies, "recycling is good", etc. For the most part, he's actually right - though he fails to recognise that change might be slow to come about (e.g the bio-fuel - great idea, but we've a century or two of ingrained ideas about waste disposal to contend with!).

All in all a good show - he has clearly taken his favourite elements from GD and put his own stamp on them (there's a fair amount of Ben Law's ideals in the cabin). And as well, you can tell he's just having a lot of laughs doing it - more power to him!

Druss.

Blog:
www.huntforageharvest.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/druss_rua

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HuntForageHarvest

Tzar Chasm

ben law is the bloke I was thinking of, in fairness his house does make kevs effort look a bit mickeymouse.

Tzar Chasm

Tzar Chasm wrote: »

ben law is the bloke I was thinking of, in fairness his house does make kevs effort look a bit mickeymouse.

Ben Law's house is in a forest called Prickly Nut woods in West Sussex. It's a great episode of GD, I think it was actually voted best ever episode, and it was Kevin's favourite too.

I've two of Ben's books - the "Woodland House", about the building of the house (and its extension after he has kids) and "The Woodland Year", which is about, well, a year in the woods, with input from various other people in the same line of business.

On a final note, (and in keeping with this forum spirit!) Ben also appeared in an episode of Hugh F-W's "A Cook on the Wild Side". It's several years before Grand Designs, and he's still living in a Ger / Yurt. He demonstrates how to tap silver birch for sap to brew into wine (a hobby of mine, I've still got a couple of bottles of this years left!).

Druss.

Blog:
www.huntforageharvest.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/druss_rua

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HuntForageHarvest

Fiskar

bonniebede wrote: »

mobile homes require planning permission too if you plan to live in them, so why make it mobile?

Its a shed (technically) and has no electricity or other service connections.

Fiskar

The Sparrow wrote: »

I thought it was pretty awful. I switched it off half way through programme 1.

It is basically man makes shed and spends multiple episodes coming up with ridiculous and often pointless gimmicks to drag out extra running time from something that is barely interesting enough for one episode. All of this alongside his made up wacky chums who drive wacky vehicles and a series of hilarious animations.

So, yeah, I didn't like it!

Agree with that initially, but who else would get a programme like this to air and present these wacky ideas that actually do work. Personally never heard of milk based floor or rabbit skin glue. Surprised he showed off his gaming/survival skills which may yet net him some strife with wildlife campaigners.
Not enough of these programmes on in my opinion.

Fiskar

Deleted User wrote: »

I've been watching the series since the start, and I'm really enjoying it.

There are slightly gimmicky elements to it - e.g the bio-fuel (it would be far more practical for him to build a wood burning barbecue / oven or even open fire) / the making of the glass (he could have easily recycled some old windows). That said, it's TV, and he has to make it entertaining.

Kevin seems to be very passionate about low impact housing (watch a couple of episodes of Grand Designs, you'll catch on to it) and he's using this program as a platform to make a point about using renewable energies, "recycling is good", etc. For the most part, he's actually right - though he fails to recognise that change might be slow to come about (e.g the bio-fuel - great idea, but we've a century or two of ingrained ideas about waste disposal to contend with!).

All in all a good show - he has clearly taken his favourite elements from GD and put his own stamp on them (there's a fair amount of Ben Law's ideals in the cabin). And as well, you can tell he's just having a lot of laughs doing it - more power to him!

Druss.

Blog:
www.huntforageharvest.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/druss_rua

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HuntForageHarvest

Thanks for the links, and yes I did see the first showing of Ben Laws house in the woods on GD (Great prog BTW) and the revisited version with wife/partner and the siblings. Lovely work and craftmanship.
Granted Kevins shed is a refined version of the modern day shed but love the idea of using a John Tann for a stove (hope there was no Asbestos in the lining!)
Prepare and prepare, these ideas and materials may be all we have to work with at some stage in the future!

bonniebede

Fiskar wrote: »

Its a shed (technically) and has no electricity or other service connections.

in ireland anything you live in requires planning permission, with the exception of a tent or caravan in which you can live without planning permission for a max of thirty days per year. doesn't matter if you have services or connections or not.

bonniebede

maybe you could get around the planning restrictions legally by buying a bit of land, dividing it into 12 plots through the land registry then moving your mobile thingummy from plot to plot throughout the year.

eth0

bonniebede wrote: »

maybe you could get around the planning restrictions legally by buying a bit of land, dividing it into 12 plots through the land registry then moving your mobile thingummy from plot to plot throughout the year.

Or buy a plot of land where nobody gives a fook or cares to look.

It might be easier to just get planning permission for it though. I think the lad in this show was trying to build in a green belt or something. You might not have the same problem if you want to build it in an isolated field in Co. Offaly

peter bermingham

being watching it to he has done some cool stuf that chair that was made out of the tractor was well cool

aaakev

Watched it over the weekend, very impressed and had me looking at land all day to build my own!! :rolleyes:

gjc

god i'd love that shed

davycc

Hi first post here but a long time lurker :-)

When I try watch it on e4 player it only lets me watch about 10 mins at a time before a "a digital rights error has occoured" ......

From what I have seen it makes for good TV in all fairness.....I enyojed it anyway it fills a gap in the market after Bear Grylls &Ray Mears..

But he aint a patch on Dick Proenneke from the landmark series/ original concept...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

"Alone in the Wilderness" is the story of Dick Proenneke living in the Alaska wilderness. Dick filmed his adventures so he could show his relatives in the lower 48 states what life was like in Alaska, building his cabin, hunting for food and exploring the area. Bob Swerer has taken the best footage from Dick's films and he has created 3 videos about Dick, "Alone in the Wilderness", "Alaska, Silence and Solitude" and "The Frozen North"

Im an athiest but thats my idea of heaven...Would love a few acres in Wicklow or Killarney somewhere off the beaten track..

Khannie

davycc wrote: »

But he aint a patch on Dick Proenneke from the landmark series/ original concept...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

Looks brilliant!

aaakev

Khannie wrote: »

Looks brilliant!

It's well worth a look, its another world over there. Great documentry

davycc

Such a big country with adequate local natural resources.. paradise apart from the 10ft snow drifts but worth it for a peace of the location/lifestyle :cool:

Khannie

davycc wrote: »

Such a big country with adequate local natural resources.. paradise apart from the 10ft snow drifts but worth it for a peace of the location/lifestyle :cool:

Saw another movie set in Alaska (based on fact type movie) called Into the Wild there a while ago. Similar premise. Guy goes to Alaska to try and eke out a living off the land. Really enjoyed it. Proenneke was definitely better skilled and better prepared though. I would absolutely LOVE to build a log cabin by hand like that. The sense of satisfaction would be nothing short of immense.

davycc

Khannie wrote: »

Saw another movie set in Alaska (based on fact type movie) called Into the Wild there a while ago. Similar premise. Guy goes to Alaska to try and eke out a living off the land. Really enjoyed it. Proenneke was definitely better skilled and better prepared though. I would absolutely LOVE to build a log cabin by hand like that. The sense of satisfaction would be nothing short of immense.

Ah It sounds familiar but Ill download it thanks for the heads up.

Id feel immense if I had his skills & determinism too the old guy must be hewn from granite:cool::D

Khannie

davycc wrote: »

But he aint a patch on Dick Proenneke from the landmark series/ original concept...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

Watched the full version of this last night. It's about an hour long. Very impressive. It covers a year but he ended up living there for 30 odd years. His attention to detail and obvious pride in his work when building the cabin was amazing. I have to say he seemed to have boundless energy for a 51 year old.

The only disappointing thing I found was that he doesn't really go into how the isolation affects him (though he hints that discovery of this aspect is part of the motivation). There's no mention of what he does with his evenings, if he reads for example.

Deerhound

I love shows like these, they show what we are capable of when we put our minds to it.
Now you have seen the shows, bought and read the books, done the course and bought all the equipment. Now what?
As my father would say.... All the learning in the world doesn't mean a damn if you can't put it into practice.
I don't mean to put anyone's nose out of joint but for these types of things practice really does make perfect, the more you do the more you can do.

The reason that I am saying this is because I want to recommend a show to you "Alone in the Wild" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPbz5TDy6fs
The show is about an average guy with a little training trying to survive in the Canadian wilderness for 90 days on his own. That is if you can consider a cameraman that has climbed Everest twice and filmed an Arctic expedition average. I think it might open some eyes as to how difficult life could be if you are unprepared or have unreasonable expectations.

Khannie wrote: »

The only disappointing thing I found was that he doesn't really go into how the isolation affects him (though he hints that discovery of this aspect is part of the motivation). There's no mention of what he does with his evenings, if he reads for example.

This is well covered in the show.

Tedious Bore

Khannie wrote: »

Watched the full version of this last night. It's about an hour long. Very impressive. It covers a year but he ended up living there for 30 odd years. His attention to detail and obvious pride in his work when building the cabin was amazing. I have to say he seemed to have boundless energy for a 51 year old.

The only disappointing thing I found was that he doesn't really go into how the isolation affects him (though he hints that discovery of this aspect is part of the motivation). There's no mention of what he does with his evenings, if he reads for example.

hey don't suppose you have a link for the full length version please? ....can't find it

davycc

Just a quick reminder that keven McClouds man made home is currently being repeated on Channel4 Sat nights at 8pm...well worth another look

Agent_47

Looking at it now and that fabulous reclining chair. Work of art and engineering.

davycc

i know so many great down to earth creations..id love a wicker? bed like his.looks soo comfy

Stovepipe

Hi all,
I loved the show but a lot of it is fantasy land stuff. I'd like to see a bit more real-world stuff, ie, how would you make a home/house/temporary shelter out of a steel container or a large crate or a tent, in a SHTF scenario? particularly one that'd apply to Ireland, ie, house flooded or burnt down and unfit to use, what do you do? naturally, most people would say, get a caravan or a mobile home but what else is there?

regards
Stovepipe

tommy2bad

Stovepipe wrote: »

Hi all,
I loved the show but a lot of it is fantasy land stuff. I'd like to see a bit more real-world stuff, ie, how would you make a home/house/temporary shelter out of a steel container or a large crate or a tent, in a SHTF scenario? particularly one that'd apply to Ireland, ie, house flooded or burnt down and unfit to use, what do you do? naturally, most people would say, get a caravan or a mobile home but what else is there?

regards
Stovepipe

TBH the show is about the stuff we throw away and how it has a design beauty that should be appreciated, not discarded. It's entertainment to start you thinking not instructions to follow.

The contingency for the house burning down is a great thing to consider, shipping containers are just the job and if you wind up with something like these, you might not ever rebuild.
http://gracie-senseandsimplicity.blogspot.ie/2011/05/shipping-container-homes-6-inspiring.html

Stovepipe

Hi there
Excellent link. Just goes to show how versatile they are.

regards
Stovepipe

eirator

tommy2bad wrote: »

TBH the show is about the stuff we throw away and how it has a design beauty that should be appreciated, not discarded. It's entertainment to start you thinking not instructions to follow.

The contingency for the house burning down is a great thing to consider, shipping containers are just the job and if you wind up with something like these, you might not ever rebuild.
http://gracie-senseandsimplicity.blogspot.ie/2011/05/shipping-container-homes-6-inspiring.html

Great link but all I can say in Ireland is one word......

CONDENSATION!

Tabnabs

And for the love of god, don't think burying one is a good idea either.

aaakev

Proper ventilation and insulation and it would be fine. 150mm on the outside with timber over that would be plenty. My old office was something similar, i was in it for 3 years during the really bad winters and it was fine, we did have a bit of condensation but decent ventilation stopped most of it.

Was chatting with a builder mate last night about it and we estimated 30k would have you a bit if land with a small house on it for a BOL/weekend getaway and that would be a very comfortable house you could live in. All the work would be done by ourselves

gjc

Good luck to yous it wouldn't be my cup of tea that website looks very americanised even the one (container) on Kevin's show didn't manage to pull it off I remember some time ago on an Irish gardening programme this guy stuck a container in a back garden it was dreadful

aaakev

Its not a plan (yet!) just something we were talking about. I have been thinking about buying a bit of land and putting in a big shed so maybe something down the line...

gjc

As much as I love Kevin and others that people have discussed they have the means and resources available to them to make fabulous reclining chairs and wicker beds out of rubbish. That level of craftsmanship is not readily available to the ordinary joe. Kevin's idyllic piece of land also cost a pretty penny I'm afraid all I can do is look and dream. I'm not knocking anyone's ideas or dreams but i would find it very hard to make something beautiful out of a container. Kevin should perhaps detach himself from grand ideas and designs and give us ordinary joes a project . As an aside there is a competition held in England every year called shed of the year competition I look online every year they are just basic commoner wooden sheds but the ideas and outcomes of some of them are brilliant....give it a look ill try and get web address

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningpicturegalleries/9880141/Shed-of-the-Year-2013-entrants.html

www.readerssheds.co.uk


This was the winner last year
http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=4176



Some people have a lot of time on their hands
http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=4357

God I know I'm going to be browsing all day now


This ones my favourite so far but there's thousands to look through
http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=3160


This is the degree of time and money people will spend fab but not cheap I'd say
http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?SHARESHED=3405

gjc

Saw this today god I'd love something like this in my back garden
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317662/Shed-Year-Luke-Hollingworth-launches-bid-win-shed-year-competition-installing-cider-bar-art-gallery-broadband-connection.html just need someone to build it for me now for nothing

aaakev

Came accross this, much more realistic and doable by the average person

http://tinyhousetalk.com/mortgage-free-small-house/

Tabnabs

Another project that I really like is the $20K house.

http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/10/07/rural-studio-and-the-20k-house

Khannie

Tabnabs wrote: »

Another project that I really like is the $20K house.

http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/10/07/rural-studio-and-the-20k-house

That's really great. For an extra few thousand euro and the price of a small patch of land you could have a really super house in the countryside. Really like that.

wolfeye

Grand cabin/house these folks built.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570061/Couple-spent-five-years-building-Britains-greenest-home-HAND-tear-refusing-planning-permission-against-principles.html

gjc

Last year I posted here about shed of the year compaetition well George Clarke has a program on channel four amazing spaces shed of the year.... I've watched the first episode blown away by the sheddies .. I really wanted the pool house

Kevhog1988

oops

gjc

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2710905/Shed-Year-finalist-pull-pixie-grotto-hes-using-holiday-let-without-permission.html

I'd love to be a sheddie