My Bungalow Bliss

Stone Deaf 4evr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118298670#Comment_118298670

If you're genuinely interested in general building principles of older houses, you should check out this book, it used to be on the leaving cert construction studies course, and indeed it was still relevant when I was in college (dating myself here, but circa 1997)

https://www.wob.com/en-ie/books/r-chudley/construction-technology-volume-1/9780582420366?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIp66fuenY9AIVFeztCh1UTgXhEAQYAiABEgJc8_D_BwE#GOR003019474

for just over a tenner, you cant go wrong.

myate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297896#Comment_118297896

Leave it with me & I'll see if I can get something going!

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118298226#Comment_118298226

It's not a disaster. In reality if a house has stood that long it ain't going to move now. You will find bungalow all over Ireland with the same setup and have stood 50 years and will stand another 50 years. Look at people converting old houses and barns into modern houses. Do you think they will meet the exact spec that an engineer will have?

One other method to help in this situation is what they done in week 1. Instead of filling a roof full of heavy tiles, then use lighter roofing so the weight of the roof is reduced.

Please note I am not telling anyone to do or don't do any of the above. It's your own decision in the end

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118298497#Comment_118298497

It's a bungalow. TO run a cable is extremely easy. Especially now as you can connect directly into the main box.

When I installed it wasn't allowed so you just go straight up into the attic, run it across and out. Boom.

gooner99

Plans/layouts for both houses linked here.

https://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/1262697-my-bungalow-bliss/

Info with video on retrofit house 1

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2021/1201/1264290-make-your-bungalow-blissful-with-an-energy-retrofit/

Info with video on retrofit house 2

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2021/1208/1265555-one-familys-transformation-from-cold-bungalow-to-cosy-home/

techman1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118299445#Comment_118299445

That was another annoying thing where did this "Boom!" Thing come from, every time they did anything the architects went "Boom" , this must be the new trendy jargon out of Silicon valley, you will hear Varadker and the politicians at it next, except for Sinn Fein they could never go "Boom"

monseiur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118299276#Comment_118299276

I assumed the house was built in accordance with plans submitted to the Co. Council for planning, see plans on post no. 19 ''Proposed attic level plan drawing no. 2002/OTD/PL/102 '' It does not show a bathroom in attic space....or maybe I need to go to Specsavers again!

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118298497#Comment_118298497

Why wouldn't they install a cable for a car charger? Not that difficult, and handy extra for the electrician.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118299951#Comment_118299951

Houses quite often change some interior designs after plans are submitted.

JimmyVik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118296289#Comment_118296289

I sold cars for about 2 months in my youth.

Lesson number one in my training was this.

Ask the client what is their budget.

Client says €5000.

You write that down and as you are writing you say "Up to?"

Client 9 times out of 10 will say a higher number when put on the spot like that.

That is now your starting budget.

Pretty sure thats how they all work.

Muahahaha

Like others I couldnt believe that finished house ended up costing 625k, they would have been better off knocking it and starting afresh.

The opaque window in the bathroom to get light into the hall was also another head scratcher. There is a solution to dark hallways using solar light tubes which connect the roof and bring light down inside a reflective tube. Its used on the continent in bathrooms with no windows. Not sure why they didnt go for that instead.

Id wonder about that 70k on the foundations. The house didnt seem to be falling down, surely the engineer tested the foundations before they began the build and would have told them of forthcoming costs if they went for underfloor heating? If they didnt then why have an engineer in the first place.

I felt sorry for the couple, it really was like boiling frog syndrome as the costs went up and up. Paying 325k for an uninhabitable small bungalow was insane as well to begin with. But it just got worse for them the further they got in. Plus Hugh Wallace and his stupid grin sneering at them, he is insufferable.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118295667#Comment_118295667

No mention of a radon barrier, despite the granite below. Now, just as a public information exercise to let such a barrier being essential over granite was advised, and testing for radon should be a matter of course in such a site (and probably in many areas in Ireland).

And no mention of a structural engineer, just a discovery of no foundations which closed the site. Now the lack of foundations might have been known, but the owner complained at one stage having a €400k hole in the ground, and a €70 grand rise in cost.

Now I am just a viewer looking at a programme where, in the first two episodes, the original house is reduced to the basic four walls with everything else demolished, and the original budget exceeded by €200 grand. That is enough for me to question the relevance to Jack Fitzsimons original design criteria of simple low cost housing. If fact the result, while looking very good, was extremely expensive for what the owner got. It was not as if the money did not matter to the owners.

doc22

All I could think of is where did they find all that money on first home

gmisk

660k+ seems crazy but the views are amazing.

The house felt a bit cold to me but hey guess they will make it more feel like a home when they settle in.

Nice couple I have to say, fair play to the guy for working so hard to try and pay the bills just as well he has the skillset to pickup extra work.

After these two episodes, you can really see the appeal of a new build!

madeiracake

I think concrete floors are going to be a disaster for the young kids. No give in them when they fall and bang their heads. Same with the granite thing they had. They look like designer houses alright very cold and stark. And having everyone looking straight into your house doesn't give much privacy.

doc22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118307677#Comment_118307677

The design wasn't to my taste either

Privacy wise the massive window won't help, funny that wasn't enough natural light they had to tear up the ceiling too. And I'd much prefer a sensor in the hall for light than for the semi-transparent glass bathroom wall.....

The vast majority of normal people wouldn't accept/afford architects notions/ideas, even Daniel O' Donnell put Bannon in his place

Pussyhands

Pat Mustard must have been up to his old tricks again...

Pussyhands

Am I right in saying there was no blinds in the bedroom windows?

I thought I didn't see any while watching and this photo looks like there's none either

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118306891#Comment_118306891

I'm here thinking being so close to a lake will eventually be a liability rather than an asset.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118306891#Comment_118306891

Regarding the appeal of a new build.

I don't think there was much wrong with the bungalows to begin with. Both bungalows ended up costing at least double what they originally paid for, however they made extremely expensive choices.

They don't need full length windows, as windows go, a full length one is the most expensive option. They all had doors too again running up the cost. With children putting external doors in bedrooms is an absolutely bonkers idea but yet that's what they did for both!

Getting bespoke hall doors etc all run up the cost.

How much extra did the internal bathroom window cost instead of just leaving it as a wall.

While underfloor heating is nice to have I don't think I'd be arsed digging up the floor to get it. Is it even necessary if you are putting in triple glaze windows and upgrading insulation. I get that radiators are not the prettiest things in the world there are some nice options on the market now.

There's an awful lot of "frilly extras" that are unnecessary.

Buying an older house you will have some sunk costs, upgrading electrics, plumbing and insulation for example, but you don't need to go down the bespoke route for everything else.

gooner99

Looking at the plan for house 2 I see there are four bedrooms. I think it would have been more practical to have three bedrooms and use the extra space for a utility and storage. I wonder if bedroom three was used for this purpose in the end as it houses the washer dryer. You'd need a fair bit of space for the heating system.

Screenshot_2021-12-12-10-02-55-560_com.google.android.apps.docs.jpg

gooner99

House number three is a 1990s bungalow in Donegal overlooking the sea, which will become a weekend home.

Sam Russell

The underfloor heating added €70 grand to the build cost. If it saved €2 grand a year, it would take 35 years to pay back, and that is not taking into account the interest costs.

Now, they could have put solar PV panels on the roof which would have a pay back of a decade or so.

A porch would save a huge amount of heat loss, and stop visitors coming in directly into the only living space.

There are so many design failures in a €630 grand house.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118308401#Comment_118308401

650k for 7 rooms, two being a bathroom/toilet.

Thats 93k per room !🤬

Wheres the utility room, home office, second living room, garage ?

For 650k I'd be expecting a minimum of 14 rooms.

Lunatics

techman1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118308425#Comment_118308425

Why don't "bungalow bliss" do one of the mica affected houses in Donegal, sure they basically demolish the bungalows anyway. It would also shine a light into the corruption in the construction industry and the complete ineptitude of the authorities in stopping this in time. Are 1990s era houses a bit young for this they are not really bungalows , start getting into the McMansion territory now

purpleshoe

I thought the house from week 1 is great. Total spend by the couple was 480K (150k for the house and 330k for the renovation). Possibly some better value could have been got in some areas but overall it looked like a very well put together house. Also to flag, there is a bath in that house. You can see it in the photos linked in older posts.

On the other hand, the house from week 2 is a big misstep in my opinion. Total spend by the couple was 637k (325k for the house and 312k for the renovation). I really hope that the purchase price of 325k included the field to the front of it. Crazy money to have spent if the field is not included. As others have pointed out the house is missing some real needed functionality to align with the real world of day-to-day living, and stepping straight into Kitchen/Lounge is a disaster.

I cannot understand what the Architect was thinking? Such poor decisions and solutions.

Overall, the key professions (Architect/PM/Structural Eng/Builder) who worked on the house should be embarrassed with the end result. Did they not lean on their professional experience, and work together to maximise the couples return on investment? Maybe unfair to say? But to some extent, it comes across that the couple were taken advantage of.

Princess Calla

Oh I think the couples were completely taken advantage of.

I question the ethics of the show when someone says they are working 4 Jobs in order to pay for it.....at what point do you say this isn't sustainable and we need to scale it back.

To me it comes across that the architects are pushing their own agenda and want statement pieces for their portfolio.

I don't think Hugh has anyone's best interest at heart bar his own. Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

There's absolutely no way I'd hire any one featured so far.

Where as I'd happily hire the Roisin/Peter team from Home Rescue.

Muahahaha

Yeah Id agree it seemed like they were taken advantage of. I found the final scenes with Wallace and the architects going on about what a great house it was a bit uncomfortable when it was set against the 637k it cost for just 7 rooms. Im familiar with that area the house is in (Ballyknockan) and they could have bought a house locally that was almost twice the size for similar money. They actually got royally ripped off here and they had to endure a ton of stress in doing so.

madeiracake

They saddled the second couple with huge debt and then walked off into the sunset. I'd say in a few years they will really regret a lot of the choices made. Even at the end when the wife was talking about more kids, the husband looked stressed at the thoughts. Working 4 jobs to try and pay for it as it is. As kids get older they need space and privacy, none of that for anyone in those houses. It would be fine as a holiday house but not a family home. They should have made a playroom in the attic and not that high ceiling.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118310337#Comment_118310337

Got any examples?