Build your own house rte1

ShamNNspace

Is anyone following this series (wed rte1)? I've seen the first two episodes and not been overly impressed to be honest... Hard to believe these houses were built by these couples on their own without professional help, it all seems a bit staged with this mentor guy showing up once in a while with his tuppence worth, no real digging down into the process of building at all, foundations, plumbing (what type of heating did they use for instance?), electrical work and finish woodwork (my own trade) and the rest, are we to believe they did all of this themselves? These are skills that take years to learn and the learning never ends imv, anyway was wondering had anyone else any views on this show

waterwelly

Saw a tiny bit and quickly turned over, but you've described it as what I thought it might be, all a bit staged.

Nobody is a master of all trades and amateur mistakes cost a lot to rectify later.

moycullen14

I'm kinda fascinated by it. It seems bizarre the people with no skills can end up, with what seems very little training, pouring foundations, laying floors, etc. As said above, if you get these wrong, God help you.

Health and safety is skipped over too. The sight of your one last night using the circular saw for the first time was positively scary.

You have got to wonder how practical it all is. Access to the consultant/mentor on tap, equipment, the time it takes, the opportunity cost of their own time, etc, skimping over the finances, no sign of other trades (esp. electricians)

The program should come with a warning. Do NOT attempt this at home!

One thing for sure, I wouldn't or couldn't do it.

Very entertaining though

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270181/build-your-own-house-rte1

I agree - I dont believe they done all the work themselves. The house last night was quite a complicated structure aswell. The idea that someone could build a house from scratch with help from the boyfriend and teenage kids is far fetched. Did the couple last night acutally have a day job aswell?

Harrison ( I cant decide if hes English or Austrailian) - the guy thats advising them is also questionable. Some of the scenes where he talks about the build he seems to be in his own house - which looks poor quality being honest.

ShamNNspace

Thanks for pointing out the safety aspect posters, I admit I didn't give it much thought but on reflection teenagers and novices goin around with nail guns and skill saws, these are machines to be respected and I'm no H&S fundamentalist,goin around with white helmets out in the open and then they have that craic messing with tools... never mind the mezzanine bedspace with it looks like no handrail, shur if I got up some night after a weekend away a bit confused an took a wrong turn I'd end up on the ground floor with broken legs

EmmetSpiceland

The couple, in the first episode, charted their progress on instagram. The woman has a torrid time with the bathroom tiles but got it done in the end.

Don't think they got too much “assistance” outside of what was shown on the show but they may have gotten help for certain jobs. Either way, they got a very nice renovation for the money they paid.

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119829212#Comment_119829212

They came across as a nice couple in fairness

yabadabado

I watched some of it but turned off, doesn't seem that realistic.

Very questionable how much if any work novices could do themselves.

Sure some jobs can be picked up relatively quickly and completed.How good the finished job would be is another story.

Other jobs on a site ,not a hope someone would be able to do it without plenty of experience or lots of help that isn't shown in the program.

moycullen14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119829231#Comment_119829231

Yes, they did. You felt they were in a really difficult position - 2 small kids, €2K per month rent. The house was an absolute wreck (bought for 25kish). I felt a lot more empathy with them than this weeks couple. When we were starting out 30 years ago, it was much easier. I don't know anyone of our generation that would have gone through that. Still, we didn't have smashed avocados on toast, so there is that!

phormium

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832284#Comment_119832284

I thought the house in first episode was a lot more than 25k! Maybe just a typo and missed the 3 :) 235k

I do a lot of my own diy and even I was nervous of her using that saw, I have lots of saws but the circular saw one is my least favourite, scary things!

moycullen14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832324#Comment_119832324

Ha Ha! Yes, it was about 250K.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270181/build-your-own-house-rte1

The second show commenced with a man standing on another man’s shoulders as a scaffolding. It is unbelievable that any 2 adults would do this. This is in breyof the Health and Safety Acts for Construction Sites.

The writing on the screen stated that “all Health and Safety boxes were ticked”. There were many breaches of the Health and Safety Acts on the second show also.

Below are my comments on the first episode.

The show was a disgrace and had many breaches of the S.I. No. 291/2013 - Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013. It was just luck that no one was killed or maimed etc. 

Everyone involved with the show should be prosecuted and fined by the HSA. 

Children should never be allowed to go in to a building site under any circumstances. And 5 year old children should never be allowed to have dangerous wire cutters capable of amputation fingers. 

Note to Harrison- Construction Sites are not Children's Playgrounds. 

Grace and Robbie should not have been allowed drive an excavator unless they were trained and Certified to drive the excavator. 

Robbie was seen trying to drive the excavator out through the back door - with no safety frame on the machine. 

Master Builder and Building Teacher and Craftsman Harrison Gardner then decide that the viewers needed to see Harrison driving the excavator with no safety frame. Safety Frames are only for sissies. 

It appears that Harrison wants people to learn nothing from the T V show - so they will need to book in to classes at his workshop. Also looks like Harrison is hoping for an Oscar. 

“Build your own Home”. - they had Masons, electricians, plumbers, plasterers etc, and Harrison did the Carpentry. 

Harrison built a formwork for a worktop and did not explain anything about making it. It was exciting to see Grace master the Poker Vibrator on the concrete. At least the viewers learned about big good Vibrations. 

Viewers were not shown how to build or do anything constructive 

Girls night out was brilliant with all the fashion and cocktails, and probably ate in to the Budget- Grace probably couldn’t afford the other part of the shoulder of her red dress.

Lovely to see the female friends helping out on the Construction Site near the concrete blocks and masons on scaffolding - not in compliance with the HSA Acts, and the ladies with wonderful hair styles and no Safety Helmets and lovely designer 👠 and no boring Safety boots, no hiVis vests, no safety glasses etc. Next show may include the Grandparents and In-laws and a few little toddlers crawling around the Building Site and playing with the half-ton mechanical excavator toy thinges. 

I cannot understand why the Health and Safety Authority, with all the substantial evidence of breaches of the HSA Acts would not prosecute RTE and Master Builder and Building Teacher and Craftsman Harrison Gardner. Or will the HSA wait until someone is killed or maimed on a Building Site on one of these shows. 

Budget - The budget was well explained. They had an Architect who knew that the budget was €70k, and the architect said that he designed works for Robbie and Grace for multiplies of the budget. 

The budget was €70k and they spent approx €95k. They will need to hire many more Craftsmen, to “Build Your Own Home” 😂😂 and pay out approx €60k to finish off the house. 

Corkionions have a great song called ‘The Langer’. Master Builder and Building Teacher and Craftsman Harrison Gardner, should rename the show :- “ Only Fools and Langers”

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842784#Comment_119842784

Great Post, I wouldn't add much except that the use of a nail gun and skillsaws by novices had danger written all over it, these are not playthings nor as you say is a building site a playground and I'm no H&S fundamentalist... All the same Harrison and his wife Erin are coining it at €700 for a five day course, that's not including hotel or B&B costs, who contracted this series I wonder?... There are a few no nonsense local builders with years and years of experience who could have made such a series, at least then the average punter might learn something......those concrete forms for worktops baffled me, I've a feeling they were a bit of a disaster and ended up in the skip

Gen.Zhukov

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842784#Comment_119842784

Excellent post. Didn't see the show as I'm allergic to anything coming from here -

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843240#Comment_119843240

Aha NK management, he must be a made guy

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843150#Comment_119843150

Thanks for your comment ShamNNspace, I agree.

No unskilled person should be allowed to touch a Nail gun or a Skill-saw or a Sabre saw etc, and should never be allowed near an 1/4 ton excavator.

It is beyond belief that Master Builder and Building Teacher and Craftsman Harrison Gardner would hand any of these dangerous tools to unskilled amateurs.

You are correct in stating that no nonsense local builders with experience would certainly have shown viewers how to build their own home.

JP Liz V1

Harrison seems a bit of a ride, Dermot Bannon must be raging

Deeec

https://www.nkmanagement.ie/harrison-gardner---profile.html

Harrisons biography doesnt do much to convince me that he has the skills needed to teach people how to build their own home in Ireland.

I presume he charges these so called self builders a large fee to pass on his knowledge. I wouldnt like to be trying to sell any of these buildings in years to come.

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844039#Comment_119844039

Like I said above €700 for 5 day course and that's not inclusive of accommodation costs, the lads doin OK

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844129#Comment_119844129

Yep hes doing good - I feel sorry for the eejits paying him though.

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844147#Comment_119844147

Wouldn't mind to hear from someone who's been on one of these courses though, maybe it's value for money 🤔

my daughter and her husband have been on one of Harrison's courses...... they learnt a lot and its stood to them.

They are in the final episode of Build your own Home on 16 November. It has taken 18 months of blood, sweat and tears. The end result is beautiful. All work has to be signed off by engineers as per normal so its not just Harrison who has an input.

Harrison charges nothing to anyone who appears on the show, they get 10 days of Harrison working with them on the project in exchange for having the project filmed...... that's it.

madmaggie

I was wondering how people would stand with insurance if issues arose in the future due to doing the build themselves. Also, would financial institutions not insist on qualified persons doing the work?

JoeA3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119855754#Comment_119855754

If you’re dependent on mortgage drawdowns, then yes, the bank would be very strict on having all works certified / signed off. But in this series it’s made clear that these people are working on tight budgets - from their savings and small personal loans.

ShamNNspace

Watched the 3rd one last night with the circus performers, fair play to them on having the 100k saved to buy the house... Bit more on this one, at least they showed the underfloor being poured but no detail, the sheep's wool insulation didn't seem to leave a gap but maybe that's ok. Harrison and the old Engineer didn't seem to see eye to eye and I notice he disappeared near the end of the build, some friction I suppose.. That second hand shop guy must have thought it was Christmas when they bought those old snooker table slates off him, and on the windows being the wrong size, I've ordered windows a few times and offered to send in the measurements, under no circumstances would the firm accept this and instead sent one of their reps round to measure when he was in the area, thought this was the norm + good practice because the responsibility was on them... Looking at Harrisons own house twas middlin, a bit of a mixture,I could see wall tiles laid diagonally in the background, reminds me of all the curved heads on some 70s/80s windows and curved mdf cupboard doors which never added much lookswise imv but were done because we had the machinery to do them at the time(I may be explaining this badly)... Harrison and Erin his wife are into the sustainable living I read yet he seems to have two modes of transport, a vw caddy and some sort of gas gussling jeep, I suppose they're sustainable in other ways

enricoh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843280#Comment_119843280

Ffs, nanny state rubbish. The second couple were circus acrobats, having his missus on his shoulders is par for the course at that lark. They got their extension and renovation done for 50k iirc n fair play to them.

Stick with Dermot Bannon n fully registered builders doing a revamp n extension for 260k which ends up at 380k.

motley

I don't get all the negativity here. You mention getting a local builder to show how to build.

I don't think a local bullder would have the patience to teach a novice to build over that lenght of time.

Why not encourage people to try this real "self-build" option if they can't afford to hire different trades.

Plus it's a TV show. It'll never reflect all the mistakes, the H&S, the engineer on site as its focused on the couple and Harrison. That's the point!

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119867999#Comment_119867999

Harrison cannot teach ordinary people how to be a groundsperson, builder, plumber, electrician, plasterer etc etc over a few days - that's the issue. Either these self builders have professional help that's not shown on the show or they will have problems with the houses further down the line due to bad workmanship. I certainly wouldn't be buying any of these houses should they ever come up for sale.

To gloss over health and safety on a building site is very negligent.

In the most recent show I felt Uncle Teddy could see through Harrison and is not a fan of Harrison's work.

StupidLikeAFox

I'm enjoying the show tbh. Of course the people are not doing the everything themselves - the owners are mostly reduced to the donkey work or low level apprentice work, but still it's an interesting show to see what people are up to - they are building some lovely houses and renovations, all seem like genuine people and getting some good results from their shoestring budget

They all seem to be taking a bit of a leap of faith and winging it a bit, and I like that Harrison is there as more of a guide/facilitator/sounding board rather than being a dictator ala dermot bannon

The original brick looked really well in the last two episodes when they stripped back and exposed it (internal and external) - hard to imagine future generations stripping back to concrete blocks in 100 years time!

Sleepy

This weeks end result was brilliant. Nerves of steel to approach a build in that way but I suppose he is an architect and for all the mentions of the DoneDeal bargains, you'd swear DoneDeal must have been sponsoring (though I think there was a mention of adverts at one point too!).

Liamario

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119886580#Comment_119886580

They spent an incredible amount of money considering they did a lot of it themselves. Also, what about her nonsense business that was really just an elaborate hobby?

That poly tunnel was keeping them afloat!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119887550#Comment_119887550

her "nonsense business" isn't a business yet, she was filmed doing a year long course with Jim Cronin https://www.farmingfornature.ie/nominees/jim-cronin/ in preparation for 2023/2024 and will be starting small. This is how most small growing businesses start. So the business was not factored in to the renovation of their place. Not sure what you mean by "keeping them afloat"?

There were many costs to a big project like this, probably the biggest on the series: purchasing all necessary tools and health & safety equipment/clothing, clear site all around house, put in septic tank, plumbing, heating, air to water thermal heat pumps, underfloor heating, insulation, fit out kitchen, bathrooms, appliances, all light fittings. Blockies were hired for the block laying part, as was plumbers and electricians in the final part. There was an engineer for signing off separate phases.

Van hire (for all the Done Deal purchases) , digger hire, skip hire was a cost too. Costs of all building materials sky rocketed this year which is the year they did most of the building and fitting. (They only started October 2021 and the first 2 months was demolition).

All the demolition, clearing, and re-building (apart from the actual block laying) roofing, concrete flooring, walls partitions, insulation etc was done by the couple. This was as well as working full time and minding 2 kids under 2. That project was built with blood, sweat and tears.......literally. I know this because it is my daughter and her husband.

JoeA3

They did a fantastic job Maggie, I loved how it turned out.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119888578#Comment_119888578

They did a good job on the house. It was a better show this week as your daughter and son in law were honest that they were not doing all themselves and were using professional tradespeople to help. Also your son in law being an architect knew that doing certain jobs himself would be very foolish and cost more down the line. All the other couples gave the impression they were doing everything themselves which is probably untrue.

I especially loved how they finished the house outside - it is a beautiful house.

mattser

Well you well and truly put that to bed. Congratulations to them both ( +Harrison ), on a marvellous job. May the family have many happy years together there.

Sleepy

@[Deleted User] they did a fantastic job, my favourite of the series.

@Liamario I can't remember the numbers but I remember thinking that they seemed to get a lot done for their money thanks to the "re-use" approach.

monseiur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844129#Comment_119844129

Gullible folk think that just because he's been on TV he's the bee's knees, same with Dermot Bannon but in reality they're just a media creation who can talk the talk and fill air time. But €700 for a 5 day course is very reasonable provided it was given by a professional. Considering that a half day manual training refresher course for a group of 9 costs a whopping €750 and a Safe Pass course for a similar group, which is one full day, costs €1,300 !

ShamNNspace

I think the programme has improved over the episodes with the last one being the best of the lot, a down to earth no drama couple who knew what they were doing by and large and their project was a success in spite of rather than because of Harrisons input imhv... There's room for improvement but I wouldn't be surprised to see another series

thanks for the positive feedback, its really nice to hear! The house my daughter and husband renovated has turned out so well and is really warm and comfortable, I am jealous! Those heat pumps and underfloor heating systems are amazing, all day long, comfortable, temperate heat with no radiators. While a fireplace might have been nice, it would have reduced the impact of the type of heat system they wanted and reduced the BER in terms of getting grants.

The light coming in these early Winter mornings is amazing, it seems to come into the house at every angle, its a positively mood boosting house.

While they are thrilled with the results of all their hard work, I don't think they would do it again. Being part of a show puts huge pressure on as there are constant deadlines, film crews having to lots of "takes" , Harrison visiting on certain days etc. Its intrusive but on the other hand the pressure of filming means they completed their house quicker than if they were just doing it on their own. The last 2 months were the most stressful, I don't know how they did it, I saw the stress first hand, but now they can relax and enjoy their house knowing they built it themselves.

JoeA3

I "built" my own house a couple of years ago. When I say "I built", of course I had professionals heavily involved in doing all the important work, but I did get much more involved in it day to day than I thought I would. I really enjoyed it and I think I learned a lot of useful skills - practical and otherwise!

There is a great sense of satisfaction in building your own, even if your role is as small as cleaning up and a bit of labouring! Its also nice to be familiar with every aspect of your own home... e.g. something as simple as hanging a TV on the wall. I know where on the walls it is safe to drill and not safe to drill, as I saw where all the wiring went!

ShamNNspace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889244#Comment_119889244

I wouldn't do it myself, then again I'll be 3 score on my next birthday with a tired and battered body, at their age they don't have much fear, their life is ahead of them, it's a young person's game workin all hours on a project like that, I'm 2 years at one myself

who what when

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842784#Comment_119842784

What a load of rubbish

Liath Luachra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889244#Comment_119889244

Really enjoyed the show - heart broke for them when storm wrecked polytunnel, I've been there! I think for a build like this, it needs a strong couple to work as a team, especially with two small children. Nicest house by far, exterior stone was lovely. These programmes will give others more confidence in considering self or partial self builds, especially with many doer uppers around the country often on lovely sites. Would be great to do follow ups a few years later to see how everyone has settled.

Liamario

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119888578#Comment_119888578

I don't doubt they put loads of work into the house and they should both be very proud.

This is a public forum about a TV show. I'm not posting on your Facebook page. I don't know you or anyone else on the show. I'm expressing an opinion on the show, you don't have to like what I'm saying.

Maybe your daughter will make a business out of it, I don't know. But in the context of the television show, it appeared to be nothing more than a distraction.

She doesn't have to justify herself to me and I don't have to justify myself to you.

farmingquestion

I haven't watch the show but will do, but where is Pete Finn, aka Pete the Builder???

I can't imagine anyone who signs up for one of these shows is likable in any way. Even if you signed up for the help, all you get is 10 days from Harrison, it's not going to be the difference between building your own house or not.

I'm a member of the self build group on facebook, there's a real vanity feeling about the whole thing.

"look at what I have, our home is perfect"

People describing it as self building when they hire builder contractors to do all the work.

"Follow us for progress @littlehouseonthehill"

It's all very vain, look at me, I'm special kind of act.