Room to Improve.

MidMan25 · 24-09-2019 07:05PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

I get the impression from Room to Improve that either Dermot is recommending companies to work with for heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation, etc and they are the most expensive in the market. Either that or the clients are just ringing up the first result in a Google search and going with that without checking prices elsewhere.

This is such a baseless accusation

AndrewJRenko · 24-09-2019 10:05PM

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Good one

35 minutes according to Google themselves. A bit of effort and you could do 30 easy enough. Might be a bit longer uphill on the way home.

em_cat · 24-09-2019 10:15PM

smelly sock wrote: »

Its shocking. Silly season in terms of building prices is well and truly on full flow.

Unsustainable me thinks.

Not really, in the past they’ve always given seriously unrealistic prices, severely discounted.

smelly sock · 24-09-2019 10:22PM

em_cat wrote: »

Not really, in the past they’ve always given seriously unrealistic prices, severely discounted.

Lol.

Who makes all the money?

em_cat · 25-09-2019 12:06AM

smelly sock wrote: »

Lol.

Who makes all the money?

Not the professionals that’s for sure. Most of the build cost goes on stuff we don’t see.

Addle · 25-09-2019 12:07AM

Labour

em_cat · 25-09-2019 12:10AM

Addle wrote: »

Labour

I was going to say that too.

smelly sock · 25-09-2019 08:51AM

em_cat wrote: »

I was going to say that too.

Thats a lot of lolly for labour lads. How much is a block layer / sparks earning there days?

the_pen_turner · 25-09-2019 08:59AM

smelly sock wrote: »

Thats a lot of lolly for labour lads. How much is a block layer / sparks earning there days?

How much does it cost to run their business. Those costs add up shockingly fast. 200 a day barely gets you minimum wage before tax as a fully legit tax compliant and fully insured tradesman with any tools needed to do the work.

Addle · 25-09-2019 09:01AM

A block layer won’t get out of bed for €200 a day.

ted1 · 25-09-2019 09:02AM

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

35 minutes according to Google themselves. A bit of effort and you could do 30 easy enough. Might be a bit longer uphill on the way home.

25 minutes easily.

ted1 · 25-09-2019 09:05AM

MidMan25 wrote: »

This is such a baseless accusation

Munster Joinery & Rationale tend to be pretty expensive, you don’t see to many windows or large sliding doors coming from Eastern Europe. Many of my friends and families have got there ms from outside Ireland for much cheaper

Dearg81 · 25-09-2019 05:09PM

ted1 wrote: »

25 minutes easily.

Hmmm I'm not sure about that Ted! Adrian looked like he was enjoying those free Google meals a bit too much!

freshpopcorn · 25-09-2019 05:30PM

Dermot's own Room to Improve will air in January and will consist of two episodes!

AndrewJRenko · 25-09-2019 09:24PM

Dearg81 wrote: »

Hmmm I'm not sure about that Ted! Adrian looked like he was enjoying those free Google meals a bit too much!

eBikes are letting people do longer journeys or more hilly journeys that would otherwise be impractical, with less exercise involved. Or he could have a fancy-ass scooter or something. They've very little parking, so it is unlikely that he is driving in.

HeidiHeidi · 25-09-2019 10:37PM

Only catching up with this week's show now.

That's a whole pile of money for a basically uninhabitable 2-bed house..... but that's SoCoDu for ya!

One of the things she said she loved about the house were the granite sills.....first thing getting levered out in the demolition into a skip (presumably) - those sills.

I'd love to see them keep those kitchen tiles, they have real character.

Lovely proportions to the original house, before it got tinkered around with to make it unrecognisable - I'd love to know the story of it over the years!

jos28 · 25-09-2019 10:43PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Dermot's own Room to Improve will air in January and will consist of two episodes!

Looking forward to it, bet he gets a plywood kitchen

HeidiHeidi · 25-09-2019 10:46PM

Why was yer man so adamant that the budget was initally X, and NOTHING MORE, DERMOT - and less than halfway through the programme is spending money like it's going out of fashion and is (by my rough count) about 100 grand over budget and counting.

He's for the birds!

HeidiHeidi · 25-09-2019 11:27PM

Jaysus, yer man is just a big man-child. I'd say you could sell him absolutely anything if you phrased it right.

That office of his would give me a migraine by lunchtime.

Absolutely love the kitchen, fair play to her sticking to her no-plywood guns - although I absolutely loved it in that Sandymount house with the green walls - they were utterly class!

When they were picking the window colours I thought the middle one was a bit samey with the walls (which they were clearly always going to keep) - and so it proved. The combination makes for a very dull frontage - although the porchway is gorgeous, and the windows themselves are lovely.

The landscaping of that courtyard must have cost an absolute FORTUNE :eek: and the finish in the bathrooms didn't exactly look cheap either.

But Dermot's speech at the end reminded me - again - you can't bring it with you, if you've got the money (and they clearly do), spend it and enjoy it while you're able - well wear to them in a lovely house!

Addle · 26-09-2019 03:00AM

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Why was yer man so adamant that the budget was initally X, and NOTHING MORE, DERMOT - and less than halfway through the programme is spending money like it's going out of fashion and is (by my rough count) about 100 grand over budget and counting.

He's for the birds!

The budget for plan a was X, then the plan changed and the budget increased accordingly.

loyatemu · 26-09-2019 09:57AM

where's the confilct if he's designing his own house?

DB: "I think we should put in a plywood kitchen"
DB: "Yes, I agree Dermot"

he should be forced to take on another architect for the job and then we can watch them argue with each other for 2 episodes...

HeidiHeidi · 26-09-2019 12:27PM

Addle wrote: »

The budget for plan a was X, then the plan changed and the budget increased accordingly.

I realise that, but the editing made it come across that X was literally all the money they had to spare/could raise for the project.

It's all codology on the part of the programme makers to increase the dramatics, but it's annoying at this stage.

Muahahaha · 26-09-2019 01:03PM

Watched it back last night and must say I was astounded that they ended up with the pebble dash on the old house and inside it too. At the beginning of the show they said they categorically do not like the pebble dash and that it has to go, they didnt just say this once, it was mentioned a number of times. Then Dermot goes into his whole spiel about how isnt pebble dash lovely and its part of the character of the house, blah blah blah. And he brow beat them and wore them down so much about it that they relented, the wife even said something like 'it might grow on us' and the husband saying 'we have to trust the architect', etc

I thought that was pretty bad form on Bannons part, the client clearly said they dont like pebble dash but he decided he did and his 'challenge' this week was to get them around to his way of thinking. Great for Dermot but he's not the one who has to come in the driveway everyday and look at the ugly pebble dash, the same pebble dash that the clients specifically said they hated in the first place. If you hate pebble dash as they did then it is not just going to 'grow on you', you'll hate it forever yet that is what Bannon has left them with.

I think because Bannons architect fees are being paid by the TV company he feels he can get away with stuff like the above. If it was the client paying him €20k+ he might actually listen when they say literally say they hate something.

Addle · 26-09-2019 01:10PM

But he was right and they liked it in the end?
It was a profound change of heart really...

turbbo · 26-09-2019 01:25PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

I think because Bannons architect fees are being paid by the TV company he feels he can get away with stuff like the above. If it was the client paying him €20k+ he might actually listen when they say literally say they hate something.

Most clients are idiots with too much money - imagine what it would look like if they got what they actually wanted initially - I think RTI at least tries to add some design aspects to a project. In this case the pebble dash was as you say "hated" by the client - doesn't mean they can't change their minds - being open to new ideas not wallowing around in your own narrow view of what design can actually do. Talk about missing the point. This is the essence of architecture and what design is all about.

turbbo · 26-09-2019 01:30PM

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

I realise that, but the editing made it come across that X was literally all the money they had to spare/could raise for the project.

It's all codology on the part of the programme makers to increase the dramatics, but it's annoying at this stage.

Same codology in grand designs over on channel 4 - when they start talking about budgets you need to just ignore because it usually just half truths added to spice up the show for a certain demographic.

freshpopcorn · 26-09-2019 01:43PM

What I found funny about the pebble dash was the guy said everybody who comes in says they love it.
I was like you hardly go into somebodies house and say you hate it.

Muahahaha · 26-09-2019 01:49PM

turbbo wrote: »

Most clients are idiots with too much money - imagine what it would look like if they got what they actually wanted initially - I think RTI at least tries to add some design aspects to a project. In this case the pebble dash was as you say "hated" by the client - doesn't mean they can't change their minds - being open to new ideas not wallowing around in your own narrow view of what design can actually do. Talk about missing the point. This is the essence of architecture and what design is all about.

Its one thing to introduce aspects of design to a build and see if the client *might* like them and go with that. But when the client say that they explicitly hate something then the architect is duty bound to listen to them and take their instruction instead of treating them as"idiots with too much money" as you say. Instead what we got was the architect brow beating them into submission on an aspect they hated. This was Bannon trying to create drama for TV, it was not him acting in their best interests and actually listening to what the like and what they dont like and going from there like a professional architect should. Theres a huge smack of 'Dermot knows better' and a level of arrogance on his behalf.

At the end of the day people hate stuff and you're not going to change their mind on it. I hate baked beans and if you got the worlds best Michilen starred chef to cook them for me I will still hate them, you cant polish a turd. Pebble dash falls into that category, if you don't like it to begin with it is not going to 'grow on you'. And if it was such a nice matieral to clad a building in then why are no new houses using it? I see brand new houses clad with brick, granite and even timber but never pebble dash. Theres a very good reason for that- people at large dont like it.

turbbo · 26-09-2019 01:50PM

freshpopcorn wrote: »

What I found funny about the pebble dash was the guy said everybody who comes in says they love it.
I was like you hardly go into somebodies house and say you hate it.

In the same vain you wouldn't go into somebodies house look at a rectangle of pebble dash on a wall and say you "love it" either unless you actually really liked it.
Not unless you really were a 2 faced gimp.

Sarn · 26-09-2019 01:50PM

I think the other problem with budgets is that people know what they want to get done and think that their budget is loads. When it goes out to tender they find out that prices are much higher than anticipated, so they have to either cut back what they’re getting or stump up the cash to get what they want (and only have to do it once!).

Room to Improve.

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