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Room to Improve (v2)

Mr E

Mod: My new RTI v2 thread was highjacked by Grand Designs chat, so I renamed it and started this thread.

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siblers

fergiesfolly wrote: »

I suppose coming from where this programme started to where it is now, it's a shadow of it's former glory.
Where it could be an informative entertaining programme, it's just entertainment now.
It's Top Gear for house extensions.
And in the same way I wouldn't hire Jeremy Clarkson to design a car, I wouldn't let Dermot within an asses roar of any home redesign I was paying for.
A man 20+ years in an industry doesn't know costs, time-frames, logistics etc just doesn't add up. We don't need the the faked drama. A well constructed sharply produced show would deliver a much better programme than whats being offered.
It's a good job Bannon has an established architectural practice, because if Room to Improve were a job interview, Dermot would be stacking shelves in Tesco by now.

I think an awful lot of this episode was scripted/dramatised. There's no way he could be this incompetent or ill-prepared

Glebee

siblers wrote: »

I think an awful lot of this episode was scripted/dramatised. There's no way he could be this incompetent or ill-prepared

Has to be scripted. There is no way he is that much of a fool. Didn't some earler poster say the knew the build and it went relatively smooth. Smoothly makes crap TV.

iamwhoiam

kerryjack wrote: »

Some of the comments on here are disgraceful, have ye ever met the man. His a professional that has done very well for himself, he seems a good family man. He Show is on primetime TV and has had good viewing numbers for the last 10 or 12 year, ye were all tuned in tonight why all this hate for the man.

I am quite sure that Dermot is a nice man and good family man . But professionally and as an architect I personally wouldn’t let him within ten feet of my house .
You only have to listen to the professionalism of Patricia and her deep knowledge to know she is top of her game
Yet we get an architect who is 20 years in the business not having a bulls notion of cost or indeed an awful lot of cop on either .
Then he sits like a star struck teenager in awe of an older architect and looks bewildered at his very logical thoughts

No thank you , If I had 600k to spend on upgrading my house it sure as hell would not be Dermot Bannon I would entrust to get me my money’ worth

Penn

If he thought he'd get it done for €500k and it came in at €600k, then I might have believed it. But he's a disgrace of an architect if he thought it'd come in under €350k. I mean whatever about trying to create a bit of drama, they may as well have said there was a meteor heading towards the house.

iamwhoiam

siblers wrote: »

I think an awful lot of this episode was scripted/dramatised. There's no way he could be this incompetent or ill-prepared

I agree its scripted but isn’t it strange that a professional would be willing to look stupid for a TV show ?

Fitz*

Penn wrote: »

If he thought he'd get it done for €500k and it came in at €600k, then I might have believed it. But he's a disgrace of an architect if he thought it'd come in under €350k. I mean whatever about trying to create a bit of drama, they may as well have said there was a meteor heading towards the house.

and the fact he went from €350k to being happy with €600k in the space of about 5 minutes!

LennieB

Was looking forward to seeing it last night but really disappointed - imo it felt like Dermot was a bit all over the place, as if he had just graduated from college rather than an experienced professional - seems ridiculous he was only figuring out about the reflections in the glass after having so many of them installed in peoples houses and other things he seemed so unsure about too. The piece with him going over the Oxford to see his architecture hero - didn't see the point, bit of a self indulgent exercise and what was the point on going over the plans with him when the build had already began. The little talks to camera are a bit annoying and time wasting too. It's a pity his wife did not take part, think it would have made better viewing having the 2 of them included. Could have been a one hour programme and leave it at that and as for the money involved! Like Dermot but think they need to find another architect now and do a new type of building/renovation programme, maybe this type has run it's course.

prunudo

Just on the reflections revelation. The fact that the window was on a curve meant the effect was exaggerated. Again I feel this was all part of the producers contrived 'drama'.

mloc123

The fake drama and the music over the drama at the start and end was so funny that it had to have been self mocking?

griffinlee

Room to improve has a script writer. They are listed in the credits...

HeidiHeidi

iamwhoiam wrote: »

I agree its scripted but isn’t it strange that a professional would be willing to look stupid for a TV show ?

Exactly what I was wondering while watching it last night! He seriously did himself no favours, IMO.

prunudo wrote: »

Just on the reflections revelation. The fact that the window was on a curve meant the effect was exaggerated. Again I feel this was all part of the producers contrived 'drama'.

Also agree that it's bizarre (if true) that this never, ever occurred to him, while merrily installing plate glass all over Ireland for the last 20 years. In fact, I plain don't believe it.

The solution (installing low-level lighting close to the window, lighting up the exterior), worked beautifully - as long as the lighting inside the room was switched off. HTF is that a solution in a domestic house???

Very disappointing show all round - I accept the need for a bit of drama, and scripting, and editing a year-long buiild down to two hours of telly - but IMO he comes out of it looking a bit foolish.

prunudo

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Exactly what I was wondering while watching it last night! He seriously did himself no favours, IMO.

Also agree that it's bizarre (if true) that this never, ever occurred to him, while merrily installing plate glass all over Ireland for the last 20 years. In fact, I plain don't believe it.

The solution (installing low-level lighting close to the window, lighting up the exterior), worked beautifully - as long as the lighting inside the room was switched off. HTF is that a solution in a domestic house???

Very disappointing show all round - I accept the need for a bit of drama, and scripting, and editing a year-long buiild down to two hours of telly - but IMO he comes out of it looking a bit foolish.

Exactly, I was shouting at the tv, of course they can't see you, you're standing in the dark.

[Deleted User]

I have a 10ft wide sliding door at the back of my kitchen. At night time I close the blinds.

Perhaps I'm the fool, though.

[Deleted User]

jay0109 wrote: »

600k! There's money in architecture and TV shows.
It'll come in a couple of hundred K over that no doubt

And handier money in the 'personal appearances' €5k - €10k to give out a few awards or do a nice presentation to some rich developers.

raspberrypi67 wrote: »

What is it about windows NEVER arriving on time....

Could it be anything to do with them not being ordered on time?

appledrop wrote: »

Wtf has a convention centre got to do with a semi-di?

Love the way he told Dermot he would never do his own house. That burst Dermots bubble.

Meanwhile Dermot flapping around wasting time with his hero architect.

The real problem was that it was too late in the day for Dermot to do anything substantial with the advice that he got. He seems to have no concept of project management - of confirming your scope and objectives up front, and completing your design BEFORE you start building.

vladmydad wrote: »

Haha I told you, old woolly head is here to do the garden lol

In his runners and no hard hat on a working building site! :eek:

siblers wrote: »

The bit with the glass wall made no sense, considering the amount of houses he's done with massive sized windows, surely he would have been well aware of the issues with reflections etc.

I wonder if that and other parts were just scripted to add a bit of 'drama' to the show

Don't underestimate the ability of architects and other designers to focus on form over function. A lot of them really don't have a clue how their designs work in practice, and they really don't care. Every time you see a makey-uppey sign in a bathroom or kitchen telling you how to flush the loo or how to switch on the microwave is evidence of this.

Max Headroom

iamwhoiam wrote: »

I am quite sure that Dermot is a nice man and good family man . But professionally and as an architect I personally wouldn’t let him within ten feet of my house .
You only have to listen to the professionalism of Patricia and her deep knowledge to know she is top of her game
Yet we get an architect who is 20 years in the business not having a bulls notion of cost or indeed an awful lot of cop on either .
Then he sits like a star struck teenager in awe of an older architect and looks bewildered at his very logical thoughts

No thank you , If I had 600k to spend on upgrading my house it sure as hell would not be Dermot Bannon I would entrust to get me my money’ worth

He actually isnt a nice man at all....its clear from the show he's arrogant, hates not getting his own way which comes over as being a "bully"....loves attention and at the end of the day Ryan Tubridy wont last forever..;)

BTW...i know and know people that work for Mr.Bannon....

Sunny Dayz

the_pen_turner wrote: »

this is what made the programe what it is (or was)
its easy do these things when you can throw half a million at it.

the majority of people in the country need their house adjusted slightly or a small adition to give a better flow etc not a huge open plan extention.
50 k would do a lot of work to a normal house that wanted to improve it a bit . we would all love a 100% renovated house but most could never do that

Agree with this. I'd like to see more "normal" projects. Eg an extra bedroom for children. A better flow upstairs or downstairs, a reconfiguration, a move to open plan. A renovation that's not completely modern (if that makes sense) but moreso making an old house work for someone.

The show is called Room to Improve - they seem to be more focused on making more Room in the house and not Improving what's already there.

harr

Best bit was the realisation that his hero didn’t like walls of glass , I taught he was going to cry.
Why in gods name would he not release that you can’t see out of windows in the dark and that windows reflect images like a mirror at night. Its mind blowing that came as a shock to him and showed him up big time, surprised they left that segment in to be honest.

LennieB

Dermot will be on Ray Darcy show after 4 to discuss the show and the feedback.

[Deleted User]

harr wrote: »

Best bit was the realisation that his hero didn’t like walls of glass , I taught he was going to cry.
Why in gods name would he not release that you can’t see out of windows in the dark and that windows reflect images like a mirror at night. Its mind blowing that came as a shock to him and showed him up big time, surprised they left that segment in to be honest.

I get the impression that they needed some 'drama' moments and this was what they came up with.

Personally, I think they made him look like an idiot. I would have made more of a drama out of the 'wanting to keep the old with the new' approach he was taking (keeping the old doors, ironmongery, etc.) but I get the impression that he is buddies with the lighting chap and perhaps he was in it as a bit of promotional work or something (I noticed the metal fabricator got his van perfectly positioned in the background when they were chatting, but the lighting chap didnt seem to get any real mention of his business name in there, unfortunately for him).

Primary school kids know that glass reflects at night. This quite simply isn't possibly something an architect just learned.

gifted

He doesn't come out of this programme with any great respect.......we are in the middle of a homeless crisis and this chap is throwing hundreds of thousands at upgrading his house to his dream house, not including the amount of money he paid for it....don't get me started on him flying to Oxford to meet his hero......Anyone know how much RTE paid him for this show?

GhostofKNugget

gifted wrote: »

He doesn't come out of this programme with any great respect.......we are in the middle of a homeless crisis and this chap is throwing hundreds of thousands at upgrading his house to his dream house, not including the amount of money he paid for it....don't get me started on him flying to Oxford to meet his hero......Anyone know how much RTE paid him for this show?

Because there's a homelessness crisis, people aren't allowed to upgrade their own houses? I must have missed that memo...

I'd imagine he got a decent wad from RTÉ considering it's probably one of the few programmes generating revenue for them, going on the amount of people I heard talking about it today.

I thought the part about meeting his Oxford hero was fantastic as it made him out to be a complete gobsheen - windows reflect?!?! why did no one tell me this!!!! - give me a hundred more of those clips.

MrMusician18

Deleted User wrote: »

I get the impression that they needed some 'drama' moments and this was what they came up with.

Personally, I think they made him look like an idiot. I would have made more of a drama out of the 'wanting to keep the old with the new' approach he was taking (keeping the old doors, ironmongery, etc.) but I get the impression that he is buddies with the lighting chap and perhaps he was in it as a bit of promotional work or something (I noticed the metal fabricator got his van perfectly positioned in the background when they were chatting, but the lighting chap didnt seem to get any real mention of his business name in there, unfortunately for him).

Primary school kids know that glass reflects at night. This quite simply isn't possibly something an architect just learned.

I'd agree with a lot of the sentiment on the thread and I would conclude that it would be extremely difficult for home owner to have any confidence in him following this programme. It matters little that the drama might be scripted and that it's all for the cameras - the episode has presented him as being completely unable to get a handle on his own brief. It has showed him as completely clueless when it comes to guesstimation of cost and it has essentially validated the criticism of almost every design he's done on the show: Almost all have large glazed rooms which were described as frightening in the dark.

I don't believe any of this is real of course and is just for the show, but what I'm wondering is how could any professional let themselves be shown in such a way.

meeeeh

I think some take a bit too seriously an entertainment tv programme. There was no conflict with client so they needed to find some back and forth with the builder and with the Oxford architect. The later probably showed that he is still a great fan of architecture. Programme was a bit boring and overextended. It would be better if they made one episode out of it.

However the complaints about homeless crisis and money spent are just begrudgery. He has money to throw at it and importantly the house will be also used as part of his portfolio.

MrMusician18

meeeeh wrote: »

I think some take a bit too seriously an entertainment tv programme. There was no conflict with client so they needed to find some back and forth with the builder and with the Oxford architect. The later probably showed that he is still a great fan of architecture. Programme was a bit boring and overextended. It would be better if they made one episode out of it.

However the complaints about homeless crisis and money spent are just begrudgery. He has money to throw at it and importantly the house will be also used as part of his portfolio.

Couldn't agree more. Homelessness is shoehorned into almost every debate in the country, sorry wait it's actually every debate in the country. Given the relative scale of the issue (0.2% of people in Ireland), it's getting an extraordinary amount of attention.

Any homeowner should be able to spend what they like on their house, guilt free.

donkeykong5

LennieB wrote: »

Dermot will be on Ray Darcy show after 4 to discuss the show and the feedback.

Probably on Tommy tiernan show this week.

Max Headroom

donkeykong5 wrote: »

Probably on Tommy tiernan show this week.

...plus a book.....

We,d all love to see him build 10 houses for
10 homeless families ,and even though that would make for better telly, it's not going to happen...Irish celebrities don't do stuff for free for others...

tototoe

MrMusician18 wrote: »

Any homeowner should be able to spend what they like on their house, guilt free.

Absolutely, but this show comes across like it's being shoved in your face. The numbers are huge and
It's not relatable for most people...a bit like most of RTÉ's output. They are living in their own " star" bubble and considering the state of RTÉ's finances, it's not a good look for a supposedly public sector broadcaster. It's been a common theme for room to improve the last couple of seasons

FFVII

Christ, some bitchin on here!!!

I watch it and never notice any of the sh1t ye all complain about.

Even complaining about high fives at his kids school!!

Apart from the house link and insta link which I didn't click....every other post could probably be deleted!!

[Deleted User]

tototoe wrote: »

Absolutely, but this show comes across like it's being shoved in your face. The numbers are huge and
It's not relatable for most people...a bit like most of RTÉ's output. They are living in their own " star" bubble and considering the state of RTÉ's finances, it's not a good look for a supposedly public sector broadcaster. It's been a common theme for room to improve the last couple of seasons

But it's not public money? Dermot's show, you could argue he gets a few euro off RTE, but every other episode of the show is Joe Soap members of the public spending their own money.

Even in Dermot's case, he probably makes a few euro off RTE, but let him at it. What's the issue?

A lot of people in Ireland are struggling.. a lot are thriving. RTE is showing us what people are doing. If the nation was broke and we were all struggling to re-tile the bathroom, then that's what would be on Room To Improve, surely?

[Deleted User]

FFVII wrote: »

every other post could probably be deleted!!

It'd be some discussion forum, alright. :rolleyes: