My Bungalow Bliss

I got the impression that couple 3 were financially cuter than the other 2... Just an impression mind

It can be entertaining television but I also find it very unethical. It reminds me of the excesses of the Celtic tiger years that got us into bother. The keeping up with the Jones crap that went on. Rather than championing value for money it seems people are taking on debt like it's a badge of honour.

The irony of the host highlighting the book which influenced the shows title. A book which laid out plans for low cost Bungalows. He could learn a thing or two!

We quite literally grew up with Bungalow Bliss, my dad printed the book for the vast majority of its print run over multiple years and editions, so the multiple variations of the different layouts are very familiar to me from over the years, from watching the pages pass through the print press, or the folder.

Over the editions you can see the evolution of the print layout process & my dad's growing fondness of Brush script as digital setup on a then cutting edge Macintosh SE, these books were laid out by one man, on a tiny monochrome 9" screen, I remember a later A4 portrait screen being revolutionary at the time 😆

I think Bungalow Bliss served a purpose, don't really see the negative connotation to the idea of the book now, in fact its interesting to look at the development plans of a lot of county councils and note that pages extracted from Bungalow Bliss over the years still form the guidelines for house location.

As a side question, what is the difference between a Bungalow and any other detached one off single story house?

I’d love to see these real life examples, video diaries of self-renovations. I wish the program was like that, I’d learn a helluva lot more

When was this? 10 years ago or so? Because you cannot do a “massive job” on a 70’s/80’s bungalow for €100k now, or anything like it.

While some of the jobs on the programme leave a lot to be desired, the final costs are not unrealistic for the results delivered.I’d say some costs were understated in the programme. In particular, the cottage in Donegal cost a lot more than €350k to finish to that standard, given the engineering and structural work involved, and the super high end finishes.

Well we built our home from a Bungalow Bliss design - the edition shown in post #410 on the right. We had little money and could only borrow a small mortgage - this was 1999. We thought we were being savvy and allowed extra pitch in the roof and extended wiring and plumb lines into the attic to allow us to convert it in the future. We did just that 6 years after we moved in. There are a few things that we would change now - as i'm sure most of you would say about your homes. However, we are still very happy in our house and it serves our needs very well. Yes, some of the spaces can be dark but this is Ireland, and a large part of the year is spent with lights on regardless of how much natural light is filtering in. I think that in the midst of a housing crisis, and an environmental crisis, it is rather crass to be airing a show which is dissing the very means by which so many provided accommodation for themselves in hard times past as well as rubbing it into the noses of those who already dispair that they will ever own their own home. We are being encouraged to retro fit to save energy - however these jobs shown have all used masses of energy and materials in their renovations. In many cases, the most environmental action is to take none. Regarding personal tastes for the finishings in the homes shown, I learned years ago that the minute you renovate, your house is dating in at least someone else's eyes!

I agree with you but I'd imagine with cameras rolling and a whole production crew in the background it could be rather hard to speak up.

Whatever about the first and third house, the second house has really left me with a bitter taste.

I genuinely feel that couple were seriously taken advantage of. The underfloor heating was a monumental f#@k up.

I dunno.

The standard of materials has gone up so much in the last 15 years alone that you cannot compare houses from then with now.

In 40 years time will we be regretting putting all this blown insulation into buildings??

He has a QS to reign him in.

It's easy to have a "vision" when someone else is footing the bill.

There are lots of things that are "nice to have" but totally unnecessary.

Not sure about wall insulation but I know for a fact that many will regret building the modern all electirc houses, with heat pumps, mechanical ventilation etc. all depending on constant electric supply. I know of one young family with a baby who had to leave their all electric house for 3 days and move in with her parents (in their 1980's bungalow) after a power cut caused by storm Barra. They had no heat, no means of cooking, boiling water etc. They are now in the process of pulling their very expensive fitted kitchen apart to fit a gas cooker and the ultra modern electric cooker is destined for the dump ! Even without storm damage the ESB admits that their generating capacity is barely able to meet supply at peak times and that power cuts are inevitable.

Why would an ultra modern electric cooker be destined for the dump? Donedeal or some other selling site is the place for it

Maybe the genisus that designed the house should have thought of that, instead they put all their eggs in one 'electric' basket and when the electric failed....... Contrast that to the 1980's bungalow the couple decamped to. It has a solid fuel fire in the sitting room and a solid fuel stanley range in the kitchen. Once they ensured that some water was always left in the attic storage tank they could live for weeks, cook etc. and be warm without electricity. You hardly need an architect to turn a warm kitchen and sitting room into temporary bedrooms during an emergency. Power cuts caused by Storm Arwen in the north of England recently lasted for up to 2 weeks, same could happen here before winter is out even without inclement weather if electricity demand outstrips supply. As my granny used to say 'hope & pray for the best but always plan for the worst' We don't live in an ideal, world s*it happens !