Room to Improve (v2)

Didn't she say she wanted underfloor heating?

Thought the house was lovely.

The extension was gorgeous, and I'd always say go as big as you can afford as you're not going to do it again (hopefully), however the house was already a fine sized house I'm not sure they needed the extension that large.

Especially an extension that's basically one room.

I think in a couple of years they'll be thinking a log cabin or something to convert into a games room/gym for the boys.

Anyway best of luck, they seem a nice family.

Tbh at this stage you know what you're getting regarding Dermot and budget so anyone that applies for the show only have themselves to blame!

So 60k for the render plus 400k for the refurb and extension and thats including every grant under the sun.

So well over half a million cost, costs are out of control in this country now.

Would the guy not have been better off just trying to do most of the renovation work himself, with a few tradespeople.

The builder got a good plug.

i was watching this at my parents house and it was interesting because they know his parents and grand parents. i know relations of ivans. i will have to see what the truth of the situation is. i know the guys that did that lime rendering at the start i think. i think i saw their vans in the back ground

it is crazy to do all that lime plastering at the start and then tear the windows out and know a big hole in the wall . surely you would spend any saving gained on fixing all the damage you did to it . the builder didnt seem to be showing it much respect when they were digging beside it, it was splattered in dirt and had stuff left against it

I liked the finished house but there was nothing wow about it either.

They mentioned at the start that they have been living with Ivan's dad for the last 10 years - now if they were able to save 2k per month at least ( which is doable ) every month for the last 10 years that equates to a sizeable sum. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they are mortgage free and fair play to them if they are. The budget worries at the start were all part of the show - producers needed a bit of drama.

It's rinse and repeat every week every series.

That's what I thought, I said to my husband someone problem gave them extra money but they didn't want to say in case taxman came after it.

Anyway really enjoyed that one, they were a lovely down to earth couple and loved that they tried to stay true to old house.

Yeah they are in a very privileged position.

Though coming from grandparents they would be taxed fairly heavily as threshold B is only around 30kish.

I find it weird people let these houses sit empty for so long....though probably a case of not wanting to sell and break the farm up, but not enough mod cons to live in...too expensive to get up to modern standard.

I would say no inheritance tax was paid. House was probably left to Ivan's dad by grandparents and dad then passed it onto Ivan. Agricultural relief was probably availed of aswell which includes farmhouse so likely not a penny tax was paid on any inheritance.

I'm convinced they are mortgage free between savings and grants availed of but didn't want to say that. Nobody would be stupid enough to start on the outside walls of a house without going any plans and being so worried about funds. They definitely had their homework done before starting. I think they were probably more clued in than Dermot.

my father said the grandmother lived there until her death in 2009/10 he thinks. so not that long ago. the mother and father built a house out the front years ago and that is where ivan was living.

#surely the house wouldt be worth a huge amount . there was nothing spent on that house in donkeys years. it needed total rewire and plumbing

Lovely home in the end, but it was the house they visited that I find inspiring.

I basically Tweeted my dislike of that home and Dermot liked it!

that Farm has some amount of sheds out the back.

In future I'll watch the first ten mins and the last ten mins. And do something productive in the middle. There is no point watching the rest, we learn absolutely nothing about the actual build. Pointless.

House was lovely in the end.

Not really, not to the same degree anyway. I tuned in for the last few minutes of it, there's no way I would sit through a full episode anymore.

Reading the commentary on here is the highlight of the show.