Room to Improve (v2)

i like the idea of an upside down house but it doesnt work in this case as others have pointed out. far to impractical for the everyday tasks.. if there was parking at the front and a tiny garden at the back it could work but not the other way around.

It is very unfair he is able to get 95k for his client for a new build ( the side walls, roof, back wall , floors , internal walls, etc were all replaced) , when other couples elsewhere in the country, who have been struggling and paying their taxes here for the past 15 years, were told they could get no grants for the same thing.

It is the taxpayer here who paid the 95k. I know taxpaying couples here who employed similar expensive architects and were definiely told by the planners they could not get grants just by keeping a front wall.

You are right there. Plus the other design, the one which got planning, had a nicer front elevation and more practical layout, bedrooms upstairs instead of downstairs, back door not going through bedroom etc, different size void I think etc

The problem is that these smaller projects don't really have enough design content to sustain a whole episode so they need a bit of fluff to pad it out.

The show used to get a lot of stick for featuring these big jobs with enormous budgets and it seems like they've made a conscious decision to move away from that.

Lovely woman and her sister was too, it was a really nice house and I am delighted to see these derelict town houses being renovated. Irish towns are full of them and I completely support any grants that allow this to happen. It regenerates towns, saves on building on big green sites in the country, is a doddle to connect to all services, (mains water, mains sewage, broadband, a greener option too as less driving to get to shops and schools)

Was there a back garden in this house? If so it means she has to go through the bedroom with plants and tools and compost to do a bit of gardening? Or was there an entrance to the back of the property I missed? I wouldn't want that myself.

Having a kitchen, utility area downstairs is so practical, even in this kind of Winter weather for bins, bringing in some logs for the fire, feeding the birds etc. I wonder when people get older is having the kitchen upstairs a good idea with navigating stairs , mobility issues etc?

Overall this girl had her head screwed on and it's her decision where she puts her bedrooms and kitchens. It didn't come across that Dermot was dictating the project, she had her own ideas and stuck to them.

Dermots drawings showed a car parked behind the house so presume there's rear access?

@chooseusername I don't disagree with Boards.ie's classification of the show, I just think it'd be far more interesting viewing if it were edited more as a Home & Garden show…

" I just think it'd be far more interesting viewing if it were edited more as a Home & Garden show…"

So do I, but I suppose it's for the viewing figures.

There is rear access ;

Renovating/rebuilding in tight spaces is always a series of compromises/trade offs. Programme is good at highlighting how people build spaces to suit their needs.
The 'needs' here would not be mine but the client seemed happy with the compromises and with what she got.

Interesting to see what the rest of us could do or can be done / got for half a million or 557,000 in today's economic climate too. Say 100,000 or 150.000 for existing building ( seemed structurally sound, was there a long time, no damp ) , say 350.000 for building work and finishing off, say 50,000 for architect, quantity surveyor, ber, planning, stamp duty etc. Maybe another 5,000 or 7,000 to finish the outside at the back, back gate and wall etc.

Would be interesting to see it valued now. Some property programmes in us and uk do that. Could help solve the housing crisis if developers here were also able to buy old properties and rebuild them, but could they pay overheads like accountancy fees, bank interest, legal fees etc and still make a profit? Would be great if they could.

did the rear have no gate or was it open access. I couldn't make out in the end if the back of the house was just open to the laneway behind

no gate, think it was just unfinished

…..

That's the thing with smaller towns, smaller businesses, and a strong local community. There's just no way that building didn't hide a little surprise or two.

The builder (and client in this case) know very well that that a 20 second clip of him negotiating costs on national TV will cost him more than the publicity is worth.

The other celebrity builder, Peter Finn, who is very often on TV (and to be fair seems absolutely sound too) is well able to push back on cost/timing for pure entertainment purposes and it'll never cost him a penny.

This is the first room to improve I actually enjoyed in a long time. there are some nice design touches and good to see an imaginative approach rather than unlimited budget and massive house

also really nice to see that she has used so many local suppliers for everything . They all seem to be mayo Sligo in the list

I think the Show producers may have a deal going with some Dublin suppliers too, as they list the lighting shop retailer from Dublin, and on the show website for this Mayo project both planting suppliers and all 3 furniture shop suppliers were all listed from Dublin. Which is fine.

Correct, and I believe from someone who was on the show once that the house owner is offered the furniture at a knock down price afterwards, rather than take it back to Dublin.

Nice house, but do you think it is worth the 430.000 or whatever it would cost anyone else to build? I see a similar old derelict shop with dwelling overhead in a similar little village for sale for 250,000. Would it be worth knocking it and rebuilding, even if the refurbishment 95k grant could be got ( which is unlikely as the co. Co. said no)?