Episode 1 Building Dream Homes

Have you ever dreamed of living in a house built specially for you,

or of renovating the house you already live in?

Then the chances are, you'll need an architect

to design, build and transform your home.

My own interior style is just coolness.

We're following some of the nation's architects

leading the way in ground-breaking design and innovation.

Oh, yes.

We'll be with them every step of the way, as they battle with builders...

Quick word in his ear, make sure there's no more mishaps.

-That's not good!

-..and blueprints...

This is the classic sleepless-night project, if I'm being honest.

..and the clients who hire them...

-It's like working with the Chuckle Brothers.

-Ho-ho-ho!

You've got a very strange understanding of the word "today".

How do you know your calculations are right?

..and draw on their seven years of study...

I'll go with the architect's opinion, I'm afraid.

..to solve everyday problems...

Seriously, this is a serious bad day.

..all in the name of making the properties

we dream of become a reality.

Today, architect Chris Loyn gets to grips with a budget-busting

upside-down house near Cardiff.

One day, I'm going to live in a house like this

and not just do it for others.

We'll see the highs...

This is amazing. Oh, I can't believe it.

..and the lows...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! That sounded like there was some cracking noises.

..in its transformation from drawing to dream home.

And architect David Blaikie is working with a family

whose house just doesn't work for them any more.

I'll get my thermal hard hat on and we'll have a quick look.

But will their high expectations be achievable on their tight budget?

This is definitely something we didn't expect,

and we will have to pay the extra.

In Wales, in the Vale of Glamorgan, husband and wife, Jon and Marianne,

have lived in this beautiful long house for the past 20 years.

The house we've got now is a bit quirky, isn't it?

It's evolved over the years

because the oldest part of the house is actually the extension.

-Yep.

-But this is 18th...

-Cos that's 16th or 17th century

like an old shack, really, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-With every improvement, I think we've made it better.

They love their home,

but it's the wonderful location that has kept them here for so long.

-And this is the best view.

-I think this is the best view.

And it's south facing so we get the sun from here all day.

Yeah. Yeah, it's hard to beat.

The view may be everything they want,

but having raised their family,

Marianne, a self-employed education consultant,

and Jon, Director of Post-Graduate Dental Education in Wales,

have decided it's time to plan for the future.

My background is nursing and health visiting and I've noticed,

even with our own parents, they don't move when they can move.

And then things become difficult for them,

so I didn't want to be in that.

I wanted to move before things became difficult.

Somewhere that was easy to maintain and was on the flat

and would have the capabilities, if necessary,

to handle a wheelchair.

You know, it didn't have little corners and things like that.

I suppose doing your own build, it gives you an opportunity

-to do exactly what you want.

-That's right.

Faced with the dilemma of what to do if you love your view,

but want a new, cutting-edge house,

Marianne and Jon decided to think laterally.

They're building a brand-new home next door to their old one.

They've chosen architect Chris Loyn to design it.

His practice is responsible for some of the most innovative,

impressive and expensive homes in Wales.

It's up to Chris to draw up

exactly what Marianne and Jon are looking for.

Very early on we came up with a diagram because the client,

it's got beautiful views, stunning views of open countryside,

and the client wanted an upside-down house

with living accommodation on the first floor

and bedrooms down at ground floor,

which was the opposite to the existing house.

Marianne and Jon have asked for a large reception room

and three bedrooms on the ground floor.

On the first floor, there will be an expansive living room

and an open-plan kitchen-diner.

There's a sense of openness to, and an interaction with, the outside.

It's heavily glazed on the southern facade,

shaded so it doesn't overheat, and also creating a balcony space

so you can sit when the Welsh drizzle comes down,

but it still might be balmy and warm,

so it's got these degrees of inside-outside space.

And the design features don't stop there...

One important element of the brief was future proofing,

if you like, we're all growing older,

they wanted a house that they could live in for the rest of their days,

come what may, so movement through the house was a key aspect.

We've made provision for a lift, in fact,

to take you up to the first floor.

It's not in at the moment, because it's not needed,

and we find this more and more with our one-off housing,

that people are looking for the long term and for a lifetime home.

Building in their garden has saved Marianne and Jon

around £250,000 on the cost of a plot.

They have a total budget of £842,000.

£660,000 for build costs

and a further £182,000 in the pot to split between paying

for their new kitchen and bathrooms, and fees, including the services

of Chris and his team to oversee the entire build from start to finish.

The steel beam and wood design of this upside-down house

means that the whole thing should go up

in just ten months. The trouble is,

this build has so many cutting-edge features,

keeping it on schedule and on budget will take enormous expertise,

as lead contractor John knows only too well.

Well, it's really the detail. Steel frame, timber frame,

external timber cladding, flat roof, balcony details,

external terraces. All these add up to an extraordinary build,

but also needs a bit of thinking in terms of the design and construction.

John may be in charge of the running of the build,

but Marianne is determined to be hands on.

She's a woman who knows what she wants and how she wants it.

OK.

It's always been her real project, I think that's fair to say.

I'm just dragged along behind.

Better weather today. Yeah?

-Lovely.

-Really nice.

It IS my project and the architects have drawn to my brief,

but we do obviously discuss everything, and the thing is,

you know, it was a joint decision to go ahead on it.

I mean, I'm excited about it, but I'm nervous about it at this point,

because between now and Christmas, a lot of decisions have to be made

and those decisions have to be the right decisions,

and essentially, to a large extent,

it will be me making those decisions.

I was just going to say that. It WILL be her decision.

-Yeah, exactly.

-And I'll be right behind her.

And if it goes wrong, if it doesn't look right,

then it will be largely my fault.

400 miles away in Edinburgh,

the McFadden family have outgrown their house.

We moved into this house five or six years ago

and just since then, we've had twins and the family's grown,

so we felt we just wanted to extend the house.

Mhairi and Peter looked into moving,

but with the cost of buying the extra space they needed,

combined with the price of moving, it was out of their budget.

So, for them, extending rather than upping sticks makes perfect sense.

So Mhairi took it upon herself

to find the architect who could realise her dream.

I spent many weeks driving around different streets in Edinburgh

checking out other people's house extensions

and one day I came across an extension I really liked and it was

exactly what we wanted, so I checked that out online and found out it was

David Blaikie who was the architect, so I contacted him because of that.

David is an award-winning Edinburgh architect

who's known for designing light-filled, modern extensions.

But getting this simple design off the ground wasn't straightforward.

We had difficulties with the planning process on this one.

The client wanted us to propose something which gave them

two extra bedrooms upstairs and we came up with a scheme for that

and the planning department just didn't think it was appropriate.

So we had to modify the design

which meant there was only one bedroom upstairs

and a much bigger and brighter sitting area downstairs.

The original roofline of the bungalow came like that,

so we've extended this roof slope out.

It meant we could put a pretty big dormer window up here.

With their budget set at £90,000,

to cover everything from build costs, to VAT and architects' fees,

Mhairi and Peter want to say goodbye to their impractical home.

They've employed David to design a brand-new two storey extension,

with a spacious bedroom for their boys, complete with en suite

and a large new family room below.

It's an extension that should change their home and lives for the better

and they're hoping to get the whole thing built in just four months.

Today, after months of planning, work starts on the house...

Is this the right house?

Unlike the build in Wales where Marianne is across every detail,

Mhairi and Peter are leaving their project in the hands of David.

He's going to regularly inspect the build as well as design it,

and is well aware he'll need to look after Peter and Mhairi

as much as the bricks and mortar.

Because we're doing it all the time, we often do forget

that the client doesn't understand it

in the same sort of detail that we do.

And sometimes the client has got to say,

"No David, you know, explain that to me again.

"What was that?" "Oh, right, sure. OK."

It's only a couple of weeks into the build

and David hits a potentially major problem.

He's on site and has some explaining to do.

The structural engineer has come back to say

that the extension is going to need an additional six

heavy and expensive steel beams to make the structure secure.

For the head contractor, Steven Gillis,

it will mean a lot more work.

I think we'll have to lose the ceiling myself.

I can't see us keeping it, because there's triples

and doubles going in there.

Mhairi and Peter's £90,000 budget is already at its limit.

Any unexpected costs so early in the build

could seriously compromise the final finish.

Well, obviously you don't like surprises.

It's definitely something we didn't expect

and we will have to pay the extra.

My husband is just worried about the cost

and what it's going to do as well.

It might push, because we're having to order more steel,

it might push the length of the build out.

Extra time, extra materials and extra labour all add more expense

so Mhairi's really hoping that this is the last of the surprises.

But as David's inspection continues,

he spots something else to add to the slate...

Look at this. I think these have been painted.

-They have.

-Now that's a new one. I've never...

-No?

-I've never come across that before.

-It's quite common.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-What is it meant to...?

-It just makes the house look better.

-Oh, right.

It's going to be an issue, isn't it?

To actually match a concrete tile to that is going to be impossible

so the client's got a decision to make,

but the roof is either going to be two different tones of colour or...

I'll get samples. You can get red, I think.

-I hope.

-Yeah.

It's another bit of bad news for Mhairi.

-Your roof has been painted in the past.

-It has, yes.

It gives us trouble in terms of matching up.

I just wonder whether we need to actually think about replacing

-all of the tiles on that roof slope.

-I thought you might say that.

-Otherwise we'll have a patchy looking roof.

-OK.

I'll get Steve to give us a cost for doing that.

The other thing that Steve has got a concern about is

-the ceiling above the sitting room through there...

-Yes.

..has got an artex finish to it,

but Steve thinks that once we've done the trebling up and doubling up

of the joists up above it, it's going to be a bit of a mess, so...

-New ceiling.

-It might have to be a new ceiling up there as well.

-OK.

-An opportunity to get a smooth ceiling.

Yes, but at extra cost!

It might be extra cost,

but in the case of the painted tiles, David thinks it's worth it.

Paint finish...it's a temporary measure. There's nothing permanent

about it and that's what we're trying to achieve.

You know, whatever we do, if we're doing some new building work,

it's got to be something that is going to last the test of time

and painting new concrete tiles just doesn't feel right.

Come on then.

It's a tricky situation. David is balancing the demands

of a challenging budget,

unexpected build costs and his creative integrity.

It's just the unknown going forward, isn't it?

You just don't know what other things you're going to find.

Exciting, but also a bit nervous about what's still to come.

Two weeks later and problems are mounting.

The thing is, the dormer looks fantastic from the outside,

it's actually just when you're inside it and you realise,

you know, how low the ceiling feels.

The one issue that we've had is that the height of this dormer,

we're just a bit frustrated,

because there is still a lot of roof space here, and we didn't see

why there was any reason this had to be as low as it is.

Peter had spoken to David last week about the ceiling height

and I actually sat down and wrote a bit of a stroppy e-mail

on Saturday morning to him

but, you know, I was getting really annoyed and I just wanted somebody

to explain that it was going to be OK and they could fix it.

With unhappy clients, the window structure already built,

and no room left in the budget, David will need to draw on all

his architectural and diplomatic skills to solve the problem.

In Wales, architect Chris Loyn is working on an upside-down house

for Marianne and Jon Cowpe.

I suppose, doing your own build, it gives you an opportunity

-to do exactly what you want.

-That's right.

Today, Chris and his project designer, James Stroud,

are taking the other colleagues from their practice to see

an example of an upside-down house they've just completed.

This extraordinary celebration of concrete and metal

is buried into the Welsh hills.

Shall we go in?

This breathtaking house has taken five years to complete.

All the living space is on the upper floor

to make the most of the fantastic views, whilst the four bedrooms,

each with an en-suite, are nestled underneath.

And it's at this point when you come to the top of the stairs

that you're presented with the view for the first time, really.

I'm glad that you're actually surprised by the view.

There'll be a lot of surprises here.

We're just going to... suddenly get taken.

I didn't think that was going to happen.

-Chris, you do the honours.

-So down the long dark corridor.

Every inch of this house has been carefully thought out

by Chris and James.

The idea is that rather than having a spare room that sits empty,

you know, 300 nights of the year, if not more,

this can be part of the space rather than a corridor.

-And it can also...

-Aaaah...

-..become a room.

-I'll get the second one.

And there we are.

With your own private water courtyard.

As a studio-based group, we work very closely together.

All schemes are critiqued by one another.

We're only a small team, there's eight of us,

but we all work effectively on the same project.

This project has been basically my life

for the last, well, certainly the last 18 months.

So I think it's very hard to stay detached from any building

and I think the job, you know, regardless of the size

and the scale and the complexity, you're constantly switched on to it.

But I think with this project it's been an absolute labour of love.

In the Vale of Glamorgan James has a new upside-down love in his life -

Marianne and Jon's new home.

The steel frame is up and there's scaffolding to the first floor.

Amongst other things,

it's James's job to make sure the contractors are following drawings.

These boots are amazing!

First of all, they don't have laces

so the laces don't drag in the mud, and then they're really warm,

because if you're on site all day, your feet get cold,

although I sound like a moaning pen pusher, to be honest!

If the contractors hear me saying that!

But James isn't here to see the contractors today, he's come

to give client Marianne the benefit of his architectural vision.

This is the best bit now,

but it's been a project that I've wanted to do for about 20 years now.

I feel very excited and very frightened, and very nervous,

because I know what the plans look like, but I haven't got a real feel

for how it looks, so, like making decisions on things, I'm not...

you know, if you go into a room and say what colour should this room be

or what shall we do, you can see it because you're already in the room.

But I'm not really in the room

and I feel that the architect has got a good feel,

because they understand more about the plans and what it'll look like.

For example, I'm not really sure what the view will be like

on the first floor of this house, because I haven't been up there yet.

Although Marianne's always had a clear vision for her new home,

she's had to put her faith in Chris to interpret her ideas

and now she doesn't know what to expect.

It's up to James to show her just how stunning it will be.

-Let's climb up and have a look.

-OK.

Cos this will be the view from the kitchen.

-Yes, cos I've never seen that so that will be really good.

-Right.

By turning the house on its head and having the bedrooms downstairs

and reception rooms and kitchen above,

Marianne and Jon are hoping to make the most

of their incredible vantage point.

-It's going to be amazing.

-I think it's going to be really good.

You can definitely see the Channel really clearly, can't you?

Yeah, which was the whole point for flipping it, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-To make sure you get that view.

I'm in the kitchen.

I've just made my morning coffee,

or actually maybe I'd rather more think about

-my evening glass of wine.

-Yeah!

You can come out of the glass doors here

and I would have a little chair just where you're stood, Marianne,

and this is the view I'd be considering.

-Yeah.

-Just here, this side.

-Yes. This is the terrace, isn't it?

-No, the terrace is beyond that.

-Oh, yes.

The terrace is actually from this steel to the next steel.

-Oh, yes. So what's here then?

-This is part of this lounge space.

-It's all part of that lounge.

-Yes.

It's very hard for me to totally visualise it, James,

even having sat down and planned it and everything.

It's very hard for me to sort of spatially see, but, yeah,

I can get a real feel for it up here now, how big this area is.

With £842,000 of Marianne and Jon's money invested in the build,

she needs to get her head around the plans fast to make sure

she gets exactly what she wants, especially

since the builders are forging ahead in an effort to beat the elements.

Now time is of the essence, so we can get sealed in

with the timber frame before the bad weather turns.

The coming few weeks are crucial for Marianne and the build

and she's only too aware that the buck stops with her.

I'm getting very nervous, actually, now.

When I go around, before I used to feel really excited,

but now I'm feeling really nervous because now it's...

Things I'm making decisions on now are things that I'm going to see

and that I'm going to be living with,

so it really is coming home to me now

that I've got to try and get this right.

Back in Edinburgh,

unexpected costs on their two-storey extension

have stretched Mhairi and Peter's absolute maximum budget of £90,000

and, with the project past the halfway mark,

there is something else cramping the build for them.

The one issue that we've had is the height of this dormer

so we're hoping to get another six inches out of this.

You know, when we're going to all this effort, it is frustrating

when there's an issue here

that it shouldn't really have been an issue, we don't think,

because there is enough space there

to make it that little bit extra higher.

Their architect, David, designed the roof the way he did

in order to comply with planning regulations,

but with his clients unhappy, he's heading back to site

to take another look and see if he can find a solution

to their problems that will please everybody.

There is good reason for the way that it is.

The client has had the information since we designed it.

It's only become apparent in their heads

that there's an issue here that needs to be solved,

so, no, it's a challenge, it's something

that we need to have a look at and we need to do our best to sort it out

so the client gets what they actually want at the end of the day.

This was drawn as being a sort of framed dormer.

That's the way I've done it.

Right, so the same at the sides as it is at the top.

Right, OK. Yeah.

-150.

-Yeah. Any improvement on the roofline would be something

we ought to have a look at.

But Steven the builder thinks it might be a very big job.

It can slow the programme.

I have ordered the windows, so we might have to adjust

the size of them now, which could put a week or two onto it.

This could be disastrous for a budget that's already at its limit.

Nice cake...one of my client's special ones.

But David has been working on a plan.

Rather than buying a whole new dormer, he's proposing

they jack up the existing roof panel with additional timber framing.

If Steven agrees it will work, it could just save the day.

Leave the cheats,

take the plywood off the outside, denail it

and lift it up.

What are we talking?

A day's work for the pair of you?

Half a day probably, if that.

Work starts straightaway.

For David, coming up with solutions for client concerns

is part and parcel of being an architect.

I think quite often, clients don't fully understand

the nature of the building industry and where there is flexibility

and where there isn't flexibility.

If they're concerned about something,

and it's not quite as they want it, and they're spending lots of money

on their house to get exactly what they want, then sometimes

clients do become quite upset, but that's where we bring our expertise.

An architect will bring their understanding

of the building industry to it and say,

"Look, there's no point getting upset about this. Let's see how we can sort this out."

With the roof raised, the rest of the build can carry on as planned.

It's a bit chilly.

Right, well, I'll get my thermal hard hat on and have a quick look.

Raising the roof of the dormer by 130mm has made

quite a bit of difference actually.

It just sort of feels much more generous.

David's experience and quick action seems to have averted

the looming crisis with his clients.

Yeah, very happy with it.

Thankfully, he did come up with a good solution.

I'm so glad we raised it though, because now it's sorted,

otherwise every time I walked into the room

I'd have been really unhappy with the way it was.

We've been getting updates every couple of weeks

from the architect, and the budget has gone over slightly thus far,

but we knew about obviously the dormer raising - that was another £500.

We're about £2,000 over at the moment from where we'd hoped.

One week later and David is making an early-morning house call.

Depending on how they're paid, an architect can provide

a number of services - from simply providing drawings, to choosing

the contractors and suppliers, and regularly inspecting the site.

The render, and obviously we're not going to be re-rendering

the whole of your house.

So take the original render right along to that...

To the right-hand side of this here.

That's fine for me, because then as well,

-when you're coming down the street it all looks the same.

-Yes.

Pete's spoken to him quite a lot by phone.

Erm, but to actually have him out on site,

it's nice to be able to chat through things.

I wondered about putting glass shelves

or some cookery books on it or something.

-I like it being open.

-No, absolutely.

I think it's important you're able to see through,

-especially with keeping an eye on these little people.

-Exactly.

Quite happy. Happy client for once!

Just six weeks later, after three and a half months living with brick

dust, noise and disruption,

Mhairi and Peter have finally moved into their newly modelled extension.

By sticking to David's suggested plans and materials, and cleverly

re-using the painted roof tiles they took down to build the extension,

they've managed to bring the build in just a couple of thousand pounds

over budget, despite raising the dormer and adding extra steels.

Today, architect David is back to see the finished results.

-Peter, hi.

-David. Hi, how are you doing?

-Not too bad at all thanks.

-Good. Come on in.

-Cheers.

Their old conservatory has been replaced with a stunning new room

for the family to relax in.

It gives a big difference, doesn't it?

It's a massive difference, yes.

The light that is coming in on a relatively dark day like today

is quite a bit, isn't it?

It's one of my favourite things, is just the light

and the fact that it's coming from three or four different areas.

-Yeah.

-There's another room, but we've never used it at all

-since this has been done.

-We're not in the lounge as much.

And this is just so much nicer and brighter, and the downside

of having all this done is the rest of the house now looks tired!

The kitchen has taken on a new lease of life, with Mhairi

particularly liking one feature left over from the old building.

And I'm glad we've managed to keep my little space through

-to the kitchen.

-Well spotted!

-If the wee ones are sitting here, you can say...

-That's it exactly,

so when I'm at the sink, I can shout through to them.

Is this where the gin and tonic gets passed through?

-Yeah!

-Is it?!

Upstairs, the boys have swapped their old bedroom for this one,

complete with en suite.

What do you think of your rooms, guys?

-Do you like your bedroom?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

What do you like most about it?

-I think the bathroom.

-Oh, right, yes of course.

You've got your own bathroom, haven't you?

It was the biggest shower we could fit in there

in the space we've got and the existing roof space.

-Again it's just another quirky sort of design.

-Yeah.

I'm pleased that there are things about it which just lift it.

The natural light is great, the spaces are great.

The whole thing is a joint effort.

It's about, you know, us doing what we do, it's about the builder

doing what he does, and it's about the client wanting it all.

And then coming along and making it look great at the end.

By working closely with David, Mhairi and Peter have dealt quickly

with any problems that have come up.

They've brought it in almost on budget and most importantly,

they've created the home of their dreams.

Before we got the building done I was quite keen on moving

because the house just wasn't how I wanted it, but now I love it.

I love the space. I think it's going to make a big difference

to how we live as a family.

Next time on Building Dream Homes,

an extension causes tension for a growing family...

As you can understand, that wasn't what we agreed

when we placed the order, so...

But in Wales, Marianne is laying down the law...

Well, speak to me in language I can understand then and tell me.

I'm telling you what I want.

You tell me what I need to achieve what I want.