Episode 6 Building Dream Homes

Across the nation, architects are building and transforming

the homes we live in.

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

and not just do it for others.

We're following some of those leading the way

in ground-breaking design.

Their jaw would drop if they saw that.

I can't believe it.

We'll be with them every step of the way,

as they battle with builders,

blue prints and the clients who hire them.

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

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

That's not good.

-It's like working with the Chuckle Brothers.

-Ho, ho, ho!

We're with them as they draw on their seven years of training

to solve everyday problems.

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

He's come in on an angle and ripped up the road,

but he's now ripped his exhaust pipe off.

Oh, man!

I've said many prayers.

That's amazing!

That's a pretty incredible difference, isn't it?

The fixings alone cost 17 grand.

All in the name of making the properties we dream of a reality.

Today in Dorset, two architects have ambitious ideas

for a state-of-the-art, factory-built house.

But will their plans be scuppered before it's even broken ground?

Well, he ain't going to budge.

If we reduce the size of it he'll potentially support it.

And in Hertfordshire, a total home renovation looks set to drive

owner David over the edge.

Nightmare, dream - take your pick!

Last year, over 120,000 new homes were built across the UK,

adding to the 25 million that already exist.

In built up Britain, finding a home with unspoilt views

is a desire for many and a reality for few.

But for company director Marcus Graziano,

it was a dream that came true when eight years ago he bought this

dilapidated 1930s bungalow in the heart of the Dorset countryside.

It was all about the location.

It was nice rural views, great countryside.

When we moved in there was no central heating,

there was just a wood burner.

There was power, like a hot water boiler,

and there was no double glazing.

After almost a decade of making do,

Marcus has finally got everything in place.

He's now ready to build the house that would do justice to the views.

We've done bits to make it habitable over the years,

but it was always with the view that eventually we'd kind of knock it

down or renovate it or do something to it. And now that process starts.

The architects Marcus has chosen to design his new home

are Paul Robinson and Laurence Bowen,

who are based a few miles away,

near the millionaires' playground of Poole on the south coast.

We've got a passion for contemporary architecture - that's what we love

and that's what has really inspired us.

Marcus chose Laurence and Paul

for their striking modern design style and their belief

that great buildings stem from the people that live in them.

Understanding our client is really key,

because that then creates something bespoke to them.

You know, we want people to wake up in the morning and, you know,

there's just fantastic light, or there's a great view.

Open plan spaces where families can get together.

With their passion for cutting edge architecture,

the house Laurence and Paul have come up with for Marcus and

his family isn't what you'd normally find in a sleepy Dorset village.

The four bedroom house Paul's planning is extraordinary.

So, this is the building that Marcus would hope to now build and live in.

A mono pitched roof, some big expanses of glazing

on the south side of the building that will incorporate those views.

On the ground floor, we've got a nice, big, open plan kitchen,

dining, family lounge - it will be a great space for them.

Instead of constructing the new home on site, the outer shell

will be built to Laurence and Paul's design in a factory in Germany.

Then the whole thing will be shipped to the UK,

complete with a specially trained crew to construct it.

Once on site, it should go up in a staggeringly quick five days.

You just want it to happen as quickly as possible,

and that's one of the benefits of using the system we are.

You put it up quickly, you know,

otherwise you've got to pay to stay somewhere else.

It all just comes into the mix at the end of the day.

And the budget? £600,000.

The factory build will cost a third of the budget.

The rest will go on the cost of preparing the site, kitchens,

bathrooms, fixtures and fittings, and the architects' fees

for designing and overseeing the construction.

But before anything can happen, they have to get it through planning,

and in this sleepy Dorset village,

their ground-breaking design is looking like a hard sell.

Obviously, you're not going to necessarily

change your opinion on that, so I'll need to go back to him

and we'll talk through how we'll be able to move forward.

OK, thank you. Cheers.

Well, he ain't going to budge.

Really?

If we reduce the size of it,

he'll potentially support it.

Marcus says he knows a guy that was head of North Dorset planning,

who is now an independent planning consultant.

-OK.

-Speak to Marcus.

It's not the news any of them wanted to hear.

This chat may have been unofficial, but, with only two weeks

before a final decision from the planners, a knock-back will

put the whole build in jeopardy, especially as architects and

client are determined not to change a single aspect of their design.

Knock 50% off my glasses, please!

In Radlett, near London, optician David Levy

and his artist wife Orly run a successful opticians.

It's also where they set up home 16 years ago.

We bought this house in 1998.

It was a very small house on a fairly good plot of land,

therefore we completely gutted it.

In hindsight, I should have knocked it down.

David hasn't stopped renovating since,

and his latest project is to be the biggest change of all.

Three years ago, David and Orly's house had subsidence,

and when the £20,000 insurance money came through,

rather than just fix it, they decided to go one step further.

It all started when David came home one day with a green

brochure of a kitchen from next door in the high street.

And I said, "Oh, gosh, that's a good idea.

"Let's start... Let's change the kitchen."

Then it developed into building a small extension out on this side,

which then got developed into building an extension

right across, which then got developed into redoing this room

and redoing all the entire floors, putting a resin floor in, which

then got to also having new windows, so nightmare, dream - take your pick!

David has asked local architect Bob Thompson to design his extension.

He's an award-winning architect

with over 30 years' experience in the area.

This is the front of the house,

and most of the work is concentrated on the back.

Our brief was really quite simple - to push out the kitchen,

but make it a much more contemporary, glassy appearance.

The way we're changing the space is to take this whole back

wall of the house out, very much just opening it up to the garden

and enlarging both of these spaces.

Bob's plan will massively increase David and Orly's living area.

He wants to completely remove the rear exterior wall, then erect

a new floor-to-ceiling glass panelled wall opening to the garden,

giving them a spectacular, modern open plan kitchen and sitting room.

They have a budget of £120,000 to complete all the work,

and the project should take four months from start to finish.

To save money on the budget,

David has only employed Bob to design the extension,

and has decided to project manage the whole build himself.

With very little experience, it's a risky decision,

but David thinks he has the skills to pull it off.

I've been told it can be fairly hard, but I think I'm fair.

And builders, if you get them,

you've got to get on with your builder, because obviously

you've got to have trust in your builder that he can deliver.

It's October, and work has already started on the extension.

David is determined to be in for Christmas,

which leaves just eight weeks to get the build finished.

He may have decided to project manage,

but he certainly won't be making all the decisions.

My role is to bring the design,

and David's is to pay for the men to find where to source my ideas!

Artist wife Orly may be out of the picture, working full-time

at the optician's, but that doesn't stop her having big ideas

for her new extension,

and her latest is to have floor-to-ceiling glass.

When I first started, we had a standard size,

which I think is about... What's the standard size of a door?

-Seven foot?

-Seven foot six.

-Seven foot six?

-Yeah.

In centimetres I can't work that out,

but seven foot six with a lintel above.

That was actually the design

until fortunately I showed my wife a picture and she nearly said,

"I don't want that." And I said, "What do you mean?"

She said, "That bit above the door."

I said, "Well, that's called a lintel - it's quite important!"

Initially, we were still going to have a lot of glass,

so it was a combination of raising the glass

so that it went right up to the ceiling, also having less

panels which were going to change the appearance of the building.

Fortunately, because we haven't come out as far above the house

as we had originally, as in the ground,

we could in effect put the lintel above the ceiling height.

So in effect we've got from floor to ceiling height doors -

then the only problem was that is not a standard size door.

Bob has designed the windows Orly wants.

These were the biggest windows that company had ever installed.

But as project manager,

it's now David's responsibility to source the super-size doors himself.

In fact, nobody wanted to do them at first, but I finally found

a company in Britain that could do them for a reasonable sum.

But let's put it that the insurance has more or less paid for two thirds

of the windows, so the rest...

But my wife made a fair point -

unless you can afford to do what I want, we won't do it all.

So, fortunately, I've managed to get it to a reasonable price that

I can afford to do it to how she wants it done.

So got to keep her happy!

But happiness comes at a cost.

With all the additions, a complete re-modelling of downstairs and

the bespoke windows, their £120,000 budget is already being stretched.

Today, architect Bob has come to check on the tricky logistics

involved in getting the glass onto site.

Almost everything that we look at from here will be

a set of four glass doors, and these are unusually large

pieces of glass, and physically getting them into the site

and installing them is not a straightforward issue at all.

The frames were assembled out on the grass, I believe.

Right, so Nick's going to put some...

Yes, then they put the frames in.

But the glass is actually put in from the inside.

So, they've got to get the glass in, and he said, "Oh, that's fine.

"I can rest it against that wall."

I said, "No, you can't, because that wall won't be there."

A few days later and it's the day of reckoning -

the glass has arrived.

Yes, I'm excited, or I will be when it's finished.

But I don't want to get too excited. Things might go wrong.

With each window costing an eye-watering £6,500,

it's critical the measurements for the glass are exactly right.

But, as project manager,

David has made a potentially disastrous decision.

The company really wanted us to build the opening

and then for them to survey it.

I said, "Forget that!"

I said, "I've just watched in fact the Freedom Tower in New York

"going up," and I did say to them,

"I can't believe that the glazing company said, build the tower

"and then we'll come and measure the openings."

So, I said, "surely you can make four relatively small, I think,

"small glass doors to fit an opening and there is a tolerance."

And so we will see whether we...

Because if it's a bit too small, it's a problem,

and if it's a bit too big, it's a problem.

It may be a faster way of working, but with only

a 10mm margin of error and each pane of glass worth a considerable

chunk of David's budget, it's also a much riskier one.

Will his gamble pay off?

In Dorset, architects Paul and Laurence are at the beginning

of an exciting new project for client Marcus Graziano,

but they're currently battling to get the amazing factory-built house

they've designed through planning.

A few miles away, in a prime part of Poole, they're at the end

of a project that's been a big landmark for them as a practice.

They're heading there today to sign the house off.

The build has taken over 18 months,

and is on the verge of completion.

This is exactly what the client was trying to get.

It's very white, minimal, almost like an art gallery.

To take full advantage of the sea views,

the property has floor-to-ceiling windows.

-You wouldn't get tired of that, would you?

-Not really, no.

And clever touches to make the most of the south coast weather.

This is your Thunderbirds moment.

Actually, all the blades move on a motor, so you can either close

it off to form a canopy above this terrace area,

again for sort of shading,

or you can open it right up and let all the sun in.

You always need a little bit of magic in your architecture.

The best views are reserved for the master bedroom on the second floor.

The nice thing when you're at this height is it's all

kind of horizon and sky, and water.

This house has become a showcase for Paul and Lawrence's work.

It's a piece of architecture where all the elements of kind of

designing something like this have come together with

a client that's really passionate about contemporary design.

It was their reputation for sleek, modern architecture that

attracted their latest client, Marcus.

But the Dorset planners aren't so keen on the plans

for his ultra-modern new home. Now it's up to Paul and Laurence

to find a way to push their design over the line.

We felt actually we weren't trying to necessarily drop

a spaceship into the countryside.

It was just a kind of... a contemporary take

on an agricultural-type building, and there's plenty of those types

of buildings in that area,

so we felt relatively confident that it could happen.

If we didn't, we probably would have told Marcus it's not a great

thing to pursue, really.

Determined not to let his eight-year dream of a new home slip away,

home owner Marcus calls in his planning contact, who writes

to the council pointing out that the build may be unusual,

but there's nothing about it that actually breaks regulations.

The planning policies are frustrating,

because they don't encourage contemporary, modern architecture,

or architecture that's different to its contacts.

It's actually a lot easier with the planning policies to put

something back that we consider mundane or of the norm.

When you're trying to challenge that,

and break people's preconceptions of what a house is or how

they want to live, it's very difficult to do that with

the planning policies that we've got in this country.

With no planning policies being broken,

the planners are forced to approve the design.

Now, finally, after eight years of preparation,

Marcus can start the process of packing up and knocking down.

As we moved furniture away,

I mean, there was some mould behind some of the walls.

I knew it was pretty rubbish,

but when you start moving stuff around, taking the furniture out,

then you kind of see it, and it's like, really?! It's horrid.

It's going to be a new experience for everyone involved - neither

Paul nor Laurence had ever designed or built anything like this before.

Marcus is putting a lot of trust in them,

risking his savings and his family's home.

The day you sign on the dotted line, the clock starts to tick, and it's

12 weeks and they turn up on site, and in six days they've put it up.

Cross your fingers and just hope that it all works out just fine.

The bungalow's destruction will be the end of a long chapter.

Marcus, his family and dog are moving to a nearby rental property.

With the house cleared,

Paul is on site with head contractor Barry Bacon.

You can see the kids' area at the moment is right at the end

of the garden. Maybe we could make this space a bit more useable.

One of the planning conditions was that the new house should sit

on exactly the same footprint as the old one.

The footprint for the proposed house is the same as the existing.

-OK.

-The key to that really is this front building, like.

We're on the edge of the greenbelt

here, in terms of village building line.

This is the village footprint and this is greenbelt?

-That's right.

-Cool. I understand that, thanks.

What we want to know there is where 20 metres comes.

Communication between Barry and the architects will be vital to

make sure the design stays true to their vision.

It is very important that architects have a good relationship with

builders and main contractors.

We were thinking about putting a retaining wall there, weren't we?

There will always be problems on site that the architect

hasn't always thought of, but Barry's got a very can-do attitude

towards building, which is what you need.

Barry's biggest concern isn't building the house,

it's getting the lorries carrying it up the access road.

We've had one lorry on the site, and it's gone off the road a little bit.

The articulated lorry is going to be whatever, eight feet wide,

it's 45 tonnes plus. Not very manoeuvrable.

It will come up that road,

if it suddenly disappears into one of those verges,

what are you going to do?

Do you pull it backwards? You can't go forwards.

Let's just hope they have access to a recovery service as well,

because I've got a funny feeling it could be a disastrous morning!

With the demolition crew set to arrive

and wet weather forecast, Barry just has to hope he's proved wrong.

The day has come for Marcus to say farewell to his old house.

Right, there you go. It's all yours. Make it flat.

-Thanks very much.

-Cheers.

And that's exactly what Barry intends to do.

Demolition day has arrived.

The Graziano children are there to see their old home destroyed.

What are you looking forward to most about this?

Erm, watching it be knocked down.

The demolition experts make short shrift of the old home.

In Britain, nearly 16,000 houses a year are demolished.

Having his home reduced to rubble has cost

Marcus 1% of his £600,000 budget.

After just two days of ripping up and knocking down,

the Grazianos' old home is no more.

In Radlett, 17 miles north of central London, it's a key day

for architect Bob Thompson and his not so retiring client David Levy.

David's building and project managing a new extension

which he wants to finish in time for Christmas.

Well, it started actually with just a small repair to our kitchen,

and then it's enveloped into, or developed into, this development.

The wall connecting the old house to the new extension has been

knocked down, and today the four huge panes of glass that will form

the new exterior wall are being fitted.

The first opportunity to see what we've built this extension for,

see the size of the garden, and it's pleased me,

but it hasn't pleased my wife.

She thinks the garden is too small, and she thinks she wants to move.

I always give David a hard time.

He always complains that his white hair is because of me.

But today David only has himself to blame for his white hair.

He's insisted that the glaziers build the windows Bob designed

before the frames have been constructed.

With just a 10mm margin of error, at 6,500 a pop,

that's a huge risk.

How much does each glass thing weigh, do you know?

280 kilos.

Too nervous to watch, David leaves the fitters to it.

It fits!

It fits! Thank God for that.

Only three to go now.

David's got away with it by the skin of his teeth.

To everyone's relief,

the rest of the glass is fitted without a hitch.

That'll do. That's me lot now. I'm going home!

Looks good though, don't it? It looks smart.

And only once the builders have gone does David return

to inspect his new glass doors.

Is that it?

Pretty good.

It's a big enough handle.

Cor, they're going to have to adjust that.

Oh, no... Oh, I see.

This is a... That's a brake.

He said one finger - he's right!

Now.

It's not a bad view.

I think I should get a little water feature in there,

or a pitch and putting green.

Now, if I had a chipping green here...

We had the subsidence in 2009...

..and I had an idea with the small amount of money from then

to start a little build, and it's come out to this!

Well, we're certainly not moving, that's for sure!

It's fantastic.

Even I'm impressed.

A month later, floor screed has been poured,

and outside, David's team are cracking on with cladding the

exterior in an expensive layer of zinc -

a detail integral to architect Bob's design.

I think if you don't specify materials

that are of sufficient quality...

..it will definitely detract from the whole appearance, so that's why

it's important that the windows and the zinc cladding are all related

to one another, and they all have perhaps a slightly industrial feel.

That was something that the clients wanted.

Look at that - like a glove.

These doors and windows are very sophisticated, so if you don't use

a sophisticated cladding material, again it often doesn't look right.

The build is cracking on apace - the floor's dry,

the walls are plastered - but David's reeling from news of a delay

that's left his plans to have Christmas in his new extension

in tatters...

Well, Christmas dinner will be served in this, because the kitchen

company are now fitting January the 6th. Fantastic(!)

I'm not amused!

I can't blame anybody else but myself, I suppose.

My wife's blaming me, of course. It's all my fault.

Two weeks into the new year,

and the kitchen fitters are finally on site, but with no explanation,

some of the units and the work surfaces haven't been delivered.

Well, we need it. Chris said they're going to turn up today.

Are they seriously saying it's not going to be here tomorrow?

Sorry, Sophie, we're just wondering, is it going to be here tomorrow?

No.

Absolutely... This is ridiculous.

Yeah. Erm...

I'll just pass the phone over. Cheers.

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

I was told in no uncertain terms that it would be

here for Monday - that's already four weeks overdue.

Where is it?

I've organised a plumber again.

I've delayed him three times. I've organised him for today.

He can't come today if we haven't got the units.

This is delay upon delay.

I just don't understand what's going on.

Can you ask Chris to give me a call urgently? OK.

The kitchen company eventually admit that they've

gone into administration, leaving David, Orly

and their kitchen plans high and dry.

With over 210 building firms becoming insolvent last year

alone, David is among thousands of people across the country

left to pick up the pieces on their builds.

As project manager, the responsibility to make sure

the job gets finished rests totally on his shoulders.

It's March, six months since the project began, and architect Bob

is back to see if David's managed to overcome such a major setback.

Before the project started, David

and Orly had an ordinary house that they just weren't happy with.

The old kitchen was dark and uninviting.

It's now a striking,

vibrant space which embodies the personality of its owners.

And the new living space gives them a whole new area to live and

relax in, with the huge glass doors giving amazing views of the garden.

The initial budget was £120,000.

It took an extra two months,

and David has said he'll never reveal the final budget to anyone.

But he and Orly finally have their dream home.

-So, the kitchen works for you?

-Yes, it does. It's my dream kitchen.

Your dream kitchen.

I mean, somebody who's got good taste is so much better.

Oh, thank you, Bob. That's very kind of you.

No, it's great.

You can pick up the cheque afterwards!

We're always having to design TARDISes, you know,

that are tiny on the outside and massive on the inside.

This feels massive on the inside, but it also I feel is in proportion.

It's a bit like, you know, a shop front, you know, in the high street.

You make a big glass shop front in front of, you know, what started

life as little houses, because you want to draw people in.

And this is kind of this in reverse.

It's certainly brought the... I mean, it's like a picture frame.

Absolutely, yeah.

Now we've done this extension, I think it's transformed the house.

There's nothing really wrong with it.

-Nothing wrong.

-Nothing can be better now.

I wouldn't mind a third floor and a gym and a swimming pool,

but other than that it's perfect.

Next time on Building Dream Homes - there's trouble in Edinburgh,

when an architect's plans aren't followed.

He's cut it in, which is wrong. He should have kept it out.

And in Dorset, even after getting over the hurdle of planning,

the build is still in peril,

when Barry's fears about access become a reality...

He's come in on an angle, and ripped up the road.

We had it going lovely until then,

but he's now ripped his exhaust pipe off.