Grand Designs - One In An Occasional Series For The Cognoscenti Only

[liadnan]

Have to say I'm on the architect's side on this one. God they're a naive and whiny pair.

Comments

[nicnac.livejournal.com]

Nope, I'm with the whiners. It's all very well the architect coming up with all these great schemes for the house, but if they can't find anyone with the experience to produce the goods they're stuffed. She's recommended materials that have barely been used in this country and really thrown them in at the deep end without warning.

[liadnan]

Hmm. Am unconvinced.

Do we know whose bright idea it was to lay a lime-based platform in winter? I didn't catch that. Would have been daft enough had it been straight concrete.

[nicnac.livejournal.com]

I didn't catch it either, was partially tied up with listening to my grandmother on the phone (you'll note I didn't say 'talking to').

[uitlander]

I'd agree with this, to an extent. The whiners could reasonably expect to be guided by an architect, and I'd expect them to be honest about the risks associated with pioneering new materials. However it's also down to the whiners to ask sensible questions before they commit to a design. All too often we see 'concept' architects who are quite happy to play around with other people's money to indulge their interests, and I did note that the whiners were saying early on that they had a fixed budget and were have to cut corners after the unexpected early expenses. Having said that to go ahead with what is effectively unknown building materials to get the foundations and base layer in place at the start of autumn, with Welsh weather strikes me as naieve on both sides.

[susumu.livejournal.com]

We've had the designs for our extension through today. It is, as you might expect for 1920s house in Bexhill, quite conventional. Would be a better candidate for Property Ladder rather than Grand Designs but I am not on the phone to C4...