The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

Who picked up the 50k tab for replacing and refitting the windows,
*all* of which were leaking?
I'm not sure if this was due to a manufacturing fault with the glazing
units, if the wrong units had been specified by the architect, or if
the installers had somehow fitted them incorrectly. Anyone know more
about this?

PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

Thanks
Bruce

In article .com,
wrote:
The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

I was curious about the polystyrene with the render aplied directly - it
sems to me that a good kick would crack the render and leave a big dent...

Who picked up the 50k tab for replacing and refitting the windows,
*all* of which were leaking?
I'm not sure if this was due to a manufacturing fault with the glazing
units, if the wrong units had been specified by the architect, or if
the installers had somehow fitted them incorrectly. Anyone know more
about this?

No, but did you notice that the faces on all the glazing installers were
fuzzed out? I guess they didn't want the bad publicity...

PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

I think he's improved slightly over the years... Doesn't seem a full of
doom and gloom as he once was!

Gordon

Gordon Henderson wrote:

No, but did you notice that the faces on all the glazing installers were
fuzzed out? I guess they didn't want the bad publicity...

.... and that they do not appear in the list of suppliers on the
website.

Andrew

Andrew wrote:
Gordon Henderson wrote:

No, but did you notice that the faces on all the glazing installers
were fuzzed out? I guess they didn't want the bad publicity...

... and that they do not appear in the list of suppliers on the
website.

Andrew

Probably due to the woman taking legal proceedings against the company, in
which case thats why they remained anonymous or protected in the show.

My guess is GD showed the results of the first bad installation and a
second part was shown when the firm reinstalled a new set of double glazing
hence fuzzed out appearences on the glaziers.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

On 21 Oct 2005 04:16:48 -0700, "Andrew"
wrote:


Gordon Henderson wrote:

No, but did you notice that the faces on all the glazing installers were
fuzzed out? I guess they didn't want the bad publicity...

... and that they do not appear in the list of suppliers on the
website.

Andrew

They has the royal seal of approval, which must narrow down the list
of possibles quite considerably.

Rick

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 11:13:50 +0000 (UTC),
(Gordon Henderson) wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:
The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

I was curious about the polystyrene with the render aplied directly - it
sems to me that a good kick would crack the render and leave a big dent...

I see what you mean although "good kicks" aren't liable to leave a
great many materials in useful shape. Perhaps if the rendering had
reinforcing fibres it would help though.



Who picked up the 50k tab for replacing and refitting the windows,
*all* of which were leaking?
I'm not sure if this was due to a manufacturing fault with the glazing
units, if the wrong units had been specified by the architect, or if
the installers had somehow fitted them incorrectly. Anyone know more
about this?

No, but did you notice that the faces on all the glazing installers were
fuzzed out? I guess they didn't want the bad publicity...

Is that what it was? I thought i'd become over-tired, so I switched
off and went to bed.

PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

I think he's improved slightly over the years... Doesn't seem a full of
doom and gloom as he once was!

No, poor chap, he's become totally delusional now.


Gordon

--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

In article , Gordon Henderson wrote:
I was curious about the polystyrene with the render aplied directly
- it sems to me that a good kick would crack the render and leave a
big dent...

The system has been around a long time - I first saw it on a student
trip to Interbuild which would have been in 1974. I would imagine that
the polystyrene is fairly dense and you use a similar render to that
which you would use when externally insulating existing solid brick
walls. Beco site:

http://www.becowallform.co.uk

Google also referenced a BRE paper on this system which states that
the daily pour height should not exceed 3m. Pity they didn't follow
this when doing the stair tower!

http://www.lpcb.com/pdf/BecoCertFINALISSUED03JUNE05.pdf

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.10 released 4 April 2005]

"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article , Gordon Henderson wrote:
I was curious about the polystyrene with the render aplied directly
- it sems to me that a good kick would crack the render and leave a
big dent...

The system has been around a long time - I first saw it on a student
trip to Interbuild which would have been in 1974. I would imagine that
the polystyrene is fairly dense and you use a similar render to that
which you would use when externally insulating existing solid brick
walls. Beco site:

The insulation value is not that great in those blocks either. Some lay
insulation on the exteriopr and render over that to get to a point of no
heating system.

On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 10:02:12 +0100, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:


"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article , Gordon Henderson wrote:
I was curious about the polystyrene with the render aplied directly
- it sems to me that a good kick would crack the render and leave a
big dent...

The system has been around a long time - I first saw it on a student
trip to Interbuild which would have been in 1974. I would imagine that
the polystyrene is fairly dense and you use a similar render to that
which you would use when externally insulating existing solid brick
walls. Beco site:

The insulation value is not that great in those blocks either. Some lay
insulation on the exteriopr and render over that to get to a point of no
heating system.


I was wondering about that, they did not seem to be adding much
additional insulation.

Rick

In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
The insulation value is not that great in those blocks either. Some
lay insulation on the exteriopr and render over that to get to a
point of no heating system.

http://www.becowallform.co.uk/pfeb/techdata.html

Thickness U-value with render and plaster

250mm 0.30
313mm 0.19
375mm 0.14
438mm 0.11

The first of these will give a wall thickness about the same as that
using conventional construction with a slightly better U-value.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.10 released 4 April 2005]

"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
The insulation value is not that great in those blocks either. Some
lay insulation on the exteriopr and render over that to get to a
point of no heating system.

http://www.becowallform.co.uk/pfeb/techdata.html

Thickness U-value with render and plaster

250mm 0.30
313mm 0.19
375mm 0.14
438mm 0.11

The first of these will give a wall thickness about the same as that
using conventional construction with a slightly better U-value.

Exactly. Many people think for the same width you get high insulation
values. You don't. You have to go to 438mm for superinsulation values and
air-tightness, which is well worth it. Another problem is that after paying
for all this thermal mass concrete, you can't easily access it to contribute
to the interior temperature control, as insulation partially isolates it.
The concrete is purely structural.

I like it, and using bags of concrete and a few cement mixers you can build
you own house very easily, cheaply and fast too. As long as it is not curved

"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article ws.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
The insulation value is not that great in those blocks either. Some
lay insulation on the exteriopr and render over that to get to a
point of no heating system.

http://www.becowallform.co.uk/pfeb/techdata.html

Thickness U-value with render and plaster

250mm 0.30
313mm 0.19
375mm 0.14
438mm 0.11

The first of these will give a wall thickness about the same as that
using conventional construction with a slightly better U-value.

Cost:
WALLFORM 438c.£78.00 / sq.m
Concrete is c.£5.50 / sq.m

£78 per squ metre for hollow foam blocks is taking the **** big style.

On 21 Oct 2005 04:05:28 -0700, wrote:


PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

We-ell, KM does have a tendency to spread gloom and doom during the
construction stages of just about every project he reports. 'I do wonder if
they know what they've let themselves in for'. 'I don't think they have any
idea....'. etc.


--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

We-ell, KM does have a tendency to spread gloom and doom during the
construction stages of just about every project he reports. 'I do wonder if
they know what they've let themselves in for'. 'I don't think they have any
idea....'. etc.

To be fair to KM, I read an inerview with him a couple of years ago
where he talks about this. Apparently it's all put in at the request of
the producers who want a mini cliffhanger before each ad-break (notice
that it's always before a break that we get the doomsday prediction).
He said that he sometimes finds it quite difficult to work one in!

Totally agree with the criticisms of the architect though. Im not sure
that the owner really knew that she was effectivly giving him a sandpit
and unlimited toys to play with.

"Rich" wrote in message
ups.com...
We-ell, KM does have a tendency to spread gloom and doom during the
construction stages of just about every project he reports. 'I do wonder
if
they know what they've let themselves in for'. 'I don't think they have
any
idea....'. etc.

To be fair to KM, I read an inerview with him a couple of years ago
where he talks about this. Apparently it's all put in at the request of
the producers who want a mini cliffhanger before each ad-break (notice
that it's always before a break that we get the doomsday prediction).
He said that he sometimes finds it quite difficult to work one in!

Totally agree with the criticisms of the architect though. Im not sure
that the owner really knew that she was effectivly giving him a sandpit
and unlimited toys to play with.

The PM was an arsehole. Doing that pour was all to him.

"The Wanderer" wrote in message
...
On 21 Oct 2005 04:05:28 -0700, wrote:


PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

We-ell, KM does have a tendency to spread gloom and doom during the
construction stages of just about every project he reports. 'I do wonder
if
they know what they've let themselves in for'. 'I don't think they have
any
idea....'. etc.

He is usually right. And at over 400K when it was costed at 200K that was
doom and gloom for an unremarkable house.

wrote:

The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

Yup, the result was interesting. Can't really make up my mind if I like
that one or not. Great location though. I expect the finished result
must be worth a good deal more than 400K though, so she (or her estate)
ought not be too out of pocket)

Who picked up the 50k tab for replacing and refitting the windows,
*all* of which were leaking?

Sounded as if she did... although you would expect someone else ought to
have copped for it. I guess much depends on the details of the
contracts, and for that matter how hard she was prepared to push them
(not far by the sounds of it)

I'm not sure if this was due to a manufacturing fault with the glazing
units, if the wrong units had been specified by the architect, or if
the installers had somehow fitted them incorrectly. Anyone know more
about this?

At first it sounded like a fault with the windows, but then later they
mentioned a problem with the way the sills were fitted.

I expect someone is lucky that she was not at all litigious!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

At first it sounded like a fault with the windows, but then later they
mentioned a problem with the way the sills were fitted.

Sounds like cowboy window installers. I don't think a manufacturer
would send out a batch to a Grand Designs build with 100% dodgy units.
However, if we assume that the units were OK, how did they arrive at a
figure of 50k to re-fit them?

I expect someone is lucky that she was not at all litigious

I think the poor old girl was feeling her age by the end of the build.
And she probably doesn't want a long court case hanging over her later
years.

I wasn't impressed with that architect, though. "We've got a slight
bulge in the wall". So now the highly-expensive
manufactured-off-site-in-one section staircase has to be dismantled.
They could have probably saved a lot of money by going for an
"assemble-on-site" staircase in the first place.

Bruce

wrote:

At first it sounded like a fault with the windows, but then later they

mentioned a problem with the way the sills were fitted.

Sounds like cowboy window installers. I don't think a manufacturer
would send out a batch to a Grand Designs build with 100% dodgy units.
However, if we assume that the units were OK, how did they arrive at a
figure of 50k to re-fit them?

Depends on what you include in the cost I guess. If you end up with
teams of builders sitting round at your expense the costs can rack up
quit quickly. It would probably cost a fair bit if they need to remake
the windows for any reason.

I expect someone is lucky that she was not at all litigious


I think the poor old girl was feeling her age by the end of the build.
And she probably doesn't want a long court case hanging over her later
years.

Understandable I guess.

I wasn't impressed with that architect, though. "We've got a slight
bulge in the wall". So now the highly-expensive
manufactured-off-site-in-one section staircase has to be dismantled.
They could have probably saved a lot of money by going for an
"assemble-on-site" staircase in the first place.

I only saw the last half of the program, so missed that bit.

I think you are right about the stairs though; if they cost 6K to buy,
and they must have spent at least another 4K to install them. That is a
rather expensive flight of stairs. A couple of chippies on site for a
week could have knocked them up in the same time for a third of the
price you would have thought.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

The staircase was a steel spiral staircase which had been manufactured
off-site at great expense.
The plan was to use a big crane and drop it down through a gap in the
roof. The staircase was designed to fit snugly inside. Tighten a few
bolts and the job is finished!

Of course, come install day, the custom-design staircase didn't fit and
bits of it had to be sliced off.
Quite entertaining to watch!

As you say, a couple of chippies could have made a really nice wood
staircase for less.

Bruce

wrote:
[snip]

I wasn't impressed with that architect, though. "We've got a slight
bulge in the wall". So now the highly-expensive
manufactured-off-site-in-one section staircase has to be dismantled.
They could have probably saved a lot of money by going for an
"assemble-on-site" staircase in the first place.

Bruce

And a wooden staircase would have complimented it.
--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

And a wooden staircase would have complimented it.


Didn't she actually want a wooden banister anyway ?

Séan Connolly wrote:

And a wooden staircase would have complimented it.



Didn't she actually want a wooden banister anyway ?

Yup think so.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

wrote in message
oups.com...
At first it sounded like a fault with the windows, but then later they
mentioned a problem with the way the sills were fitted.

Sounds like cowboy window installers. I don't think a manufacturer
would send out a batch to a Grand Designs build with 100% dodgy units.
However, if we assume that the units were OK, how did they arrive at a
figure of 50k to re-fit them?

I expect someone is lucky that she was not at all litigious

I think the poor old girl was feeling her age by the end of the build.
And she probably doesn't want a long court case hanging over her later
years.

I wasn't impressed with that architect, though. "We've got a slight
bulge in the wall".

The insulation was compromised all over because of bursts. It was filled in
a lot with cement.

wrote:
The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.


Hmm, dodgy roofing contractor charges little old lady for £10k (for
example) and ends up on Watchdog or Rogue Traders.

"Professional" architect takes little old lady for £200K and ends up
on Grand Designs.

What a cruel, twisted world we live in.

MBQ

I tend to agree with you.
400k for a concrete house with a cheapo conservatory shoved on as an
afterthought.

Bruce

I tend to agree with you.
400k for a concrete house with a cheapo conservatory shoved on as an
afterthought.
I wondered how much the house she sold fetched. It looked fairly
spectacular.
Surely a much better thing to leave to her family. The concrete house
would
be of debateable value I would have thought. Although it did look nice
when
they showed us round.
Simon.

wrote:
I tend to agree with you.
400k for a concrete house with a cheapo conservatory shoved on as an
afterthought.

I wondered how much the house she sold fetched. It looked fairly
spectacular.
Surely a much better thing to leave to her family. The concrete house
would
be of debateable value I would have thought. Although it did look nice
when
they showed us round.

Why should she leave anything to her family? Her money is for her to
spend. Not the kids.

Besides that, the old house was much nicer..

In article .com,
wrote:
Hmm, dodgy roofing contractor charges little old lady for £10k (for
example) and ends up on Watchdog or Rogue Traders.

"Professional" architect takes little old lady for £200K and ends
up on Grand Designs.

A letter in this week's Architects Journal comments that the Stirling
Prize for Architecture being given to a building that came in late and
ten times over budget is not the best way to encourage people to use
architects. But those who know the Forsyte Saga will recall that 100+
years ago architects were of the view that budgets shouldn't get in the
way of design.

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.10 released 4 April 2005]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember saying
something like:

The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

The architect was an utter knob in filling the round tower walls in one
go. I was watching that and waiting for a section to burst.
--

Dave

Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember saying
something like:

The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be
expensive! I got the feeling that the architect was using the old
lady's nest egg to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an
architectural award.

The architect was an utter knob in filling the round tower walls in
one go. I was watching that and waiting for a section to burst.

Don't be silly, something like that where concrete is concerned has to be
in one fell swoop.

It was probably due to a misplaced section or a weak section, after all the
rest turned out ok.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

In article , The3rd Earl
Of Derby wrote:
Don't be silly, something like that where concrete is concerned has to be
in one fell swoop.

No the manufacturers specifically state a maximum of 3m in one day

--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Free SEDBUK boiler database browser http://www.sda.co.uk/qsedbuk.htm
[Latest version QSEDBUK 1.10 released 4 April 2005]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "The3rd Earl Of Derby"
saying something like:

The architect was an utter knob in filling the round tower walls in
one go. I was watching that and waiting for a section to burst.

Don't be silly, something like that where concrete is concerned has to be
in one fell swoop.

********.
--

Dave

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "The3rd Earl Of Derby"
saying something like:

The architect was an utter knob in filling the round tower walls in
one go. I was watching that and waiting for a section to burst.

Don't be silly, something like that where concrete is concerned has to be
in one fell swoop.

********.

Continuous pour often with creeping slip formers is a tried and tested means
of constructing tall concrete structures such as chimneys, silos etc. The
secret is to ensure the engineering design of the formers or shuttering is
up to scratch. When things (concrete) burst out it immediately says the
design expertise wasn't up to scratch. I wonder what else wasn't up to
scratch in the design work for the job?

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "John"
saying something like:

Don't be silly, something like that where concrete is concerned has to be
in one fell swoop.

********.

Continuous pour often with creeping slip formers is a tried and tested means
of constructing tall concrete structures such as chimneys, silos etc.

Yes, in the proper world of big-time concrete construction. Certainly
not the way he was doing it.

The
secret is to ensure the engineering design of the formers or shuttering is
up to scratch. When things (concrete) burst out it immediately says the
design expertise wasn't up to scratch. I wonder what else wasn't up to
scratch in the design work for the job?

What surprised me was that *I* knew of loading problems with that
polystyrene system (and I'm not a builder) and so do many other people,
yet the architect didn't. Yet this was the bloke who'd 'used it on other
buildings'. I've heard of several examples of people who'd been too keen
to press on and burst the bottoms out of their walls.


--

Dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
The "polystyrene house" on the Devon coast turned out to be expensive!
I got the feeling that the architect was using the old lady's nest egg
to fund his (farcical) attempts to win an architectural award.

Who picked up the 50k tab for replacing and refitting the windows,
*all* of which were leaking?
I'm not sure if this was due to a manufacturing fault with the glazing
units, if the wrong units had been specified by the architect, or if
the installers had somehow fitted them incorrectly. Anyone know more
about this?

PS: Grand Designs is still an enjoyable programme. Its got a house
makeover presenter who doesn't actually get on my nerves.

Houses are not make over on GD. They are mainly new houses, or completely
gutted and extended renovations.