The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain, he or
she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being human and
harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps until everyone
has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get deported.

However if a Brit goes abroad they make countless (and boring)
television shows about them.

Tonight's Grand Design was one of the best of them. I missed the first
bit but was really impressed with the "go" of the couple involved. He
even got around to making a staircase after getting a book on the
subject.

What they finished of the house restoration was impressive on the
outside and remarkably beautiful on the inside.

Well done them.


--
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I was awestruck. The job they did was incredible. If I didn't spent time
watching telly I could do that. I don't think.


Mind you, I find Grand Designs one of the more interesting programmes. Not
boring really.

Our email address is "thewoodies2 at ntlworld dot com



"Michael Mcneil" wrote in message
news:72dcab217f3a089c27d8b2b56dfd9d0e.45219@mygate .mailgate.org...
The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain, he or
she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being human and
harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps until everyone
has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get deported.

However if a Brit goes abroad they make countless (and boring)
television shows about them.

Tonight's Grand Design was one of the best of them. I missed the first
bit but was really impressed with the "go" of the couple involved. He
even got around to making a staircase after getting a book on the
subject.

What they finished of the house restoration was impressive on the
outside and remarkably beautiful on the inside.

Well done them.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG


---
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Mind you, I find Grand Designs one of the more interesting programmes. Not
boring really.

I agree but even Grand Designs miss out on doing programmes on some of
the most interesting houses - I know someone who suggested their house
development be featured and was turned down by Grand Designs because
their development timescale was too long. And it is a very grand
design

So the only houses that get featured belong to people who one way or
another can throw lots of money at a project over 18 months to get it
finished. And fast is rarely best in my book

Anna
10 months into a 10 year project


~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...
Mind you, I find Grand Designs one of the more interesting programmes.
Not
boring really.

I agree but even Grand Designs miss out on doing programmes on some of
the most interesting houses - I know someone who suggested their house
development be featured and was turned down by Grand Designs because
their development timescale was too long. And it is a very grand
design

So the only houses that get featured belong to people who one way or
another can throw lots of money at a project over 18 months to get it
finished. And fast is rarely best in my book

While you may think your acquaintance has an interesting design ...
look at it from 'Grand-Designs-Interesting-TV-Programme-productions"
perspective. {I'm not connected in any way other than as a viewer.]
The company has to incur the costs of film crew, bacon-butties, producers,
directors, transport costs, studio time et. al.; before they can produce
an edited programme and presumably get paid. { We'll ignore loans and other
cash-flow tweaks] 18 months is probably the length (of time) that
they can afford to devote to any project -granted they're splicing several
projects at any one time.

The programme _is_ entertainment and leaves as many subjects elided
over as it covers in depth

So, they can't cover every grand design just the interesting ones that'll
edit down to fifty-odd minutes.

IMHO. the one chronicling the man-in-the-woods, who produced the
A-Frame house, didn't throw much money at the project at all!
On the other hand; the Hutt-hus while interesting, was really just
a couple - more power to their bank-balance- who did just
order a kit of parts and stand back while it was assembled

--

Brian

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...
Mind you, I find Grand Designs one of the more interesting programmes.
Not
boring really.

I agree but even Grand Designs miss out on doing programmes on some of
the most interesting houses - I know someone who suggested their house
development be featured and was turned down by Grand Designs because
their development timescale was too long. And it is a very grand
design

So the only houses that get featured belong to people who one way or
another can throw lots of money at a project over 18 months to get it
finished. And fast is rarely best in my book

You missed last week's then? A couple who had to turn an animal shelter
(basically a roof on posts) into a four bedroom guest facility between
December and October, on a budget of £16,000. They simply worked hard and
pulled in every friend and family member they could. The end result was a
fine building with a stone arched collonade along the front.

Colin Bignell

In article ,
nightjar nightjar@insert_my_surname_here wrote:

"Anna Kettle" wrote in message
...
Mind you, I find Grand Designs one of the more interesting programmes.
Not
boring really.

I agree but even Grand Designs miss out on doing programmes on some of
the most interesting houses - I know someone who suggested their house
development be featured and was turned down by Grand Designs because
their development timescale was too long. And it is a very grand
design

So the only houses that get featured belong to people who one way or
another can throw lots of money at a project over 18 months to get it
finished. And fast is rarely best in my book

You missed last week's then? A couple who had to turn an animal shelter
(basically a roof on posts) into a four bedroom guest facility between
December and October, on a budget of £16,000. They simply worked hard and
pulled in every friend and family member they could. The end result was a
fine building with a stone arched collonade along the front.

Thats the only one in this series I've seen so-far and I was very
impressed with the hard work they were putting in. (And the beaurocracy
they had to face!)

I loved the way they put the arches up! SWIMO wasn't impressed with
them taking 3 days, so I said to her they'd get it down to 1 day after
they'd done a few and thats what they managed to do. Personally thought
using angle grinders rather than an olde hammer & chissel was cheating
though

Gordon

Michael Mcneil wrote:
The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain, he or
she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being human and
harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps until everyone
has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get deported.

maybe "they" should turn up with £140k, sans 8 kids, buy a house
and get stuck in like the couple on the prog ?



RT

"R Taylor" wrote in message


maybe "they" should turn up with £140k, sans 8 kids, buy a house
and get stuck in like the couple on the prog ?



Rather difficult to do when the local maffiosi want you dead for having
a distant relative who once said something about them and now your
village is ransacked your parents killed your crops ruined and the
maffiosi in another country have taken all your money and you sisters
into prostitution to pay for the trip.

But still, who want's to see a film about that, eh?


--
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"Michael Mcneil" wrote
| The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain,
| he or she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being
| human and harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps
| until everyone has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get
| deported.

I don't think that applies to the French :-)

| Tonight's Grand Design was one of the best of them. I missed the
| first bit but was really impressed with the "go" of the couple
| involved. He even got around to making a staircase after getting
| a book on the subject.
| What they finished of the house restoration was impressive on the
| outside and remarkably beautiful on the inside.
| Well done them.

Didn't they do well. I'm not happy that they used Chinese slates, though
I'll forgive them the internal plasterboarding as it was on studs and not
actually attached to the lovely granite walls, which remain undamaged for
history. But overall they didn't do anything bad and what they did was
simple, honest and in keeping.

Such a nice couple too, not playing Lord and Lady Muck over the locals. But
if they're planning on staying for their retirement (or for the B&B
business) they really should have found a corner for a lift.

Interesting list of suppliers though - British plumbing and heating and a
lot of other things too.

Owain

In message lgate.org,
Michael Mcneil writes
The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain, he or
she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being human and
harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps until everyone
has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get deported.

However if a Brit goes abroad they make countless (and boring)
television shows about them.

Tonight's Grand Design was one of the best of them. I missed the first
bit but was really impressed with the "go" of the couple involved. He
even got around to making a staircase after getting a book on the
subject.

What they finished of the house restoration was impressive on the
outside and remarkably beautiful on the inside.

Bugger ... missed it

--
geoff

"raden" wrote in message
...
In message lgate.org,
Michael Mcneil writes
The funny thing about the Brits is if someone moves into Britain, he or
she is subject to intense criminal investigation for being human and
harried. Then they have to live in concentration camps until everyone
has forgotten about them. Then they escape or get deported.

However if a Brit goes abroad they make countless (and boring)
television shows about them.

Tonight's Grand Design was one of the best of them. I missed the first
bit but was really impressed with the "go" of the couple involved. He
even got around to making a staircase after getting a book on the
subject.

What they finished of the house restoration was impressive on the
outside and remarkably beautiful on the inside.

Bugger ... missed it

Knowing Ch4, it'll be repeated, revisited and revamped before too long.

--
geoff

Well done them.

Was there a total of the spend so far? I would have thought that the roof
would have absorbed much of their available cash...

Colin

Was there a total of the spend so far? I would have thought that the roof
would have absorbed much of their available cash...

Colin


Good call - don't think they gave the final tally

Phil

"TheScullster" wrote in message


Was there a total of the spend so far? I would have thought that the roof
would have absorbed much of their available cash...

Good call - don't think they gave the final tally


They got the cheapest slates but the recent weather disasters in China
caused a major delay. I bet the other supplies were delayed too as they
were unable to speak the patoise.

How do those slate hooks work? Anyone gort any idea? They went on like
tiles but I can't imagine it was an ideal fix.

I'd love to know what they didn't snag about the stairs too but I am
being ungenerous there. I would come unstuck I know, making them.


--
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"Michael Mcneil" wrote in message
news:f04bb4462802773e223f5c726875b9a2.45219@mygate .mailgate.org...
They got the cheapest slates but the recent weather disasters in China
caused a major delay.

Those weren't the cheapest slates you can get. And actually they did look
the part.


How do those slate hooks work? Anyone gort any idea? They went on like
tiles but I can't imagine it was an ideal fix.

Look at old barns. In some areas these hooks are common, in others less so
and the slates rely on friction to stay on.



Does anybody know where you can get that self-fill mega-mastic gun they were
using for lime mortar pointing ? Just what I need !

"G&M" wrote in message


Does anybody know where you can get that self-fill mega-mastic gun they were
using for lime mortar pointing? Just what I need!

Slow and lacking gumption. Use a gauge trowel -a round ended, pointing
trowel and throw the mix into the crevices. Wipe it in with the flat of
the blade and scrape the excess off for reuse.

After about an hour, wire brush the stonework and it will look superb.
You will cover much, much more of the work; two of you would do one
whole
wall in a day, no trouble.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

G&M typed:


Does anybody know where you can get that self-fill mega-mastic gun
they were using for lime mortar pointing ? Just what I need !

Builder centres do them, about £40 though.


--