More than three-quarters of all projects featured on the UK version of popular home show Grand Designs went over budget, with one project in Bath exceeding 181%.
Research by Been Let Down’s Professional Negligence team found that only 16% of the 212 projects featured on the beloved TV show managed to stay perfectly on budget, and only 4% ended up costing less than foreseen.
The Bath Kit House, filmed in 2008, was budgeted at £675,000 but ended up costing nearly £2million. The owners faced a number of issues during construction, particularly around the earthworks. Presenter Kevin McCloud has described the drilling and piling as the most expensive earthworks he has ever featured on the program – and that was just the £300,000 estimate, before things turned wrong.
READ MORE: ‘Massive’ works to prevent flooding in central Bath likely to cause traffic delays
Still, it wasn’t the most over-budget house, despite ranking in the top five. Grand Designs’ most over-budget build was the ‘Low Impact House’ in Pembrokeshire, which featured in Season 17 of the show, and had an initial budget of just £500.
However, it ended up costing its owners 5,300% more than the original estimated budget of £27,000. Many – including show host Kevin McCloud – argued that this was a very unrealistic home-building budget to begin with.
So how do so many people end up going over budget? According to the research, many projects that ended up massively exceeding their initial cost estimates encountered problems or delays during the construction process, while sometimes the extra expense was due to things like incorrect structural studies, earthworks problems or an experienced “do-it-yourself” project. management.
However, the majority simply miscalculated the total costs at the planning stage.
Top 5 Most Over-Budget Builds
1. “Low Impact House”, Season 17 (+5,300% over budget)
The project started with Simon and Jasmine Dale setting out to hand-build an eco-friendly house with just £500 in the bank. The couple set out to build a house that would allow them to be self-sufficient within five years – complex planning requirements due to the nature of the project meant the house took six years to build – for a final total of 27,000 £5,300% over the original starting sum.
After the episode aired, the house unfortunately burned down in a fire on New Year’s Day, with the couple setting out to rebuild.
2. The 16th Century Farm, Season 5 (+328% over budget)
The 16th century farmhouse featured in Season 5 follows closely in second place, which went over 300% over its original budget due to structural issues that were not identified during the initial structural survey. The final build ended up costing around £300,000 – far more than the £70,000 originally planned.
3. Huxham, Devon, Season 22 (+199% over budget)
The most expensive project among the five most off-budget builds – the Season 22 visit to Huxham – went almost 200% over budget with a final total outlay of £2.5million. Construction was complicated by structural issues due to a one-size-fits-all design, as well as delays caused by Brexit and Covid-19.
4. The Bath Kit House, Season 8 (+181% over budget)
This ambitious build, budgeted at £675,000, ended up costing over £1.9 million, or 181% more than was set aside for the project. The owners faced a considerable number of problems during the construction, including earthwork problems and the collapse of the neighbour’s wall on the site.
5. The Seaside House, Season 15 (+158% over budget)
Due to another major budget miscalculation at the planning stage, this impressive modern home ended up costing owners Bram Vis and his wife Lisa a total of £2.2million, well over their original budget of £850,000.
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In some cases, the problems encountered have led to unfinished constructions for months or years.
The most expensive unfinished project overall was ‘The Lighthouse’ in North Devon – its construction costs hit £3million when the episode aired in 2019, 66% more than the originally planned figure of £1,800,000.
The North Devon build, hailed by fans as the “saddest Grand Designs project ever,” is closely followed by “The Cob Castle,” which appeared in season 13 (over budget by 114 %, with a total cost of £750,000 compared to the original budget of £350,000) and the “Eco-Barge” of season 7, which exceeded the original budget of £50,000 by 60%, to end up at around £80,000 when the episode aired in 2007.
Some of the most budget-friendly Grand Designs projects have been held up by improper structural surveys or other complications that could have been avoided during the planning stages – a lesson for anyone looking to kick off a home improvement project in 2022, qu whether it’s a Grand Design of their own or something considerably more modest.
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Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-24 22:48:28
