Grand Designs (1999–…): Season 2, Episode 10 - The Eco-House: Revisited - full transcript

I last saw Rob and Alida about 16
months ago, or more or less at the end of

the project, but also at the
beginning of a new life form.

They managed to build green.

I wonder if they've
been able to live green.

When I last left you, you had just
got the place sorted out, hadn't you?

Well, almost.

There were still a lot of things to do.

That's right.

When did you actually get it all done?

Well, it took us actually
about six months to finish.

I think we could say it was
finished on Christmas Eve.



So Alida, why did it take so long?

Why did it take so long, Rob?

It's really because when you saw us
last, we pushed out the boat and got in,

which meant

that we didn't really
have any money to

pay for people to
come and work for us.

So I essentially had to do
everything myself afterwards.

It's hard to just gain
the momentum, isn't it?

Yeah.

Keep going, really.

Is it?

Did you find it?

I think so.

You get tired and you
just lose interest a bit.



It's quite hard just to keep it going.

I think everybody will recognize
that if they're in a house and a little

thing needs doing
and they don't get round

to doing it, it
becomes sort of fabric.

It's part of their life
and they lose any

idea of getting it
fixed, which is why you

quite often see a bit of
skirting board not fitted or...

Like down there?

Yeah, like down there.

A bit of skirting board not fitted.

Look, come back in another 16 months.

Look at that, seeing that bit
of skirting board's gone on.

The building work that
Rob has done since

I was last here is the
all-weather veranda.

Of course, this wasn't here before, was it?

This is... This is
the new addition?

Yeah, absolutely.

And it is major, Rob.

I see.

Well, we like to do things properly.

And the roof is not solar panels?

Not yet.

That's one of these price considerations.

The roof as it is is polycarbonate,
which we chose for light transmission.

It's not the greenest of things,
but it's one of those compromises.

Are there any other
compromises you've made?

I've thought about this quite a lot
because we did use one non-eco paint,

which was the

red of the stairway.

Or the lights on the veranda,
they're a plastic body.

They've got low-energy
light bulbs in it, of course.

That's a compromise.

I don't think I've
changed philosophically,

but I have become
far more pragmatic.

Rob's system for
recycling water for the

house has been in use
for a year and a half.

So how well does it work?

This has really changed, though, Rob.

This is much more mature and established.

That's right.

It's going through a long
process of really establishing itself.

But is it doing its job?

Oh, certainly.

The water which comes out of that
Reed bed is clear and has got no odor.

And this system's
coping with all the solids.

That's right.

And we've got
low-flush toilets, which

are using sort of
three litres of flush.

So what happened to the
composting toilets then?

Well, Alida in particular couldn't
really stomach the idea of that as a

domestic facility.

Despite a few compromises to Rob's
original vision and the odd missing

element, like the solar panels,
the house is, by and large, complete.

So how are he and Alida
enjoying living in their eco home?

So your life here is
enriched better than it was.

I mean, do you think it's an improvement?

Oh, yes, definitely.

It's a lovely, comfortable home to live in.

It's just easy.

Life's easy.

Yes, I love it.

Clearly, yeah.

I mean, I still hanker after the old
Suffolk farmhouses, but this is a lot

easier.

So what are the bills like?

They're pretty good, actually.

Yeah?

You're not spending
much on heating, are you?

No, we're spending sweet Fanny
Adams on heating, to be quite honest.

And electricity?

Electricity is slightly
lower than the last place.

What's your cooker run on?

Cooker's propane gas.

OK.

One 24-quid cylinder lasts six months.

Hey, now that is cheap.

Lower water charges because we're
using low-flush toilets and recycling the

grey water for flushing
the toilets as well.

OK.

OK.

So those material benefits in
terms of lower costs are there.

The idea of the eco house building
consultancy, has that gone anywhere?

The quick answer to that is no.

I began to have doubts whether or
not there was a fertile enough market.

Does that mean people
just aren't ready for it?

Yes, I think that's right.

Is the dream, is the hope still there?

Or has it been in, as it were?

It's just normality now.

Yeah, incorporated into daily life.

We're living in a very healthy,

comfortable, beautiful
environment, which is

of our own making,
which doesn't have the

drawbacks and the
disadvantages that our

previous home had.

It would take
something very special to

make me move out
of here, that's for sure.

It was very difficult.

That's over now.

I don't really like even
thinking about it anymore.

We pushed our own envelope a bit,
and we came back from it, and we're better

people for it.

I love the house very, very much.

I'm very proud of it.

I'm proud of Rob, too.