Grand Designs (1999–…): Season 3, Episode 5 - The Wooden Box, Peterborough - full transcript

It's really small.
It is the smoothest in the world.

It is a little titchy box.

We could come out with it looking
quite bad really if it doesn't work.

I'm not counting.

I don't know what we will do.
We'll have to sit down and think about it.

I wonder if I got on the phone with
her I could make it happen more quickly.

This
little land is one of

the most densely
populated countries on the

planet, which means that our
planning law is really restrictive.

The countryside's already spattered
with second-rate development,

so what do you do when
you find a grotty little house



that's in the middle of nowhere
but that has splendid views?

Well, the answer is, of
course, you knock it down.

You start again and you build
something of real architectural merit.

John and Terry Westlake
never intended to self-build.

They were looking for a
house near Peterborough

when they came across this
tumble-down cottage surrounded by trees

and fell in love with its location.

It backs onto acres of woodlands
owned by the Forestry Commission

and looks out over a wide valley.

Never mind that the
house is a derelict wreck.

This is where they want to live.

How did you find this place?

It was when I was on the sanity
leave and I'd seen this place.

So I drove up here with a
screaming baby in the back.



It was pouring with rain,
freezing cold and horrible.

And I just came up here and
saw the wood and got out of the car

and it was all peaceful and beautiful
and just thought, "It's fantastic.

"It's just such a great place to live."

Obviously a complete disaster of a house.

So we thought, "Well, we'll renovate it."

Because it's got this beautiful
view but it's all bags, no windows.

So we thought, "We'll stick a
conservatory or something on the back."

So you wanted to live here?

I wanted to do it and live here.

So what made you want to self-build?

We had contact with an architect friend

and he basically put a little
seed in our mind saying,

"You realise the money you're
going to spend to actually renovate,

"that you could build something new?"

And put it in the centre of the
plot and take advantage of the view.

John and Terry's house is a
very bold, contemporary design.

One entire wall will be made of glass.

So almost every room in the house
will have views across the landscape.

The house will be clad in timber
to echo the surrounding woodland.

Downstairs, the kitchen
will be open to the living area,

which is double height to
maximise the sense of light in space.

There's also a small study at the back.

Upstairs, there'll be two
bedrooms, one for their son

and a main bedroom that
juts out over the dining area.

This room has a
large interior window

with more views out
through the glass wall.

The build is scheduled to take only 20
weeks, but there's one major problem.

John and Terry haven't got
the money to pay for all of this.

So it's a two-bedroom house,
which is costing you the price of this,

which is £183,000, plus the build
cost of £107,000, which is £290,000.

That's without any fittings.

So no bathroom or kitchen or...

- I mean, it's just a shell.
- Yeah, that's right.

So where is the money going
to come for for the fittings?

Well, it's going to be maybe two or
three months of the build going up

before the fittings are required.

During that time, we aim to save the money.

- How? - Just out of income.

- And not eating as much?
- And not eating very much.

But they're not only short
of money for the fittings.

They haven't got the cash to cover
the whole cost of the building work.

To make up the shortfall, they're
planning to borrow more money

based on the value of the finished house.

But for that, it has to be finished.

What we've done is, because
we haven't got enough money

to actually pay £107,000 for the build,

we're going to get the building
contractor to invoice us the final payment

six weeks after the
building's actually finished.

And that way, we can get the mortgage
company to come in and remortgage it,

hopefully...
- To give you a higher value? - Yeah.

So that we can actually pay
the builder the final instalment.

What happens if you can't
get the money together,

therefore you haven't got
all of the second fixed things,

which means you can't move in?

And at that point, the mortgage
company won't revalue the house because it

isn't finished.

What happens in that worst case?

We are in deep, deep shit.

John and Terry are taking a real
financial gamble with this house.

The total project cost
is going to be £290,000.

The trouble is that with all of
their savings and the mortgage,

they're still going to be £60,000 short.

So where are they going to get the money?

The cunning but rather risky plan is
to get the mortgage company back in

when the house is finished
and hope that they revalue it.

at a high enough figure for
them to borrow that extra cash.

The thing is, nobody really knows
how much this house is going to be worth

when it is finished.

So if their plan
goes wrong, they're

going to have to find
£60,000 very quickly.

This 20-week build begins in early January.

The crumbling old cottage is knocked down

and a new set of foundations
are placed in the centre of the plot.

A few days later,
Terry and John get their

first idea of the size
of their new house.

It just looks tiny.

This whole room here is one open
room, so that doesn't look too bad.

I can't believe that this is
as big as it was on the plans.

And it's 10 metres across there.

And I paced it
and it is 10 metres,

but it doesn't look
like 10 metres to me.

You know, the only rooms we've got
are in the back, so... It's really small!

It is the smallest house in the world!

It is a little titchy box.

The original thing was that we
wanted to live in a really nice place

and a really good
location, so we didn't

really mind it about
it not being that big.

But of course, it's one of those
things when you put loads of effort

and you wait a year and you think,
"This is what we're going to get,"

you think, "Hmm, a bit bigger."

Two weeks later,
the steels for the basic

structure of John and
Terry's house arrive.

This steel frame is bolted together
in just one day, despite the driving

February rain.

The man in charge
of keeping the build

on track is project
manager Steve Foot.

The project's going
really well. We're on

time and slightly
ahead, fingers crossed.

Yesterday, putting the steel up,
there was the wind, it got a bit on the

edge, but it was OK.

It really is down to the weather now.
I can't see any major problems. We've

got the steel up.

When we came up the floor, it was
just so small and now it's just so big.

So, you know, it was amazing.
I didn't think I'd be as excited.

I kind of imagined
it sort of snuggled

into the wood rather
than this huge box,

which is really quite imposing.

So I think the scaffolding's
doing that and maybe when

it's covered in wood,
it'll blend in a bit more.

Terry and John's house now looks
more like an office building, which is

hardly surprising,

since they chose a couple
of commercial architects

to design it - Nathan
Lonsdale and Andrew Budgeon.

Have you designed a house before?

Only we've done large housing
estates, which is more your typical

development scenario.

So you've done that kind of stuff?
Does that count?

No. We could come out of it looking
quite bad, really, if it doesn't work,

but I think we're confident
enough to go full steam ahead.

How long is this build going to take?

It's 20 weeks in
total, but two weeks of

that is demolition
of the existing house.

When you do your big commercial
projects, you tend to stick to those

schedules, no problem?

Never over time.

Andrew and Nathan designed the
office building in nearby Peterborough,

where Terry and John both
work, for magazine publishers,

and the design of their new house
is strongly influenced by this building.

With this building,
you can see that

it has a lot of glass,
it's very simple,

it has a bit of funkiness about it.

I mean, it's also, I don't know, I
just like it just cos it's impressive and

slightly dangerous.

I think that's the thing that we
want to avoid, is that really overtly

painful cool that you get.

Some people just live their lives by
this extreme level of style and taste,

which, you know, if it works for them,
then great, but for us women, we're

not that cool.

We just want to live in a sort
of modern, clean environment,

and it be something that we're happy with.

The engineering of Terry and John's
house is as original as the design.

To keep costs down,
the structure is part

expensive steel, but
mainly cheap timber.

This is the idea of structural
engineer Mervyn Rodriguez.

It's gone up so quickly, hasn't it?
What, four days' worth or something?

Yes, I think the steel frame was
delivered to site and erected in one day.

Which is great.

And then as soon as they did that,
they had to put some of the horizontal

timber frame in.

Right.

To make it all stable.

And then I think in two days
they put off all this stud work.

Fantastic. I mean, it all just
literally bolts together, doesn't it?

Yes.

This technology of using steel,
which is industrial, and wood,

which is essentially
a domestic residential

kind of method
of house-bullying,

has it been done before,
putting the two together?

I've used it before on another house,
and it's really because we're using

the materials in a slightly different way.

We're using the steel because it's
efficient and it can span large distances

and it can carry lots of load.

And then we're using timber technology,
which is quite traditional, very

easy to build.

Everybody knows that.
Carpenters are quite happy to build it.

Yeah, it's pretty cheap.

Yeah. And we're using
that to its fullest advantage.

The steel and wood frame allows Merv
to create shapes he just couldn't build

with masonry, like the
overhanging main bedroom.

Now that corner, which looks
cantilevered, is actually suspended.

That's right. We've actually supported
the end wall of the master bedroom by

a hanger, which goes up to the roof.

And all the load's then taken
to the outside wall all the time?

Yes.

The combination of steel and wood
in this structure is a really elegant

engineering solution, but this
frame is still not by any means rigid.

And it won't be until
they put the skin of

plywood either side
of this timber frame.

Only then does the entire
structure become solid.

Together, the plywood skin and the
steel and timber frame stop the walls

from twisting out of shape.

This house is like an enormous empty box.

The trouble is about
enormous empty boxes

is that they want to
do this kind of thing.

And in conventional timber
panel-built houses, the internal walls are

normally used as part of the
overall structure so that they rigidify.

They make the whole
thing much, much stronger.

But in here there's nothing of that.

So instead, what the engineers have
come up with is a very thin, beautiful,

elegant, skeletal frame that
sits just inside the outer skin.

And the result of that is it
doesn't want to go anywhere.

In just two days, the chippies
quickly coat the whole cube in plywood.

This build really is going at a fast pace.

It's taken just seven
weeks to get this far.

Of course, the question in
my mind is, can they keep it up?

John and Terry's build has
kicked off at frenetic speed.

They're pushing their architects
to deliver a house that's beautiful,

practical and cheap, and all
in the space of just five months,

which doesn't give
Terry and John much time

to save up for the
kitchen and bathrooms.

They've done a lot, haven't they?

Yeah.

-Rouson? -Yeah.

Now what about your budget, though?

Because you've got this extraordinarily
complicated deal going, haven't you?

You're paying for only a certain
amount from the builder and you're getting

basically a shell.

Yeah.

How are you paying for
your bathroom and kitchen?

Still, the plan is to keep saving.

That just sounds like a plan.

Well, now we are. The last, what, two
months, two and a half months, we've

been not going out.

-Steeping the cash around?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's working. It is working. A treat.

Instead of just getting money out
when you run out from the cash point, we

actually allocate ourselves
20 quid a week to spend.

-Twenty pounds a week? -Twenty quid.

What does that go on?

Well, not food, because you
make your own sandwiches.

Right.

So it is... You are
literally doing that, though.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think the point to make
is that doesn't save you

that much money, actually,
not buying sandwiches,

but it stops you, because your
mental attitude has changed to money,

and it stops being something you
just use and don't really think about,

because you've got to go to the
effort of making your own sandwiches.

Then when you're
walking past Caramilla

and they've got a
beautiful new suit in,

that's ten weeks of free coffees
or ten weeks of sandwiches,

so it stops you doing that, which
actually does make a difference.

I'm going to say, when you walk
past a dustbin, you think, "Oh, that was

some of your sandwiches."

For the moment, Terry and John
are sticking to their savings plan,

and the build's going so well that the
architects decide to celebrate with a

topping-out ceremony.

Whose idea was it to top out?

-Andrew's. -Andrew's.

That's very sentimental of you, Andrew.

It's happened quite quickly, hasn't it?

Where were we? Middle of March, aren't we?

No, beginning of March, so it's two months.

Is that on schedule?

The origins of the ceremony
seem to be lost in history.

It is performed all over the
world in one form or another

and traditionally associated with the
point at which the topmost stone is to

be fixed in the building.

And it is claimed that when sacrifices
were associated with the event,

it has involved building the
architect into the structure.

What bit of insulation?

Sound different.

In practical terms, it's to the point
at which the client is able to thank

and pay his own respects
to the men who have

actually been
constructing the building.

In all seriousness, thank you
very much for all your efforts.

Every weekend we come up and
we're stunned by the programme.

By how quickly it's moved forward.

And you're just spelling all
the myths about builders as well.

Exactly, yeah.

When you say it's going to end, fantastic.

When commissioning an
original building like this,

there are three things
that people always want.

They want beauty, they want it
on time and they want it on budget.

Now, in my experience,
you just can't have all three.

You can have a beautiful building,
but you're going to have to wait for it.

You can have a cheap house, but you're
going to have to compromise on looks.

Now, here's the rub.

Terry and John are putting a lot of
pressure on Andrew to deliver all three.

They want a beautiful home.

They want it on budget,
which is a very good price.

And they want it on time.

So where's it going to give?

The answer arrives
seven weeks into the build.

John and Terry were scheduled to
have a finished house by the end of May.

But there's bad news
about the large panes

of glass for the
front of their house.

The only possible
hitch is the glass,

which apparently,
which we didn't realise,

can't be ordered until the
actual aperture is finished,

you know, in real structure
rather than on the drawing.

And it could be 14 weeks at the outside.

So why is it that you can't
specify the glass until this stage?

Because we need to get the steel in
to make absolutely sure that we've got

the finished dimension, the
finished rebate for the glass.

It's 300 and so many pounds a square metre.

We don't want to make a mistake.

The double-glazed panes of glass
have to be cut to the nearest millimetre,

so the glass can't be ordered until
the frames are built and measured.

But what no-one seems to have checked
is just how long the glass will take

to arrive after it's been ordered.

If the glass is late, say up to 14
weeks, that's going to push you back how

much? A month?

About eight weeks. Is that right?

That would be maximum, four weeks.

- Four weeks, wouldn't it? - Four weeks.

- He just said eight weeks.
- No, he's wrong.

- I'm wrong. Sorry, I can't...
- Four weeks.

But you also ran out of work in
the meantime, because you've got...

Yeah, we'll come to a point
where we can't physically finish,

because we need the glass then
to finish all the detailing and the.

decoration associated
with the front facade.

Is there any way,
looking back, that you

could have got this
glass ordered earlier?

I think on hindsight, the only
thing maybe we could have done

is actually added a month
to the programme at the start.

- And so it allowed for it, basically.
- It allowed for it, yeah.

So you've got a bit of juggling to do,
to kind of keep everybody sweet and

happy until the end of the build.

- Yes. - A bit.

A bit, yeah.

It's not just the builders
who are affected by this delay.

Terry and John were expecting a
finished house by early summer.

Where you're living now, you're
renting, so when do you need to be out?

End of, well, June, we've got it to.

The contract ends
in the end of June,

although I've told
Andrew it's the end of May.

I mean, they're still measuring up
the glass, haven't they? So they haven't

ordered it yet.

But if they order it this week, 14
weeks from now is the middle of June.

- And then they've got to fit it.
- And then they've got to fit it.

So it could be middle of
July before you can move in,

which is a long time after the end
of May, when you're on such a tight

budget as you are.

Yeah, if it comes to that, I'm sure
we won't camp. I'm not camping.

But I don't know
what we will do.

We'd have to sit down
and think about that.

- You'd then stay with my mother.
- I'm not staying with your mum.

The one major element in this build
is the glass wall, which sits in these

frames here.

It's also, of course, the one element
which doesn't come off the shelf.

Now, the moment you buy
anything which is non-standard,

it takes between four and
ten times as long to arrive.

And exactly how long is
really anybody's guess.

So now they're all at the mercy
of the glass manufacturers.

For the time being, the build motors on.

The roofers coat the flat roof with a
waterproof membrane in just two days.

Then test it for leaks.

This roof is carefully
designed on a slight slope,

so it drains into a large
channel on one side.

And the gutters, like the rest of the
services, are buried inside the walls,

so there are no ugly pipes
to be seen on the outside.

Just a few days later, the
inside walls are insulated

and the window openings are cut out.

One of the crucial things about
this design for John and Terry

is that the house should
feel part of the landscape,

so the look of the outside of
the house is very important.

The plan was to clad the
outer skin of plywood in cedar,

which would fade to the
same silvery grey as the trees.

But the plans have changed.

We were going to
clad it in a hardwood,

but with costs coming
in as they were,

we had to reduce it down to softwood.

The first problem with
using a softwood like pine

is that it's far too light in colour,

so it'll have to be stained
to get the effect they want.

We want something to sort of
blend into the existing environment.

None of these really do it,
but a sort of more grey, sort of...

More natural, I think a lot
of these look very artificial.

That's sort of too red,
too sort of cherry-like.

Again, a bit too yellow.

This is probably the closest,
but it's still not quite right.

So, really, we've just got to go
back, get some more samples

and come up there and
see what we look like.

The stain isn't just for looks.

The second problem
with using softwood is

that it needs protection
from the elements.

You're covering your
house with softwood,

which is a kind of
tricky route, isn't it?

It's not the normal thing to be doing.

No. Ideally, we would
have used hardwood,

just because it would
have lasted 60 years.

Yeah, without much maintenance.

With very little maintenance,
whereas softwood is high maintenance.

How often do you have
to repaint it or re-coat it?

They reckon every five years.

Really? You're up for that, are you?

I mean, that's kind of... No, not at all.

I'd much rather not.
I didn't think you were Mr DIY.

No, I'm almost just allergic to it.

How much have you saved by doing this?

Well, from the cheapest
hardwood, we've saved 4,000.

Really? Not a huge amount, actually.

Well, it's not. At the time, we
just didn't have 4,000 pounds.

We possibly made a mistake.

Are you upset?

It is annoying, yeah.

It's disappointing, and I think it was
one of the compromises that we made

that was a compromise too far.

And I think that's probably
the only thing that I think...

I wish we hadn't made that decision.

There's yet another problem
with the wood cladding.

Terry and John are building
their house in Northamptonshire.

Around here, most of
the house is a sandstone,

and the local style is more
chocolate box than wooden box.

Most people come to these parts
looking for a traditional slice of English

country life.

All the villages around here are
chock full of quaint stone cottages.

So, Terry and John are being really brave

in putting up a
contemporary wooden

house in what is a
very conservative area.

It won't be to everybody's taste.

And their cutting-edge design may
just be worth less than they'd hoped.

For John and Terry, the value
of their finished house is critical.

They're gambling on it being high
enough to get the extra money they'll need

to pay the builders their final instalment.

If it's not, they'll be in deep trouble.

It's now the middle of April,
12 weeks into their build,

and John and Terry Westlake are
still waiting for news on the glass for the

front of their house.

We've got absolutely no news on the glass.

Andrew's contact, he hasn't
been able to give him a date, so...

That doesn't look like it's going
to come forward at the moment.

You just wonder if,
certainly where things

need to be really
meticulously organised,

like the glass, whether that
could have been done differently.

Every now and again you just think,

"I wonder if I got on
the phone whether

I could make it
happen more quickly."

Without the glass, the
house can't be made secure.

So, the builders can't
install the plumbing

or the lighting in
case it gets stolen.

That means there'll still be a lot to
do inside the house even after the

glass eventually arrives.

Sometimes it's a bit
frustrating because

you just want to get
it done and get on.

Whilst waiting for their new home,
Terry and John have been renting a house

in nearby Aundall with
their young son Bart.

They were supposed to
be out at the end of June,

but they've been forced to extend
their contract until the end of July.

We really have had enough of living
here now, especially when it comes down

to spring again,
because you sort of think

you've been here,
we've seen one spring,

we never thought we were going to be
here that long and we have had enough.

I think we just both would
really like an end date.

And we can't put a lot of pressure
on anyone to give us an end date

because it depends on
the lead time for the glass.

And so there's just nothing
we can do, we're just in a limbo

and both of us are not
really used to being like that,

we're used to things happening when
we think they're going to happen and

being quite controlling.

But theoretically, even if the glass
is at the very longest period of time,

it can possibly be, it should
be finished by mid-July.

As the build rumbles on,
John and Terry begin to think

about the practicalities
of living in this house.

They've decided to install underfloor
heating at another £2,000 on top of

their original fixed price of £107,000.

Then there's the issue of noise.

There's nothing to stop sound
from the living area travelling straight

through into the bedroom and
keeping their son, Bart, awake at night.

Sorting this out will mean
more time and more money.

He wants more sound insulation in the
walls, he's concerned about the noise.

So we've got to source the materials
and it's all got to be brought here, so

that's all added time to the project.

We price it on
information received, all

this additional insulation
and soundproofing,

that's the cost that the West Lakes
have to provide and hopefully they've

got the money.

This is all for the sound deadening,
so that metal stuff is, we put the

plaster on top of that

and that stops the sound transferring
through this frame of the building.

How does it? And this stuff,
this is... That's neoprene.

Yeah, so that's sound deadening as well.

So what goes on top of this then?

More plasterboard.

So you've got your
stud work, you've got

an air gap made by
this thin steel work,

then you've got plasterboard,
neoprene rubber and then another layer of

plasterboard on the top, so
you're making a sandwich really.

It's very, very highly spaced, isn't it?

Yeah.

Well it suddenly hits that, whereas
most houses you've got a couple of doors

from the lounge to the bedroom,

there's a couple of doors in between.

And here there is literally
nothing, absolutely nothing at all.

So are you pleased with the space here?

This room, yeah, definitely.

I think this is going to be our
bedroom, so imagine double bed there,

that's going to be a wardrobe space there.

You've got a nice
view of the woods,

haven't you, out of
your bedroom window?

Yeah.

This room's okay.

This room is not a problem.

Oh, and?

This is the room.

I'm going to take you through
to the rest of the upstairs,

and then show you the bathroom then.

This is the family sized bathroom.

Well, I mean, it's the size of an
average family sized bathroom in an

average family sized house, isn't it?

It is, but... Oh, it's not.

It's super large.

What do you want?

We have a little bit more space.

We knew it was going to be a
small room, but it's when you see it.

It's a wee bathroom,
so, you know, he's

only small, so to him
it'll seem really big.

Well, let's be honest.

It's got a lovely view of the woods.

Exactly, if he stands on his bed.

But this main full height space
here, now this looks a bit odd to me,

because the whole building is...

It's... whereas most houses are long
and thin, you know, there's a narrow

frontage that goes back, this
house is the other way around, isn't it?

A huge frontage, but
it's actually not very deep.

Yeah, I mean, it
ended up being the

minimum we thought
we could get away with

in terms of it being
a nice place to

live in, in terms of
having enough space,

and having big windows,
but also for the money.

Do you still feel that it's the minimum?

Now we're looking at it, we're
thinking, or certainly I am, is should we

have gone another metre?

We're a bit worried
about whether it's going

to be like living in a
very narrow space.

I mean, from here, yeah, he's a bit
like, you think you're going to have to

arrange your furniture in a corridor

with a big window
on one side, which is

obviously not exactly
what we intended,

but hopefully it won't appear
like that when the glass is in.

This building isn't
looking at its best just now.

Andrew, of course, has always talked
about it as a high-concept, stunning

piece of architecture, but at the
moment it looks more like a cardboard box.

And the issue now is not
only whether he can carry it off,

but also whether he can deliver a
building which is fit for its purpose,

which is a comfortable, practical home.

Short of building an extension, there's
not much John and Terry can do about

the size of their house, but at least
the appearance is about to change.

After 14 weeks, the builders have
done as much as they can on the inside

in turning their attention to the
outside and the timber cladding.

They've taken weeks of testing to
find a colour that works for Andrew

and satisfies the planning officers.

That's a sample for the cladding.

This is the outside cladding?

This is outside cladding.

So all the timber's here,
it's just got to be stained.

And the planners were all
happy with this, they were.

Yeah, they were, yeah. Ecstatic.

Good, well, that's all right then.
Fantastic.

Finally, a decision's
been made so the painters

can start preparing
the softwood cladding.

The tongue and groove boards are
treated with a weatherproofing layer and

then two coats of stain.

The plywood walls have been covered
in building paper and battened out.

The cladding is nailed on, creating
a ventilating airspace behind it.

It slots tightly together so any
water will just run off the building,

keeping the plywood core dry.

Buildings that are made from wood
don't grab the public's imagination in

this country, which is a shame.

No doubt it's to do with our natural
suspicion of anything that isn't bricks

and mortar.

But things are changing.

In fact, timber is
a key material of a

new style of building,
labelled "cool".

And an early example is the award-winning
rowing museum at Henley by David

Chipperfield.

Wood is the building
material of the moment.

Unlike steel or glass,
it is sensuous, it's

organic, it's tactile
and it's timeless.

Now, these are qualities which are
very new age but they're also very new

millennium, very 21st century.

And wood has this
ability to be able

to connect a building
to its environment.

On a site like Terry and Johns or
here, for example, the timber is so much

of the place

that a building made with it can
look as though it's just sprung right out

of the ground.

But that touchy-feely
organic quality has

to be balanced with
good building practice.

Modern double glazing and engineering
standards for timber now ensure that

wooden buildings can often outperform
and outlast their brick equivalents.

Even relatively primitive examples
of wooden houses from the 1960s

demonstrate the durability of the material.

Although it's made of softwood, John
and Terry's house will be fine as long

as it's looked after.

This means making sure that the
weatherproof seal is applied regularly.

And if the worst comes to the worst,
they can always replace the cladding

with hardwood at some point in the future.

By early June, the cladding's finally on.

So, after all those
different stain

samples, do John and
Terry like the colour?

Or the house, for that matter?

On the positive side, it looks like
a really confident, bold, wooden

structure in a wood.

On the negative side,
it is a big wooden box.

And I'm sort of hoping that when it
weathers, it'll just look more natural,

because it is just so angular.

It just does stand out.

It's a big shed, isn't it?

Actually, the whole wall's
been boarded up for months.

You can't really get a feel
of what the house is like,

because obviously it's got
that huge glass side to it.

And it's not there at the moment,
so it feels a bit sort of closed in and a

bit cramped.

But at the moment, you wouldn't
want to live there. It's pretty horrible.

So, when the glass goes in, we're
expecting this sort of revelation, where

suddenly it becomes
beautiful and flooded

with light and a
glorious place to live.

So, we're actually kind of
hoping that happens, really.

So, it's a mixed verdict on the
outside of the house, but as for the

interior, the jury's definitely still out.

It's now June.
We're six months into the building.

John and Terry were supposed to
be in in May, but there is one important

element which is still missing.

And that's the glass. This is the
factory where they're making the stuff.

So, what I want to know is, what's
so special about this glass? Why is it.

taking so long to make?

The man in charge of delivering John
and Terry's glass on time is manager

Jeff Hancock.

Tell me about this
very, very special glass

that this house is
going to have fitted.

What we've got is one layer of glass
will have several layers of metal and

metal oxide coatings on it.

The coatings are there
to eliminate the sun's heat.

So, this thin layer of
metal is like a mirror.

It sort of reflects
the sun's heat out.

Yes. So, basically what you have is
twice as much light as heat coming into

the building with the coating.

OK. And in winter, does this coating
work the other way around? Does it keep

heat within the building?

Yeah, basically what you have in
winter, the light that's in the building is

generated from heaters,
from electrical equipment.

And the coating has that
facility to reflect that heat back in.

Right.

So, in other words, it keeps it cool
on a summer's day, like today, and

equally in the winter it will keep it warm.

So, where does this stuff get used?
Because I haven't got it in my house.

The product really is used in commercial
buildings. It's designed for that

type of environment.

Big buildings with lots of glass walling
where you have real problems with

heat building.

Absolutely.

Only once it's cut to size can the
glass be toughened by heating it in a

furnace to 650 degrees and then
cooling it very quickly with a blast of

pressurised air.

The end result is a really tough,
high-performance, bespoke pane of glass,

five times stronger than
non-toughened glass.

Terry and John need six double
glazed units specially designed for their

house and the
manufacturing process

involves different
stages and takes time.

But when the glass
finally does arrive,

John and Terry's
house is transformed.

Wow, look at that. Fantastic.

Fantastic, yeah.

Just trying to work out how
much those will be paid for those.

15 grand for them.

So, 15 grand for a whole lot.

There we go.

How long have we waited for that?

See, we bought all those really cheap
kit houses but have never got this. It

was worth the extra million pounds.

That tree has got to go.

The tree's gone, look.

Where's it gone?

You can see more of the house.
It's getting starker.

There's still a lot to do before John
and Terry can move in but now there's

another deadline for them.

Terry's expecting a second baby
and the house has to be ready in time.

It's been eight months since they
began this project and fingers crossed

they're on the last lap.

It's now the middle of October and
John and Terry have been living in their

house for two months now.

So, how's it turned out?

Hello.

Hello.

The modern couple. How are you?

Very well. And you?

Greetings.

Yeah, yeah. Happy housewarming.

Come on in.

Thanks.

Look at the space. Look at the light.
Look at the loveliness.

It's great, isn't it?

Oh, yes.

It is... it looks completely finished.

Yeah, I mean, it's...
Down to details.

Yeah?

It needs to be really, doesn't it?
Because your bump's due soon.

Yeah, a couple of weeks
and there'll be another one.

Bloody O'Reilly. We're going to stick it.

That's easy.

Yeah, Bart's in for
a bit of a surprise

just because he's
going to be sharing.

But this space is terrific, isn't it?
It seems to have grown.

I think that was our concern, that we
knew it wasn't big but we wanted it to

feel spacious and
we think... and it

really does. We're
really happy with it.

This wall is well back,
isn't it, underneath

this projection
so you get that...

it feels like you've got
that extra space there.

And who chose your wood burner?
Did Andrew choose that?

He didn't want it at all. But obviously
in winter we wanted a focal point

that wasn't a telly.

We both like open fires and
all homely and all the rest of it.

You furnished it very nicely, haven't you?

Thank you very much.

Nice taste. Some little ant chairs there.

And the kitchen looks very clean and sharp.

Yeah, it was a budget kitchen.

Was it?

Oh yeah.

That's all right, isn't it?

600 quid.

I don't believe it. 600 quid.

But what's this
place like day to day?

How do you enjoy this
place? Does it work?

We literally start in the kitchen, have
dinner and then come and sit here.

We use this space all the time so
you haven't got little boxes that you use

for short periods of time.

We use the whole space all the time.

So actually what's happened is that
we spend a lot more time at the dining

table so we talk more.

So it sort of changes
how our relationship works.

You've repaired your marriage.

Exactly. Exactly, the divorce is off.

So behind the book shelves over
there is the study and that's got a glass

wall to let light through.

That works, is it?
It emulates the room well?

Yeah, it works really well. It's nice
and light in there and it means we've

got somewhere to put all of the work,
clutter and school stuff so it doesn't

invade all your living space.

So it works really well.

Upstairs, two bedrooms,
first and second.

That's your third
bedroom, isn't it?

That's it, yeah.

Double stairs and two up here.

That's right.

Bart sleeps in here, doesn't he anyway?

Yeah, this is the second
bedroom where Bart is.

Yeah, seems to be a bunk bedroom.

Exactly, yeah, seems
to have two of them in.

And bathroom.

Yep, small but perfectly formed.

Yeah, nice fixtures and fittings.
I like the green tiles.

Yeah, I think it works
quite well actually

for a small room,
it's really nice.

And then this is a main
bedroom, our bedroom.

You've got these amazing views,
haven't you? To the north, to the woods and

to the south. That great view.

I mean this one in the
mornings is fantastic.

Just because you draw the blinds
and you've got a fantastic view.

John and Terry always wanted to make
the most of the amazing views and the

glass wall has really achieved that.

It's the glass that
transforms this

wooden box into an
extraordinary building.

The glass is fantastic.

It is one of those things where we
paid a lot of money for it and it sort of

exceeded what we thought it would be like.

How easy is that to move?

You see?

Smooth.

It is, isn't it? Quite spectacular.

Like it goes all the way back.
What's nice when you do that?

It's the way that the outside
sort of almost flows in.

It does make the room
seem vast now, doesn't

it? It really does
extend it out here.

And this whole facade of the building
looks very clean and sharp, doesn't it

now? It's all done.

It does.

Yeah?

That's why we have a deck,
you see, so if you look back at it...

Oh, we can just get
back at it and admire it.

What do people say about this?
How do people describe this?

Well, they talk about it as a
commercial building quite regularly.

The Tesco men have driven past it
at various times thinking that it was an

industrial unit.

Do you think it works, now it's
finished, against the woodland setting?

At the moment, it's too on its own.
I think there need to be trees nearer to

it to help it blend.

But for me, this side works really
well walking up here and it just looks

like something out of
an architectural book.

It's just not like a home.

It's not your house.

No, it is. It's just sort of
arrived from another planet.

Looking back at the house, I
have to say it reminds me of

a giant supercomputer
stuck in the middle of the field.

But I do really like it.

The timber-clad lip that projects
beyond the windows is a very clever and

practical element,

because, like a hood, it shields
both the glass and the terrace from the

rain, the sun and the wind.

It also frames the view beautifully.

This was never going to be a large
house, but the glass wall, the open plan

layout and the
double height living

room will make it
feel bigger than it is.

And elements like the overhanging
bedroom and its glass wall play yet more

games with the internal space.

I felt early on in the build that
you were after a lot of things here.

You were after getting a really good price.

You were after getting a really
wonderful building and you were after it

coming in on schedule.

And more or less, it's come in on budget.

More or less?

More or less.

More or less, it's come
in on schedule, sort of.

A bit late.

A bit late.

And you've got a wonderful building.

So I'm wondering kind of
what has given in the end.

We've made some specific compromises
and I think in hindsight, perhaps

because it's got softwood
cladding, which is quite a big deal.

And I think we've also compromised
on actual space because if we'd had a

conventional house, which builders
know how to build quickly and cheaply, we

could probably have the three bedrooms.

But actually, we've got a house
that we really love and a place that we

really like and a space that works for us.

There's a lot of it which isn't
immediately, obviously, very practical.

There are a few elements like maybe
glass tables aren't the most practical

thing for school children.

And you've got ceiling lights that
are, you know, 26 feet off the floor and,

yeah, hang the two of those.
You have to get a long ladder.

We're not going to deny there are
some elements of it which are, you know.

Which the architects
managed to squeeze by you.

Yeah, which, you know, if we were
to do it again, maybe we'd think of

different ways of doing it.

But in terms of, you know, they
are niggles because the rest of it is

essentially fantastic.

So how much did it cost in the end?

We spent an extra £15,000
on things that we specified.

Okay, so that addition.

Addition, so the deck.

Put some soundproofing in and then
there are about £13,000 of overspend.

John and Terry ended
up spending £28,000

more than their original
budget of £290,000.

Bringing the total cost of
the build up to £318,000.

And tell me about the mortgage company.

Well, the mortgage company came back
and was a bit scuppered to come up with

a comparative value.

But basically valued it
on what we'd spent on it.

Which meant that
they would release the

extra funds we needed
to pay the builder.

That's very reasonable.

We had an estate
agent come round, just,

you know, to make
us feel slightly warmer.

And there was value between
£350,000 and £450,000.

You've taken a lot of
risks with this building.

I just wonder whether
you see yourselves

as patrons, as
misguided, mad, lucky.

I think lucky, I didn't realise how
many risks we were taking until we kind

of got to the end, really.

Because there was a financial risk
of would it be worth more than we put

into it to get the mortgage money.

And then there was,
would we end up

with something that
actually worked for us.

And I think, I
suppose we were quite

optimistic about those
things happening.

And we were lucky that they did.

Because it could have gone the other way.

So, how do you describe the
process of having your house built?

So I fell in love with the whole design
and when we talked about it right at

the beginning.

And you go through the build and it is
a very wearing process where nothing.

goes according to plan.

Hassle, uncertainty, sort of thinking
that things were going to go wrong.

And sometimes they were,
sometimes they weren't.

But you're never quite
sure what's going on.

And we moved in.
I think in some ways it got worse.

Because it wasn't finished.

And I think that was when we were
supposed to, you know, realise our dream.

And it didn't happen.

I had to sort of fall
in love with it again.

As we finish things in the
garden and the turf goes down.

And so, you know,
suddenly you roll

around the garden
with the kids and stuff.

It's getting better and better and better.

And you can appreciate the
location more and more and more.

And the whole thing of just, you
know, being able to put on your wellies in

the back door.

Walk 50 yards up the road
and walk through some stingers.

And then you're in this
massive five mile long wood.

You know, it's, it is idyllic.
It's fantastic.

It's fantastic.

If there's a word to describe
Terry and John, it has to be brave.

They risked everything they own on a
design which they were unsure about.

That they didn't even know they would like.

I'm so glad this story's
got a happy ending.

They've got an exciting
modern home that they love.

In a location which they adore.

It was a big gamble.

But it's a big pay-off.

you.