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Grand Designs new series.....

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    Bio MaxBio Max Posts: 2,207
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    Why can't they just leave unfinished houses till the next series...
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    StansfieldStansfield Posts: 6,097
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    I would have preferred the Bypass.;)

    I guess it'll look great when/if it's finished.
    Loved the Roof.

    And did the 'helpers' really pay to help.:eek:
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    IggymanIggyman Posts: 8,021
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    I loved this build - the people were great, they were full of passion for their build and also full of imagination. The building was at least 1000 times better than last week's boring and vacuous 'box' even though it's still unfinished. If only all builds were like this, instead of the majority being boring boxes built by boring and unimaginative people.
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    jonbwfcjonbwfc Posts: 18,050
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    Iggyman wrote: »
    If only all builds were like this, instead of the majority being boring boxes built by boring and unimaginative people.
    I suspect people would very quickly get bored of a Grand Designs series where every single house remained a building site when the credits rolled.

    A house you cannot live in has no merit at all. It is a folly, a vanity project.
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    ClarkF1ClarkF1 Posts: 6,587
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    Bio Max wrote: »
    Why can't they just leave unfinished houses till the next series...

    There probably wouldn't be enough to make a series if they didn't show unfinished ones.
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    roddydogsroddydogs Posts: 10,309
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    How on earth (no pun) is "Cob" a building material? any ingression of water, & it all collapses, how do they get insurance, etc.
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    snoweyowlsnoweyowl Posts: 1,922
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    roddydogs wrote: »
    How on earth (no pun) is "Cob" a building material? any ingression of water, & it all collapses, how do they get insurance, etc.

    A good point. Eventually you coat it with a hard plaster to provide some waterproofing but it will need maintenance. It is not liked by mortgage lenders or insurance companies. And you'll need a six inch nail to hang a picture. I wouldn't touch it myself.

    There's a lot of cob in Devon because it's an area without natural stone and the ground doesn't contain enough clay for brickmaking. To my mind though it's best left in the past.
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    duckyluckyduckylucky Posts: 13,880
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    jonbwfc wrote: »
    I suspect people would very quickly get bored of a Grand Designs series where every single house remained a building site when the credits rolled.

    A house you cannot live in has no merit at all. It is a folly, a vanity project.

    Had I known I would spend an hour watching GD and end up seeing a muddy shell of a house I sure wouldnt have bothered .
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    madmumof3madmumof3 Posts: 86
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    I loved the cob house, and I hope they manage to get it finished. I really liked their current house too, if I win the lottery this weekend, I would be seriously tempted to buy it!
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 961
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    I have to say, I felt really uncomfortable watching them build a house of what was essentially mud. I'd never feel comfortable or safe living in it, under all the weight of the wooden beams and roof tiles/dirt roof.

    Especially given one of the cob pillars noticeably wobbled when they placed a beam on top of it!
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    tgabbertgabber Posts: 2,235
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    Arrgh! Another monstrosity in tonight's programme. Giant flint barn with rubber roof...
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    ntscuserntscuser Posts: 8,263
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    tgabber wrote: »
    Arrgh! Another monstrosity in tonight's programme. Giant flint barn with rubber roof...

    Externally, yes. It looked as if it was slipping down the hillside and that sliding glass door will soon jam.

    Loved the interior though, at least this couple isn't obsessed with having a ridiculous number of bedrooms.
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    ClarkF1ClarkF1 Posts: 6,587
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    I have to admit, I thought it was the best this series.

    Nice to see one which had no money troubles and on budget.

    Loved the new name for the farm and the guys line about the lights being straighter than him :D
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    johnanjohnan Posts: 3,369
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    tgabber wrote: »
    Arrgh! Another monstrosity in tonight's programme. Giant flint barn with rubber roof...

    Agreed. Ghastly design on the outside and unliveable in, on the inside. Half doctors surgery and half hotel, not my idea of a "home".
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    CABINETCABINET Posts: 1,787
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    I loved it - apart from their ghastly beds.

    Wonder how they are going to keep that enormous window clean - but then I wonder that about most of the houses on this programme.
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    Steve_WhelanSteve_Whelan Posts: 1,986
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    Bit of topic, but on last nights show the owners had to make their living from the farm before they could live on it because it had an agricultural tythe on it. Who administers these tythes and how on earth are they legal.
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    HHGTTGHHGTTG Posts: 5,941
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    Tourista wrote: »
    Not forgetting the 3 layers of polystyrene sheeting needed! :eek:. (a barn full of the stuff simply for the annexe)

    Frankly, this build was as more a vanity project for the owner than his much trumpeted assertion that cob was a viable form of construction.

    Precisely as the whole thing was a load of old cobblers. ;)
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    ntscuserntscuser Posts: 8,263
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    Bit of topic, but on last nights show the owners had to make their living from the farm before they could live on it because it had an agricultural tythe on it.

    They're also having to work 14 hours a day to maintain that income. Neither is in the prime of life, what happens to the farm/brewery when one or both of them becomes too ill to work?
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 467
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    Bit of topic, but on last nights show the owners had to make their living from the farm before they could live on it because it had an agricultural tythe on it. Who administers these tythes and how on earth are they legal.

    It is a bit off topic but interesting - and puzzling. Tithes were originally paid to the Parish church by parishioners to support the clergymen, generally in the form of whatever was raised from the land - barley, milk, wool, fish etc.

    After the abolition of the monastries, many of the tithes passed to non clergy who now owned the church land. Disputes then arose between tithe owners and tithe payers which led to concern for the improvement of agricutural farming and it's workers.

    Subsequent new purchasers of the land did not however also gain the tithe (well, a few did) - often the original tithe owner kept it and continued to collect these payments in kind, great and small from the new land owner. So parliament enacted various changes in the 17th & 18th centuries which in the main changed it to a money payment based on the annual value of corn - corn rents.

    What followed in subsequent years was a hugely detailed and time consuming census and mapping of tithed land and to a great degree uniformity across England. Some tithes were "bought out" with a one-off lump sum paid by the landowner, others were basically left with an annual 'rent' paid to the tithe owner.

    But I've no reference to the type of tithe that this couple's have with it's rather odd obligation to continue to raise their tithe money only by agricultural methods. Rather than just pay the money out of other income/capital. It seems rather stern of the current tithe owner to insist on this. The ducks, geese and sheep were very cute looking but, as said above, if their brewery fails or their health fails, what will they do?

    If anyone knows of these types of tithes, I'd be interested to learn more.
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    StansfieldStansfield Posts: 6,097
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    CABINET wrote: »
    I loved it - apart from their ghastly beds.

    Wonder how they are going to keep that enormous window clean - but then I wonder that about most of the houses on this programme.
    ....and the two front doors.

    Loved the Flint - not sure about the Sliding Door.

    And I'm guessing, if either get ill, they have people there, that well keep it running - the Brewery looked a good money spinner.
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    snoweyowlsnoweyowl Posts: 1,922
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    jimmypink wrote: »
    If anyone knows of these types of tithes, I'd be interested to learn more.

    I think you'll find it's an 'agricultural tie', nothing to do with tithes.

    There was an element of the gayest gays in the village about this one.
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    PlantPlant Posts: 11,820
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    They never explained how they were actually making money from their farming. All their money seemed to be coming from the brewery which wouldn't have counted. I suspect they just had a good accountant who moved money about for them.
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    simplesimon1simplesimon1 Posts: 28
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    snoweyowl wrote: »
    I think you'll find it's an 'agricultural tie', nothing to do with tithes.

    See here for an overview re agricultural ties.Quite interesting, especially the bit about it reducing property values by 30%
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    simplesimon1simplesimon1 Posts: 28
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    Plant wrote: »
    They never explained how they were actually making money from their farming. All their money seemed to be coming from the brewery which wouldn't have counted. I suspect they just had a good accountant who moved money about for them.

    Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. There's defo a market for traceable, sustainable food (especially in these days of horse meat lasagne) which people are willing to pay a premium for. The previous scandals are also driving trade back to proper butchers (rather than supermarket YTS trainees) who are a good outlet for this type of quality product. I suspect that the fact that one of them was a marketing specialist helps, as well :)
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    StansfieldStansfield Posts: 6,097
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    Plant wrote: »
    They never explained how they were actually making money from their farming. All their money seemed to be coming from the brewery which wouldn't have counted. I suspect they just had a good accountant who moved money about for them.
    But isn't this more about the House - how they make money on the Farm, isn't really what GD is about.
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