A Grand Designs project that looked doomed after its owners ran out of money and construction was hit by torrential rains is finally finished after running £200,000 over budget – and after one owner suffered a heart attack during the project.
Builder Paul told host Kevin McCloud, who re-displayed his eco-friendly home in the West Pennine Moors after it was left unfinished in 2018, that the project had been a “joyful experience” despite the serious health problem he suffered – as his wife Carol said. had been caused by the stress in the building.
When they set out to build their dream home in the West Pennine Moors in 2015, they had a tight budget of £350,000 – which Paul admitted was “plucked out of thin air” – and a tight schedule of 15 months to complete the project. Seven years later they had spent a total of £550,000 on the house, and Paul had undergone surgery to install two stents in his heart.
Paul and Carol’s house, in the West Pennine Moors, has finally been completed after years of going over budget. On tonight’s episode of Grand Designs, Kevin McCloud went to visit the finished property (pictured)
Kevin and Carol’s kitchen is equipped with blue cabinets and white work surfaces, with white marble-style floor tiles and an elegant island in the center of the room
The master bedroom (pictured) is one of five bedrooms to sit on the ground floor of the property and has been decorated with a dark pink theme
Paul and Carol (pictured) now live in the eco-friendly rural property after moving from their Bolton home
At the end of their first episode when host Kevin McCloud visited the couple for the last time, the couple had run out of money to complete their project and the partially completed house had been hit by elements such as torrential rain and freezing temperatures.
Although some aspects of the house including the farmhouse kitchen and the structure itself were in good condition, Kevin described other aspects as “sad and sad” with the couple “war-weary and scarred” by the project.
They had also made the difficult decision to put their existing family home, where they had raised their daughters, on the market to fund the rest of the project, with Carol admitting they had spent it all [they had] ever saved’ on the project.
At the start of the original episode, Paul, who did an apprenticeship as a bricklayer at the age of 16 and had built some 40 other projects before, set his most ambitious build to date. He had even renovated the family’s original Bolton home, which was once a Lancashire barn, for them to live in.
Paul and Carol’s house in the West Pennine Moors is finally complete, with its timber frame and angular roof just as Paul had imagined
From the outside of the house, its terrace can be seen alongside the huge grounds complete with a vegetable patch
The kitchen and dining area of the house is on the first floor and contains navy blue chairs and a large, long oak table for communal dining
A closer look at the kitchen island reveals the wood and metal bar stools, providing another dining option if Paul and Carol aren’t entertaining
The cozy area, also on the first floor, is a simple space with a rug and blinds to block out the light if the family wants to enjoy a movie on the huge TV
His goal was to design and build a wooden, environmentally friendly and energy-saving house for himself, Carol and their daughter Abby.
The plan was that the house’s five bedrooms would be on the ground floor, next to the gym, with the first floor containing the kitchen, living room and den.
Speaking from the construction site, he admitted it was the “hardest” project he had ever undertaken.
But at the end of the 15 months, after a stop-start process, the house remained unfinished and lay in a muddy landscape without any kind of interior complete.
Opening tonight’s episode, host Kevin McCloud said: “Six years after they left, I’ve come to see where Pail and Carole’s architectural journey landed them.”
Looking back on their journey, the episode recalled the bumps in the road Paul and Carol faced as they tackled the mammoth project – including relentless rain.
Standing in soggy conditions, Paul admitted he hadn’t had “a full day” on site with the project for around three weeks as the rain kept building.
Meanwhile, Carol, who ran her own catering business in Bolton, spent all her spare time at the site and was exhausted from the seven-day weeks she worked.
The first floor of Paul and Carol’s new house is adorned with family photographs as long lamps hang over the vestibule by the stairs
The first floor of the house contains the living room which has French doors opening onto the balcony
The house even includes a resistance pool powered by a current, which Paul uses
As winter set in and the couple battled the elements, Carol said she sometimes thought, ‘What the hell have I gotten myself into? Why on earth have we done this?
In August of this year, Kevin visited the house again to find it finally finished – and marveled at its balconies, skylights and angular edges.
When Paul and Carol showed the hosts around their new solar-powered home, which costs “very little” to run, Carol said: “I love it. It’s very peaceful and peaceful.
And Paul admitted that while it hadn’t always been an easy task, he was pleased with what they had achieved.
He told Kevin: “It was traumatic at times, but looking back it was a pleasant experience and worth the effort.”
The house, which also takes care of Paul and Carol’s children and grandchildren, even includes a resistance pool powered by a current, which Paul uses for exercise.
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