Matt Sugden Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I don't know how many of you watch this program, but I have to say I really feel that the presenter of this program George Clarke, is doing a massive disservice to the architectural industry. I realise it's just a TV program, but the fact that every week he asks the home owners to hand over a cheque which is usually a massive amount of money, and supposedly their life savings, then invaribly asks them for more money as the project runs into unforeseen trouble, or tells them that they need a bigger budget to fit the house's potential. Last week was the worst in that he got some poor couple to cough up a huge amount of extra money, saying that to acheive what 'they' want he needs a bigger budget, and then in the end he didn't even complete the project, leaving a complete bathroom.....disgusting. This week the couple handed over 100K and then he said he needed a whooping 177k to do the job. 77% extra. Personally I think he is giving architects a bad name, with a completely unrealistic view on working to budgets, and a misguided idea of working to a clients brief. Rant over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Forreal Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 i completely agree. i'm not an architect but i do build houses so i know how important sticking to a budget is. considering how knowledgable he says he is, he has been consistently overbudget and most of the time there hasn't even been a great deal of construction work to contend with. one of the excuses he came up with recently is that he had gone overbudget because, amongst other things, he had to get the staitcase redesigned several times bacause "it didn't work" - and that's the client's fault because... i used to like Build A New Life that he used to present but Home Show seems so fake in comparison. to make it worse the new Build a New Life presenter is just pathetic and makes the show so dull that i don't watch it any more. property ladder is going down hill too. i have seen Sarah recently make some silly recommendations which i think have only added to the developers' troubles. which only leaves Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs which is struggling to find decent projects but which i still enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pictor Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 sounds interesting (in a bad way). Not heard of the show personally, is it new? Which channel? I'm guessing C4 - all the others usually are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Forreal Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 not new, no. i think this is the second series. it's called 'The Home Show' on ch4 at 20:00 on thursdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Sugden Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 I completely agree about the staircase redesign, that was last week when they ended up with an unfinished bathroom! I was thinking 'you must be a piss poor excuse of an architect if you can't even design a staircase for a loft conversion' (he said it delayed the project by 7 days?!?) and his rememdy was to charge the client extra, gulp and lose a bedroom/office to fit the stairs in! Simply terrible designing. Even last nights design didn't seem that good, there was a massive extension which seemed a little unessecary to me, with unusable/wasted space behind the kitchen, when he could have so easily made the extension smaller but 2 stories, which would have given them the extra space and been far more cost effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadmunkey Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I just watched the latest episode on catch up TV, and I was astounded at the 77k extra he required. I mean, this couple just handed over 100k of their life savings and he has the cheek to ask for more. I sat there gobsmacked most of the way through it - personally I would have asked him to stop work or found another contractor! I kept thinking to myself I wonder how much more he would have asked for if they hadnt have already bought their own kitchen!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dp Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 not seen the latest uk shows but i've seen a version from the states and it's just as bad with clangers dropped on simple issues that the "professional" should have catered for the producers will be unlikely to pull the plug because the drama makes good telly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noise Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 (edited) The best property program I watched was an 'Build A New Life' episode in France. I can't say that I have watched the current series that is in contention here but, how many kids does Sarah Beeny have ? Edited August 2, 2009 by Noise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuffinViz Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 George Clarke seems to think that spending half the budget on barcelona chairs is what good design is all about. The episode where he phones the couple asking for more money whilst he sits in his brand new land rover smacks of the pompus 'old school' architect. That other episode where he weeps after unveiling his creation makes me laugh, his tears of joy as he pockets another poor gullible couples savings. Disgrace to architects indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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