Grand Designs has seen some weird and wonderful dream homes brought to reality, but sometimes things go wrong.
One guest reflected on the moment part of his home collapsed and he had to fork out for repairs while he took part in the series.
Architect Richard Hawkes and wife Sophie appeared on one of the Channel 4 episodes, hoping to build an ecohome in Kent.
Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud deemed Hawkes’ vision for the home “lunacy,” and his concerns was valid as the ambitious design ended up leaving teams working on the house “crying”.
Hawkes wanted an energy-efficient build with an arched roof, but during works on the home the roof ended up collapsing, almost destroying the entire home.
The couple were forced to pay an extra £200,000 for the damage because the project went over budget, but luckily weren’t liable for the roof itself.
McCloud warned the design was 'lunacy'
Channel 4/ITV
Reliving the moment in a recent interview, Hawkes recalled: “I was standing by the camera person looking at the camera. You hear this almighty crash.”
It came when a stonemason had accidentally leaned on the layer of tiles while they were still “extremely delicate”.
Speaking to The Sun, Hawkes continued: “He leaned too much. It made part of it fail and whatever that was left fell with it. So that was dramatic.”
Despite falling through the roof and landing on a crash pad, the contractor didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
Richard and Sophie managed to get their dream home in the end
Channel 4
“He was crying and really upset,” Hawkes remembered. “Some of the bricklayers were frustrated but it was hugs and, ‘Are you okay?’”
He added: “We had a meeting the next day and the contractor was upset he had to rebuild it.”
Thankfully, the unique house managed to be built and the couple live in the home today.
“Every day I come home and see my house rearing over the landscape and see the scary thinness of the arch,” he explained.
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The incident saw the couple having to fork out another £200,000
Channel 4
“I have such pride. It’s as solid as a rock. It’s brilliant. I’m very pleased."
Reflecting on the unlikely achievement, he concluded: "The house has given us more than we ever expected from a house.”
