The House That £100k Built
Season 1
With house prices out of the reach of many people and banks refusing to lend, buying a home in the UK is becoming an impossible dream. So a few brave but ordinary souls are trailblazing what could be the solution for all of us - trying to build their own house from scratch.
Architectural journalist and critic Kieran Long and award-winning architect Piers Taylor are following self-builders as they take on the biggest gamble of their lives. Kieran and Piers will try to help them create the house they've longed for. But all have less than £100k to spend, little or no experience and life savings on the line - it won't be easy.
Architectural journalist and critic Kieran Long and award-winning architect Piers Taylor are following self-builders as they take on the biggest gamble of their lives. Kieran and Piers will try to help them create the house they've longed for. But all have less than £100k to spend, little or no experience and life savings on the line - it won't be easy.
Where to Watch Season 1
6 Episodes
- Martin
E1MartinWith house prices out of the reach of many people and banks refusing to lend, buying a home in the UK is becoming an impossible dream. So a few brave but ordinary souls are trailblazing what could be the solution for all of us - trying to build their own house from scratch. Architectural journalist and critic Kieran Long and award-winning architect Piers Taylor are following self-builders as they take on the biggest gamble of their lives. Kieran and Piers will try to help them create the house they've longed for. But all have less than £100k to spend, little or no experience and life savings on the line - it won't be easy. Martin Whyment is desperate to get on the property ladder. A young man running his own pizza van business, he has saved enough money to buy a backland site in the centre of Leeds to build himself his first home. But when the bank refuses him a mortgage, Martin is left with only one option - to ask his retired parents to lend him their own hard-earned savings. - Sumati
E2SumatiArchitectural journalist Kieran Long and architect Piers Taylor are following self-builders as they take on the biggest gamble of their lives. Yet all of them have less than £100k to spend, little or no experience and have their life savings on the line - it will not be easy. Twice-widowed, Sumati Bala thought she had found the perfect spot to spend the rest of her life: a beautifully located cottage in need of updating just outside Berwick upon Tweed. She moved in and planned to run her small cookery school there but the house of her dreams soon turns into a nightmare as serious problems emerged, from asbestos to rising damp. With the house condemned, Sumati is forced to knock down the troubled cottage and try to build a new one in its place. As the bulldozers move in, she witnesses the bulk of her life savings pulled to the ground and with just £50,000 left, she has to start from scratch. - Ruth and Tony
E3Ruth and TonyOn the brink of retirement, Shropshire farmers Ruth and Tony are at the point in their lives when they hope to start taking life easy. However, faced with a crumbling farmhouse, they are having to knock it down - and they have ambitious plans to replace it with a determinedly modern design. - Tom and Zoe
E4Tom and ZoeCurrently living in a shared house with friends, ambitious young couple Tom and Zoe are desperate to move into their first home together. Not wanting to settle for the uninspiring homes that their small budget would buy them in Cambridgeshire, they have bravely opted to buy a plot of land on a housing estate and build their own. Planning permission dictates a relatively conventional home on the outside but they have plans to make it spectacular on the inside. - Jane and Andy
E5Jane and AndyAfter living their whole lives in conventional houses with every modern convenience, Jane and Andy have bought a plot on an eco-community in West Wales where they can build their own home and live a self-sufficient lifestyle. As passionate environmentalists, they intend to build the house with locally sourced materials and to demonstrate that it is possible to build an environmentally friendly and comfortable house. - Justin and Mary
E6Justin and MaryNewly-engaged couple Mary and Justin are desperate to build a life together in rural Devon where they and generations of both of their families are from. But with house prices soaring, the market for first-time buyers is desperately grim. They are left with one option - if they want to stay where they know and love, they need to build their own house.