Grand Designs 26x4 - Hackney Revisit

The new run of the iconic property show continues. KevinMcCloud follows Britain's most ambitious self-buildingprojects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design andconstruct the home of their dreams. Kevin revisits architectGraeme and Melanie, who had huge ambitions for their new homein Hackney; a comfortable haven for themselves and theirteenage daughters, Isla and Indi. They wanted the house tocelebrate and cement their new blended family, formedfollowing the loss of their own partners. The only problem waswhere they wanted to build: on a tiny twin garage plot boughtfor a whopping £275,000, on a traditional Victorian terracedroad. Graeme came up with an unapologetically modernist brightred design. Inside, it was to be cleverly laid out tomaximise?space vertically. Despite the challenge of excavatingfour metres down in a tight urban site, the schedule was setat just 12 months, with an equally tight budget. But acatalogue of challenges quickly hit Melanie and Graeme, fromthe basement contractor withdrawing due to skyrocketingmaterial costs, to huge increases in mortgage rates drainingthe budget. And as the project neared completion, a finalbombshell in the basement blew their schedule off course andput even their hopes of living in the house in jeopardy.Eighteen months since his last somewhat gloomy visit, Kevinreturns to see if Graeme and Melanie are finally out of theirhole. Do they now have the beautiful home they originallyenvisaged?