Grand Designs viewers have lamented a ‘nightmare build’ which ran four years over schedule due to disastrous planning.
The long-running Channel 4 series is celebrating 25 years as it returns to our screens but Wednesday night’s episode could feature the most frustrating renovation yet.
Originally scheduled for 10 months, Zahid and Ferzana attempted to renovate an East Yorkshire coastguard station which they snapped up for £175,000 at auction.
Host Kevin McCloud was praised for his patience as he casually dropped a surprising Clueless (1995) reference, calling the home a ‘full-on Monet’ due to his concern surrounding the details.
While wrapping up the episode, a surprisingly still optimistic Kevin even called the entire project ‘painful’ after numerous setbacks.
Even at the end of the programme, after five years of construction hell, the couple said it wasn’t actually finished yet but they were ‘on the home stretch’.
The final walk-through showed off a stunning modern design, with gravity-defying floors and panoramic views over the cliff tops.
However, the journey there was incredibly bumpy with viewers blasting Zahid as an ‘absolute ridiculous individual’.
Taking to X, Mister JD wrote: ‘Four years later. Yes, FOUR YEARS LATER. “So, when are you going to produce proper drawings?” Absolute ridiculous individual; completely out of his depth, clueless, and just an embarrassment for anyone connected to him. Incredible episode.’
‘This is an absolute disaster!’ Craig Milner blasted: ‘The bloke hasn’t really got a clue has he considering his job.
‘Not fitting in with the countryside either, although the views are amazing! Feel for his neighbour looking at a frame for 2 years!’
‘Good grief. This is a nightmare build!’ said Eleanor as Paul Davies added: ‘This bloke is an absolute joke and you’ve got to feel for all his neighbours!’
‘Nah I’m sorry he’s had 4 years to do the drawings 😭😭😭 Kevin is very nice bc I woulda said hey!’ said Shan.
The first major setback came when the local planning board stopped construction after Zahid knocked down the watch tower, as it was then no longer classed as renovation as stated in the planning permission.
This halted construction for some time, leaving the half-demolished home exposed to the elements — to the annoyance of the attached neighbours.
Eventually, construction continued but the 10 months estimated quickly slipped into a year and beyond.
One huge issue was that Zahid, who works in construction, had not completed detailed internal drawings which led to more blunders.
His plan for panoramic windows had to be altered as there was no space left for the fittings due to an oversight after the floating floors were installed.
Then the windows themselves proved a problem yet again as the proximity to the seaside meant special glass needed to be used to prevent birds from flying into them.
As the months slipped into years, problems continued to crop up, with Kevin in disbelief at Zahid’s unwillingness to create a more detailed plan.
There was a huge gap between the steel frame, due to differences in drawings, with builders quickly correcting by drilling fresh holes on site.
After the five-year project was complete and the scaffolding finally removed, Kevin spoke to the neighbours who looked a little disgruntled by it all.
The attached homeowner said he was ‘glad to see the back of the scaffolding’ but hadn’t been pleased with the lengthy project.
Zahid confessed it was ‘more complex than [he] originally envisioned’ but did not regret taking on the build for ‘one moment’.
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