Kevin McCloud looked very sceptical through much of tonight’s episode of Grand Designs (February 3) as couple Richard and Leigh tried to renovate a centuries-old Cornish mill that was literally falling apart.
The pair, who first met while skydiving, bought the mill on impulse after falling in love with it and thought they could restore it for £250,000.
In preparation for the restoration, they moved into a caravan to save money during the building work.
As usual, things on the Channel 4 show didn’t go down as smoothly as hoped and, by the end of the episode, Richard and Leigh were still living in a caravan, although they hoped to move into the property soon, and had spent £295,000.
The old mill was in need of rescuing (Image: Channel 4)
The building hit disaster after disaster when it turned out many of the original beams were unstable and rotting due to 60 years of water leaking into the property.
Kevin visibly grimaced as the antique beams were ripped out and replaced with cheap and modern softwood beams – which at least meant the house wouldn’t fall down.
And, at first, the new lime pointing around the stones looked garish and stark.
Richard and Leigh have still ‘not quite’ moved in at the end of the program (Image: Channel 4)
Fortunately, by the end of the program, Kevin, a self-confessed purist, warmed up to the renovation a bit and admitted the outside was attractive.
He said: “Oh it looks so good, it really does. A beautiful roof. I can’t fault this, I can’t fault the outside.”
Kevin was also impressed with the lime pointing which had weathered and gave a polished but natural look to the authentic stonework which was able to be saved.
He was less enthusiastic about the inside but said a table made out of original stone millstones pulled from the floor was “not as bad” as he had feared it would look.
Kevin McCloud was not wholly taken with the homemade tables (Image: Channel 4)
Richard and Leigh said they were looking forward to finally moving in at some point in the future, enduring much of lockdown 2020 in the caravan with two dogs, but said they had no regrets taking the project on.
Getting emotional, Richard even wiped away a tear as he tried to express how much the mill meant to him.
The project divided Grand Designs fans on Twitter – with some saying it was a good effort and others horrified at the loss of many original features to save money.
One viewer fumed: “They have turned a grade 2 listed mill into a barn conversion.”
Another joked: “Half a mill later, and with none of the original features left, they have themselves a one-bedroom house to live next door to in their caravan.”
More supportive, someone else piped up: “Just watched this on @granddesigns and I now absolutely love this building.
“Shame it wasn’t viable to keep more of the original but the end result looks wonderful nonetheless!”
Another fan tweeted: “We thought Kevin was a bit mean to the couple who saved the mill in Cornwall.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
