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S01:E02 - Sumati

The House That 100K Built

Season 1 Episode 2 - Sumati

2012 · 1 hr 2 min
TV-G
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 senior curator at the V&A Kieran Long and award-winning 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. Twice-widowed, Sumati Bala thought she’d 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 living nightmare as one by one serious problem emerge from asbestos to rising damp. With the house condemned Sumati is forced to knock down the troubled cottage and has no option but to build a new one in its place. As the bulldozers move in Sumati witnesses the bulk of her life savings pulled to the ground and with just £50,000 left she has to start from scratch. Homeless, with no self-build experience or family nearby, Sumati is facing the monumental challenge alone. To help Sumati make the most of her incredibly tight budget Kieran and Piers attempt to steer her in the right direction. Kieran tracks down inspirational properties that are relevant to Sumati’s tight budget build while Piers takes her to the dramatic island location of Skye to visit contemporary, affordable homes so she can see first-hand what she can achieve with a minimal budget. Can Piers persuade her to adopt his more ambitious and contemporary plans for her dream home and cookery school? But the reluctant self builder soon finds the demands of supervising the build overwhelming and as Sumati’s confidence to make important decisions dwindles, the build grinds to a halt. Faced with the prospect of being without a home and no income Sumati has to make some tough decisions if she is to finish the house at all and get her life back on track.
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