Much of Irish society has been negatively impacted by the property crisis. Many young(ish) people still live with their parents. Those who have bought a house typically face punishing commutes, while a mouthy minority, wealthy and privileged enough to live within a cargo-bike freewheel of central Dublin, Cork, or Galway, try to ringfence the cities as “active travel” playpens for the better off. Prices soar – and the old joke about only Longford or Roscommon being affordable begins to ring hollow (the latter recorded among the fastest growing locations for property prices last year).
But if a lot of us have it tough, spare a thought for the real victims: the property porn industrial complex. Where once all RTÉ had to do was send a TV architect off to chat with would-be house buyers or home improvers, today the picture is stark. With the property situation causing such misery, is it proper for a broadcaster to taunt us with tales of well-to-do types sprucing up their home in Dalkey or Montenotte?
It’s a conundrum and a show, such as Build Your Own Home, is the solution. Presented by Harrison Gardner, a likeable Australian “master-builder” – I’m not sure what that is, and RTÉ doesn’t explain – it’s a sort of Room to Improve for Generation Priced Out.
The biggest asset is Gardner, who is laid back and likeable and doesn’t try to impose his views on the householders who are building new residences from scratch. He’s more chilled than a rainy morning in Cavan in deepest February.
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He starts the latest episode (RTÉ One, Wednesday, 9.35pm) by noting that it was “once normal for families to build their own homes”. That is obviously no longer the case – but times change and needs must, which is why he’s headed to Cavan to meet obstetrician Joan Lennon and her German partner Andrea Kowarschik, who are upgrading a largely derelict cottage that has been in Joan’s family for generations.
The plan is to create three interlocking buildings, built around the original footprint. The advice the couple received was to knock the structure and start over, but they are determined to honour Joan’s heritage by preserving as much of the cottage as possible.
It isn’t easy and the old joke about penny-pinching Cavan people does come to mind as they opt for a corrugated roof (once looked down upon, but increasingly trendy) and upcycle old plywood to build a fitted kitchen for less than €1,000.
Gardner offers lots of encouragement. But unlike other experts, he resists making it all about him. Visiting the finished structure as spring arrives, he is delighted at the couple’s progress.
“They had this desire to honour this old place and the memories of the generations who lived here before. They’ll be proud to say they did it with their own hands.” It’s a poignant sign-off to a show which reminds us that, even in such a well-established genre as RTÉ property television, there is always room to improve.
