Grand Designs — Season 26

The iconic property show returns for a new run. Kevin McCloud follows more of Britain's most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams. Howard and Sarah have embarked on a number of ambitious building projects together over the last 30 years, but now they've devised plans for the most radical yet - a sleek, angled, metallic floating home on a tidal estuary near Worthing. Designed to look like a boat, and nestled within an idiosyncratic houseboat community, the structure will sit on an experimental prefabricated polystyrene slab to deal with high tides alternating with hours sitting in the mud. On top of the floating polystyrene will sit a steel frame that will need to be strong enough to resist the stresses of a moving structure, covered in composite insulated steel cladding. Upstairs will be a soaring, open-plan living space with an outer deck and views of the estuary, while below deck there's to be accommodation for them and their teenage children, a home office and a cinema room. It's a huge experiment, with £385k to spend over an 18-month schedule, especially as they'll be doing much of the work themselves and finalising the engineering as they go. Things get off to an agonisingly slow start when it takes months to painstakingly remove a condemned D-Day landing craft from the plot. Designing and making the floating polystyrene slab is a real headscratcher, and they need to buy a crane to get materials over a tall sea defence wall. Add to all that the constant tidal shifts that disrupt any construction and it's a real recipe for disaster... Can they get their grand design over the line?

The new run of the iconic property show continues. Kevin McCloud follows more of Britain's most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams. It's tough falling in love, especially when it's with a 150-year-old rickety barn that's in danger of keeling over. But HR director Sarah and technology director Pip are smitten. Never mind the many planning restrictions, or that it sits on the site of a scheduled ancient monument; Sarah and Pip are determined to keep its spirit while at the same time transforming it into a sleek and modern five-bed home, with space for their expanding pet family... a hugely challenging balancing act. With a budget of £420k, they try to keep as much of the original structure as possible to save on costs, but the fragile building starts to unravel almost as soon as work begins. Old brick columns, walls and an entire timber gable end come tumbling down, too unstable to withstand the identity change. The barn, it seems, is in danger of becoming a terrifying money pit. Under pressure on all fronts, and not always seeing eye-to-eye on what the end result should be, Sarah and Pip draw on every ounce of resolve to try and make it through...

The new run of the iconic property show continues. Kevin McCloud follows more of Britain's most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams. Kathryn and her husband Jon lived happily in a four-bed Edwardian home on the same street in north London for 60 years. But now, at 82 and recently widowed, Kathryn faced an all too familiar dilemma: struggle on in a home where getting up the stairs was becoming increasingly difficult, or move away from the street that she's loved for so long. Until she came up with an audacious plan, with the help of her architect, James Mak, to build a new, accessible, ultra-sustainable home right next door, where a garage and extension currently sit. It'll be a mirror image of her current Edwardian house, but with a 21st-century twist. Pulling off this daring feat proves difficult right from the off, when far deeper than anticipated foundations have to be removed to make way for Kathryn's new home. Horrendously wet weather, spiralling costs - including eye-watering fees to connect to basic services - and the worry of selling her old house in time all test Kathryn's nerve as well as her budget. Only time will tell whether this late-in-life gamble will pay off... 

The new run of the iconic property show continues. Kevin McCloud follows Britain's most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams. Kevin revisits architect Graeme and Melanie, who had huge ambitions for their new home in Hackney; a comfortable haven for themselves and their teenage daughters, Isla and Indi. They wanted the house to celebrate and cement their new blended family, formed following the loss of their own partners. The only problem was where they wanted to build: on a tiny twin garage plot bought for a whopping £275,000, on a traditional Victorian terraced road. Graeme came up with an unapologetically modernist bright red design. Inside, it was to be cleverly laid out to maximise?space vertically. Despite the challenge of excavating four metres down in a tight urban site, the schedule was set at just 12 months, with an equally tight budget. But a catalogue of challenges quickly hit Melanie and Graeme, from the basement contractor withdrawing due to skyrocketing material costs, to huge increases in mortgage rates draining the budget. And as the project neared completion, a final bombshell in the basement blew their schedule off course and put even their hopes of living in the house in jeopardy. Eighteen months since his last somewhat gloomy visit, Kevin returns to see if Graeme and Melanie are finally out of their hole. Do they now have the beautiful home they originally envisaged?

The new run of the iconic property show continues. Kevin McCloud follows Britain's most ambitious self-building projects, as intrepid individuals attempt to design and construct the home of their dreams. Does good architecture have the power to heal? In 2017, Elinor and Born began building a clean-aired, hypoallergenic house in south-west London for them and their three children. Motivated by the extreme allergies and serious asthma of their two boys, they desperately hoped that the house would alleviate some of their more severe symptoms. In an unusual back-garden site with huge access issues, they planned a partially submerged, shed-like building constructed with low-toxin materials and a powerful ventilation system to keep the air in the house fresh. But construction placed rigorous demands on their decision-making abilities, schedule and budget. And even when they finally moved in, the jury was still out on whether the house could actually make their children healthier as they grew older. Now, seven years after the house was completed, Kevin returns to see what the long-term effects have been - and to finally discover if a carefully curated house really can make us feel better, and actually improve our physical health too...