Kevin McCloud was back hosting more Grand Designs: The Streets on Channel 4 tonight.
He followed the journey of Joanna and Ben as they built an American ranch-style house in a gritty part of Glasgow. The couple took part in Scotland's first urban self build scheme, which was launched by Glasgow City Council - Six plots had been sold to budding self builders by the council for under £50,000 each.
The couple, who worked as a carpenter and an animator, said they were determined to build their dream barn home with a tight budget and moved onto the site in a wooden caravan to further save on costs. At the start of the programme, Joanna and Ben explained they wanted their home to be rustic, with a barn-like feel, with Joanna explaining: 'We both love being outside, camping and being away from the city.'
READ MORE: Channel 4's A Place in the Sun buyer issues warning after looking round home
The budding builders decided to move onto the site in a wooden caravan to further save on costs. However while they were away one night, a gang of vandals burned their temporary home to the ground. They were devastated as they revealed they lost all their possessions in the fire as the caravan was completely destroyed.
Ben and Joanna admitted they no longer felt safe in the area. They said: "Right now our home is the only one, so it feels isolated but when everyone else starts building, it will feel like a community. When we're all in, I think it will be an amazing place to live. But this place at the beginning is quite scary."
Despite the worrying setback, the couple decided to power on with the build. In November 2019, the couple began their work on the house, digging out the foundations for their project. But they said that their budget was "very tight."
They decided to cut costs by carrying out the majority of the work themselves. They said they were "slugging it out" to try to make sure they "had enough cash to keep going."
And instead of using scaffolding, the couple managed to save themselves £20,000. They did this by climbing up onto the structure and tied themselves to the building with rope.
Even with the build way underway, Ben and Joanna still had reservations about the security of the property. Joanna said: "With no movement on site, we are a little bit anxious because of security. Obviously we'll be in the house working on it, but once we're in and if we're ever out for the night - or if we want to go away...it's just a lone house in the middle of the city and it's a bit scary."
Grand Designs: The Streets airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on Channel 4
Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here
