The millennials who aced Grand Designs reveal the secrets of their success: What you DIDN'T see on TV may change your mind about Britain's young people, reveals BETH HALE By Beth Hale Updated: 21:03 EDT, 7 October 2024 e-mail View comments Grand Designs projects do not typically come in under budget; nor, for that matter, are they renowned for whizzing to completion in record-breaking time. As anyone who has watched even a handful of episodes of the Channel 4 show in its 25-year run will know, the vast majority of ambitious self-builders end up shockingly over estimate and woefully over deadline. Spiralling debts, shattered nerves and wrecked marriages is the usual narrative.
But Zara Findlay and Giuliano Rapoz are not your typical self-building couple. How many couples, for instance, have the nous and tenacity to scour the countryside, from dawn to dusk, and post notes through letterboxes, searching for the perfect plot? Zara Findlay and Giuliano Rapoz with Kevin McCloud outside their Lincolnshire home How many have the strength and energy to lug 2,000 large roof slates up ladders and on to the roof, in backpacks, nine tiles at a time? How many have the energy left over to embark on a mission to get to know and charm all the neighbours, with the ingenuity to get assorted tradesmen not just working in perfect harmony, but practically clamouring to be the ones to get the job finished on time? How many actually manage to finish the job £37,000 under budget and two months earli.