Grand Designs: East London Split Level House (Channel 4 25 Oct 2017)

Design engineer Joe Stuart and service designer Lina Nilsson are taking on the London property market. Both in their twenties, they are fed up with renting but can’t afford to buy. So now they’re going to build their own house, for just £160k. Having already spent £73k on a miniscule 38 square metre plot in a run-down part of east London, Joe has designed a split level, six half-floor house that will cleverly maximise space.

At 83 square metres it may be the smallest two double-bedroom house that you’re allowed to build in the capital, but it’ll be theirs, not a landlord’s. Despite their energy and enthusiasm, Joe and Lina have never done anything like this before. Excavating their entire plot for a basement proves incredibly testing, running months behind and thousands over budget. But Joe, who’s project managing and building most of the house, galvanises himself.

Adding more and more design flourishes as he goes along, his ambition for this tiny gem of a building becomes an obsession.

Director: Marc Beers
Series Producer: John Lonsdale
Executive Producer: Fiona Caldwell
Production Company: Boundless

Grand Designs Season 18 Episode 8 Airs Wednesday 25 October 2017 from 9.00pm-10.00pm on Channel 4.