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Master carpenter Bill Bradley and his wife Sarah built two timber houses in south London on the site of Bill's old wood workshop. Their plan was to sell one to pay for the other, in the hope of living mortgage-free, but the long, narrow site, sandwiched between two rows of houses, was far from an easy proposition. To get round the difficulties of the site, Bill and Sarah's houses needed oblique windows, skylights and double-height glazed courtyards to create two beautiful but private homes. Kevin McCloud returns to see if Bill completed both of the houses.

Kevin McCloud revisits Alan and Judith Dawson, who in 2009 began constructing their prototype, prefabricated home in west Cumbria. As well as creating a unique place to live, Alan was out to prove that the building system he'd spent 22 years developing actually worked. If he succeeded, the ambition was always to build more of them and save his recession-hit steelwork company. Alan and Judith thought they could put together the quickest house possible, taking just 15 days from start to finish, and all for £300,000. It was an adventure that saw giant pieces of house driven down country roads, then craned and bolted together on site. But with so much attention given to the speed of construction, there was little time to think how the house might be to live in. Moreover would finishing the house save his business? And has Alan's building system had a life beyond the very bespoke and beautiful home he engineered for himself and his wife?

Inspired by an illustration on a yoghurt pot, Chris Ostwald decided to build a New England-style watermill in the Chilterns. As part of the fun, he chose to construct the timber kit house himself. Everything went well until a neighbour complained that the house was breaking its planning consent, and a two-year battle ensued.

Bill and Jean Letley are not only building a bungalow in their back garden, but also embracing cutting-edge technologies to create a super-efficient, highly contemporary home. And they are entrusting the whole project to their daughter Jo and son-in-law Paul, who have to get to grips with numerous construction methods that would worry the most experienced builders.

Bath may be famous for its Georgian architecture, but Tiffany Wood and her husband Jonny have chosen it as the location to build themselves a striking Modernist home. Rather than go down the traditional building route, they opt for a German pre-fabricated kit house with great green credentials that should only take five days to construct.

David and Greta Iredale are seasoned builders: they built their first house in 1956, and their second nine years later. Having lived in it for 40 years, the timber house they designed themselves began to rot away, so they decided to pull it down and replace it with a solid, German built, precision engineered Huf Haus. The kit house, designed to individual needs with doors, windows, fixtures and fittings, is shipped to the site and put together like a gigantic jigsaw.

When Pru and Richard Irvine came across a plot of land in the middle of the Midlothian countryside, they dreamt of building a bespoke family home. However, the plot of land, an old industrial site complete with lime kilns, comes with a condition: they can build on it only if the house blends in with the landscape. It's a huge challenge and, until it's complete, nobody is quite sure whether it will fulfil its brief.

Inspired by their love of Gothic architecture and horror movies, Jo and Shaun Bennett decide to build an Addams Family-style house, complete with a stained glass window, a stone fireplace and a massive oak staircase adorned with gargoyles. Jo not only designs the house, but also decides to project manage the build. She and Shaun remain determined to get the bespoke detailing right, but good craftsmanship doesn't come cheap and they hit financial problems that threaten the completion of their new home.

Featuring an introduction from Kevin McCloud, this part of Grand Designs Night recalls the astonishing achievements of Ben Law, a woodsman who spent ten years living in a caravan in a West Sussex forest while waiting for planning permission to begin work on a self-sufficient, handmade, cruck-framed wooden house. Ben persuaded a team of local builders to help him for free - in return for carpentry lessons and some fine woodland cooking. Kevin follows Ben's attempts to complete his home.

In the second of his Grand Designs Night selections, Kevin McCloud remembers Monty Ravenscroft and Clare Loewe, who couldn't afford to buy a house in London, so decided to build one on a small sliver of land in Peckham, in the south of the capital. Monty envisaged an extraordinary experimental house, complete with sliding glass roof lights and mezzanine bedroom pods, bringing a slice of space-age design to the area.

Part of More4's Property Season. Introduced by Kevin McCloud and featuring brand new footage in specially recorded links and introductions, Grand Designs Night showcases some of the greatest ever episodes from across the much-loved series' 14-year history. During the night Kevin looks at some 'home truths' surrounding property design and builds, including the dangers of restoring old buildings, the good and the bad side of working with foreign builders at home and abroad, and the importance of getting on with your neighbours when planning a major project. The Property Season's Grand Designs Night kicks off with the story of Francis Shaw, who bought a crumbling 15th-century peel tower in North Yorkshire that was on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register, but little knew what he was letting himself and his family in for.

Tim and Zo? Bawtree aim to become mortgage free by building an ultra modern, low-maintenance house in the large back garden of their Cheltenham town house. However, the garden is surrounded by grade-two-listed houses, and because of height restrictions, Tim and Zo? are forced to build 60% of their new home underground. This doesn't deter them, and neither do 90 objections to their planning application from the neighbours. The build is fraught with problems from the start. First, there's a worry that the earth from the neighbours' gardens will collapse into the huge hole they've dug for the house.

Thomas and Dervla O'Hare set out to build a spectacular split-level home cascading down a practically vertical hillside in Belfast. No one in their right mind would have built on such a steep slope; but ambitious young architect Thomas believed he could do anything as long as he put his mind to it. He set up a fast-track building programme to complete this enormous, contemporary home in record time, with his wife Dervla - who had never built anything before - project managing the whole circus. As the building reached its final stages, Thomas and Dervla had the opportunity to buy an adjoining garden which could radically change future plans for the house. Six years later, with all the deals done and new work complete, Kevin goes back to see the reshaped house to find out how life has changed in this, one of the biggest Grand Designs of them all.

As one of Grand Design's first projects, Andrew Tate and Deborah Mills found a site with a monstrous, dilapidated, 100-foot-tall water tower on it. Unusually, they saw it as the perfect spot to build a contemporary family home, converting the tower into a seven-storey bedroom wing. Andrew is a commercial architect, so the modern new build went up in just four months, using fast-track methods alongside unconventional building materials. However, things were not so easy when it came to the water tower's three-feet-thick walls: a doorway they expected to be made in two days took two weeks. Kevin went back to see Andrew and Deborah three years after they had moved into their contemporary extension, but they had still made no progress on the water tower, and were living with minimal bedroom space. Kevin returns again to see if the water tower conversion has finally happened, and if their dream home has worked out as they envisaged all that time ago.

Martin Pease is a successful commercial architect, used to designing large-scale prestigious offices. However, he's about to embark on a much more personal project: a home for his wife Katherine and their two lively children. The design he has come up with is not the obvious choice for a family: a giant sugar cube inside which everything is white and open plan. Even the master bedroom sits on a mezzanine above the huge living space. Determined to keep on schedule and budget, Martin uses his experience of designing commercial buildings to construct his own home. He employs materials and systems more commonly seen in office builds. Everything is pared down and designed to maximise efficiency.

When Pru and Richard Irvine came across a plot of land in the middle of the beautiful Midlothian countryside, they seized the opportunity to build their dream family home. However, the plot, an old industrial site complete with lime kilns, came with a condition: they could only build on it if they became custodians of the kilns, and more importantly, that the house they built blended in to its setting. Pru and Richard wanted to build an uncompromisingly modern giant of a house. There was a real danger that this building would be a blot on the landscape rather than an enhancement. With Richard grafting hard to pay for the build, it was left to Pru, a cookery writer, to project manage. It was a huge challenge, which Pru rose to. The finished house was an impressive piece of architecture, but certainly did not blend into the landscape. Eighteen months later, Kevin returns to see how this giant of a house is settling in.

Jim Fairfull and his wife Simone set out to build a glass pavilion by a loch in Scotland; with such a beautiful location, it was a challenge to find a design that would do it justice and appease local planners. But they managed to come up with a solution that kept everyone happy. Kevin McCloud goes back to Scotland to see if the loch-side pavilion has delivered a healthy, tranquil life for Jim and his family.

When interior designer Kathryn Tyler decided she wanted her first home, she was determined to use her skills to design and build the house herself. Her original plans, to erect a house on a tight hillside plot in her parents' back garden in Falmouth, were put on hold when Kathryn's father died. Now, Kathryn has revived her concept, designing a Scandinavian-inspired eco house to fit this extremely limiting plot. Although it's built from quite conventional materials, the house is far from normal. With a white-painted brick ground floor, and a lightweight timber frame first floor, this cubist shell gives the interior designer a chance to show off her flair inside, with cleverly designed zones and beautifully displayed vintage Danish furniture. But surely it can't all be plain sailing for someone as young and inexperienced as Kathryn?

Cheryl Robson and Alex Reay left London and restored a medieval thatched cottage in the New Forest into their dream home. Just days before their first child was due, the house burnt down and Cheryl and Alex lost everything: their insurance policy had lapsed some months before. Amazingly, they decided that they would rebuild again. Second time around, they took the opportunity to transform the cottage into a spectacular modern home, with large contemporary windows and a brand-new thatched roof. Kevin McCloud returns to see whether, after years of heartache, they are now able to enjoy the good life.

When Francis Shaw bought a crumbling 15th-century peel tower that was on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register, he little knew what he was letting himself and his family in for. It took months of red tape wrangling before Francis finally got permission to start work on the castle. But then, with the rubble barely cleared, one of its enormous 700-year-old walls collapsed, giving an inkling of just how much a labour of love this project was going to be. Kevin McCloud returns to find out whether the spiralling cost of restoring the castle has meant the fairytale life is nothing like Francis's dream.

Kevin McCloud follows an epic Grand Design. Back in 2006, Stefan Lepkowski and Ania Shabowska set out to transform a derelict mill cottage in the beautiful Northumberland countryside into a cutting-edge contemporary home. But this was never going to be a simple build. Their ambitious plans turned out to be three projects rolled into one. First, the restoration of a Georgian cottage, then the reconstruction of an old watermill, and third a dramatic modern steel and glass atrium linking it all together. On top of all that, Stefan insisted on doing most of the work himself on a totally unrealistic budget. Over the years Stefan stubbornly refuses to accept help, the bank refuse him any more money, and the project turns into a gruelling battle of wills almost grinding to a halt. Two children and five years later, through sheer determination, Stefan and Ania finally complete their Grand Design.

Jim Fairfull and his wife Simone set out to build a glass pavilion by a loch in Scotland; with such a beautiful location, it was a challenge to find a design that would do it justice and appease local planners. But they managed to come up with a solution that kept everyone happy. Kevin McCloud goes back to Scotland to see if the loch-side pavilion has delivered a healthy, tranquil life for Jim and his family.

Property developer Barry Surtees wants to build a four-storey modern mansion, complete with pool, gym, artist's studio, fantasy bedroom and Japanese roof garden; but, experienced as he is in the building trade, nothing quite prepares him for the pressure of constructing this monster of a house. The cost of materials escalates, neighbours are unhappy at the prospect of a building that threatens to dwarf the rest of the street, and the credit crunch puts pressure on Barry's spending power.

Sarah and Dean Berry grew up in Newport and then moved to London. Now they've returned home and bought an 18th-century folly: a castle perched on a hilltop. They not only plan to restore the folly to its former glory, but also to wrap a large modern extension around the original structure. It is an ambitious and expensive project, and before they have even started, Sarah, a self-confessed control freak, decides to project manage the build herself.

Simon Bennett and his wife Jill gave up a life abroad to return to Simon's home county of Suffolk. They bought two timber-framed barns for conversion, but soon discovered that one wasn't quite what it seemed. What they thought was a dilapidated cowshed turned out to be one of the smallest surviving medieval guildhalls in the country. Three years later, Simon and Jill face two very different challenges: how to convert a single-storey 16th-century barn into a two-storey modern home; and what to do with its neighbour, a unique architectural gem. Kevin McCloud is anxious for Simon to conserve as much of the guildhall's history as possible, including the agricultural additions. Simon is set on a more radical path: to restore it to its medieval splendour.

Ian and Sophie Cooper plan to restore a 200-year-old listed industrial building in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Somerset. The site is called The Apprentice Store, and has been derelict for 50 years. Ian and Sophie not only plan to restore the old building, but also add a large glass extension, creating a cool modern interior to make the most of the incredible views.

For 10 years, Ben Law fought for planning permission to build himself a house in the heart of the woods where he worked. He wanted his home to be totally self-sufficient with no mains services, and decided to construct it using only materials from the woods. Ben relied on friends to help him erect the house and, despite a tiny budget, ended up with a beautiful hand-crafted woodland cottage: the first real shelter he had enjoyed for years. Kevin McCloud revisits Ben, his wife and two young children again to discover how their home has grown to suit their needs.

The first time Kevin McCloud met Kelly and Masoko Neville, they had set about building an oak-framed, straw-baled hexagonal house in the Cambridgeshire Fens. Kelly had always dreamed of building an eco-friendly home but the unusual hexagonal design would have challenged the most experienced builder, and with no architect to turn to for advice, Kelly had to tackle all the problems alone. Kevin goes back to see if they are managing to lead the idyllic life they so craved.

Helen Gould and Phil Reddy wanted their Cumbrian home to make the most of the spectacular views, but they also wanted it to be ecologically friendly. Their solution was to build an earth-sheltered home, with most of the house built into the hillside. They used large quantities of concrete and waterproof membranes to protect themselves against leaking, and sank light wells into the back of the building to provide them with a modicum of light. But would this building survive the climate, and would the technologies deliver the ecological lifestyle Helen and Phil wanted so much? Kevin McCloud returns to find out.

David and Greta Iredale are seasoned builders: they built their first house in 1956, and their second nine years later. Having lived in it for 40 years, the timber house they designed themselves began to rot away, so they decided to pull it down and replace it with a solid, German built, precision engineered Huf Haus. The kit house, designed to individual needs with doors, windows, fixtures and fittings, is shipped to the site and put together like a gigantic jigsaw.

Inspired by an illustration on a yoghurt pot, Chris Ostwald decided to build a New England-style watermill in the Chilterns. As part of the fun, he chose to construct the timber kit house himself. Everything went well until a neighbour complained that the house was breaking its planning consent, and a two-year battle ensued.