Build Your Own Home Season 2 Episode 2

Reality Realm US

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Transcript

00:00A few generations ago it was normal for families to build their own homes.

00:05Today that notion is something most of us would never consider.

00:09Aoife, will you be comfortable driving the dumper?

00:12But that's not to say it can't be done.

00:16Excited! Nearly ready to go.

00:19Are you ready to build your first wall?

00:21Yep.

00:22Okay Phil, one, two, three.

00:24I'm Harrison Gardner and in this series I'll meet some brave homeowners

00:28who are about to take matters into their own hands.

00:32We'll have a giant hole in our front garden and we're absolutely terrified.

00:37There's no going back now.

00:40With almost no experience.

00:42Nothing strong.

00:43Limited funds and zero illusions.

00:47Another day and less dollars.

00:50Right now it just feels like a bit of an insanity project.

00:53They are about to face the challenge of a lifetime.

00:57Whoa!

00:58But I think, with some solid advice and a helping hand or two, anything is possible.

01:03I'm full of hope and optimism.

01:05Clearing the way for fresh beginnings, isn't it?

01:07This is our first room.

01:09It's a bit early for the grand tour, Jess.

01:11Yeah, yeah.

01:12He's living his best life in there.

01:14So, forget what you think is normal.

01:16And consider this.

01:18If you can't afford to have your house built for you, there is another way.

01:24Oh, wow.

01:25What a space.

01:26It's gorgeous.

01:27Yeah.

01:28It's classy.

01:29Good tears.

01:30Yeah.

01:31It's lovely.

01:32Build your own.

01:34Wow.

01:35That's a house.

01:37There's no denying that self-builders are a hearty bunch.

01:45But there are some who are willing to go that extra mile to get the job done.

01:50Meet horticulturist Andrea and obstetrician Joan, who have their sights firmly set on giving

01:56this 200-year-old cottage in County Cavern a new lease of life.

02:01All while living out of a camper van.

02:03It's a wooden gate.

02:04It's a wooden gate, yeah.

02:05In cavern blue and white, obviously.

02:08It has advantages living on the building side because you save the rent.

02:12You don't have a commute.

02:13You're just there and you can get going.

02:15But on the other hand, you can't really escape it.

02:17So, it is mentally challenging at times.

02:20Or foolhardy.

02:23Their future home has been in Joan's family for generations.

02:28My great-great-grandparents moved into it after they got married.

02:33And they lived in it and rared families in it.

02:36When my mother was born, she lived there until she was about ten.

02:40When we were growing up, we would have always come back here during summers, holidays and

02:45everything.

02:46And when my grandparents were alive, we would have always come to visit them.

02:48But taking over a family heirloom comes with its own set of challenges.

02:52I do feel a little bit of responsibility.

02:55Even though I know that nobody would begrudge you if you, as many people have recommended,

03:03just knocked it down.

03:05Determined to get out of the camper and into the house as quickly as possible,

03:09for the past six months they have been stripping it back to its original stone walls.

03:13You go through a process, first you have like a shark and it's like, oh my god, you have

03:17to knock down this, you have to knock down that.

03:20Because we thought, oh, we just need to put a new floor in then.

03:23But then it just gets bigger and bigger and a bit overwhelming.

03:26And, you know, we don't want to live in a damp, drafty, cold place.

03:32We want to live in a nice, comfortable house.

03:34You know, enough's enough, time to just get it done.

03:37With the bit firmly between their teeth, this couple have taken time off work to focus on the renovation.

03:44Got a bit of a luxury now, you know, a bit of freedom to not have to do full-time work at the minute,

03:49but that's not going to last forever, short of winning the lotto.

03:52First time in Cavan.

03:55I know absolutely nothing of Cavan.

03:58I don't know why.

03:59I know it took me three hours to drive here.

04:08I can see why Joan and Andrea want to keep this old place alive.

04:12It's a picture-perfect example of a traditional Irish cottage,

04:16and I can't wait to find out more about their self-built plans.

04:20Hi.

04:21Hi.

04:22How are you doing?

04:23Hi, Andrea.

04:24How are you doing?

04:25Wow.

04:26Tell me about this house you've got.

04:28Which one of them's yours?

04:29Well, both of them now.

04:31There's two separate cottages here, but this one was my family home originally.

04:35No way.

04:36And it looks like you've got two different types of asbestos roofs up there.

04:40We do.

04:41We do.

04:42Lucky you.

04:43A wide variety of asbestos here.

04:44Great.

04:45Okay.

04:46So, you've got two houses.

04:49I assume you're making them into one house, right, with all of this work,

04:54and then adding an extension.

04:56What's the extension going to be built out of?

04:58A timber frame.

04:59A timber frame.

05:00Okay.

05:01Wow.

05:02So, you're really connecting three very different spaces into one.

05:05Yeah.

05:06And have you budgeted at all to what you think this is going to cost?

05:10Yeah, we did.

05:11So, I think total overall maybe around 100,000, like, altogether.

05:16Okay.

05:17We kind of hope to reduce the cost by doing as much as we can ourselves.

05:21Of course.

05:22So, that's the plan.

05:23That's why I'm here.

05:24Yeah.

05:25All right.

05:26Let's have a look inside.

05:27I want to see how it all fits together.

05:28Sure.

05:29Okay.

05:30The plan is to create three interlocking buildings, each with their own function.

05:38A new extension will nearly double the footprint and give them a mudroom, a pantry, and an open-plan kitchen.

05:46The cottage to the left will become their living room with a family bathroom.

05:51While Joan's old family home will become a tranquil getaway with a guest bedroom, a sitting room, and a cosy bedroom for Joan and Andrea tucked away in the loft.

06:04All three buildings will be enclosed by a corrugated roof.

06:08It will be a world away from living in a camper van and they're keen to get it done as quickly as possible.

06:15But with a budget of 100,000 euros to make three buildings become one, their life savings could easily be swallowed up.

06:23So, I'm keen to see what we have to play with.

06:29Wow.

06:30Amazing.

06:31So, this was the old sitting room, I guess, around the fire.

06:34Yeah.

06:35It's the same as any standard Irish cottage.

06:37Yes.

06:38But tiny.

06:39Like, so, so narrow.

06:40And, like, this is the sitting room.

06:42Yeah.

06:43It's, yeah, it's, it feels tiny.

06:45Yeah.

06:46Especially when there were nine people in it.

06:47Yeah.

06:48Nine people living in here.

06:49Nine, yeah.

06:50Just in these two rooms.

06:51Yeah.

06:52Well, three.

06:53Three, sorry.

06:54The loft upstairs as well.

06:55Yeah, yeah.

06:56The parents would sleep in there.

06:57Okay.

06:58There'd be children on the loft and then they also had settle beds in here.

07:00I mean, there must have been some bedtime politics when it came to who was going to sleep

07:04wearing, who was going to be in the damp corner down here.

07:07Tell me where the stairs went.

07:09So, the two sides went there and then it came to about here.

07:13Yeah.

07:14So, the old staircase was very rotten by the time.

07:16Sure.

07:17I guess you'd have to put some kind of staircase back in.

07:19Yes.

07:20What's the plan?

07:21So, in order to get the stairs out the door, we had, we just took them apart.

07:25So, we still have.

07:26Okay.

07:27All of us.

07:28Wow.

07:29Maybe do the steps again.

07:30Cool.

07:31And while we're doing that, maybe get a little under the stairs cupboard for hanging stuff.

07:35Okay, cool.

07:36There's going to be lots of furniture challenges down the line.

07:39Yeah.

07:40Once you get all the bits and pieces done.

07:41Yeah.

07:42There's no doubt they have a lot of work ahead of them.

07:45So, before they get stuck in, I want to chat timelines.

07:48It's the end of September right now.

07:51Yeah.

07:52Yeah.

07:53Winter's coming.

07:54Yeah.

07:55How much are we trying to get done?

07:56By when?

07:57So, the foundations for the extensions hopefully going to go in, in the next two to three weeks

08:04and then putting up the timber.

08:06So, that's hopefully going to happen in October.

08:08And then we want to waterproof it, so that's the big one with the weather, to get that done

08:13in November.

08:14In the meantime, we can start plastering here.

08:17So, hopefully by December, I don't know, we can have the electrics running.

08:23Mmm.

08:24It's a lot in a really short amount of time.

08:26Yeah.

08:27There's a lot happening in two months.

08:29Joan and Andrea have got a perfect plan in place.

08:32They know every part of this puzzle that they need to piece together.

08:36But, from my experience, once the diggers start rolling in, things on a building site rarely go to plan.

08:42Building at this time of year is not for the faint hearted.

08:48A long spell of wet or cold weather can set your schedule back weeks, if not months.

08:54But Joan and Andrea are resolute and waste no time in calling in the machines to dig out the foundations for the new extension.

09:01We're hoping to get blocks in, in the next few days.

09:04And once the blocks go in, the timber frame should be able to go pretty quickly.

09:09And hopefully the roofs will go on fast as well.

09:13I admire Joan's optimism, but digging around an old stone building can throw up some unforeseen problems.

09:20And Joan's dad is on site, not only for moral support, but also to keep a watchful eye on the family heirloom.

09:27We didn't want to be making too much vibrations around the footings and that.

09:31So we were keeping well back and making sure we didn't, that they weren't disturbed.

09:35They don't have foundations as such.

09:38You don't want to hit a stone and the whole thing to collapse.

09:42That's your biggest fear.

09:44Yeah, it's quite boggy, quite marshy.

09:46And there were bogs, you know, mam remembers.

09:48My grandfather cutting turf and everything on them, which means we don't quite know how far we're going to have to go then to get somewhere solid to put the foundations on.

09:57So you have to go until you get solid ground.

10:00You could be lucky and it could be shallow enough, or you could be unlucky and be very deep.

10:04After just a few hours of excavation, they've found something they can work with.

10:09Holy fuck.

10:11That's pure clay.

10:12It's pure marble.

10:13Yeah, clay.

10:14Gorgeous, isn't it?

10:15Great.

10:16It's hard.

10:17It doesn't move.

10:18It's a great result.

10:20With a tight schedule to keep, they're going to need all the luck they can get.

10:25But Andrea is not leaving everything to chance.

10:28Like all good project managers, she's trying to line up as many trades as possible, which should help them to stay on track.

10:35If you're a self-builder and you don't really ever have a downtime because there's always something to do, just keeping people aligned and making sure one thing happens first and the next thing can happen.

10:44There's so many things happening so fast, so you need to always stay on top of things.

10:48Otherwise, you just get lost.

10:50There's always unexpected stuff happening.

10:53And if you do a little bit every day, you get there eventually.

10:57Part of the master plan is to outsource the construction of the extension.

11:03It's a clever move and will allow them to put their energy into renovating the old cottage at the same time.

11:09So while a team of carpenters land on site, Joan and Andrea get to work on taking down the old rotten chimneys.

11:16We thought that was going to be quite a lengthy process, but literally kind of touched it and it more or less fell apart.

11:28It's not in great nick now.

11:30I'm not sure, like stuff coming down.

11:32Yeah.

11:33Needs a total rebound.

11:35It was wobbling and the bricks just came off that easily.

11:40We knew that the chimneys were in bad condition and that they'd need to be rebuilt.

11:46By the end of the week, the chimneys are down and the extension is starting to reveal itself.

11:52Things have happened very, very fast, but it feels like it's been a long time.

11:58It's a weird sensation that things are happening very quickly, but time seems to be moving slowly, you know.

12:03Look at this.

12:04I know.

12:05This is crazy.

12:06We actually have to go through a door now to get in.

12:08It's nice seeing it up now.

12:09It's just crazy how quick it goes, isn't it?

12:11And then you actually can really get a feeling for the house.

12:15It looks great.

12:16Yeah.

12:26It's only been six weeks since I first visited Joan and Andrea and I can't quite believe my eyes.

12:35That was quick.

12:39Hi, Buzz.

12:40Hey.

12:41You've been busy.

12:42It's like you're building a little mini one next to it.

12:45Yes.

12:46The building looks amazing.

12:48And in one way, it looks so close to being a finished structure, but there's obviously a very long way to go.

12:55But there's loads to be done, like the insulation needs to go in, the plaster needs to go in, there's floors that need to go in.

13:01Lots of cabinets need to be built and bathrooms need to be built.

13:05So it's those kind of things where you think, oh yeah, it sounds like five jobs, but they take longer than you think because it's over three.

13:11Of course.

13:12Yeah.

13:13So how long do you think it's going to take you to get to that enclosed stage?

13:18Two to three weeks.

13:20Going from an exposed timber frame to an insulated watertight building in just two to three weeks is normally unheard of.

13:28But I guess living in a cold, damp camper van in the middle of winter can really sharpen your focus.

13:33We need to keep it together.

13:35The stress is going up and, you know, you're out in the cold all day.

13:38I just like to have it weatherproofed and you're living out of a box for so long, which is okay, but your stuff is everywhere.

13:45Nothing less than a logical place.

13:47And like even like where do you wash the dishes?

13:49We're washing dishes in the bathtub now for half a year.

13:51Would be good to get to a normal state at one point.

13:57I want to help them in any way I can.

13:59So while the builders finish off the timber frame, Joan and I get to work on insulating the loft in the cottage.

14:05What's this room getting used for?

14:07Our bedroom.

14:08So your bedroom?

14:09Yeah.

14:10That's why you want it cosy.

14:11Exactly.

14:12Exactly.

14:13The loft was always the bedroom.

14:14Yeah.

14:15It's a cosy little space with all this sheep's wool and wood fibre board.

14:18It's going to feel like a little cocoon.

14:19Yes, it is.

14:20So here's our wood fibre board.

14:22And the idea is that we will go across the bottom of your joists there.

14:32So this wood fibre board is going to hold our sheep's wool in place as well as giving you another 40ml of insulation.

14:39I love working with sheep's wool.

14:44It's absolutely my favourite insulation material.

14:48Sheep's wool is one of the best insulations you can use because it's totally renewable.

14:53We can shear it off the sheep every year.

14:55It could be sourced really locally.

14:57It's a really efficient product to use as well.

15:00And as a housing insulation, it actually has a very high R-value or a low U-value,

15:06which means it's very insulative for how much you need to put in to stay warm.

15:12Oh, it's good.

15:13You're doing great.

15:14The house is going up.

15:16Yeah, it is getting there.

15:17It's getting bigger.

15:18It's getting more enclosed.

15:19Yeah.

15:20Suddenly it's getting warmer.

15:21Yeah.

15:22Yeah.

15:23You're making great progress.

15:25Yeah.

15:27Yeah.

15:28Yeah.

15:29Determined to keep to schedule, Andrea is on her way to a salvage yard to pick up some repurposed chimney pots.

15:36Joan found them online.

15:37They look nice, kind of keeping with the style of the cottage.

15:41More than the ones you would probably get at the builder's merchant.

15:44And, you know, it's nice to reuse.

15:46The pace is definitely picking up.

15:48There's not so many rest days, to be honest, at the moment.

15:51It's a bit mad.

15:53It's overwhelming at times.

15:55You have to make a million decisions and have to have numbers in your head, have to do research, have to align many things.

16:02And, yeah, it's physically demanding as well.

16:04But, you know, I guess just we help each other out as much as we can and keep each other going.

16:10I think these are the ones that we looked at.

16:15Ah, these are the ones that she liked.

16:17They look lovely.

16:18Ah, and that's right, the cottage.

16:19Okay.

16:20To fill up.

16:21This is home from home, is it?

16:22Huh?

16:23This is home from home.

16:24It is.

16:25Yeah, we did it during Covid, you know.

16:26Oh, very good.

16:27Yeah.

16:28Do you think that would work?

16:29No.

16:30That's great.

16:31With a project like this, the list of jobs can feel never ending.

16:34But I'm impressed with how Joan and Andrea are ticking them off one by one.

16:40Back on site, Joan is on her neighbour's farm, looking for an unusual building material.

16:46I don't see any cows.

16:47Hmm.

16:48Oh, wait.

16:49Here we go.

16:50Found some.

16:51Looks nice and fresh.

16:52Oh, yeah.

16:53That big bucket of wobbly shit.

16:54Behind where there's chimneys, there's a lot of tar sailing and it's grand, but it'll

17:12come through the plaster.

17:13So in order to try and reduce the risk of that happening, you can mix up a cow dung poultice

17:20or plaster to put on.

17:23I think there's a few different recipes.

17:28That's sand and a bit of lime.

17:32Thank you cows for your contribution.

17:35It's not something you ever necessarily think you're going to find yourself doing.

17:41I think there are a lot of plasters out there.

17:55We're going to be looking at this and despairing.

17:59I've definitely got a new appreciation for the phrase, throw it at the wall and see what

18:03sticks.

18:04It's nice to see positive movement, even if it is literally smearing shit on a wall.

18:21Just four months ago, self builders Joan and Andrea began to transform this 200 year

18:26old cottage in County Cavern.

18:27I don't remember putting in so many staples.

18:30It's a new year and this morning I'm back on site to help them install windows in their

18:35new extension.

18:36Good morning.

18:37Good morning.

18:38Look at this.

18:39I know.

18:40Wow.

18:41Good isn't it?

18:42You must be delighted.

18:43Yeah.

18:44Absolutely.

18:45So we're going to do the bottom in first.

18:57One sec, one sec.

18:59What's up?

19:00My left hand.

19:01Yeah.

19:02Perfect.

19:03Happy?

19:04Yeah.

19:05Delightless.

19:06Cool.

19:07Pops it in, a couple of taps with a hammer and it's looking great.

19:08We'll secure it now.

19:09So one down and two to go.

19:10It's good isn't it?

19:11Mm-hmm.

19:12It's lovely.

19:13With the windows in, the building is really coming together.

19:17All the windows in, the building is really coming together.

19:32All they need now is to top it off with one of my favourite roofing materials.

19:37To find out how it's made, I've come to a factory in Ballyfarnet, County Roscommon.

19:44I grew up in Australia.

19:46Corrugated sheeting is everywhere in Australia.

19:48We used it on the walls, we used it on the roofs, we put it in our showers, we'd floor

19:51with it if we could get away with it.

19:53Why do you think people are more hesitant to put a metal roof on their house?

19:58I suppose because it's probably associated with farm buildings and I think when people

20:03were building nice fancy houses, they just didn't want it to look like the farm shed next door.

20:07Right, yeah.

20:08That trend is actually changing.

20:09There's a lot of roofs that you would pass by every day of the week and you wouldn't

20:12actually realise they're metal.

20:13Yeah, yeah.

20:14Corrugated now is very trendy.

20:15Yeah.

20:16And it looks very modern looking.

20:17I guess for a lot of people, price is a big factor.

20:20What's the kind of per square metre cost?

20:23Probably from about 12 euros.

20:24It wouldn't be widely expensive.

20:25Yeah.

20:26Can I see how it's made?

20:27Of course you can.

20:31This is where the magic happens.

20:32Absolutely, yeah.

20:33Joan and Andrea have opted for a traditional corrugated finish.

20:37To make it, you first need a flat sheet of coated steel.

20:41Then feed it into a machine, roll it, bend it and cut it to length.

20:47As far as roofing materials go, the process is as efficient as you can get.

20:53So how much roofing are you making every day?

20:56So this machine here will produce about two tonnes of material every hour.

21:00Right.

21:01Average about 20 metres a minute.

21:0320 metres a minute?

21:04Yes.

21:05Wow.

21:06Dependent on the lengths.

21:07Amazing that this was flat on a roll a few minutes ago.

21:11How quickly you've turned it into something that's like ready to go onto a house.

21:16Yeah.

21:17Just a week later, the metal sheeting is delivered to site and ready to be installed on Joan and

21:22Andrea's three intersecting roofs.

21:25I never thought I'd be so happy about seeing big sheets of metal.

21:29So cool.

21:31It's like all the little pieces coming together now.

21:35It's gorgeous.

21:36Yeah.

21:37It's class.

21:38So nice.

21:39I just like the look of it.

21:42And sheet metal, it's a bit less expensive, it's lighter.

21:48A lot of advantages, you know.

21:50There you go.

21:51A big tin roof.

21:52But this build is not just about a fancy new structure.

22:04It's also about keeping the essence of the old place alive.

22:08And Joan and Andrea have asked me to figure out a way to repurpose the staircase that was

22:13originally built by Joan's granddad.

22:16There's this gorgeous photo of her grandparents sitting on this staircase leading up to the

22:23old bedroom, the loft bedroom, which Joan and Andrea are going to use.

22:26I think on many other building sites, this staircase would have ended up in a skip.

22:31And they want to rebuild it somehow.

22:34They want to keep this staircase as part of the house while everything else changes around it.

22:39The problem is, it's an extremely steep staircase.

22:43Here's where the staircase needs to go.

22:45They're currently just using a short steep ladder.

22:47It's such a tiny cottage that if we come any further into the room,

22:51we're really eliminating anything else from being able to happen in that space.

22:55So, there's this one type of staircase that's out there which is called alternate steps.

23:01And they alternate as you go up rather than a consistent step the whole way up.

23:08They're also known as witches' stairs because old folklore says that the witches weren't able to climb them.

23:14It's a way that we're going to be able to keep all of the banisters,

23:18all of the original teak that was in the staircase,

23:21and we'll just make new treads to replace the old, very narrow treads that were in place.

23:27Hopefully, we can make it a little easier to climb.

23:30Restoring an old piece of furniture is a great way to honour the memories of the past.

23:40All you need is a solid design, a little bit of knowledge, and the right set of tools.

23:46So, I'm back on site to show Joan and Andrea how to do it.

23:50We need to make nine steps. They're all the exact same step.

23:54We'll just be turning some of them upside down.

23:56Rather than cutting it square, we can make it a little bit prettier.

24:00Right? We can add a bit of a curve in here.

24:04There you go. That's the idea.

24:11Cool.

24:12Safer than what was there before.

24:14Yeah.

24:15You know, we were reusing the stringers and the banisters,

24:18so it was in a case of just cutting the actual steps.

24:21So, we used a table saw first to kind of straighten up the edges,

24:26and then a chop saw, and then you did some incredible jig sawing.

24:29This is a router, and it's basically going to give a bull nose to all of our stairs.

24:40So, end up giving you something smooth like that.

24:43Fab.

24:44Yeah, I was terrified I was going to destroy the wood,

24:46because we didn't have much margin for wastage.

24:50And obviously, with a design like that, you have to get things pretty spot on.

24:55So, I was quite worried that I was going to cock up.

24:59Yeah!

25:05The new treads should make it easier to walk up the stairs one step at a time.

25:10You want to walk up it?

25:11Yeah!

25:12Here, there you go. Good luck. Don't break your toe.

25:17It is very satisfying, you know, when you see that it does work.

25:25Easy.

25:26Yes.

25:27A hell of a lot less awkward than before.

25:28A hell of a lot less awkward than before.

25:29A hell of a lot less awkward than before.

25:34As spring arrives, Joan has made the decision to go back to work at a local hospital.

25:39It's taken me away, you know, for five days a week, you know.

25:48Back before, I was maybe doing one day a week.

25:51Now, doing five days a week and a weekend a month.

25:54So, it's taken you away nine to five, one day to Friday, which is a lot of hours.

26:00Although I'm sure it will help with their cash flow, juggling a self-build and a demanding career is not going to be easy.

26:07It can be like the days really, in some ways they feel like they're flying away and in other ways they feel like they're dragging on.

26:15It's quite strange when you've got so much going on and it distorts your sense of time.

26:20With Joan away from sight for most of the day, it's down to Andrea to keep this build moving in the right direction.

26:26The pocket door and normal door are switched compared to the drawing.

26:29The pocket door will be between kitchen and mudroom.

26:32Okay.

26:33Today's task is to build an internal wall that will divide their new extension into three separate rooms.

26:39One, two, nine, five, right?

26:41One, two, nine, five.

26:43That one in the extension is definitely a tricky one just because it has to tie in the walls and there's no floor.

26:50And at first it seems easy but then you start doing it and then it's like, oh God, how do I do this? How do I do that?

26:59As evening draws in and despite putting in a full shift at the hospital, Joan is back on site as decisions need to be made.

27:07Sometimes it makes sense just to let things sit for a little bit longer if you're not able to make a decision.

27:12But for some topics you just have to force each other then sometimes to make a decision to move on.

27:21It's good, I think. Overall, I guess it balances out.

27:27It's great.

27:28We've tripled the number of rooms in the extension.

27:32You can actually get a sense of the rooms.

27:36The space again, even more, yeah.

27:42With the extension up, the footprint of their new house is becoming clear.

27:55And from afar, it's hard to tell where the old ends and the new begins.

28:00Throughout this project, Joan has been keen to keep the essence of the old place alive

28:05and honour the cottage that's full of childhood memories.

28:09So this is the old external wall off the two cottages.

28:13Yeah.

28:14It was an external wall.

28:15It's now become an internal wall.

28:17Sure.

28:18So I'm hoping to clean it back to repoint it.

28:21What do you want it to end up looking like in the end?

28:23Well, it's a neat and tidy stone wall.

28:26Just to keep that little bit of a hint that it was there, you know?

28:30The mortar that was used in this stone wall originally is clay mortar.

28:35That's been washing out a little bit over the years.

28:38So repointing and filling all these gaps is important structurally.

28:43But I guess it's also important for you to celebrate the old structure that was here.

28:50Yeah, exactly.

28:52Repointing is a great way to make sure that a wall like this will last another hundred years.

28:57All you need is some lime mortar, a small trowel and a lot of patience.

29:04Do you ever think when you're sitting here doing some monotonous task?

29:09Yeah.

29:10Like pointing a wall?

29:12Yeah.

29:13About all the generations that have been in this house before you?

29:16Oh, definitely. Definitely.

29:18This is a destructive process, like inherently, you know?

29:22You're pulling things back to try and rebuild it.

29:25So you're pulling back plaster that my grandfather put up, painstakingly put up, you know?

29:31Right.

29:32And put an awful lot of effort into.

29:34You can see all the care and effort that's gone into that.

29:37And it's bittersweet then to be taking that apart.

29:43Of course.

29:44Did you know your grandfather well?

29:46He died when I was in secondary school, where I'm leaving certainly.

29:51In some ways, he was a bit bemused by the fact that I was always happier in his shed,

29:59fiddling with all his bits and bobs and tools than, you know, sitting in front of the telly or anything else.

30:05But he was actually, you could see, he had an awful lot of knowledge to impart.

30:12He had an awful lot of different skills.

30:14Yeah.

30:15And I could kind of see, as I was getting old enough where he wasn't worried that I was going to cut my thumbs off with a saw,

30:20starting to have that bit of interest in maybe teaching.

30:23But then, unfortunately, he started to develop a little bit of dementia and then died, you know?

30:31So I didn't know him as well as I would have wanted.

30:34Sure.

30:35And I think, I don't know, it's hard to know whether you've been a bit bemused by the idea of doing all of this ourselves

30:42or whether you've been kind of like,

30:44gosh, that's what I did, so crack on.

30:46Yeah, yeah.

30:47You know?

30:48Whatever it takes to keep the house alive is going to be the thing that kind of honours the memory the most.

30:55So.

30:56It does look nice.

30:57And you know, even making a feature of a wall that wasn't ever meant to be on show like this, it's still beautiful.

31:03Yeah.

31:04And it totally celebrates all the work that was put into it.

31:07Yeah.

31:08What do you think?

31:09Do you like it?

31:10I do.

31:11Yours is much neater.

31:12I do like the...

31:13You've done a lot more.

31:15You've done a lot more.

31:24For the past seven months, self-builders Joan and Andrea have been tirelessly bringing this old stone cottage into the 21st century.

31:31Hi Joan.

31:32Hi Harrison.

31:33Hi Harrison.

31:34How are you doing?

31:35And Joan has asked me to come to site to help her build an essential element of their new extension.

31:43So, tell me, what are we doing today?

31:46I'm trying to figure out the kitchen.

31:47So when you say figuring out the kitchen, you mean like building the whole kitchen from scratch pretty much?

31:52Yeah, pretty much.

31:53Okay.

31:54Yeah.

31:55Yeah.

31:56Of course.

31:57So just checking.

31:58Before we get the tools out, we first need to figure out where everything is going to go.

32:02So, oven.

32:03Yeah.

32:04Hub.

32:05Extractor fan.

32:06Microwave.

32:07Okay.

32:08Plus or minus taller unit up there.

32:10Okay.

32:11And then sink under the window.

32:13Mm-hmm.

32:14Counter cabinets underneath.

32:15Yeah.

32:16Possibly another bit of cabinet here.

32:19And then fridge here.

32:20I mean, everything they do inside this house is saving them money.

32:23But a kitchen is something that you can spend 5 grand on, 10 grand on, 20 grand on.

32:29You can really go all out with a kitchen.

32:31Or you can learn to make it yourself.

32:34And you can decide how fancy a material you want to work with.

32:38But it's definitely one of the highest return on investment skills that someone can learn in building their own house.

32:46With one eye on the budget, Joan and Andrea have opted to build their kitchen units out of sheets of 18mm ply.

32:54Which should mean that we can build all of the units for a couple of hundred quid.

32:59As long as we remember to measure twice and cut once, building each unit should be straightforward.

33:06So, 600mm is the depth of our panels.

33:09Yes.

33:10So any time that we're producing a side panel, it's going to be 600 feet.

33:13Yep.

33:14And the height is always going to be 7'10".

33:16Yep.

33:17Right?

33:18In theory, however many cabinets you make, you're going to need two of those every time.

33:21Yep.

33:22You know, that depth is never going to change.

33:23That height is never going to change.

33:24It's just the actual width, how far apart they go.

33:27I'm keen that Joan takes the lead on this.

33:29After all, it's her kitchen.

33:31It feels great to be building a kitchen.

33:32It feels great to be building a kitchen.

33:34You do get sick of not having somewhere to cook.

33:38But you end up eating a lot of fast food, a lot of takeaways, a lot of easy stuff.

33:44You know, we're growing all these nice things in the garden and not doing much with them.

33:49So it'd be good to actually eat them again.

33:51Happy days.

33:52Instead of investing in an expensive worktop, Joan and Andrea have been as thrifty as ever

33:58and have salvaged a countertop that would have otherwise ended up in a skip.

34:02Cool.

34:03Cool.

34:04That starts giving you an idea of everything.

34:07Yeah.

34:08We could actually build a much bigger carcass for this because it feels like you've got your 600.

34:13Yeah.

34:14Plus another 600 gets your fridge almost out to here, you know.

34:19Or you have two 600s.

34:21Maybe it's a set of drawers.

34:23Then we'd hope.

34:24Is this okay?

34:25We're just kind of designing the kitchen on the fly here.

34:26Yeah.

34:27That's grand.

34:28Because we know we...

34:29Sure.

34:30You can always pull it apart and redesign it if you need to.

34:32Exactly.

34:33One of the advantages of learning how to build the units yourself is that you can always

34:39change things around in the future if it doesn't feel right.

34:42Learning how to use these tools and learning how to work with sheet material opens up a

34:48whole gateway of building storage, building cupboards, working with weird spaces and not

34:54having to work to standard dimensions which are available at IKEA but being able to adjust

34:59things to suit this quirky little house that they're building.

35:02They're just carcasses but...

35:04Yeah.

35:05There's your kitchen.

35:06Yeah, it's brilliant.

35:07Now, you've got to figure out where you want your microwave, where you want the cupboard

35:11above, whether you want drawers or doors below it, whatever you want there.

35:16Leave your space for your dishwasher, kitchen sink, under the kitchen sink, lazy Susan or whatever

35:23is happening over there and then your fridge.

35:25Yeah.

35:26Yeah.

35:27But that's basically your space.

35:28Yeah.

35:29What do you think?

35:30I think it's fantastic.

35:32Joan and Andrea have been working non-stop on the house for eight months now.

35:40The not having a break isn't very enjoyable.

35:43The individual parts are very satisfying.

35:46I think the closer we're getting towards actually seeing a finish, it's starting to become enjoyable

35:51again.

35:52You know, when you're finishing things, that's enjoyable.

35:55Throughout the build, they've been determined to upcycle as much as they can and Joan is on

36:00her way back from another trip to the salvage yard.

36:03Well, we want to reuse anything that it's practical to reuse.

36:08We're living in a world where so much is disposable and so much is designed for single use.

36:16And then what happens to it after?

36:18Like, what's the life cycle of any of these things?

36:21To remedy that, you're just trying to reuse as much as you can.

36:25And also, like, it's not even us reusing what we had in the house already, but also then,

36:30you know, getting things that are available in scrapyards, in second-hand places, you know?

36:39You don't have to manufacture something new.

36:42You're using something that is already there and exists.

36:45And most of the stuff, it's from very close by.

36:48You know, it's not, you're not going a million miles away to find it.

36:51You're going, like, the furthest we went was kind of Enniskillen, you know?

36:54I love the fact that they are reusing as much as they can.

36:58It will not only be great for the environment, but will also save them a ton of cash.

37:02There it is. Doesn't look too bad when the sun's out.

37:06Now, there we go.

37:14Fresh from the salvage yard is this solid oak door.

37:18Most new doors are over 100, 120, depending.

37:21And I don't even want to know what a solid wood new door would be.

37:2540 quid.

37:27It's not bad at all.

37:29But to bring it back to life will take a lot of elbow grease,

37:33so Joan has drafted in some reinforcements.

37:35Dad has his tunes on.

37:39So, it's his own little world.

37:41It's the Eagles.

37:43It saves us money, but it doesn't save you time.

37:45It's tough going for them, you know?

37:47Give him a bit of a hand just to get it finished.

37:53I think Christmas we had a few days off.

37:56And since then, not really.

37:58At the moment, I don't enjoy it much.

38:00I just try to get the job done.

38:03It varies during the day.

38:05Sometimes I enjoy it.

38:06And then, at 10pm, I don't enjoy it so much anymore.

38:13I can only imagine how they must be feeling.

38:15But Joan and Andrea are determined to move out of the camper van

38:19and into the house as quickly as possible.

38:21And they are ready to tackle one of the last big jobs.

38:24Today, we're trying to put as many floor tiles down here in the kitchen.

38:28For us, it's just, you know, gives it the last bit of character.

38:32I know there's loads of little things to be done,

38:34but I think when the floor is down, for us at least, that's the last big job.

38:38Not too strong because you broke a few tiles.

38:41I did.

38:42It feels great.

38:43Because obviously, being at the stage where you're putting in the floor

38:45means that the walls are done and the ceiling is done.

38:47So, it's the last really big surface that needs tackling.

38:52It made it worse because you banged it there.

38:56Here, what?

38:57No, if you bang it there again, we have to bang it more on this side.

39:00The big push today would be to get as much of that floor in as possible.

39:03I think it's okay for me.

39:08That's perfect.

39:09Jesus, it's perfect.

39:10It's not a washing machine going in here anyway.

39:12Once we have the floor in, we can put the kitchen in

39:15and actually put it in and have it finished.

39:17So, that's good.

39:19That feels good.

39:20It's hard to believe that it's only been nine months since I first met Joan and Andrea.

39:27And today, I'm on my way, excited to see the fruits of their labour.

39:32I love it.

39:33If you didn't already know it, you'd never guess that was a brand new timber frame extension

39:38attached to this old stone cottage.

39:40It's seamless.

39:41It looks like it's been there forever.

39:43What was once a small cottage hidden on the side of the road has been utterly transformed.

39:49Using the corrugated tin to tie the new and old buildings together was a genius move.

39:54And it allows the new extension to sit quietly alongside its older cousin.

40:02Hello.

40:03Hi, Beau.

40:04How are you doing?

40:05Hi.

40:06Hi, Nova.

40:07How are you, Joan?

40:08Not so bad.

40:09Good to see you.

40:10Nice to see you.

40:11The house is looking incredible.

40:13How's the tin roof been?

40:14I feel like every Irish person's fear is that the tin roof is going to be noisy when it rains.

40:19It's not noisy at all, is it?

40:20No.

40:21Super quiet rain, storm.

40:22It's really quiet there.

40:24Great.

40:25It's lovely.

40:26And it's also collecting all of our rainwater to go into a giant tank to flush the loos and do the washing.

40:31Love it.

40:32It looks very finished in there.

40:34I'm seeing what looks like a stone floor and furniture.

40:38Yes.

40:39Like you live in there.

40:40We do.

40:41We actually do, yeah.

40:42Have you moved in?

40:43Yes, we have.

40:44Little one.

40:45Let's have a look.

40:46One of them.

40:53Oh, wow.

40:56Look at this.

40:59What a space.

41:01The place is unrecognizable since I was here last, and I'm sure it's hard for Joan and Andrea to take it all in.

41:13Have you got to properly be in here?

41:15Have you sat in that chair and drank a coffee?

41:17Have you had dinner at this table yet?

41:19We did.

41:20Actually, we had dinner there.

41:21Yeah.

41:22Have to learn to be civilized.

41:23Yeah, you're not totally used to having a house yet.

41:26No, not quite yet.

41:27You're still used to camping.

41:28Still a bit feral.

41:30I think you've worked very hard to get to this point.

41:34And having a kitchen must be a huge evolution in your way of life.

41:40Which you built yourself.

41:42Yeah.

41:43It looks great.

41:44Thank you very much.

41:45Well done.

41:46We had some good help with it.

41:47Most people spend between 5,000 and 50,000 euros on their kitchens.

41:52How much did you spend in your kitchen?

41:53We did not spend that much.

41:55How long did it take you to build it?

41:58Probably a week all and all.

41:59If you added it together.

42:00If you added everything together.

42:01What do you think it cost you?

42:03I mean plywood, hinges, runners, little feet.

42:10Just about 1,000 below.

42:111,000 here.

42:121,000 euros.

42:13Probably.

42:14Not bad.

42:15Not bad.

42:16How much of it's salvaged?

42:18Most of it.

42:21Reusing and saving what they could was a big part of this build for Joan and Andrea.

42:30And it's none more evident than in the stone wall that's been lovingly restored.

42:36That wall.

42:37This wall has so many stories, doesn't it?

42:39It does.

42:40It's so beautiful.

42:42The layers of paint.

42:44Every generation probably put a couple of layers of that lime paint on.

42:47Yeah, there are some there.

42:48You can still see the brush marks in some places.

42:50Yeah.

42:51Yeah.

42:52This wall is just such a feature of the house now.

42:55Yeah.

42:56It's definitely the hero of this room.

42:58It's so beautiful.

42:59Yeah.

43:00It's the first thing that you're drawn towards when you walk in.

43:03Yeah.

43:04You know, I think there's a lot of kind of detail-oriented stonemasons who would say that this wall was never really meant to be shown off.

43:12Yeah.

43:13You know?

43:14It wasn't built with that in mind.

43:15No, no.

43:16But it's so beautiful.

43:18And it's so nice to see it.

43:20And if this was just a flat white lime plastered wall, you wouldn't even notice it when you walked in.

43:26Yeah.

43:27And you wouldn't make that connection between, okay, there's the old cottage and here's the new extension.

43:32Yeah.

43:33They work really well together, but they are different.

43:35And this is part of the story now, you know, that this is all exposed and on show and that this used to be the outside of the house.

43:41Yeah.

43:42That's kind of part of the story of being in here.

43:44It is that reminder that, yes, this is a little stone cottage.

43:47Yeah.

43:50Everywhere you look, there are small reminders of what this place used to be.

43:54From the traditional stone flooring to the wooden lintel that leads you through into the original cottage.

44:04Wow.

44:05Beautiful.

44:06It's like a whole different house.

44:07Yeah.

44:08Welcome to the couch room.

44:09Mmm.

44:11Oh, I love it.

44:12It's a whole different feeling in here.

44:14Yeah.

44:15It's really cozy.

44:16I'm getting hugged by this chair as well, but I feel like I'm getting hugged by the room.

44:20Yeah.

44:21You're actually sitting on John's grandma's old chair, armchair.

44:24Oh, really?

44:25This is grandma's chair?

44:26Yeah.

44:27One of the older armchairs, yeah.

44:28Wow.

44:29Grandma had great taste.

44:30It feels good.

44:31Did you make these doors?

44:32We did.

44:33We did.

44:34Very beautiful.

44:35Where'd this wood come from?

44:36That was the leftover stuff from doing the bedroom floor.

44:39So that came from the salvage yard.

44:40Very good.

44:41Yeah, that came from the salvage yard.

44:42Very good.

44:43Yeah, so there were a few lengths of them.

44:44Well done.

44:45Not only did you get it from the salvage yard, you salvaged it from yourself.

44:48Exactly.

44:49From your leftovers upstairs.

44:50And the staircase, another thing that you brought back to life.

44:54Yeah.

44:55Yeah, so...

44:56It looks very beautiful.

44:57It does.

44:59It's like half ladder, half staircase.

45:01Yeah, yeah.

45:02It's very cool.

45:03Can I try using it?

45:04Oh, yeah.

45:05I feel like it's an experience to use a staircase that's not just a normal staircase.

45:10Yeah.

45:11Brilliant.

45:12Yeah.

45:13Nice challenge.

45:14Yeah.

45:15I have to keep you on your toes.

45:16Yeah.

45:17Your bedroom's very cute as well.

45:19Oh, thank you.

45:25This cozy bedroom, hidden away in the loft, will give Joan and Andrea a welcome change from

45:31sleeping in the camper van.

45:33In fact, throughout the old cottage, they've made such good use of the small space they

45:38had to play with.

45:40From the guest bedroom, that feels like a calm retreat.

45:44To the bathroom that is tiny, but perfectly formed.

45:49It all feels contemporary, with an appropriate nod to the past.

45:54And I'm curious to find out how much it'll cost.

45:59Let's talk about your budget.

46:03How did it all work out?

46:05I think up to now, what we spent is maybe 180.

46:09The biggest expense definitely was getting the timber frame up and getting the roof sorted.

46:13And it's not one roof, it's essentially three roofs.

46:16And it's so important to have that right.

46:18Because if you save on the wrong end, then, yeah.

46:21It's a huge, huge amount of money.

46:23But we won't regret putting it in.

46:26Sure, yeah.

46:27I work with lots of people who build houses and your drive was hard for even me to keep up with.

46:36You know, the fact that you'll go and work your day jobs and then come here and work all night in this house.

46:43It's wild.

46:44Doing so much of it ourselves.

46:47You know, trying to do as much of the labour as we could ourselves.

46:51I suppose we didn't really have much of another option, you know.

46:56Like, you just want to be in your own place and you want to...

46:59You want to get your own place back in.

47:00Back in.

47:02It's been really tough, you know, like the last, what is it, like eight, nine months or whatever.

47:07It's just go, go, go.

47:08So, having someone that is willing to do this, it's a crazy kind of thing to do.

47:14Like, it's a one in a lifetime, hopefully, like, you know, kind of a thing.

47:18I think managing your living situation and your relationship while doing a house is such a hard thing to do.

47:27Do you think you've gotten closer through this whole process?

47:30I think so.

47:32Yeah.

47:33We're still here.

47:34Did you ever doubt yourself?

47:39Did you ever doubt yourself along the way if you were making the right decisions, doing the right thing, doing all this work yourself?

47:46Oh, my God.

47:47Yeah.

47:48But I think we balanced it out really well.

47:50You know, if you have each other and kind of when one person is like, I can't do this anymore physically or mentally, then the other kind of...

47:57Or if you have freaked out, it's like, like, oh, my God, this is so much.

48:01Is that only one of you is allowed to freak out at the same time?

48:04Yeah.

48:05Yeah.

48:06I feel like what you need to do now is...

48:10Nothing for a while.

48:11Nothing.

48:12And it's one thing to say that for yourself, but I think you need to say that to each other.

48:17Because you egg each other on.

48:19You know, it's not easy bringing an old family heirloom like this back to life.

48:29You need a lot of dedication and determination and a willingness to get your hands dirty.

48:36And throughout this whole build, Joan and Andrea have shown that they've got all of those things.

48:41But, you know, they also had something else.

48:44They had this desire to honor this old place and the memories of the generations who lived here before.

48:50I think when the dust settles and they get a chance to look back at all the work that they've done,

48:57they'll be proud to say that they did it with their own hands.

49:00Just like Joan's grandparents did.

49:02And that, in my opinion, is priceless.

49:06This Friday, an explosive start to the weekend with Republic of Ireland v Slovakia

49:25and the UEFA Euro Under-21 qualifier from 7 over on 2 and OIT player.

49:30Back here on 1 the same evening, get the party started with Miri Nikaliev

49:34when she visits the spirit store, County Laoth, in Seixun.

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