Build Your Own Home Season 2 Episode 1

Reality Realm US

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Transcript

00:01A few generations ago, it was normal for families to build their own homes.

00:06Today, that notion is something most of us would never consider.

00:10Aoife, will you be comfortable driving the dumper?

00:13But that's not to say, it can't be done.

00:17Excited! Nearly ready to go.

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

00:21Yep.

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

00:25I'm Harrison Gardner, and in this series I'll meet some brave homeowners

00:29who 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.

00:38There's no going back now.

00:41With almost no experience, limited funds, and zero illusions.

00:47Another day, and less dollars.

00:51Right now it just feels like a bit of an insanity project.

00:54They are about to face the challenge of a lifetime.

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

01:04I'm full of hope and optimism.

01:06Clear underway for fresh beginnings, isn't it?

01:08This is our first room.

01:10It's a bit early for the grand tour, Jess.

01:12Yeah, yeah.

01:13He's living his best life in there.

01:15So, forget what you think is normal.

01:17And consider this.

01:19If 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.

01:37Taking on a self-built journey can often be driven by a need to create more space.

01:48And that's certainly the case for business owner Louie, lawyer Aoife, and their baby girl,

01:53Cuiva, who have grand plans to expand this small, one-bed cottage just outside Toome in

02:00County Galway.

02:01Louie and I first met when he was buying a computer from me.

02:07He came out the front door and he had the most amazing smile in the world.

02:12And I immediately fell for that smile.

02:15When he was leaving, I gave him four chickens and he kissed me.

02:19And that was it.

02:21Yeah.

02:22I'm not sure if it was the kiss or the four chickens that swept Louie off his feet.

02:28But since then, this couple have built a life together.

02:31And along the way, they've collected a few more animals.

02:35At the moment, we have five ducks, two pigs.

02:40Twelve hens.

02:41Twelve hens.

02:42One rooster.

02:43Five dogs.

02:44Five dogs.

02:45And a horse.

02:46And three humans.

02:47So far.

02:48It's usually Aoife that comes home with the animals.

02:49Yeah.

02:50Now we can't say no to an animal.

02:51Quite often we don't look for them.

02:53Yeah.

02:54They present themselves.

02:55The animals look for us.

02:56Yeah.

02:57We'll get calls from the local vets or from, you know, small rescues around the place,

03:02asking if we've got space.

03:04While the animals live out their best lives on this two and a half acre plot of land,

03:09for Aoife and Louie, their tiny home has become a bit of a squash and a squeeze.

03:15When Quiva came along, after we got married, then we realised that we were going to need a lot more space.

03:22Yeah.

03:23She definitely put the hurry on to build.

03:24Yeah.

03:25Definitely.

03:26Babies come with a lot of accessories.

03:28They really do.

03:29It's clear that space in the cottage is at a premium, so I'm on my way to find out more and to help them kickstart their plans.

03:41I like it out here.

03:42These stone walls are gorgeous.

03:44These are some windy little lanes leading to Aoife and Louie's place.

03:58Hi.

03:59Hi.

04:00Nice to meet you.

04:01Welcome.

04:02Hi.

04:03So nice to meet you.

04:04Wow.

04:05What a cute little cottage.

04:06Yeah.

04:07It's gorgeous.

04:08It's not too bad.

04:09No.

04:10I love it.

04:11I love it.

04:12What do you need a new house for?

04:13I know.

04:14It's too cute.

04:15Yeah.

04:16Right.

04:17Too small.

04:18So we need rooms.

04:19It's an old famine cottage.

04:20So you can see the sides of the thickness of the walls even show you how old the house itself is.

04:24Yeah.

04:25It's right on the lane, isn't it?

04:26It is the lane, basically.

04:27Absolutely.

04:28It probably existed before the lane.

04:29Yeah.

04:30He used to be the cart driver for the village, so he would have his horse and cart in here.

04:34Yeah.

04:35And if someone in the village wanted to go out, you know, to be brought to the shops or

04:38to the pub, he would have taken them out in his horse and cart.

04:41Yeah.

04:42Unreal.

04:43How long have you had the cottage for?

04:45The house itself I bought for 95,000.

04:47Great.

04:48Which is going back three years ago.

04:49Yeah.

04:50And then I tracked down the owner of the land around it on Facebook and I was able to buy

04:54the land for another 25.

04:55Amazing.

04:56So that gave us the two and a half acres around it.

04:58It's such a beautiful location.

05:00You've got this little cottage.

05:02You've got these gorgeous but dilapidated sheds.

05:05Yeah.

05:06But we've got some plans for a much bigger home for the growing family.

05:10Exactly.

05:11So should we have a look?

05:12Yeah, let's do it.

05:16To give them the space they crave, Aoife and Louis want to build a two-story extension

05:21that will sit alongside the old cottage.

05:23Built in a factory and shipped to site, it will slot together quickly and easily.

05:28Downstairs, they will have a toilet, pantry and utility room as well as a huge open-plan kitchen diner.

05:36While upstairs, four bedrooms and a family bathroom will give Aoife, Louis, Baby Quiver and Louis's teenage daughter Sarah plenty of space.

05:46But this is no ordinary box-like extension.

05:50To mirror the corrugated sheds around them, the new building will be topped with a barrel roof.

05:55To connect the extension to the cottage, they will construct a single-story link which will be filled with light.

06:05It's a far cry from the one-bed cottage they currently live in, and I'm keen to find out how much money they have to play with.

06:15How are we financing this?

06:18That's a good question, Harrison.

06:21At the moment, we do not have our mortgage granted.

06:24We're both self-employed, so we've had awful difficulty applying for a mortgage.

06:31Originally, when we designed this extension, we were quoted $350,000 to build it.

06:37So we waited two years.

06:39We looked for a quotation.

06:40We looked for a quotation again, and it had gone to $550,000, which just nudged it out of our price bracket.

06:47Yeah, our price bracket, exactly.

06:48What are we actually trying to build this for then, taking all that into account?

06:52So we're aiming for the mortgage to be $350,000.

06:55I would be hoping to bring it in under $3,000.

06:58Yeah.

07:03It feels like, from what you're saying, your priorities are build the extension for as little as possible, right?

07:10And you're willing to do the work yourself.

07:12And I would hope that we can make this project come in under budget rather than it going over budget.

07:19I don't see any reason why we can't if you're willing to put the work in.

07:26They've spent the last few years, it seems, trying to resolve the money issue of how they're going to build this extension.

07:33And it sounds like they might have access to a reasonable amount of money to get this project done.

07:40But we know that nothing like that's real until it's sitting in the bank account.

07:46It's extremely stressful, not knowing if we have the money.

07:50So it's a huge roll of the dice to commence this building work with no mortgage.

07:55So yeah, I think it's, and I think it's normal and okay to be quite scared of that.

08:00But I mean, we're also the kind of people where we're not afraid to take the leap.

08:04You know, we're not afraid to make big changes in our life because more often than not they make our lives better.

08:10So we're giving this a shot. We're giving it our best shot.

08:13Yeah.

08:16This is not the first time Aoife has made radical changes in her life.

08:20I struggled with alcoholism for a good 12 years or so, but because I was young and female, I thought, oh, no, I can't be an alcoholic.

08:30I'm just, you know, loving the fun.

08:32It got to a point where I'd moved back in with my parents and had been made redundant from my job and just things were looking really, really bleak.

08:40It was the first dog she rescued that inspired Aoife to take back control.

08:45Dang it.

08:47He 100% saved my life. From the day I met him, I never drank another drop and it's been seven and a half years.

08:57Sit.

08:58Good dog.

09:00When I bought this cottage and the land around it, it was for a little home for myself and Dangon.

09:06And now our family has expanded so much, you know, not only the 26 animals, but the three other animals in the house.

09:14When we build this extension, it will be our home as opposed to just Dangon's home, you know.

09:20Good dog. Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.

09:24Excited at the prospect of having more space, Aoife and Louis are ready to roll the dice.

09:37First job is to knock down the outbuildings to make room for their new extension.

09:47The worst case scenario is that we are still living in a one-bed cottage with no sheds.

09:53Harrison gets to do all the fun stuff.

09:59Aoife, will you be comfortable driving the dumper?

10:04Yeah.

10:05To get this site cleared, Aoife and Louis have a lot of work to do.

10:10So I want to make sure that they're equipped with the skills to do the job.

10:14This is just like a manual car, except the gear sticks between your legs here.

10:20Okay.

10:21And then this control up here controls the bucket on the front.

10:24Okay.

10:26You got it.

10:27Okay.

10:29Safe travels.

10:31Off she goes.

10:34Driving a dumper for the first time.

10:37Nice work, Aoife.

10:50It's really hard to believe that any of this is happening.

10:53It's really surreal that we're here building this extension.

10:56We're just going for it.

10:59Happy?

11:00Let's do it.

11:07For Aoife, the cottage and the surrounding buildings represent more than just bricks and mortar.

11:18They were a sanctuary that helped her and the animals get back on their feet.

11:28What do you think?

11:30It's a little sad.

11:33You weren't expecting that feeling, huh?

11:35No.

11:36No.

11:41It's all right.

11:47I'm remembering what each shed was a home to while I was here.

11:51So there were two foals that needed a home during a horrible storm.

11:57And they were like skeletons.

11:59And they recovered in this middle shed here.

12:02Just remember, you're going to be building something really special in its place.

12:05It's okay.

12:07You know, this whole thing is going to be emotional every step of the way.

12:17The highs are super high and the lows suck.

12:20It's just hard to see it go.

12:22Yeah.

12:23Yeah, of course.

12:25You know, it's important to remember that, like, you're the creator in this thing.

12:29You're not just the destructor, right?

12:31You're knocking this thing down, but you get to build this new extension up as well.

12:35It makes sense that the house is going to change.

12:37It's just part of the process, you know?

12:39Yeah.

12:40It's to make room for everyone to grow and for the home to grow.

12:43Yeah.

12:44Not bad for your first day of building anyway.

12:46I'm glad you think so.

12:47Yeah.

12:48Hmm.

12:49There's no doubt that building your own home can sometimes feel like a roller coaster.

12:58And just a month in, Aoife and Louis have hit a snag that means their tiny cottage is about to get even smaller.

13:05We started digging foundations.

13:09We realised then after talking to the timber frame company that we need to knock our bathroom, which I hadn't envisaged doing until later in the build.

13:16That's why we're now building an outhouse, which is going to be our bathroom.

13:20We'll have a shower, a toilet and a sink.

13:23And a washing machine.

13:24And a washing machine.

13:26In a very small space.

13:28It's not in the budget to move out while the build is being done, so this is the work around.

13:33In the summer, it's going to be, you know, a lot of fun.

13:36It's going to be...

13:37It'll be rustic.

13:38...quirky and rustic.

13:39When it comes to January and we're still using this outhouse, then it's going to be a bit more difficult, I think.

13:44Yeah, putting your coat on to go to the bathroom in the winter isn't going to be the most pleasant.

13:48We'll have to get a bedpan.

13:51With the outside bathroom built, I'm on my way back to site to help them take down the flat roof extension.

13:57How does it feel to be demolishing your actual living space now, to lose your bathroom?

14:05It's going to make us very confined, but it's progress.

14:09To get the job done, Louis has hired himself a new toy.

14:15Such an outrageous machine for what we're doing.

14:24He's living his best life in there.

14:29He's like a kid in a sand fish with him.

14:31There we go.

14:37Lovely.

14:38Mind the cottage now, Louis.

14:40Don't be showing off.

14:49Last time we knocked down a building here, you had tears in your eyes.

14:52Yeah.

14:53Are you used to it now?

14:54No, it's not.

14:55I've always hated this part of the building.

14:58No, I'm delighted.

14:59It's always been an absolute eyesore, and it's always been full of either leaks or damp.

15:06Very different feeling with this time.

15:11I think we're going to struggle to get Louis out of that.

15:13He loves it.

15:15It's good to see that Louis is enjoying himself, because over the next few months,

15:19they will have a lot of digging to do before they can start the process of building anything new.

15:24When you're adding an extension onto an existing house, you have to be quite careful to make sure all the levels line up.

15:34It's not something you just think about when the floor is finally getting poured.

15:38The level that you pour your foundations at is going to affect the level that your finished floor ends up being.

15:50So in Ephraim Louis' case, where we're trying to match up to the existing finished floor of the cottage,

15:56we have to work backwards from that point to determine how far down Louis needs to dig to pour the new foundations.

16:05We have to take into account all the layers that are going to come up.

16:09The stone, the sand, the subfloor, the insulation, and the finished slab.

16:18So while this work that Louis is doing feels quite big and general at the moment with the digger,

16:25all of these pieces that are going to rest on top of it depend on it being right.

16:30There's a factory built element of their house coming.

16:33Precision is on the way.

16:35And they're laying the foundations for that building to get placed on top of.

16:39That's a lot of pressure for a first time self builder.

16:42Back in Toome, the reality of starting the build without a mortgage in place is starting to weigh heavily on Ephraim.

16:57We've spent maybe just under 10 grand so far.

17:03We are acting as if we have full financial control over this project.

17:07When we still don't have our mortgage granted.

17:14Which is, you know, obviously not the most secure position to be in.

17:20We're absolutely terrified.

17:22We'll have a giant hole in our front garden.

17:25And we might not get a mortgage to put anything in it.

17:29Yeah, so it's terribly frustrating.

17:30Frustrating is the main emotion that I'm feeling.

17:33I can only imagine how they must be feeling.

17:35And if things weren't bad enough, a week later work on site has come to a dramatic halt.

17:41I was clear in a way of this section here and I could see here that the stone literally just stopped.

17:49So we did a bit of investigation.

17:51You can see here it's just clay.

17:54Apparently that's the way they did it back in the days.

17:57It was compacted earth.

17:58That's the stone wall inside.

18:00And basically that was it, no foundation.

18:02It was very dramatic at the time.

18:06I was inside with Cuiva and Louis had the digger outside.

18:10Suddenly the house started shaking.

18:12The next thing, a really big bang happened.

18:15And this horrible crumbling sound and I saw dust coming down from the ceiling.

18:20I grabbed Cuiva and sprinted outside to him, yelling at him to stop, stop, the house is going to fall apart.

18:24So we spoke to our engineer following that and he strongly advised underpinning because there's literally no foundation to the cottage.

18:35It's going to cost a few thousand.

18:38It just slows things up a bit.

18:40But it's just, it is hard labour really.

18:44Because you can only get in so much with the digger.

18:46And then we're shoveling out by hand.

18:48But it's a softly, softly approach because we want to mine this.

18:52Preserving the cottage is 100% the most important aspect of this build.

18:59You know, whatever we can add to it is fine, but the most important part of it for me is keeping the cottage safe.

19:05Even after extensive underpinning, once they started digging again, the ground and the cottage started to shift.

19:20Forcing Aoife, Louie and Cuiva to move into a mobile home on-site.

19:29Basically the heavy rain over Halloween caused mud to boil up.

19:34Is what the phrase they used.

19:36So the mud was coming up through the stone.

19:38The ground was turning to slop.

19:41When they started digging out, the gables started shifting.

19:44The whole house started shifting.

19:46Even though we underpinned the cottage, it was the soil underneath that underpinning that was sliding out.

19:53That caused the gable end of the house to start to tear away from the main structure of the house.

19:59We could see cracks appearing both inside and outside.

20:05We've had really low moments. There's been tears. There's been sleepless nights.

20:10Yeah, it's been difficult. It's been rough.

20:14To keep the gable from slipping any further, they've erected a buttress of silage bales that they hope will hold everything in place while they can figure out how to save the cottage.

20:24It's really hard for me to talk about the cottage. The cottage is something that, it's a place that I've called my home for the last seven years.

20:33It's the safest place that I've ever felt in my life. And now we have done irreparable damage to it, which is difficult to think about.

20:42For now, Aoife and Louie are determined to keep going and have forked out on truckloads of gravel and hardcore to shore up the unstable ground.

20:54Hi. Hi. How are you doing? Good. Come in. New house.

21:07Is it just me? You two aren't having a cup of tea? Oh, very good. What's that humming outside?

21:21Every truckload that comes in gets vibration rolled. So that's the vibration on the rotor.

21:27Okay. And it's going to be about 50. 50 loads of stone going into it. Going into it, yeah.

21:32Wow. That sounds expensive. Yeah, it's going to be about 17,000.

21:37In stone and then labour on top of that. Okay.

21:40Yep. A lot of money.

21:43It's obviously a huge setback. It's a new added expense and it's delaying everything quite a bit.

21:49But I guess my biggest concern is how does that feel with the budget, with everything else you've got coming?

21:57Our buffer is gone. Yeah.

22:01But that's what the buffer was there for. Yeah, exactly.

22:04It's just to have it gone before any structure has gone up.

22:08It's not ideal.

22:11We've spent 100 grand somehow. I don't know how we've managed to do that.

22:15And we're about another 50 grand in debt. Okay.

22:19Selling things like cars or borrowing from friends and family, we've hit our limit everywhere.

22:26Yeah, we will get to a point next week where if the money isn't in from the mortgage, we'll have to stop.

22:31If that money isn't there, the timber frame can't go in. We won't be able to pay them.

22:35Is this the low point? Does this feel hard right now or does it feel okay?

22:39There have been times over the past three or four weeks where we've kind of let each other have breakdowns and alternate days.

22:49Yeah.

22:50We couldn't do it without each other too.

22:51Definitely not.

22:55Nothing on this build has gone to plan.

22:57It's really hard to be here talking about 150,000 euros being spent on this project so far.

23:05And all we've got to show for it is a gravel pit right now.

23:11I've got a lot of admiration for Aoife and Louis and their tenacity and willingness to keep on going.

23:18After seven months of painful excavations, the tide has finally turned for self-builders Aoife and Louis.

23:34It's a new year and today they are ready to pour the concrete slab that will form the base of their new extension.

23:40Today's a huge step.

23:44Excited. We're nearly ready to go.

23:51Not only that, but they've also been granted mortgage approval.

23:55It's such a big day that even the pigs can't contain their excitement and have broken out of their pen.

24:00The last thing we need are hoof prints across our fresh concrete.

24:07Hey, hey, hey, that's it.

24:09There's a massive sense of relief.

24:11It's amazing to think that we've actually made it to this stage.

24:13I'm absolutely delighted.

24:15It's a huge relief.

24:16We'll sleep well tonight.

24:18We have a pad.

24:19Unbelievable.

24:20Look at this.

24:26I can't believe it.

24:27We're finally here.

24:29It should be all easy from here out.

24:33I'm so pleased for Aoife and Louis, and with the slab poured, they can finally push the button on the factory-built element of their new home.

24:45With its complicated barrel roof, the extension will be prefabricated by a team of timber specialists in this factory in County Monaghan.

24:53How long will it take to build the whole house?

24:55Three to four days.

24:56No way.

24:57Three or four days and you'll be done in here.

24:58Yeah, yeah.

24:59Door and window openings, everything's cut into it already.

25:02Yeah.

25:03Unreal.

25:05Just three or four days to put together all the elements of a house is no mean feat.

25:10So I'm on hand to help out in any way that I can.

25:12You're a natural.

25:14I just hope that I don't slow them down.

25:16To create the panels, they will need over a thousand pieces of timber, and each one needs to be cut to the correct size.

25:27Thankfully, a machine eliminates any human error.

25:30It's amazing to see something producing those repeated cuts so quickly.

25:37I wonder if they'll let me take it home.

25:40With all the elements cut, the rest is just a matter of assembly.

25:44Using old methods with new machinery, these panels are nailed together before being filled with plenty of insulation.

25:50I can't believe how fast this is. In five minutes we've gone from straight pieces of timber to full insulated panels.

26:01I've got to do this right so Aoife and Louis are warm.

26:07As the walls of Aoife and Louis' house are sealed from the weather, hoisted and stored for shipment, I'm curious about how they're going to tackle the barrel roof.

26:16How do you make sure that every one of these curved trusses are exactly the same?

26:23It's just all about the angles. Every angle is slightly different.

26:25Can I help you for a bit?

26:26You can indeed.

26:28You've numbered it, right?

26:30I can't do this wrong?

26:31Not really, no. Everyone should just pop in as you go along like that.

26:35That's your centre point there, and from there everything is exactly the same angle-wise.

26:40This floor is actually the same as this one here?

26:43It's identical, just flipped.

26:44Got you.

26:45Yeah.

26:47It may seem straightforward to them, but to me the intricacy of this curve is hard to achieve.

26:53And then that's the little corner piece that goes up there, yeah.

26:57That one doesn't seem...

26:59Oh, it might be that one.

27:01Oh, yeah.

27:03That's the one.

27:04That's wrong.

27:06Sorry, that's the one.

27:07It was cut wrong, it wasn't my fault.

27:08Yeah.

27:10Building a curve out of straight timber must be one of the hardest things to build, but these guys are making it look pretty easy.

27:16I should write my name on this one, so do you have a pencil on you?

27:25I do, yeah.

27:29There we go.

27:30Thanks.

27:31How many more to go?

27:3244, something like that all in.

27:34With 44 more curves to build, I think I better leave the experts to it.

27:38Yeah.

27:39All right.

27:40Well, I'll stop slowing you down.

27:41Thanks, Nick.

27:42Thanks, Chris.

27:44It's spring, and navigating its way down the country lanes to Aoife and Louise is what appears to be an architectural apparition.

27:59That is a big load.

28:01It's our house.

28:03It's our house, Nadal.

28:08It's surreal.

28:09It is surreal.

28:10Like, there's a lot of times throughout the process I didn't think we'd get this far.

28:14I thought we'd be given up.

28:16There are 70 panels in total to go in.

28:20Each one will make up a section of the external walls.

28:24Luckily, they've hired a crane to do the heavy lifting.

28:28And with each panel numbered, the whole house should slot together like a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle.

28:34The crane, I think, is only here today.

28:40So that truck driver is going to go back to Monaghan.

28:44And the roof is on another truck ready to be brought down.

28:48We've been looking at this, like, massive, muddy hole in the ground for, like, six months now.

28:54So to see something actually constructed, it's reassuring.

28:58That's really fun.

29:00After just a few hours, the ground floor walls are already up.

29:04And the team begin to hoist the first floor into place.

29:09Oh, my God!

29:13Wow!

29:15That's the house.

29:18Just like that.

29:20Like a mushroom. It's going so fast.

29:22It's really surreal to see it come together like a jigsaw puzzle.

29:28Now we have to start thinking about what kind of kitchen we want and where a cabinet's going to go.

29:33Actually getting to that enjoyable side of things is going to be really, really fun.

29:38Come late afternoon, the two-storey, barn-like structure they've been dreaming of for what must seem like an eternity is standing proudly on solid ground.

29:50Ta-da!

29:51Did we expect it to happen this quickly?

29:52Look at it!

29:54Will they do the cottage as well?

29:58As the sun begins to set, the crowning piece of the puzzle arrives on site and is expertly craned into position.

30:05Our whole house, by the roof, is up. It's just phenomenal.

30:16I love the look of it. When you see it there with the barn, the old and the new, it's impressive.

30:23My house is impressive.

30:26Holy crap!

30:27After you.

30:28That's phenomenal.

30:32That's phenomenal.

30:45I've been doing this drive out to Aoife and Louise for nine months now.

30:49And I've never been this excited.

30:52I can see it from here. I'm fields away still, but I can see the white timber frame sticking up.

31:01Wow, look at that.

31:03And it looks exactly like this shed next to it. It's so cool.

31:07Oh man, they must be so happy.

31:13Louis!

31:14Hello!

31:15You have a house?

31:16We have.

31:17How does that feel?

31:18Great.

31:19It looks amazing.

31:20Do you want to come in?

31:21I do.

31:28Beautiful.

31:31Feels like it's hugging you, no?

31:32Yeah, absolutely.

31:34Even without a cover on it?

31:35Yeah.

31:36It's just so different from the boxes we make ourselves all the time, you know?

31:41It really does have a different feeling being in a space like this.

31:45Did you find the truss I made?

31:46Yes.

31:48Number three.

31:51How does it feel to suddenly be standing on the first floor of your house?

31:54Yeah.

31:55It's like ten days ago there was just the foundation.

31:57Yeah.

31:58And then this is done.

32:01As beautiful as it is, we need to cover it up and make this building weatherproof.

32:07Let's do it.

32:09Basically what we're trying to do here is turn a faceted truss into a curved roof.

32:16What we're going to do is add something like this.

32:20Yes.

32:21Fill the gaps.

32:22Fill the gaps.

32:23Yeah.

32:24Makes sense?

32:25Yeah.

32:26That looks like a nice enough curve.

32:30Looks great.

32:31By laminating several thin sheets of plywood, we will not only be able to create the perfect curve, but also provide a surface for the finishing layers to fix on too.

32:41Curvy.

32:42They may finally have a building on site, but there's no doubt the process to get here has cost them more than they'd hoped for.

32:50So while Louis and I carry on covering the roof, Aoife is trying to find ways to balance the books.

32:55We've had to keep a really close eye on our finances.

33:00And even still, we've gone over.

33:02Digging the foundations, because of the depth we had to go to, it's cost us about 50,000 more than we budgeted for.

33:08So we have to find that 50,000 elsewhere.

33:11That's my main focus at the moment.

33:1450,000, it's a significant amount of money to have to find in a build.

33:19Every little saving helps get us back into a house that's livable.

33:23And that's the way I'm looking at it.

33:26What I'm doing is I'm reducing down, getting us back to the basics and seeing what's the minimum we need to construct to be able to move in there and draw down the entirety of the mortgage.

33:38And then after that, we can start tipping away at things like curtains and rugs and couches.

33:45Our objective is no longer to build this really extravagant, comfortable home.

33:48It's to make it livable first.

33:50We'll be really, really happy if we get kitchen, somewhat of a sitting room, bathroom, one bedroom and electricity and water going to the lot of it.

34:00We'll be very happy with that.

34:01Uh-oh.

34:02Uh-oh.

34:03At this stage of the build, it's vital that Aoife and Louis keep a close eye on their finances and temper their expectations.

34:21Found one.

34:22Is it?

34:23No.

34:24It's one, three, two.

34:25Oh, it's one, two, three.

34:26You're right.

34:27Didn't find one.

34:28My mistake.

34:29And today I'm back on site to help them turn an open space into a livable home.

34:34In order to cut costs, we decided we're installing the internal walls ourselves.

34:41They've been labelled so that we can easily figure out which panels go where.

34:48One, two, eight.

34:49One, two, nine.

34:50One, thirty.

34:51Oh, good.

34:52So we'll take that out.

34:55Those two don't even go together.

34:58But what's not as easy is figuring out how to get them into the house.

35:03Here's one, thirty.

35:04That's a big one, which probably won't fit through the door.

35:09It needs to be cut down.

35:12I thought this day was going to go so smoothly.

35:15Oh, it's so nice.

35:18That's good.

35:19There's nothing like paying someone to build something for you and then cutting it apart once

35:23he gets here.

35:24Like a birthday cake.

35:27Now that we have found all the elements and got them inside the building.

35:31Let's go over toward you.

35:33All that's left to do is put them back together to create four bedrooms and a family bathroom.

35:38It's a lot of fun building like this.

35:41It's a lot like Lego.

35:43Rooms just appear very, very quickly.

35:46Which at this point in Ethan-Louis' build is what we're all about.

35:50Whatever gets this house finished the fastest.

35:55There's a fine big bedroom there.

36:00Feels a little bit more like a house.

36:03What do you think?

36:05Yeah, it feels like home.

36:08It's nice.

36:09Nicest barn I've ever been in.

36:10For the past few months, self-builders Aoife and Louis have been grappling with how to save

36:23their old stone cottage and link it to their brand new extension.

36:30And after months of uncertainty, I'm back in tune, delighted to see that they've found a solution

36:35and managed to link the two buildings.

36:38Welcome back.

36:39How are you doing?

36:40Nice to see you.

36:41It's been so long.

36:43You're connected.

36:44It's no longer two spaces.

36:46It looks seamless.

36:48Well done.

36:49And you saved the cottage.

36:50We did.

36:51Yeah, it was...

36:52Easy?

36:53No.

36:55Once we got that hole filled and rolled and vibrated and compacted everything back,

36:59we took down the bales and it didn't budge.

37:01Great.

37:02So that's great.

37:03Well done.

37:04So we're building the link.

37:05Crisis about it.

37:06Yeah.

37:07About time.

37:08You guys got some good luck.

37:09With the structure of their new home now complete, today's task is to clad the link using

37:14individual lengths of Douglas Furrow timber.

37:17This is beautiful.

37:18It is.

37:19And it's nice and wide.

37:20I like that.

37:21Less install time.

37:22You know, you get more coverage with every board that goes on.

37:27Before we put it on the building, the plan is to treat the wood using an ancient Japanese

37:32technique called yakisugi.

37:33A method that involves burning the outer surface of the timber.

37:39Your main tool is this.

37:40It's a felting torch, right?

37:42We usually use it for putting tar onto roofs.

37:46You want the torch to stay lit, but you don't want it to be wasting gas.

37:50So you basically want it as low as possible while it still stays lit.

37:55So that when you press the trigger, it gives you more gas.

37:59Make sense?

38:00Yeah.

38:02By charring and oiling each length, we are essentially creating a protective, durable

38:07surface that will be fire resistant, water resistant, and even insect resistant.

38:14It's going to be a long, dirty day.

38:15Okay.

38:16So you get burning.

38:17How much you char it is down to what you want the finish to look like.

38:28For me, the more the more the better.

38:30You just don't want to go so much that it's going to come off, you know.

38:35Once burnt, a coating of linseed oil will not only preserve the wood even further, but

38:40will also show off the natural beauty of the timber.

38:47With the cladding burnt, sealed, and cooled, all that's left to do is attach it to the building.

38:53There are two nails on each.

38:57I love nail guns.

38:58You said that at least three times during this whole build.

39:01Yeah.

39:03Yep.

39:04Great.

39:05Perfect.

39:06Yep.

39:07Yep.

39:08Can't believe you spent 1,400 euros on timber just to burn it.

39:11And ruin perfectly good timber.

39:13It gives it such a finish.

39:15So stylish.

39:16I'm going to have to buy new clothes just to fit in with my house, like.

39:20Happy?

39:21Very.

39:22What you're imagining?

39:23Yep.

39:24Better, actually.

39:25Yeah.

39:26It's stunning.

39:27Like, once you know how to do it.

39:28Yeah, it's very doable.

39:29It's hard not to just start burning everything.

39:31Yeah.

39:32I know.

39:33I even burnt my boot.

39:34Yeah, I smelt that.

39:35Yeah.

39:40With the outside of their home coming together nicely, Aoife switches her attention to how they

39:44are going to furnish the inside.

39:47You really feel like you don't know what you're going to see around each corner.

39:50You know what that is?

39:51That's a painted church pew.

39:53It needs fixing.

39:54Oh.

39:55With money tight, she's brought her mum along to make sure she doesn't overspend.

40:01Mmm.

40:02Kitchen table.

40:03Yeah, that's nice.

40:04I was looking at that.

40:05How much is that?

40:06$7.50.

40:07Yeah.

40:08I'd be tempted.

40:09You know that?

40:10I would be tempted.

40:11I thought you were budget driven, Aoife.

40:12I am budget driven.

40:13It's a bit overwhelming to think about furnishings because it's like trying to put together a

40:20jigsaw puzzle when you don't have the box for it.

40:23You have no idea what it's supposed to look like.

40:25So I'm kind of finding all these bits and pieces like in isolation that I really like.

40:30Are you putting a bath in the house?

40:32We are putting a bath in.

40:33Not that shape, no, but I'm under strict instructions not to get a second hand bath.

40:38Okay.

40:40It's nice at the same time though.

40:42It's much more enjoyable than, you know, digging foundations.

40:45That's actually a nice shape.

40:46It is like me, isn't it?

40:47It's a nice one.

40:48It's nice and neat.

40:49That would bother me slightly.

40:50I think for a hundred and forty, it's too much of a risk.

40:55For something that might end up in the garden like.

40:57Yeah.

40:58Like in fairness, you're not buying anything.

41:00You're being very careful, very budget driven, so.

41:03It's not like me at all.

41:06No.

41:07Oh, that is cool.

41:10We're at a stage now where we can kind of put a personal touch on the house.

41:14We're getting there.

41:15We're inching closer and closer to actually moving in.

41:19And we don't need everything done to move in.

41:22You know, running water, electricity, a door on the bathroom and then we're happy.

41:32It's been 14 months since I first travelled down this lane to meet Aoife and Louis.

41:37And today I can't wait to see what they've achieved.

41:40Wow.

41:41It's gorgeous.

41:45Where once stood a few outbuildings, now stands a modern family home brimming with contemporary design.

41:55From the crisp white render of the barn to the burnt timber cladding that wraps the link,

42:00the whole building invites you in with a welcoming embrace.

42:05Hey.

42:06Hi guys.

42:07Hey.

42:08Welcome.

42:09How are you doing?

42:10Nice to see you.

42:11Hi.

42:12Welcome back.

42:13How are you feeling?

42:14Pretty good.

42:15Look at your house.

42:16Yeah.

42:17It's incredible.

42:18Yeah.

42:19The barn reflecting that barn and the way it ties into the old cottage.

42:23It connects so well.

42:24I think the burnt wood, the kind of rustic connection between the two really helps the transition from old to new.

42:32Absolutely.

42:33You'd never know all the turmoil that it took to get here.

42:36Yeah.

42:37It feels like we can breathe again.

42:38Should we have a look inside?

42:39Let's do it.

42:40Let's go.

42:41From the outset, this project was not just about building a brand new structure.

42:46It was about giving their family room to grow while at the same time breathing new life into the cottage.

42:53And they did not disappoint.

42:56Wow.

42:58Oh my God.

42:59Look at that.

43:00Yeah.

43:01Yeah.

43:02Beautiful.

43:03It's so nice that the old cottage is such a feature when you walk in that brand new front door.

43:09Yeah.

43:10It's my favorite part of the whole house.

43:12It's so good.

43:13This was the wall that caused you so much trouble as well.

43:15Yeah.

43:16That you were so close to it coming down and now it's the feature of the house.

43:22We're going to clean it up.

43:23We're going to point it in the original way using original materials.

43:27But we're going to take our time, do that slowly and just kind of give some love back to the cottage.

43:32Yeah.

43:33You know?

43:34Yeah.

43:35It deserves it.

43:36It's very special.

43:37Yeah.

43:38It's beautiful.

43:39I feel very proud that we're saving it and we're making it better.

43:44It's the heart of the house for sure.

43:48Making a feature of the gable wall is a beautiful idea and I'm curious to see what they've done with the rest of the house.

43:54Oh, no way.

43:55Look at this.

43:56What a kitchen.

43:57It's so beautiful.

43:58This wall looks great.

43:59You guys got addicted to the burning, didn't you?

44:00We did, yeah.

44:01Yes.

44:02Just lovely continuity.

44:03Yeah.

44:04Yeah.

44:05Really.

44:06And it's a nice, luxurious touch.

44:07Mm-hmm.

44:08I mean, it's the most important room of the whole house.

44:10For us anyway.

44:11You know, this is where we'll spend most of our time.

44:12There's so much room, so much space.

44:13It's really, it's really special.

44:14And this, like, just being so open and flowy between it all.

44:17And you're like connected right to the outside.

44:19Last time I looked out this window, there was a mobile.

44:20Right there.

44:21There was a mobile.

44:22There was, not that long ago.

44:23The mobile was great.

44:24Quiva learned to walk in the mobile.

44:25And the mobile.

44:26It was a mobile.

44:27The mobile was great.

44:28Quiva learned to walk in the mobile.

44:29It was a mobile one day.

44:30Wow.

44:31Yeah.

44:32Yeah.

44:33Yeah.

44:34And I think, you know, I think that a lot of people are going to be very important.

44:35I mean, it's the most important room of the whole house.

44:36For us anyway.

44:37You know, this is where we'll spend most of our time.

44:38There's so much room, so much space.

44:39It's really, it's really special.

44:40And this, like, just being so open and flowy between it all.

44:42ball right there there was not that long ago the mobile was great cuiva learned to walk in the

44:48mobile but to finally have this space it feels like we can breathe and yeah with those big

44:54windows it almost feels like we're outdoors in the in the open you know it's it's fantastic and

45:00to see cuiva running around in here is just really lovely it's idyllic guys yeah it's great

45:05yeah it turned out well we're pretty proud of it and the fact that we've built it all ourselves as

45:10well it gives me a different sense of pride than buying a house you're more connected to the

45:16building to the structure because you know exactly all the steps you took to get it to where it is

45:21now yeah yeah i'm so impressed by what Aoife and Louis have achieved in such a short amount of time

45:32and although they still have a few rooms to finish the ones that are complete already feel lived in

45:40none more so than their bedroom with its curved roof the space feels peaceful and calm and i'm

45:48sure will help to revitalize them after what was a physically demanding and emotionally charged year

45:54it's been a long journey to get here it has yep bumpy one but we're here did you know you could do it

46:05no i knew we could do it yeah i think the only thing that would have stopped us would be running out of

46:11money yeah which we knew very very nearly did we came very close to it yeah what did it cost you

46:19in and around 400 grand including the hole in the ground including the hole in the ground

46:26but look that's that's what the land gave us you know yeah that's the yeah that's the work the land

46:31gave us and we had to work the land makes the rules how much do you think you might have saved by

46:36doing it yourselves the tentative quote we got for the plans as they were originally

46:43without any um internals without any internals no appliances no bathroom fittings or anything

46:51was 550 and that plus the 50 grand hole which would have been added on top i mean we made quite a

47:00savings you probably saved 200 grand at least yeah so i think it's safe to say that if we hadn't built

47:08ourselves we would not be in here yeah we would be one of those abandoned half-built houses at the

47:14side of the road yeah i think every time you hit an obstacle it just reinforced how much this meant to

47:20you and what you were willing to do to make it happen i don't think any of the issues or the problems

47:26that we encountered were problems that we could have anticipated which makes me feel a lot better

47:32about them there's definitely been learnings along the way but working with you the biggest thing that

47:40we've gotten from you was confidence exactly yeah a lot of other people in the exact same situation

47:47would have given up a long time ago

47:49yeah there have been days like where we've had to lean heavily on the other you know to get us through

47:59yeah you know we've learned a lot about each other and about ourselves in in this journey

48:04absolutely yep i still kind of can't believe we're here

48:10you know building your own home is a journey that's different for everyone

48:32and there's no doubt that Aoife and Louis have had their fair share of ups and downs

48:36but with guts determination and a lot of hard work they've managed to keep their dream alive

48:43and for me it's proof that if you set your mind to something nothing can really stand in your way

48:49and look at what they've achieved they've retained the sanctuary that was the old cottage

48:54and they've built this whole new house that for them represents a bright new dawn

48:58a home where Aoife, Louis and baby Quiver can sit back relax and feel hopeful about the future

49:05and i don't think you can ever wish for much more than that

49:08where they're looking for everybody

49:10so thank you so much and thank you to everyone now

49:11and Mirazzi who plays an amazing score

49:12so thank you so much that I've been working through

49:14and I've been watching for a long time

49:16we encourage you to see

49:18that you guys know this is out of the same game

49:21and the whole world after this is not very important

49:22so thank you so much

49:24and thank you so much more

49:26just for your time

49:29and thank you so much

49:32and thank you so much

49:33and give me as well

49:34thank you so much

49:35and thank you woke

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