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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.
00:20Are 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
00:28who are about to take matters into their own hands.
00:32We'll have a joint 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.
00:57Whoa!
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?
01:09This is our first room.
01:10It's a bit early for the grand tour, Jess.
01:12Yeah, yeah. He's living his best life in there.
01:15So, forget what you think is normal.
01:18And consider this.
01:19If you can't afford to have your house built for you, there is another way.
01:24Oh, wow. What a space.
01:26It's gorgeous.
01:27Yeah.
01:28It's class, isn't it?
01:29Good tears.
01:30Yeah. It's lovely.
01:32Build your own.
01:35Wow.
01:36That's a house.
01:44Five years ago, health food entrepreneurs Rose and Margot fell in love with this old stone farmhouse,
01:50not far from where Rose grew up in County West Meath.
01:52The first time we were driving down the road, we were like, oh, this feels kind of nice.
02:01It felt right.
02:02It was the start of the journey.
02:03Yeah.
02:05Mummy, what do you reckon?
02:08Mummy, what do you think?
02:10No.
02:12Determined to bring it back to life, Rose and Margot began the arduous task of stripping out the old
02:17so that they could start afresh.
02:19It was quite scary at the beginning.
02:23At certain points, we were like, God, are we making the right decision?
02:25Because so many people are telling us, knock it down.
02:29You're asking for trouble.
02:31You build a lot cheaper.
02:33Once you start into the renovation, you won't know what you'll come across.
02:37But everybody was telling us to let it go.
02:40And it just, that just did not feel right at all.
02:44While they've been tipping away on the farmhouse, they've been living in a barn at Rose's old home place.
02:50Where we live now, like, it was our first kind of taste of doing a bit of kind of building ourselves.
02:56I made the stairs.
02:57I made the kitchen counter.
02:59And so I was like sewing for the first time and screwing and I was all into it.
03:04And make sure it's done right.
03:06She's really good at it.
03:07Yeah, I think we've kind of reached a point where we kind of know what we're doing, I think.
03:12Now, Rose and Margo have grand plans to extend the farmhouse.
03:17But not in a typical way.
03:19They plan to do it as sustainably as possible.
03:21Like the materials and stuff that we're using.
03:24Hemp and things like that have been used for a long, long time.
03:28And they really, the stone and the hemp really work well together.
03:31Well, mainstream was never my, yeah, my type.
03:37Today, I'm on my way to meet them to find out more about the next stage of their build.
03:46Alright, this must be it.
03:48So, tell me about the house.
03:49It was like 50 something.
03:50Yeah, 50 something.
03:51Yeah.
03:52Amazing.
03:53Yeah.
03:54Which was a bit of a budget for us, but yeah, at the time.
03:57I mean, but that's unreal.
03:58You don't even hear of that anymore.
04:00No.
04:01No.
04:02No.
04:03No.
04:04No.
04:05No.
04:06No.
04:07No.
04:08No.
04:09No.
04:10No.
04:11No.
04:12No.
04:13No.
04:14No.
04:15No.
04:16No.
04:17No.
04:18No.
04:19No.
04:20I mean, they would buy a house in any condition on over an acre of land with 50,000.
04:22Yeah.
04:23I think we were very, very lucky.
04:24We just fell in love with it.
04:25It's over 200 years old.
04:26So it's got a lot of character, a lot of history.
04:28Yeah, and…
04:29It's untouched.
04:30Yeah.
04:31It sort of didn't get renovated in the 70s, along with every other stone cottage in
04:34the country.
04:35Yeah.
04:36Like, when we got it, there was still the lime render on it.
04:38There was very little concrete kind of additions of anything.
04:41And it was never brought through.
04:43Modernised or anything.
04:44Yeah.
04:45Thank you because it was a blank canvas for us.
04:47us. Is it just refurbishing the house or have you got bigger plans than that? We're in a very tiny
04:51space at the moment and we know we we need a little bit more space and so our plan is to
04:57renovate the whole house and then we're also going to do an extension which we're quite excited about.
05:01All right, great. Well should we have a look? Yep.
05:10The new extension will sit to the rear of the farmhouse and will be built on site using
05:15individual lengths of timber cut to size. The wooden frame will be pumped full of hemp,
05:23a natural material that's not only sustainable but also highly insulative. This brand new eco
05:29extension will give them a utility room, a downstairs bathroom and the all-important kitchen diner.
05:37To link the new with the old they plan to knock through the wall of the farmhouse. Here they will
05:43have a downstairs bedroom and a spacious living area. Upstairs, two bedrooms and a family bathroom
05:51will complete this ambitious project. To help them financially they have qualified for the derelict
05:57property grant which I'm sure will be a huge help. But before they can draw it down they need to do the
06:05hard graft and make this house livable. We've got 13 months now so 13 months to complete. So that's
06:11your deadline. Yeah. We need to get the extension done and get the house finished in 13 months. Yeah.
06:16Cool. When does that timer start? Last month. Okay. Okay. Cool. How much do you have aside from that
06:22grant money? In total I think we'll be at 150-60. So you kind of have another 70 or 80 that you're bringing as
06:28well. Yeah. Okay. What's the big plan here? What are your priorities? The way we live our lives,
06:33something that's really important is to use natural materials, materials that aren't costing
06:38the planet an awful lot and that are going to be that work really well with the old stone structures
06:43and then that it will be a nice environment and a healthy environment to be in. You know every self
06:48builder has to balance how much money they've got with how much time they've got to finish their project
06:55and Rose and Margo are adding in this extra element which is their absolute dedication to this being
07:01a sustainable build. It has to be the natural, organic, totally decompostable, environmentally friendly
07:10option every time and that's going to affect their timeline and their budget. So they're going to have
07:15to find that sweet spot in the middle of this Venn diagram where they can achieve all of those things
07:20that they need to. We have a very modest income. We've saved up money enough to have a decent enough
07:27budget for what we want to do. I think you really want a space to feel your own and if you just buy
07:34something that's made by somebody else they're not thinking about how you live, how you move within a
07:39space what's important to you and so yeah it's really it wouldn't it wouldn't feel your own I don't think.
07:49As if they didn't have enough on their plate two weeks later Rose and Margo have some big news.
07:54Hi how are you doing Margo's expecting a baby expecting a baby yeah wow that's huge congratulations
08:11and you and me yeah and you but Margo's doing all the hard work so well here as well so yeah yeah how
08:17how long do you have until the baby's due early February the seventh of February we've got six months
08:23still we're cruising it wouldn't be fun if it was going to be easy now would it yeah yeah yeah exactly
08:30i'm so happy for you
08:40with the baby clock ticking rose is not hanging around and has turned her attention to insulating
08:46the walls of the old farmhouse another day and less dollars but these eco warriors are determined to
08:55go against the tide and rather than using standard insulation boards they've opted for a natural
09:01alternative that needs to be mixed by hand one batch is never the same so just about trusting your
09:09instincts it's an admirable choice but there's no doubt it's going to be labor intensive
09:17luckily rose has drafted in her sisters to help
09:21i've never plastered the wall before oh our lovely little sister just politely asked us
09:26politely asked us and here we are helping her yeah plaster her house she likes to get people involved
09:33it's like icing on a christmas cake to bernadette yes it is we're giving it the snow effect at the moment
09:38we're very proud of roles definitely to take on an old building like this it could be very daunting
09:45i would never be able to think of doing that something like that like she's really brave
09:49and she'll get it done too you know these are dinner this evening
09:53in exchange for their hard labor rose has agreed to provide lunch sounds like a fair exchange to me
10:00after all before she moved back to ireland
10:03rose was a chef in a michelin star restaurant in belgium well what's really nice is that this
10:08is going to be where our kitchen is like this time next year hopefully cooking lunch looking out that
10:13way in a little hemp house would be perfect okay i'm going to shout at some people to get come and get lunch
10:30we're all trying to live more sustainably to tread a little lighter on the earth so the search is
10:36on to find new sustainable materials to build and insulate our homes with there's techniques out there
10:42which have been tried and tested all over the world like straw bale or compacted earth building
10:48but for those who are really looking to push the boundaries there's a new sustainable alternative on the
10:53block hemp is a natural material it grows like a weed and it's quickly becoming the go-to insulation
11:03for sustainably-minded self-builders it's a relatively untested product so today i've come to a hemp farm
11:11in wicklow to find out more about this new eco building material how are you how are you doing good
11:17how are things yeah great great hemp is getting talked about a lot how is this plant that you're
11:21growing here different from the plant that everyone smokes we're only allowed to grow varieties that
11:28have only 0.3 thc okay and it's that thc is what gets you high yeah and we're at such a low level that
11:35you'd have to smoke a joint the size of a telephone pole okay so if people aren't getting high off it
11:41what are you doing with it anything that you can make from timber or oil you can make from this one
11:44plant but there's about somewhere between 25 and 50 000 different things that you can make from the
11:49one plant wow it's an amazing thing that this one crop can feed us yeah close this and it can house
11:57us rose and margot they're building a house using hemp and lime as their insulation this is what you'll
12:05be using that stock is what's the the building material okay and the inner part then is the
12:11shiv so it's the sort of the woody core yeah and it's that woody core is what's being used to mix with
12:17the line that is basically your shiv because it's a natural product it's breathable and it regulates
12:23moisture it's um good thermal properties yeah it's a really very unique wonderful product to build a
12:29house from it's been a month since my last visit and i'm en route to site to help rose install
12:46her very first window morning to save money the window itself is second hand
12:53there it is yep nice window returned to the shop after it didn't fit the house it was intended for
13:04you okay yep great
13:08determined to embrace the eco option at every turn rose wants us to make the windowsill out of reclaimed
13:14slate how's it been kind of doing all this work i really enjoy it it's it's lovely work to do i guess
13:20it's sometimes a bit of a juggle i was caring for my mom and and she passed in in february i was
13:28planning to take a break from work so of course yeah that was kind of the idea and obviously
13:34i wasn't expecting of course her to pass push and and yeah so the time that i've i was spending with
13:43her is now transferred into me spending more time at the house and sorry to hear about your mom yeah
13:50she's she was
13:55i shouldn't have said that no it's all right it's all right i just didn't know i'm okay i'm taking
14:00this in a positive way that i'm now engaging more in the house and having more more time to focus on
14:07that and that's what she would have wanted as well because she was such a massive part of
14:13every decision we were making or every kind of you know like any mother it's just unfortunate that
14:17she's not here to see it all yeah well and this is how you celebrate the people who were supporting
14:23you as you keep doing the thing that they encouraged you to do amazing
14:45okay that's a window anyway there we go it works this is a very like irish style of
14:53a window opening because it can still be raining yes and now the rain comes in perfect
15:01while the farmhouse begins to take shape back at the barn expectant margot is busy designing their
15:07new kitchen layout that's the extension so here you you can't really see it but you're kind of coming in
15:16from the house to the extension since the start i've made a lot of drawings
15:21i know architect do that but i don't know maybe i don't trust people to i think to fit it as best
15:32and then it makes sense and it's like nicely orientated just so it feels like nice when you're in the room
15:40just to prove myself that uh it's okay we can do it and at least if somebody say you can't i'm like
15:48well i can so if i can you can
15:57with pressure mounting for the couple i'm back on site to help rose mark out the foundations for their
16:03new kitchen it's about five meters yeah the plan is to build a timber frame extension once up it will
16:11be pumped full of hemp but because the organic material isn't supposed to get wet it needs to be
16:17installed during the dry summer months it's already mid-summer so we need to get our skates on
16:24but it's quite big isn't it too big i don't know yeah i'm a little bit anxious so it's such a contrast
16:31to what we've been doing for the last six years in the house because it's just been tipping away slowly
16:36and slowly and really just uncovering what's there now this is like a whole new space that we've been
16:42thinking about for a long time that's just gonna magically appear in like a few weeks we've got six
16:47weeks to go from a grassy patch of ground right now to a framed out building ready for hemp lime
16:55insulation we're kind of hurrying along we've got six weeks to get this building up and out of the
17:01ground to get that amount of stuff done in six weeks even for an experienced project manager
17:06it can really start to feel like you're stuck in the weeds but the only way out is through
17:11one weed at a time there's a lot of decisions to be made and maybe that's where my worry is that
17:17making those decisions is tough because it's very definitive then
17:20using unconventional building materials brings its own set of challenges for the past week rose
17:33has been talking with her engineers about what type of foundations to use for this build
17:38it's just been a little bit a little bit stressful there's just been a lot of to and fro and back and
17:45forth between the builders and the engineers yeah i'm going to be glad when these this week
17:50is over i think the engineers have recommended that they use a conventional concrete foundation
17:56and with everything signed off today they are ready to pour it's a material that rose and margot
18:02were trying to avoid but with time against them they have decided to go for it i guess yeah it doesn't
18:09feel that good but i know it does what it says on the tin it's our foundation it's the structure it's
18:14going to be solid and it's possible within the timeline there is compromises you need to make
18:20and this is just one of them for the past week margot has been in france but thankfully she's just
18:26a phone call away she went home to tell her family the good news i think she was feeling bad leaving
18:33knowing that all of this was coming busy love you bye bye bye bye bye yeah i guess look it's a job done
18:40so we need to just um it'll be fine
18:48well it's done now no going back when the foundations are in
18:51the plan is to build rose and margot's extension in just four weeks so today i'm here to help rose
19:02finalize where the window openings will go you've been busy doing a bit of block work wow yeah a lot
19:10of digging work and building work there's going to be a whole space here very soon yeah it's getting real
19:16rose already has the windows so we know what size they're going to be the only question is where
19:24will they go i have an idea that i think will help her visualize the end result you know you'll get
19:30an idea of if you were to have a window this big yeah in this area how much room you'd have left for a
19:38door now i wouldn't always be standing here you know that's just for now our plan is to put like
19:43a little breakfasty unit or something yeah like if you imagine this is the door yeah it's very
19:48different looking at on a piece of paper than physically being here do you want me to hold it
19:53so you can see no it's your house you can try to close your eyes and envisage yourself walking
19:59through a space but it's only really when you're actually physically in the space and you're looking
20:04at you know the wall that you're going to be looking at does it feel nice being more scented or
20:09it i think it kind of does it's a good exercise to do and it's an important one i think because
20:16we've got a lot to get done in in a short time yeah
20:25for the past three months eco self builders rose and margot have been laying the foundations for a
20:30timber frame extension that will sit to the rear of their old farmhouse this morning i'm back in
20:36west meath to help them build it this isn't the kind of day i would normally be jumping out to
20:43build a timber frame structure but we've got one week until rose's got a whole crew coming to fill
20:52the extension with hemp rose's beat me to sight the hope is to build the extension in just two days
21:04to get it done rose has drafted in a few helpers good the weather may not be on our side but at
21:13least the timber has arrived on time this is your house rose mm-hmm our extension this is your extension
21:23yeah now we've just got to rearrange it how you feeling rose are you worried about your house yeah
21:29slightly what are you worried about i'm always worried when margot's not here and uh i misinterpret
21:35her drawing i don't think she's going to be worried about a window being 50 mil one way or the other
21:40i'm kind of making the final decision on that i don't really like doing those things without verifying
21:45you're so far into this process already you've made so many final decisions yeah i think uh well at
21:51some point you've got to accept that you are the the foreperson of this building site are you ready to
21:56build your first wall yeah let's do it building with timber is a great way to create a brand new
22:03space in a short amount of time it's a technique i learned while traveling around north america they're
22:09picking up everything very quickly and uh we've got a bit of a factory line going on using four by twos
22:16we're going to build a series of panels that are simply nailed together you ready this is the first wall
22:23first wall there it is four more to go once you grasp the technique it's just a matter of rinse
22:34and repeat well i guess now we've built a little bit of the framework it's just it goes so quick so
22:39it's like i knew it would be quick like we're getting it done in two days but it's literally like
22:43build and push off and you have a wall there not bad for a morning's work it's going quick
22:49yeah it needs to yeah it needs to yeah we've got deadlines yeah without margot by her side rose is
22:57feeling the pressure of getting all the details right all right what's our next one then we're
23:02gonna have about uh 1.3 meters between the windows yeah the next window is 1820 it's the same as the one
23:14in the south rose is in it right now and feeling the pressure of making lots of decisions without
23:19her partner here to validate all those decisions so it can be a little stressful uh but she's she's
23:27handling it very well well it's just like i just need to follow something and no because i can't make
23:33i know exactly what it's like to have a pregnant wife and be building a house
23:36the first time you're doing this every decision feels vital every question feels hyper important
23:44and they are all important to a point but the more you do it the more you learn how flexible things are
23:53and if it really is important that we do still have time to change it if we decide that window is a bit
23:59too big we can still make it a little bit smaller and there's ways around all of these things okay folks
24:04get these last two one two three
24:13here's your house do you need a moment rose do you want to appreciate your walls we're going to have
24:18the walls finished by the end of the day tomorrow get the roof on get the shuttering down plumber and
24:24electrician are coming on friday so it just really feels like the extension is there like it's a little
24:28bit um so real happy yeah do you like your view yes i think margot's drawings are perfect yeah so nice
24:42in just two days a large delivery of hemp will roll its way down to rose and margot's house
24:55before it arrives margot wants to see the extension we built
24:59you okay there yeah yeah no good you're nice what do you think
25:09good tears so good tears yeah
25:38yeah no it's lovely
25:43it's just when you've been walking so long on something it's
25:47it's nice to see it so now we just need to fill it with loads of hemp
25:51yeah yeah yeah well i'm happy that you like it
26:12rose and margot are on a mission to build the most sustainable house possible
26:17that's why they've chosen not to insulate their house with conventional insulation
26:21but to use this stuff
26:23hemp
26:24so i have black coffee thank you so much and a ball of white flavor that is perfect it's
26:30exactly what i needed enjoy it so how are they going to do it
26:34rose and margot are going to take this hemp fiber and they're going to mix it together with a lime binder
26:41we're going to use this white flour here which is our lime they're going to add a little water
26:46to hold everything together and they're going to mix it into a day-old porridge kind of consistency
26:53once they've got that perfect consistency they're going to pack it into their walls that we've already
26:59built this timber frame structure is what's going to hold the building up and the hemp and the lime
27:05is what's going to keep them warm what you have in the end is a super sustainable
27:10highly insulated wall panel which for rose and margot ticks all the boxes
27:24just in case you need another bag of hemp back on site the walls rose built are about to be filled
27:30with hemp and lime and the place is teeming with workers it's happening and it's going to be an
27:35intense few days and then it's going to be done you know it's crazy how you can build up the structure
27:40so quickly and then you can fill it so quickly and yeah it's amazing it's amazing to see it and to
27:45experience it we wanted to you know work with the materials that we wanted to work with
27:51and we've kind of pushed to make that happen and even with all of the challenges that brings into
27:56place everybody's kind of just plowing in and and making it happen yeah it's it's big it feels good
28:12great yeah it feels very safe and and solid yeah cool well done huge
28:43they may have a solid structure in place but the job's not done yet the roof is still exposed
28:49so we need to get it covered to protect the hemp
28:54it goes everywhere yeah it fills every void there's margot
29:02hello queen oh even more important margot's mom hi margot's mom are you coming in
29:08with the french contingent on site it seems like a good time to down tools and break for a coffee
29:17when you're outside every day yeah and half of them are sunny
29:32it's a good time to go to the park national park with all the kangaroos
29:35yeah but my mom you know all the people who go to the beach do the same thing
29:39well she's trying to say that you look great i think she's giving you a compliment
29:44yeah i accept in the australian
29:48that's nice how's the bump margot it's good yeah still growing it's still growing yeah
29:55i'm still five uh 22 weeks five months yeah
29:59yeah um and a half way now it's more than more than halfway yeah okay it's going to go fast
30:07are you going to have the house finished before the uh for the baby's here no giving up on that dream
30:14i mean in four more months the house is going to be a long way along yeah no no i think it's going
30:19to be like aim like windows are ordered they're going to be fitted by the end of the last week of
30:25november that's the aim once that's done then we can focus on doing the rest of the like the
30:29plastering on the walls and stuff so that's going to be big like then it's like you know the first
30:34it'll be time for second fix almost so if we can get to that stage by that's when we're running out
30:39of money well it's happening already because we're really relying on the grants that's when we're kind
30:46of running out of money because we need to grant to come in yeah to be able to finish but yeah we may
30:52we'll then be missing a bit hold off as long as you can what's that oh yeah yeah yeah because then
31:01if we have like the money if you get the grant in and the baby hasn't come yet then we can get a lot
31:10by the sounds of it getting this house finished will be a race against mother nature
31:16i could try to get under it i'll give it a push first so it's back to work as we need to get the
31:21roof covered before the clouds roll in we are racing the rain we've got all this hemp and lime exposed
31:32on top of the roof we've got to get the osb on and protect all this insulation from the rain we just
31:42don't want this to get so soggy that it turns to porridge up here before we get a chance to put a
31:48cover on it so we are moving quickly
32:03throughout this project margot has been juggling both building a home and growing a baby now in her
32:10third trimester she's finding it hard to think about anything but the baby's pending arrival
32:16i'm good a bit of heartburn sometimes but i don't think i ate enough like most pregnant women they feel
32:23their appetite is increased but mine is actually decreased since i'm pregnant i guess because i kind
32:30of get a bit nauseous being pregnant when you're building where you're supposed to build a house
32:37yourself it's a bit of a challenge um but i think so far it's it's good look hopefully we'll have a
32:44beautiful baby we'll have a beautiful house it's a lovely one isn't it my stepmother sent that we made
32:50him last week so small like you're like oh they're going to fit in there but it does apparently
32:56focus at the moment is well it's baby and house it depends um the baby is a bit like uh you know it's
33:09in your way when you think of things so main thing at the moment is to be prepared for that so when all
33:16that comes it would be a different story so even if the house is your focus the baby is there like you
33:23know as a yeah that's part of the family that's it before the baby arrives there's still a mountain
33:35of work to do to turn this house into a home today's plan of action is to connect the new extension with
33:43the old farmhouse it should be an opening by the end of the day abracadabra but to do that we need
33:54to break through this two foot thick stone wall the key to taking down a wall like this is understanding
34:04how it was first built each stone was placed to carry the load above it's a floating rock it's a bit
34:11like playing jenga picking the right stone and always thinking a few moves ahead
34:21that's really exciting to connect in the two you know instead of having to be going around in
34:25circles around the house that we're going to have that connection and we're really going to see how
34:29the entrance here is opening up uh light into the extension and so it's feeling really good
34:34this is typical rose coming in to steal all the glory now that we have an opening all that's left
34:45to do is give it back its stability why don't we just try lifting it yeah and rose has chosen a fred
34:51flintstone style lintel to do the job it weighs a ton so we've dragged in a few helpers
34:58good fab thankfully she's also hired a hoist to do most of the heavy lifting how are we i think we're
35:10not nearly there no that's very good they were pretty heavy yeah very heavy so i'm glad we had
35:18this contraption that i managed to rent that has made it a lot easier what do you think i think it's great
35:28it's been nearly nine months since rose and margot started work on their self-built project in county
35:41west meath they are expecting a baby who is due in a matter of weeks so i'm back to help rose get the
35:49house over the finish line hi nice to see you yeah you too it's so good to see it without scaffolding
35:58i know it makes such a difference doesn't it and the doors and windows it's so close to being
36:02enclosed yeah nearly there what do you want to work on today i just picked up the large cladding
36:07we've got 120 lens so we're going to use them very wisely i hope let's have a look at this large
36:15cool yeah i like that it's got a live edge to it as well a little wobble yeah what's the plan are you
36:22going to oil this or varnish it or are you just going to leave we're just going to leave it we
36:27really like the kind of the silvery kind of effect that you you get from it yeah like honestly it'll
36:32only take about a year for it to turn silver yeah really excited it's going to be one of those ones
36:39that i feel like it makes a really dramatic visual kind of difference and i'm just going to be happy to
36:45get the hemp walls protected a little bit because it's been a few months now
36:47how's the bump coming along it's kind of getting real now so exciting yeah so baby better stay where
36:57they are i was like i think would that be a contraction i was like sit down put your feet
37:04up and ignore that and like no it's not a contraction
37:10cladding a building like this will not only make it look great but also give it a durable
37:15weatherproof skin this wood as it gets water in it it's going to expand as it dries out it's going
37:21to contract and that's going to make these gaps open and close so you have to cover these gaps
37:26right so you have to put another board right over the top of them that amount of overlap still allows
37:33everything to contract and expand as it wants to but gives you full coverage everywhere cool by using
37:40this shiplap technique where the boards overlap the result is simple effective and above all else
37:47fast yeah it's going to look great
37:58is that what you're imagining yeah it looks really good the building is slowly coming together but the
38:03baby could arrive any day so rose and margot are taking a little break from site to focus on the
38:12all-important kitchen instead of building it themselves they've opted to call in a professional
38:18and we're kind of under pressure at the moment baby hasn't arrived yet but what's that when's baby
38:24two two weeks now you were looking at some natural woods to put in with a bit of a pop of color then
38:32as well yeah kitchens are big area i think it's a place we're going to spend the majority of our time
38:37so the kitchen is a big statement it needs to pop yeah we'll start looking at some wood color so
38:43yeah we get some oils on these you know it just enhances the actual natural wood
38:47it's just a quick mock-up of what it would look like it feels very good no it's really exciting
38:56but especially when you know you're going to walk with people that understand what you're trying to
39:00do and they they can see your projects yeah so far so good for your curved units as well this is what
39:08you would have possibilities around like i love a challenge it's exciting to see the different colors
39:15the different styles and like there's endless possibilities if you want i'll make you a sample
39:20door so that you can actually have it in the color that you want and then when you're going to toilet
39:24shops you know to pick your colors for the house you can bring that with you it's late january and with
39:30the due date imminent rose and margot are not hanging around and we're kind of thinking something really
39:36bright and vibrant and colorful and and then margot you were thinking for the upstairs more calm relax
39:43something like a spa relaxing place a spa would be delightful yeah if we can feel the old sun
39:49that's great on today's shopping list are tiles for the bathroom it's exciting it's getting to a
39:54stage now where we can visualize finishes and everything it's getting real that we're actually
39:59going to move into a house hopefully soon but when all you've been looking at is mud and lime for
40:04the past 10 months choosing from a vast array of dazzling tiles can be mind-boggling
40:09is anything catch your eye in here um there's a little bit of pressure to kind of and get some
40:18things pinned down time is running out i guess more goes like 38 weeks tomorrow so yeah it's come
40:23all of a sudden really so we still have like this about 200 mil you know from the floor it's it's
40:29overwhelming it's a bit too much because i have a lot in my head and i don't think my head is
40:34functioning as normal are you doing upstairs on the floor heating as well or no your head is just not
40:44in the space for anything else he wants to just be focusing on one thing and that's the baby
40:51hopefully we can make nice choices it's early february and rose and margot have welcomed a beautiful
41:07baby girl violet arrived on saturday morning at 12 45 yeah so just like that magically
41:18okay what uh oh that's for the cats the cats uh it's a lot of cuddles a lot of fun a lot of standing
41:31still and looking yeah at her we cannot pass that no no and you wake her up yeah so i get in trouble
41:41basically super cute oh she is yeah oh god since the first day she was just pure joy like just felt in
41:51love instantly like i need to top my game a little bit we still haven't picked the tiles
41:56it's been a year since i first met rose and margot and this morning i'm on my way to pay them one last
42:10visit wow that is a beautiful thing to see it's like a little bit of france has landed in westmeade
42:22standing majestically in its rural setting the old stone farmhouse has been utterly transformed
42:29and i cannot wait to meet the self-builders who made it happen
42:34hi hello hello how's it going great nice to see you not in building clothes i know i think it's the
42:42first time i've been here i'm good thanks look at your beautiful home yeah how does it feel yeah it
42:49feels amazing it feels like to get to this stage now where it's we're starting to make it look
42:54pretty yeah you know all the dirty stuff is done it's so cool seeing the different materials you
43:00know the lime plaster the exposed stone the the new cladding going around the corner what i love is that
43:07that is a different kind of building and you're not trying to pretend it's the same as this building
43:10and same for the extension you've added on like they're different styles they'll built at different
43:14times and by making them look different it just adds to the story even more you know yeah have you
43:20moved in yet we'll show you very good
43:27wow what a space i mean look at this room it's so big it's a beautiful space to come into yeah
43:37i honestly can't get over this place it feels elegant and timeless yet understated and calm a
43:46perfect retreat for baby violet and her two mums how do you like your new house she's getting to know
43:53it slowly yeah yeah i love how you've kept so many of the the natural curves you know this is very
44:01welcoming makes you want to walk through yeah it's very good to see this this was a very big day
44:06it's lovely yeah yeah big hard day yeah yeah where'd the staircase go uh we pulled it out
44:14and do you just give up on upstairs for a little bit yeah that's kind of the plan well look we've
44:18got everything we need downstairs yeah we've got a room we've got the kitchen we've got here yeah
44:23it's kind of exciting that you'll have another phase of your house to grow into whenever that
44:29happens if it's six months or a year or whatever yeah that when you need it you'll be able to go up there
44:35i'm not surprised they decided not to finish the upstairs they've achieved so much in a tight
44:44time frame and i'm sure they will need some time to recharge but for now i can't wait to see the
44:49extension that we built together may i yeah can we yes oh my god so classy
45:04look at you in your magazine house i know it's fancy isn't it it's super fancy i'm i'm a bit nervous
45:14they don't usually let me into places this fancy it looks so good it's the space that we are going to
45:22be in all the time yeah and it makes sense yeah this is what you do you you make food yeah yeah of
45:27course no one would ever guess that this is probably the most natural part of your whole house
45:34hemp walls timber frame that you built yourself yeah well with a little help a little bit of help
45:40yeah that's what friends are for yeah yeah i guess so many decisions were made because of out of
45:47necessity as well yeah you know budget-wise like getting all of these windows you know that were
45:52mismeasured for somebody else's house you didn't even order these windows you just got them yeah we
45:57got them and made them work and we made them work yeah how much do you think you save just by doing
46:02that just by taking someone else's i'd say easily 10 000 or more maybe by boxing clever with their budget
46:12and doing most of the work themselves rose and margo have built a beautiful home for a little under
46:18200 grand and they've achieved all of this without compromising on their sustainable goals which for me
46:26is hugely impressive you were able to build this beautiful space out of these materials that
46:34feel really good to be surrounded by because you were willing to get your hands dirty you know you
46:39kind of chose where to put that energy yeah you traded sweat for money even within your own budget you
46:45know yeah it's been very challenging in some times but really enjoyable in others it's like ups and downs
46:51it's like life in general but it's very i guess it's been a really condensed period of time
46:57i think rose is really good like she has such an energy as well to kind of
47:00bring people together yeah that's all right
47:09why is mommy crying why is mommy crying when she's happy are you proud of her
47:22you know she couldn't have done it without you but i think it was her desire because you have to
47:26deal with the house and you have to deal with me pregnant and dealing with the baby and um so now
47:32you're like yeah you're just yeah it's quite amazing and i thought i couldn't have done that i
47:38couldn't do that so yeah no of course yeah we're a good team yeah would you do it again yeah a hundred
47:45percent like we wouldn't have the house we have now if we didn't get our hands dirty and if we didn't
47:52learn how to do things i think we're very very lucky i don't think it's luck i think it's you
48:00i think i think it's both of you i think it's how you approach life and have approached the whole
48:05project and have made it possible to have a house like this i think we're still coming to terms with
48:13it that we have this big beautiful house with an amazing extension and that we did so much of it
48:19ourselves and i think it's just sinking in or starting to sink in we're very happy
48:34you know building your own home is a journey that's different for everybody for some people
48:39it's a quick fix for others it's their lifetime's work rose and margot's journey started six years ago
48:45and yeah it's not quite finished yet but in a way a project like this never is there's always
48:50another job getting added to the list they've done the hard bit they learned all the skills they needed
48:56to turn this old stone farmhouse into a modern family home that works for them and i've no doubt at
49:02some point they'll be ready to pick up the tools and finish the job but for now i think they deserve to
49:06to take a step back and enjoy being a family in their new home
49:21so
49:26so
49:30so
49:33so
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