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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?
00:22Okay 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.
00:50Right 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.
01:06Clearing the way 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. He's living his best life in there.
01:14So, forget what you think is normal.
01:17And consider this.
01:18If you can't afford to have your house built for you, there is another way.
01:24Oh, wow. What a space.
01:27It's gorgeous. It's class.
01:29Good tears.
01:30Yeah, it's lovely.
01:32Build your own.
01:33Wow. That's a house.
01:34Building a home means different things to different people.
01:47For 30-year-old Cian, it's an opportunity to put down roots for the first time.
01:52I think the longest I've ever lived in a place was Carlow.
01:56And I'm not from Carlow, I'm from Meath.
01:59Even then, I was born in Dublin, to my shame.
02:02Well, I wasn't.
02:05It'll sound strange when I say this, but when I was a kid growing up,
02:09I always found it weird that some people who were homeless,
02:11I sort of half assumed it would be, you know, people you wouldn't want in society.
02:16Naturally enough, when I became homeless, I discovered that wasn't true at all.
02:20It's an extreme situation where you'll see only the extreme good and extreme bad out of people.
02:26Because you're the height of vulnerability.
02:30I was on the streets years.
02:32I stayed away from drugs, never committed any crimes.
02:34I never went in to rob food.
02:36There wasn't a need for me to do the likes of begging or any crack like that,
02:40because I did have an income.
02:41I worked.
02:42I didn't have enough to rent.
02:44I was still homeless.
02:45But at the same time, I worked every day for years.
02:49It's such a bizarre situation to be in, because everyone will tell you,
02:54here, just go on, you just have to keep trying, keep working and all this,
02:58and the stars will align.
03:00I suppose I can't really criticise that now, but, you know,
03:04when you're in it, like, if you actually do the right thing, it's ridiculously hard.
03:10Like, the one thing that kept me going on the streets for years was, you know,
03:14the whole mantra I had in my head, you know, house, job, wife, live a normal life.
03:20A few months ago, Cian was given a lifeline, when a group of people found him and set up a GoFundMe
03:27in the hope they could get him off the streets and into a home.
03:31His story touched a nerve, and donations flooded in, which allowed Cian to purchase this derelict cottage in County Sligo.
03:39Ah, man, it's nuts.
03:41I keep telling myself, I'm almost like, you know, an 1800s middle-class man now.
03:45Fair enough, the house has no power, it has no plumbing, but at the same time, it's mine.
03:50This is my land, this is my house, you know.
03:53It's a class feeling, like, you know, I have a place to keep things now.
03:58So, you know, I don't have to carry everything with me, I don't have to sleep on it,
04:01I don't have to, you know, defend it to the death.
04:04No, it's a massive game-changer, like.
04:06Honestly, I can't even imagine what this feels like for Cian.
04:14He's been homeless for so many years now that, unlike most other people I end up working with,
04:23he doesn't have this backlog of things he loved and hated about his last house.
04:28He literally didn't have a house before.
04:29And so, there's going to be some really interesting figuring out here
04:34in what really matters to Cian and what he's looking for.
04:44Hello. How are you, Cian?
04:46Oh, how are you, Harrison? How are you getting on?
04:47Nice to meet you, man.
04:48Nice to meet you, man.
04:49Nice to meet you, man.
04:50It's a nice house.
04:52Oh, Jesus, it will be, hopefully.
04:54Gonna take a while to get me head wrapped around it, you know?
04:55Yeah, yeah, I bet.
04:56Fair enough, it has no power, and there is water, but it's, unfortunately, outside.
05:01But, you know, definitely moving up in the world, you know?
05:03Yeah.
05:04I have the foundation out.
05:05One day I might meet the missus, you know?
05:07Settle down, maybe have a few kids, and sure, they'll need their rooms too, you know?
05:10Sure, sure, sure.
05:12Tell me, how much did you get it for?
05:14Oh, it was 41.
05:16The asking price was 45, but we managed to negotiate it down a bit.
05:21That's pretty good. That's a 10% discount you managed there.
05:24Ah, true, you know.
05:25Not bad.
05:26When did you buy it?
05:28Start of April.
05:29And what, we're July now, three months ago?
05:31Something like that, yeah.
05:32Yeah.
05:33We're hearing stories every day now about people becoming homeless today in Ireland,
05:36and it's very nice to meet someone who's going in the other direction.
05:40And it's time to finally shed that badge of homelessness,
05:45and take on this new one of a self-builder who's trying to figure out
05:49what the hell to do with an old stone cottage.
05:52Ah, it's definitely some turnabout, all right.
05:55Would you like to have a look about the place?
05:56Yeah, absolutely.
05:57Cool.
05:59The cottage is small and certainly has no frills, but to me, it's full of potential.
06:03You know, my first impression is that this is exactly what my cottage looked like when I first bought it.
06:12All of this plasterboard put over the stone walls, the damp coming through, all the water damage.
06:18You know, I guess this is the sitting room, and this would have been the bedroom on the other side of the fireplace.
06:24Ah, yeah, I'd say so, yeah.
06:28And Cian, there's no floor in here. Did you take this floor out?
06:31Oh, no, it seems to have been the previous person who owned it.
06:36But, yeah, it's handy enough that it's dug out at the moment,
06:40because, you know, sticking a sink in, we'd be able to manage the plumbing easy.
06:44Yeah, absolutely. It's all possible, you know.
06:48It's all possible.
06:51Cian's dream is modest.
06:53It's simply to turn this cottage into a home.
06:57Using the existing footprint, he will create a utility room, a kitchen diner, and a bedroom.
07:03With space at a minimum inside the cottage, he will need to build a small extension for his bathroom.
07:09Cian only has a certain amount of money to play with,
07:13and with no means to raise more, he needs to keep his costs to a minimum.
07:18I hope I can teach him a few skills along the way to help him do that.
07:23If we can pull it off, it will provide Cian with a sanctuary which will be a far cry from the life he has lived up until now.
07:29But, renovating an old cottage can often throw up problems, so I want to take a closer look around to see if there are any red flags that we should be concerned about.
07:39That's an asbestos roof. The asbestos is definitely going to have to go, unfortunately.
07:45That'll be a big chunk, but we'll find the cheapest option for it.
07:49This bulge is a little scary. We won't know until we chip it off, but over the years, and especially this part that hasn't been protected with the pebble dash,
08:02the water comes in and runs away and it picks up all the small clay particles and washes them out onto the ground.
08:07And that's where you start getting all these gaps.
08:10It is worrisome going away, yeah.
08:11Yeah, yeah.
08:13The gutters need a bit of work too.
08:15And you can tell this is the north side of the property with all the growth back here, you know, never getting any sunlight hitting it.
08:22My gut feeling with the asbestos roof, with the dampness on the inside, the plasterboard everywhere, I think we need to take it back to a stone ruin.
08:32Ah, true. You know yourself, it's still a daunting task, the idea of actually breaking it down to build it back up, you know?
08:39Yeah, I get that. I get that you've finally got a home, it almost feels like it's livable inside, but it's not really.
08:47It's not even the place that really would be healthy for you to be living in right now.
08:51Was it one step back, two steps forward?
08:53Yeah.
08:54That's hopefully the goal.
08:55That's still forward. Let's go have a cup of tea.
08:56Kian's amazing. And the idea of taking an almost livable structure back to something like this before we can build it back up again into the house that he's really going to be living in.
09:12It's a big commitment and it's a little scary and I'm not surprised he's feeling anxious.
09:16But from everything that he's been through, you know, the problems he's going to have over the next six months are nothing compared to what the last few years have been like for him.
09:26Oh, Harrison, tea bag in or out?
09:28Out, please.
09:29And you say you're a builder.
09:31Oh, well. For you.
09:33Thank you. Amazing.
09:35You ready to wreck my house?
09:37I know. I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to be the one suggesting we wreck it a little bit first.
09:42What really has me anxious is kind of the timeframe, you know, especially with the winter coming.
09:47Oh, yeah.
09:48You know, I'd rather have as much as possible done for the winter, you know.
09:53Of course.
09:54If it was possible to have a livable by the winter, that would be class, but.
09:57Yeah.
09:59Six months ago, when you thought about the future.
10:02Six months ago, it was Christmas. I was lying on a bench in Cork and soaked through, like, obviously I never thought of any of this.
10:07Yeah.
10:08I was either covered in frost or soaked through, like.
10:10Truly.
10:11Yeah. And now that you've got a home, I guess, how far into the future do you get to think?
10:17I'm able to actually have the idea of our future, you know.
10:20Yeah.
10:21You start thinking of what you actually want out of life.
10:24Yeah.
10:25It's great to hear that Kean is thinking about a brighter future, but it's going to be a long road and he will have to draw on every ounce of resilience he has.
10:42Before we get stuck in, I've arranged to meet Maeve, who set up the GoFundMe that enabled Kean to buy the house.
10:50Tell me how you met Kean.
10:52So, I was driving in.
10:53Yeah.
10:54To Mitchellstown and I saw Kean.
10:58He had a bag in his back, slung over his shoulder and he was wearing a hat and I just noticed him.
11:05It's not something I do very often, is pick up strangers.
11:09Yeah.
11:10But something just told me, stop the car for this man.
11:14And I just, I just did it without really thinking.
11:18And then he shared with me that he was going to climb the Galti Mountains.
11:22Okay.
11:23So, I said, well, that's a bit further.
11:25So, look, why don't I just take you up to where you start the hike.
11:28Right.
11:29So, that gave us more time to talk.
11:31I did ask him, was he homeless?
11:34Right.
11:35And he said, I have options.
11:38Okay.
11:39So, I felt he didn't want me to pursue that at all, but I knew there was something not right.
11:45It was the following day, we had seen a missing person.
11:49So, when I opened my social media, I saw his face.
11:52And I was just thinking, wow, that's Kean that I picked up.
11:57But then a search party went out to try and find him.
12:01Yeah.
12:02So, six days later, got a call to say that his tent was spotted.
12:06It was really, get up there quick.
12:09So, when we got up there, I went over to the tent, it was all zipped up.
12:12And I said, Kean?
12:15And he said, yeah.
12:16I said, it's Maeve.
12:17I gave you a lift last week.
12:19He said, oh, Maeve.
12:20And I said, can I talk to you?
12:22And he unzipped the tent.
12:25And he was so thin looking.
12:29My first instinct was, I just grabbed his face, and I told him he was loved.
12:34And I said, there's a plan for you, and this is not it.
12:37And we chatted about the difficulties of being on the street, and really why he had come
12:44to the position that he was in, in that tent.
12:46Yeah.
12:47This is why I'm here.
12:48It's because, you know, of this life that I don't want to have anymore.
12:53Then I thought, well, if I change the line of questioning, and I ask him, what's your dreams?
12:58What's your wish in life?
12:59Yeah.
13:00You know, what is it you want?
13:03And so straight away, he just moved from being in a kind of dismal place to a place of, like,
13:10well, this is what I would love.
13:11Yeah.
13:12And he began to tell us about a place in Sligo that he had looked up on Daft.
13:19So, I said, you know what, Cain?
13:22We can, we can, you can have what you want.
13:25Yeah.
13:26And I said, we could start a GoFundMe, and we could get you what, you know, this place
13:30to live.
13:31Have you ever run a GoFundMe before?
13:32Never.
13:33I hadn't the first clue about it.
13:35Yeah.
13:36Nothing.
13:37But I said, I needed to give him that hope, you know, that he was gonna have a future,
13:42and it was gonna start now.
13:44And he said, you know, I really don't believe this is gonna happen, but I'll come with you.
13:51He has come a long way in believing that the impossible is actually possible for him.
13:58The money raised from the GoFundMe means that Cain has around 40,000 euro left to put
14:05towards the renovations.
14:06But these days, 40 grand doesn't stretch as far as it used to, so he's applied for the
14:12vacant property grant, which will give him an extra 70,000 euro.
14:17While we wait for the grant to come through, we set about fencing off his plot of land.
14:22Are you enjoying the nice squelchy feeling of my land?
14:24I am.
14:25I am.
14:26Are you enjoying using the words, my land?
14:29Aye, you know yourself, what every man wants.
14:33Land.
14:34You know?
14:35What is it?
14:36It's a half acre, all up?
14:37In total, with the cottage, it's 0.66 acres, I believe.
14:41Yeah.
14:42What do you actually want to be using the land for?
14:45Oh, I'm thinking four vegetable plots for a bit of rotation.
14:49Yeah.
14:50In the centre, I'm thinking, because you know, I'm Gaelic-Irish.
14:53I want to stick in a Cecile oak tree.
14:55I have it germinating.
14:56It could be around 100, 200 years.
14:58And then stick a beehive beside that.
15:01Yeah.
15:02I'll probably have a few chickens here as well.
15:05Yeah.
15:06Expand on, have a cow, you know?
15:08Turn it into a proper land of milk and honey, you know?
15:10Uh-huh, uh-huh.
15:11Along the boundaries here, I'm thinking of sticking there, the likes of blackberry, blueberry,
15:16raspberry, gooseberry, elderberry, any form of berry.
15:20It's brilliant that all you see is potential when you look at this field.
15:23You've been self-sufficient and self-reliant for so long now that it's the natural direction
15:29for you to go, is when you get given a blank canvas, you're like, how do I use this to be
15:34as self-sufficient as possible?
15:39It's mid-autumn, and Kian has qualified for the vacant property grant.
15:44He's also managed to get his hands on a caravan, which will give him some much-needed shelter
15:49during the winter months.
15:51But the process to get here has taken longer than Kian expected.
15:55In a way, it's difficult to hold on to the fact that we're making progress while you're
16:00sort of still in a waiting position, if you know what I mean.
16:04A good few months since the cottage was purchased.
16:07It's very hard to be so close, and yet so far in that you have to wait.
16:12There's still the optimism there, it's just waiting for things to happen.
16:16Although he now has the funds in place, I'm concerned that some of the structural issues
16:21may swallow most of the budget.
16:24The exterior walls are bulging, and who knows what else we might uncover
16:28once we start unbuilding what's already there.
16:31So a local contractor has come on board to oversee the initial phase of the project.
16:37The crowdfunded money plus the grant is in and around $100,000.
16:42If we're willing to put a lot of labour in, and a lot of sweat in, can we get it to a
16:49livable standard?
16:50We can get it to a livable standard.
16:52Definitely won't be at a high end for what we're talking about.
16:56But we can get it to a level with a lot of shoulders to the wheel.
17:02And reaching out, I suppose, to people as well is going to help in this.
17:06We have a lot of basic, basic works to get this, to strip the building back,
17:11to put it back together, to get you inside in it, to get it habitable.
17:15And there is a certain amount of money that needs to be expended on that.
17:18There's no money beyond this money that we've got, right?
17:21There's no banks lending Keane any money.
17:23There's no credit cards.
17:24There's no family to lend Keane any money.
17:26This is what we've got.
17:27I'm very frightened of the thought of, you know, the sort of,
17:30because it's not going to be a quick process, you know,
17:33there's not going to be a quick bandage on it.
17:35It's going to be weeks of seeing, you know, bits taken down and replaced.
17:39Yeah.
17:40So I am a bit anxious of it all.
17:43We still have the underlying fear of, oh no, my house is going to collapse.
17:46I'll be left with nothing.
17:48I'll be back on the bench in Cork in no time.
17:50We'll get there.
17:52Yeah, absolutely we'll get there.
17:54That's what this is about, putting it back together.
17:56Take it apart first, then we'll put it back together.
17:59And that's going to be the little bit of hurt.
18:01That's the bit that's going to hurt you.
18:02When you see it like that, you go, I had something.
18:04Now what do I have here today?
18:06It's a big daunting thing to think of money,
18:09because it has such an influence nowadays,
18:13and I don't want to get caught out and lose everything that I could possibly have.
18:17I don't think I believe it's actually going to happen until the work actually starts.
18:22There's no doubt that this is going to be a hell of a journey for Cian.
18:27And I really hope that he can stick it out to reap the rewards of all the work and energy
18:33that's going to go into this little cottage, because it is going to be amazing.
18:4930-year-old Cian is attempting to turn this old stone cottage in County Sligo into his first home.
18:56With the asbestos roof professionally removed and the building now stripped back,
19:01it's ready for a new beginning.
19:03So I'm back in Sligo to see what we have to play with.
19:06I love what you've done with the place, mate.
19:08You know, I've installed some new skylights.
19:11Great to see that asbestos gone.
19:14Ah, true, yeah.
19:16I really do like seeing the building like this, though.
19:19It doesn't give you anxiety.
19:20No!
19:21What are the parts that are giving you anxiety?
19:24Ah, it's just, it seems a good bit crumbly, you know?
19:28For a house that's been here for a few hundred years, this is what it should look like.
19:33So what other problems have you found, Cian?
19:36What have I not found?
19:38Like, there's a few things that jump out to me.
19:41Obviously the cracks are there, but ideally all of this should be tied into this wall, right?
19:46This chimney should be buttressing this wall.
19:49It's obviously not connected to the wall at that point anymore.
19:52It's not connected to this wall.
19:54It's not ideal that it's just been left freestanding there.
19:57So that's something we'd want to rectify.
20:00There's problems for sure, but there's nothing to suggest the house is about to fall down.
20:06Except for maybe this wall, right?
20:08This is the inside of the wall that is looking so scary from the outside.
20:13Looks pretty scary from the inside too.
20:15You can see it pulling away from the chimney breast there.
20:19This crack going the whole way down the wall, all the way down to the base.
20:25That whole wall is moving basically from the gable end to the chimney.
20:30But that's exactly why we're building an extension here.
20:36Bringing this cottage back to life is going to be a hard-fought battle.
20:40It's already revealing more than we had bargained for.
20:43But there's no going back now, so we need to carry on one job at a time.
20:48As winter draws in, Keane is on hand as the old rotten roof timbers are taken down.
20:55I'm definitely out of practice when it comes to construction.
20:58When the rafters come off, all that will be left will be the four outer walls,
21:03which are not in the best shape.
21:05So contractor Fergal is on site to keep a watchful eye.
21:09It's just precarious. The building itself is in a precarious condition.
21:13So taking this bit of stability out is a concern.
21:17I'm a little bit apprehensive about it.
21:20Just hoping that everything stays where it currently is.
21:28I'll tell you one thing that gives me a fright.
21:30It's the floating chimney.
21:32But, I know, it's glass to see the progress, you know.
21:36It's clearing the way for fresh beginnings, isn't it?
21:42We're hitting the Christmas period now,
21:45so things will start to slow down once again for a couple of weeks.
21:50You know, it's a nice little Christmas present for yourself now.
21:53You'll be able to see a bit of progress on the cottage.
21:57I have to say, you know, this is pretty much the kind of house I was expecting two, three years ago.
22:14This is probably something I'd imagine would be in my budget if I was squatting away.
22:19But, no, I'm full of hope and optimism, you know.
22:23It's very nice, cosy fire, you know.
22:25Good company. What more could you want?
22:28It's great to see Cian looking on the bright side.
22:31But with Christmas just around the corner, I've no doubt there will be hard days ahead.
22:36So today, I want to give him an early Christmas present, and I've booked us in for a bit of a man treat.
22:50As you can see, there's not that much to cut.
23:03Now that you're seeing it all actually happening, do you see it as progress, or does it still feel like you've destroyed a perfectly good house?
23:11And I have a bit of confidence that we'll be able to build it up better now, you know.
23:15Yeah, absolutely.
23:17Hopefully the walls will stay up straight.
23:20Ah, they will. They will.
23:24What have you learnt in the past year?
23:28I've learnt that a tiny cottage that is fairly derelict is still an absolute fortune to do up.
23:36Ah, yeah. Now I'm starting to have a little bit of hope that I'll be able to have a decent future now, you know.
23:43It's important, you know.
23:45I think hope's all we've got at the end of the day.
23:47Everything else kind of goes. It can all get taken away from you.
23:50House, job, wife, live a normal life. That's the goal.
23:54It seems more tangible and doable nowadays, you know.
23:58I'm just getting one last look at your moustache before it goes.
24:01It's glorious, isn't it?
24:02I think in a year's time you're going to be wondering what food you should be growing.
24:10I already have a plan if I ever get a cow.
24:13What's that?
24:15So I don't feel guilty when eventually they stop giving me milk and I have to cook and eat them.
24:20I'm going to name them after English manner.
24:25It's definitely a different world now than last year anyway.
24:27Yeah.
24:29Getting a fancy shave instead of, you know, trying to ninja my way out of a knife fight.
24:38Your house might not have a roof right now, but you're going to look great.
24:44I've never looked so neat in my whole life.
24:46You look great.
24:50I actually don't recognise you.
24:53No, I'm like a 12-year-old boy.
24:56Would I get all the shifts at the disco?
24:58It's a new year and after a series of storms, Fergal and his team have had to make some tough choices.
25:15One of which was to take down the chimney that once divided the rooms of Cian's cottage.
25:21How are you, Fergal?
25:24How's it?
25:25How are you doing?
25:26Not so bad. How yourself?
25:27Good. Nice to see you.
25:28I love what you've done with the place.
25:30We've done a lot of work here all right to bring it back to nothing.
25:33How's the last month been?
25:35Challenging.
25:37I suppose it became very evident once we started doing the walk around here that the chimney was unstable
25:42and it was unsafe to put anyone into the walk area.
25:44So I suppose the decision was made. It has to come down and we had to replicate it in the end.
25:49In the interest of safety, it had to come down, right?
25:51Right.
25:52At the end of the day, we have a very empty shell here at the minute.
25:55Yeah.
25:56But it's still more stable than it was before we came here.
25:58Absolutely.
25:59Even though it's a great big void that we're standing here at the back, we have stability in what we have so we can rebuild.
26:04Absolutely. The chimney being gone just gives so much options for how to organise the space and what to do here as well.
26:10Absolutely.
26:11It's no longer defined as it was before.
26:14I'm very happy that we're actually in a better place despite the fact that it's much slower progress than we had intended.
26:20Sure, sure, sure.
26:22It's a shock to see only a few walls remaining, but sometimes you need to roll with the punches.
26:28So today I've asked Maeve and the group who set up the GoFundMe to help us take on the next stage of the demolition.
26:40Yeah.
26:41Look at this army you've got.
26:43Hi.
26:44The heavy mob has arrived.
26:45Yeah, exactly.
26:46Yeah.
26:47Exactly.
26:48Nobody can say me in what army anymore.
26:49The plan is to take off the pebble dash that is covering the stone and trapping in moisture.
26:56Basically we're trying to expose the stone so we can get in behind it.
27:00But chipping off a thick layer of concrete is easier said than done.
27:05I've never seen that much render on the outside of a building.
27:08There's six inches of cement render on the outside of this.
27:12It's going to be a long day.
27:13It's pretty daunting when you look at the whole wall here and, you know, you're just trying to hack it off.
27:21But, you know, get the momentum going and I'm sure all hands on deck, you know, will get there.
27:28It's a good workout anyway.
27:30Building your own home is not only a physical job, it can also be an emotional one.
27:35So I hope that having the crew here to help will give Cian an extra boost.
27:39It feels like being part of the community, you know, rather than just being a man on his own.
27:45I do greatly appreciate it, you know.
27:47It's a heartwarming feeling.
27:49I think it's hard for him to put in words sometimes.
27:52Not only on the ground has there been social support, but online as well.
27:56Like, people leaving lovely messages and wishing him luck and wishing him all the best in his new home and everything.
28:03It kind of feels like a dream come true.
28:06Which is, I suppose, when we started the GoFundMe that was the goal.
28:10That it would be his dream come true.
28:12And now we're sort of in the middle of it.
28:15And it's quite probably hard for him to fathom that it's happening.
28:19A bit weaker than I used to be now.
28:20Now that we have a blank canvas to draw on, I've organised for Cian to meet a local architect so that we can design the layout of the rooms to make the most of the space he's got.
28:36We just want to create a lovely sanctuary for you that's filled with light and filled with joy, you know, where you can escape all that rough and tumble of everyday life.
28:48And light is a huge part of that.
28:53The bedroom's a lot bigger, which I like.
28:56This is a real bedroom now.
28:57This is kind of, it's a space, especially when you end up having a partner who's living here with you and it's a space that you're sharing with someone else.
29:04This is a space that you can share with someone else.
29:07The fact that the wall is currently gone at the back, it'd be a shame to close up that wall again.
29:14So we're going to, again, use that to our advantage and put a set of double doors out the back so you can move out into an outside space.
29:24This is going to sound a bit of a silly sort of a sticking point, but I've never really liked glass patio doors.
29:31I just have the image in my head to shatter easily, you know.
29:35Or, you know, someone's coming in and they see a nice TV in the place, go around the back, shatter the patio window door and straight in, you know.
29:44So, I like the idea of any entry points being solid enough.
29:49Fair enough, you could point out, Cian, that's ludicrous, someone could always smash a window and do the same.
29:55Well, I don't know, I just feel uncomfortable about having basically a large window at the back of the house that someone could shatter and walk in without anyone really copying it from the road.
30:05Hmm.
30:06Does that make sense?
30:08It's understandable.
30:09Yeah, it's understandable.
30:10I understand where you're coming from, Cian, and I think it's just you'll learn to live and learn to appreciate all the benefits that come with having loads of light coming in there.
30:19You know yourself, it'll take a while to adapt to it.
30:23Like, I do get the idea about light, but I believe a house should be secure fundamentally, so I'd prefer only reasonably strong entryways that need at least five minutes booting it to open it, you know.
30:38It's your house in the end, but I just, I think it's worth thinking about.
30:42The idea that most people would love the idea of sort of an open, close to nature house, I prefer the idea of a fortress, that's fairly secure, you know.
30:51Yeah.
30:52Cian said something really interesting there and reminded me that for him, the idea of shelter is about security.
31:01It's about being safe and being able to sleep peacefully, knowing that no one's going to disturb him, that he's going to be warm all night long.
31:08And it's just a reminder of how different his experience has been to mine and to most people who are building a house right now because of the life that he's lived up until now.
31:24After giving it some thought, Cian has decided to go for Declan's design, and a few weeks later we're ready to start building the block work walls that will make up his new floor plan.
31:34This feels better than before.
31:36This is progress. I know it took a really long time to get here, but we're here, the sun's out, we've got blocks, we've got mortar.
31:45Ooh. Should we build some walls?
31:47Seems like a good plan.
31:49You know yourself, the old words can confuse you, all the planning and all the meetings and whatnot.
31:54But, you know, seeing it in actual practicality manifesting is a much different scenario, you know what I mean?
32:00It's taken about nine months to get to this point, and understandably, Cian is concerned about how far the budget will stretch.
32:08Between the GoFundMe and the Derelict Property Grant, he has just over 100,000 available to make the place livable.
32:16With the budget there is, we just have to hope.
32:19As the work goes on, say the budget's the top level, working going on, working going on, we want to make sure we either stop magically before or at before it.
32:30All crumbles down, you know, there's no hidden extra million in the side pocket that I can use.
32:34So, there is the old anxiety, but anyone who's facing a long-term project should probably feel the same, you know?
32:43It has to be insane not to worry about money. I mean, it's a major expensive project, you know?
32:49Even if it's only, you know, a tiny cottage like this, it's still a massive amount of cash.
32:54I do have the deathly fear that it'll just sort of get very close, but not quite to the point where I could live in it.
33:02Nice one. Perfect.
33:05There you go, Cian.
33:07You've built a third of a wall.
33:09Ooh.
33:16On days like this, progress on site can feel slow, but it's important for Cian to keep the bigger picture at the front end.
33:25So, I want him to begin to think about the idea of having a home for the first time.
33:31Does it feel real that you could be in that house in a few months?
33:36I still haven't fully shifted the mental framework towards it.
33:40Yeah. You know?
33:42It's very hard to shift mindset, you know? I'm still in a bit of the doom and gloom, you know?
33:46Everything you do there, whether it's digging out for foundations or building a wall like you did today,
33:51like, that's how you build a house. You do it one tiny step at a time.
33:55Once those walls are up and the bond beam's finished, the next move is the roof.
33:59It's very close.
34:01It's been a long process and there's been lots of delays, but you've made so much progress.
34:06And I guess I'm excited for you because I remember the feeling of having my own house for the first time.
34:17You know, I left home when I was 16 and was basically on people's couches or sleeping in vans in people's backyards for 10 years.
34:26It's a really special feeling after having to carry your whole life in a bag for so long.
34:34There'll definitely be some shift all right, you know?
34:36Yeah.
34:37I think that's something you've been dealing with for a long time.
34:41And I think most people wouldn't really understand that.
34:43Are they?
34:44Yeah.
34:45It's all about the foundation, you know?
34:47I think everyone needs it, you know?
34:48Most people get it from when they grow up, like, you know?
34:50Yeah.
34:51Yeah.
34:52Their background, you know, the chain that they're from, like...
34:54Yeah, sure.
34:55But, eh, this would be a good foundation, I'd say, for me.
34:59I just hope I'm not too old to, you know, get the full whack out of it, you know?
35:03I know.
35:04You've got plenty of years ahead of you.
35:06Right.
35:08I think the reason it all feels, like, hard to believe or not really real yet is that you're a little resistant to it all still.
35:14It's that it hasn't landed home yet and it doesn't feel like it's yours or whatever it is that's stopping you from owning it.
35:23But I think our words are powerful.
35:26I think the things we say about ourselves can be really powerful.
35:30It's all in how we talk about ourselves, you know?
35:33Your future's going to look like whatever you decide it's going to look like.
35:38Be an exciting future then.
35:39Great.
35:44It's springtime in Sligo and self-builder Cian is starting to see some big changes to his once derelict cottage.
35:59The sun is in the sky, oh, I, oh, I don't want to be anywhere.
36:05Might sound bad to say this, but I thought the old traditional cottages looked a bit too English, so I prefer the green roof over the red, you know?
36:12Although, half the problem is often times you see these green roofs.
36:16Like, I picked it myself and I'm very happy with it.
36:18But often times you see these green roofs, they're usually for cattle sheds.
36:24But I like it.
36:26To help him install it, he has drafted in a local roofer.
36:31It's good, it's pretty straight to me.
36:34That explains a lot.
36:37That's you there?
36:38Seems sweet.
36:39Yeah.
36:40Beautiful.
36:41One second now.
36:43Well, I'm actually bang on up here, like.
36:45Aye, it's bang on here as well.
36:46There's no overlap.
36:47As well as fitting the corrugated sheets, he has Velux windows to install that will bring some much-needed light into the cottage.
36:54This is the guide for how to fit Velux.
36:58See all the step-by-step.
37:00Think of it as really expensive IKEA.
37:03Which way is which?
37:05This is at the top.
37:07Same as that one.
37:08Just look at that one for reference.
37:13Sure.
37:14Oh, yeah.
37:15Oh, yeah.
37:16Just, you know, give me all the anxiety, why don't you?
37:21Is this where we cry?
37:22This is not where we cry.
37:23This is where we square things off.
37:26Yeah.
37:28We're golden.
37:29Voila.
37:30Throughout this project, I've seen Keane grow in ways I was not expecting.
37:35None more so than when he's getting his hands dirty on the build.
37:39It does feel like last, because you know yourself.
37:41You could just sort of show up at a place and it's already fully done and all that, and you don't really feel an attachment to it.
37:46Whereas, if you're part of the process with it, you sort of grow more of an attachment with it, you know?
37:52I am enjoying, you know, sort of helping it out and seeing the process all right, yeah.
37:56Try not to think too much of the future or the past.
37:57See, half the battle is you have to have a peaceful headspace in the moment of time, you know?
38:04You can't cling too much to the future.
38:05You can't, you know, cling too much to the past.
38:07It's all about your present.
38:18As we edge ever closer, I want Keane to begin thinking about the next steps,
38:23especially the ones that will rely on booking in trade people to help make his cottage habitable.
38:30Do you want to have a whirl with the power points?
38:33And again, there's no huge limiting factor here.
38:37Have as many as you want, as few as you want.
38:40In the bedroom, the bed would be here, so we'd imagine a socket near the wall.
38:44Generally, what we'd do with power is put power either side of the bed, right?
38:50So both people in the bed have access to some power.
38:53Every now and again, I do be sitting in the caravan.
38:55I'll get sort of weird random, you know, sort of images in the head of me wandering into a couple of the rooms
39:02and seeing the actual finish of them. It's hard to explain, but it's a good feeling, you know?
39:06I was half thinking in the future, if I ever do have children, like they'll need somewhere to go.
39:11Yeah.
39:12But we have the old stone mill building here.
39:14Sure, yeah.
39:16Which I'd say I would be able to hopefully partition to bedrooms.
39:20Oh, right, yeah.
39:21So in order to have access for that and where you don't have to go outside and in,
39:25we would have to save a bit of space here.
39:27I know what you mean, a doorway or a hallway.
39:29Yeah, just a little connecting hallway, which means we'd have to avoid sort of putting anything there.
39:36That's fine, yeah.
39:37It's really nice to see Cian starting to believe that this is all really going to happen
39:45and starting to believe in himself that this is something that he's going to have access to.
39:51This is going to be his home.
39:52It's mad to see it on paper.
39:54I don't know.
39:55I'm definitely envisioning myself growing a bit older and bolder here.
39:58In a good way.
40:12It's mid-summer and it's a big day on site as the windows arrive ready to be installed.
40:19Ah, it's mad man.
40:20Soon it'll be, you know, ship-shaped, watertight, you know.
40:23Once it's watertight, you know, you can do the second fix.
40:26So you can have things like power and plumbing.
40:28The functional bones of the house be there, like, you know.
40:31So that's state class.
40:33Although he had doubts initially about the idea of having glass doors to the rear of his property,
40:38as they get slotted in, Cian can see there was some method to the madness.
40:43Whew!
40:44The logic of other people prevailed over my paranoia, you know.
40:49It worked out quite well in the end.
40:52Over the next few weeks, several companies who have heard Cian's story generously donate their time and services.
40:59The cottage gets a second fix and solar panels are installed, which will allow Cian to generate his own power.
41:07And if that wasn't enough, contributions of a new floor, kitchen and furniture mean that Cian is edging ever closer to being able to move in.
41:17The idea of having furniture, you know, it's literally a space of your own where you can actually just be yourself, you know.
41:23It's coming from that sense of security, you know.
41:25Especially the whole idea of, like, you know, a wardrobe.
41:28Like, that's mad, you know.
41:30I'm used to having the clothes on me and then my spare clothes in a bag on my back, like, and just rotate that way.
41:36And now I can have, like, seven outfits, one for each day, then rotate and wash.
41:41I was like, oh, you know what I mean.
41:42It's unreal, you know.
41:43This is a good load of positive energy and everyone's been so sound.
41:47Have a little eye on it now with the plastic on it.
41:49It's not even fully out yet.
41:54Oh, my back feels so lovely.
41:57I first met Cian more than a year and a half ago.
42:06Back then he had a dream of one day having a home.
42:10And today I can't wait to see if that has become a reality.
42:16I love it.
42:17It's so cute.
42:18It's like a classic Irish cottage.
42:21It's like something you'd see in a textbook.
42:24The rough edges of the lime plaster, topped with the straight lines of the green corrugated roof,
42:31have created a picture-perfect haven.
42:34It feels warm and welcoming and I just can't wait to meet the man who can call it his home.
42:45Oh, happy house.
42:46Ian, how you doing, mate?
42:48Not too bad and yourself.
42:49Look at your home.
42:51Yeah.
42:52It looks amazing.
42:53At Cian's cottage, you know.
42:55Bit mad to see, you know.
42:58Oh, no, seriously, it's hit me heavily in a positive way, you know.
43:02I never thought I'd actually get to house, like, you know.
43:06It's yours, Cian.
43:07It's really yours.
43:08Yeah.
43:09Yeah.
43:13From the outset, Cian's needs were modest.
43:16He simply wanted a place to feel safe and secure.
43:20But through the generosity and kindness of others, he now has that and so much more.
43:26Look at this, mate.
43:27Look at your house.
43:28It looks beautiful.
43:29So clean now, isn't it?
43:30It is.
43:31Yeah.
43:32This lovely fireplace leading up to your cosy vaulted ceiling.
43:33It's really gorgeous.
43:34You know, in hindsight, the chimney falling down was probably the best thing that could have
43:38happened because it allowed you to open up this space and make it so much bigger.
43:44It's some upgrade, Cian.
43:58It does look very cool, does it?
44:01Yeah.
44:03And what about this kitchen?
44:05It's beautiful.
44:06It's gonna see so much use, man.
44:07I'm talking, you know.
44:09And there's gonna be like garlic cheese chips there.
44:12There's going to be like, you know, a bit of minty lamb straight from the air fryer there, you know, it's going to be a good crack.
44:19I'm so pleased for Cian.
44:21The once dark cottage is now filled with natural light coming in from all directions.
44:28From the cocoon-like bedroom with its low ceiling to the simple bathroom that sits perfectly in the new extension.
44:35Although there is still some work to do, the whole place feels calming and relaxing, like a perfect retreat.
44:42And I've no doubt that having a roof over his head will have a transformative effect on Cian.
44:49Does it feel real?
44:51It does, yeah.
44:52I mean, like, I've had about a year now to come to grips with the idea of, you know, oh Jesus, Cian, you're not a vagabond anymore.
45:00Yeah, I think spiritually deep down I shall always be, you know, a bit of a wandering spirit, but this is definitely, you know, this is my field, this is my house.
45:12I love it. Let's go have a cup of tea.
45:14Oh, sounds good.
45:16Oh no, just to warn you, no milk.
45:18I'm sure that it's hard for Cian to take it all in.
45:31He now has a place that he can call home.
45:34I know you never asked for any of this, you know, that it was kind of brought to you and offered to you, but it must feel good now.
45:46It's sort of that, you know, overwhelmed feeling when you're thinking to yourself, oh Jesus, this is it.
45:53You know, it's like, whoa, this has actually happened.
45:57The idea of shelter is security, like, you have a safe nest to go to.
46:03When you're without certain things for so long, and then, you know, they're like, someone keeps telling you, it's going to come, it's going to come.
46:11But you still don't have it.
46:13You have things.
46:14I'm just being taunted.
46:15Yeah.
46:16But no, it's actually happening now.
46:19Like, it gives me hope.
46:21You know, if there are decent people who are coming along to help me out, you know, maybe people in similar circumstances as myself,
46:27I won't actually have to go through the long second pattern that ended up where I ended up, you know.
46:34So has this whole experience restored some of your faith in human nature?
46:38Do you think you can trust people a little more?
46:40To be honest, I wouldn't say it's restored my faith in human nature.
46:44I think it's given me a bit.
46:45If you get what I mean.
46:47I do.
46:48I do.
46:48When you're on the streets a certain amount of time, eventually you practically lose all emotion.
46:55It's very hard to explain.
46:57One of the biggest benefits to everyone being so sound and donating and helping me out would be that it's allowing me to get into the position where I'm actually rediscovering some emotions I have.
47:11So, that's a bit nice, you know.
47:15In a way, sort of, you know, kindness can be a virus too in a positive way.
47:21It's very infectious.
47:22Yeah, for sure.
47:24Yeah.
47:24Yeah.
47:25You used to have a mantra when you were living on the streets, right?
47:28Yeah.
47:29What was it?
47:31House, jab, wife, live normal life.
47:34It's all about having the goal, you know.
47:35Yeah.
47:36Some point to it all.
47:38Well, you've got one of them now.
47:40Oh, two to go.
47:44So, what happens now, Cian?
47:46I've no idea, like, you know.
47:48But I'll have the potential to, you know, have more options.
47:54So, that's unreal.
47:56And I think that's pretty much all anyone can ask for, is having the ability to have a wider selection of options of where their life can go, you know.
48:10You know, it's hard to fathom that when I first met Cian, he was homeless.
48:18He was just surviving on the streets, living day to day.
48:23And through all of that, he just kept believing in this mantra of home, job, wife, live a normal life.
48:33And I think it was that belief that he would one day have a home that brought this into reality.
48:40And I think now that Cian does have the home, everything else feels so much more tangible.
48:50Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
48:52But for now, Cian has a foundation that he can build a bolder, brighter future for himself.
48:58And for me, that's the start we all deserve.
49:02And for now, Cian has a foundation that he can build a bolder, brighter future for himself.
49:32A foundation that he can build a MillerDream meeting, new life on his way to a Columbus you.
49:40It's not really that guy who has the best pusher in the in-uencia of his way, has a great city publicVTJ on,
49:50but if you want to deliver it as a city public VTJ,
49:54you know.
49:54We want to be much closer.
49:56If you're not welcome, you're not welcome.
49:58If you're not even to be alone,
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