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00:00While building a dream house is for some,
00:08This is brilliant.
00:09This is where we're up to.
00:11Many others are transforming existing homes.
00:14Got it. Got it.
00:17Smashing down walls, ripping out kitchens and digging up gardens.
00:23Oh, there you go.
00:25As they reimagine their homes as places to live, work and thrive.
00:30It's going to be a bathhouse.
00:32Why not, eh?
00:33Bathrooms are the hardest thing to renovate.
00:35I'll go turn that off.
00:37Come on.
00:39I'm going to die before we move into this house.
00:43I'm Anthony Burke, a professor of architecture.
00:46And I'm interior designer Yasmeen Janine.
00:50And in each episode of this new series of Grand Designs transformations,
00:54Every single person has kind of said, you're crazy.
00:57We follow the makeover masterminds behind two very different projects.
01:02I do question the stupidity of doing something like this.
01:06Okay.
01:07This is good.
01:11What are you doing out here?
01:13We're turning this place into a spot where we're going to get married.
01:16In this episode, I follow a couple of lovebirds on a secret mission to transform a bush church.
01:23Yeah, yeah.
01:24It's great.
01:25Bit bleak.
01:26Yeah.
01:27Into the wedding venue of their dreams.
01:29I hope we get this and it's concrete out and I don't tip the tractor.
01:35But the road to love is never smooth.
01:38What you thought were a couple of thousand dollar doors, but turning into like $20,000 doors.
01:42It's going to put pressure on all of us.
01:44Can they last the distance?
01:46You've gotten away.
01:47This is way too much on.
01:49And I'm in Brisbane's Tenerife.
01:53Here she is.
01:54The problem child.
01:55It's a bit of a lemon.
01:56Where a modest Queenslander proves full of surprises.
02:00A 1910 Queenslander with a swimming pool under the house.
02:05I couldn't, I couldn't believe it.
02:07Can a flood traumatised family turn this simple cottage.
02:11Wow.
02:12I can put my whole hand in.
02:14Into a stylish three storey mansion.
02:17I tell you at this point, it is hard.
02:33Australia's worst flooding disaster.
02:35That's how the situation in Queensland is being described.
02:38Three quarters of the state is now a disaster zone.
02:44It's hard to imagine, but at its peak, it's pretty much nearly a metre above that deck.
02:48It's almost like...
02:49This was well underwater over here.
02:50Yeah, we would have been underwater.
02:53For architects Kylie and James Forbes, the 2011 Queensland floods were a disaster that
03:00have had a very long tail indeed.
03:02Looking around like, everything's destroyed for all these poor people and we're just here
03:07to give the best help that we can.
03:09Like hundreds of others, their home on the Brisbane River was swamped.
03:14A torrent of filthy water and debris destroying belongings and sections of the house.
03:19But also, their peace of mind.
03:22We swam into the house with plastic buckets and we're trying to put into the plastic bucket sentimental items.
03:28And a lot of our stuff got ruined.
03:31For me, it's the, not the fear, but the situation that it could happen again.
03:35I guess that played on my mind a lot.
03:38How could it not?
03:40And small wonder, the couple wanted to move with kids Sienna and James to somewhere beyond the river's reach.
03:49It took time, but finally they found their new home.
03:55Or the starting point at least.
03:57A Queenslander in bad repair on top of a hill in the ritzy enclave of Tenerife.
04:03It was just, you know, beautifully located.
04:06So close to the city.
04:08The view is 10 out of 10.
04:10It's north facing.
04:11It's high and dry.
04:12It's in the suburb that's got great amenities.
04:14Best of all, unlike many of the old Queenslanders in the area, the house had no heritage restrictions,
04:22a blank canvas no less, which they can extend into a veritable family oasis.
04:28We wanted the character of the house from the streetscape to sort of be...
04:32Keep it, retain it.
04:33Yeah, retain it and be current.
04:35Simple, right?
04:37Especially for a couple of seasoned architects.
04:40Well, so far, it's been anything but.
04:43Starting with the surprise requirement to preserve the giant jacaranda in the backyard.
04:49But this lovely old tree is the least of their worries.
04:54We asked Dave, the builder, to take up some floorboards to just check the structure underneath.
04:59And he says, hey, I found an in-ground swimming pool under your house.
05:06I couldn't...
05:07I couldn't believe it.
05:08Like, a 1910 Queenslander with a swimming pool under the house.
05:12It's an in-ground problem.
05:15Massive problem.
05:17Not the stable foundations they were hoping for.
05:22But wait, there's more.
05:24Excavations have uncovered an old stone wall stretching across the entire front of the house.
05:31Removing it is not an option.
05:34I reckon the wall might even be, like, 1880s, 1890s.
05:38Like, it would be really old.
05:40You can kind of see the outline must be somewhere around here.
05:43Yeah, they're big.
05:44That's how thick it is.
05:46It's massive.
05:48It's also holding up the whole front section of the block.
05:53I can't sugarcoat it.
05:55It's not what we expected.
05:56And it's delaying us and it's costing money and angst for the builder.
06:04So much for buying that humble blank canvas.
06:09So this is us.
06:11Here she is, the problem child.
06:12Yeah.
06:13Very much so.
06:14It's a bit of a lemon.
06:15It's had so many problems that we didn't initially predict.
06:19The due diligence feels like it might not have been covered off, really.
06:25Maybe that's the problem.
06:26We are actually two architects.
06:28Yeah, best way of plans.
06:30We are not immune.
06:31We're not immune to problems, believe me.
06:33Let's go in.
06:36It's a classic Queenslander.
06:38Weather boards outside and a couple of VJ-lined rooms in.
06:43But that's all about to be supersized.
06:46In fact, this humble little cottage might not know what's hit it.
06:52Down below in the basement, that old and very problematic swimming pool will be filled in
06:58and the 1890s stone wall is to become a wine cellar that will adjoin rumpus, gym and games room,
07:05all accessing the outside deck and a new swimming pool.
07:11At street level, they'll retain the old Queenslanders gabled facade, but add a carport and entry courtyard,
07:18leading to ensuite bedrooms, a study and a large open plan lounge kitchen,
07:23with huge windows overlooking that protected jacaranda.
07:28From the living spaces, a staircase curves its way to the upper-level main bedroom and ensuite,
07:34which open to Kylie's pet project, a rose-coloured rooftop bar and so-called sky garden,
07:41where the whole family can hang out and soak up that magnificent city view.
07:46This is problems everywhere, right? Why go this big?
07:52We put a drone up, didn't we? And we saw the view one more level up and we said,
07:58we've really got to try to afford to put a third level up on that roof to capture that view.
08:03The build cost, how much is it?
08:05Well, I think we've forecast, we budgeted to spend $2.4 million here.
08:10So I think if we can keep it in the low twos, we're going to be happy.
08:14But that's not going to happen.
08:16Well, already we had a budget for earthworks of 60 grand.
08:20They've been digging and uncovering and discovering.
08:23We've already spent $90,000, so...
08:25Yeah.
08:26But it's going to be our family home for a while, so I guess, you know,
08:29hopefully if we do overspend a little bit, we'll be here for a while
08:32and it'll be a great place to live.
08:35These guys might have thought they were escaping troubled waters,
08:39but five months into their 12-month build, they're up to their necks in it.
08:44Looks can be deceiving, that's for sure,
08:47because there's been nothing simple about transforming this simple little cottage.
08:53Then there's the question of how much charm from the old place
08:57is going to get swallowed up by this giant modern three-storey extension out back.
09:02Let's just say they're asking a lot from a little
09:05and getting way more than they bargained for, and it isn't all good.
09:17After being derailed by a long list of surprise problems,
09:20it's all systems go to get the project back on track.
09:24The old pool under the house is filled in,
09:27and Kylie and James' humble timber cottage
09:30starts growing a giant concrete backside.
09:33But it's out the front where things are getting tricky.
09:38How to create a two-car concrete garage without ruining the Queenslander character.
09:45Step one is disposing of dangerously unstable boundary walls.
09:52That, like, took one second.
10:03Wow.
10:04Supporting the carport will be eight concrete piers,
10:09which must go down to bedrock.
10:11I was kind of hoping for a metre, maybe a metre and a half.
10:172.8 metres.
10:19It's got to be at least three metres.
10:21It's a two-day job,
10:25and the constant drilling could easily destabilise the old stone wall,
10:30holding up the front of the house.
10:32If it goes down, all hell rains down with it.
10:37If you look at the edge of the house,
10:39you can see there's a little tiny brick pier resting on this wall.
10:42So if the wall collapses, the house collapses.
10:45Please don't let that happen.
10:51Down below, guess what?
10:53I came in here this morning.
10:57What do you reckon about this crack?
11:00Like, it was a fissure before.
11:03It was a small crack.
11:04It's kind of gone...
11:05It's moved ahead.
11:07I know.
11:08It was not like that, no.
11:09That's what I'm saying.
11:11You can put your finger in it now.
11:13I can put more than my finger in.
11:15I can put my whole hand in.
11:16Remember the old song from Little Things Big Things Grow?
11:21The question is what to do about it.
11:30In the bustling New South Wales central west town of Dubbo,
11:34there's another project looking to turn an old building
11:37into new memories.
11:39Two young lovers are planning the day of a lifetime.
11:43Music.
11:44Arkee.
11:45Arkee.
11:46Your suit.
11:47Sally is a policy writer for the state government
11:50and Angus works in renewables.
11:52All the catering, um...
11:54You're making me really nervous.
11:56What?
11:57No, it'll be fine.
11:58It's just long.
11:59It's fine.
12:00The pair were destined to marry from the moment they met.
12:04Your good friend Doug married my good friend Georgie
12:08and she owned a wedding business
12:11and she needed two models for a fake wedding in the central west.
12:15Just us.
12:16Yeah.
12:17And then following that, obviously Gus thought I looked pretty great
12:22in a wedding dress and asked me on a date.
12:26Started with a wedding essentially,
12:27which is kind of the wrong way to go about it,
12:29but anyway, that's fine.
12:33When it's right, it's right.
12:35Right?
12:36Come on.
12:37But what was wrong was the venue.
12:41We kind of felt like nothing was unique
12:44or just didn't like resonate with us.
12:46And then I was online one night
12:48and I saw a little church
12:50and I kind of said to Gus,
12:52do you reckon we could do this?
12:53And thankfully Gus didn't say no.
12:57He yesed me, which he probably shouldn't have done.
13:03And here she is.
13:05What a beaut.
13:06Straight out of the same classic 1950s architectural school
13:10that gave us scout halls and sports ground changing rooms.
13:13And to be clear, Angus and Sally aren't hiring it.
13:19They've bought it for 130 grand
13:22and plan to renovate before getting married here
13:25in six short months.
13:28Our family think we are crazy.
13:30Probably think we've bitten off way more than we can chew.
13:33Planning a wedding
13:34and trying to create a wedding venue basically.
13:37But then as well as thinking that we're crazy,
13:40I think they kind of love this idea of us all sort of doing something together.
13:44And I think that they find it just as special as we do.
13:49Close family are about the only ones who know they've bought the church.
13:53Angus and Sally have a plan to keep it secret until their big day.
13:57Sal loves to give people the night of their lives.
14:01I thought you were about to say shock factor.
14:03No, no, no, no, no.
14:04The night of their lives.
14:05So to have, you know, our closest friends, you know,
14:08and their partners and babies walk off a bus and see a church,
14:12not where they're expecting to be,
14:14built by us in a town where they've never been before is just going to be incredible.
14:18So it's a big secret that we've got to keep from them all
14:21and we've got to keep it from them for six months,
14:23which is basically torture.
14:29Yep.
14:30The Bush Telegraph is not called the Bush Telegraph for nothing.
14:34This is a spectacular countryside out here.
14:36It's this rich agricultural part of New South Wales.
14:39I love visiting out here.
14:42It's so pretty.
14:46But that church, that is not pretty.
14:52G'day mate.
14:53There they are.
14:54How are you going?
14:55I felt like I had to sneak in here,
14:57almost under the cover of darkness, to maintain the secret.
15:00Yeah, it's very much like that, you know.
15:02You have to be incognito around this town.
15:04Pay the picture for me then.
15:05Here's the church.
15:06Yeah.
15:07It's not the romantic church,
15:10little country church on a hill that I had kind of thought it might have been.
15:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:14It's grey.
15:15Bit bleak.
15:16Yeah.
15:17Yeah, it is.
15:18But you know what?
15:19It kind of...
15:20I don't know.
15:21To me, it's still, like, it's got so much potential.
15:23The church building itself is quite small,
15:25but, you know, we're on a 2,000 square metre block here.
15:27So what we're trying to do with the gardens,
15:29and that's where we're going to spend a lot of the time at our wedding,
15:32you know, in the garden, in a marquee, you know, drinking in the gardens,
15:35that's what we want to make, you know.
15:37And we love gardening.
15:38Yeah.
15:39So this was really important for us.
15:41Tell me you've got a landscape architect who's going to help here.
15:44We do, yeah.
15:45Your dad.
15:46We do.
15:47Yeah.
15:48Dad's a landscaper, so we're very lucky to have his help.
15:49Okay.
15:50With these gardens.
15:51Yeah.
15:52So, the garden I get, but what about this ugly duckling of a church?
15:58Here she is.
16:00Oh, wow.
16:02It's actually very small.
16:04Yeah.
16:05It's very plain.
16:06How are you going to sort of lift this space to make it into something which feels like,
16:12I want you to have this beautiful wedding that feels like it should be there for your wedding?
16:16Yeah.
16:17I don't think it's going to take that much.
16:19You know, we're going to be replacing the windows with beautiful timber windows.
16:23We've sourced beautiful antique sort of farmhouse doors that we're going to put in.
16:28So, it's going to sort of have those elements that tie you from here to the garden that makes
16:34it feel really beautiful.
16:36The transformation starts with making a manicured, orderly and very strollable country garden.
16:44Guests enter the property down a crushed gravel path through an avenue of trees.
16:49They'll be met by lawns, colourful flower beds, cypress hedges and flowering crab apples.
16:55And there's open space for temporary alfresco dining.
17:00The church itself gets a long overdue facelift, starting with a set of restored antique doors
17:06right at the front so it looks like your classic wedding chapel.
17:10Inside, the tiny hall gets a simple spruce up.
17:14Polished floors, a lick of paint, new windows and two more sets of doors flowing out to the alfresco.
17:21Could the whole transformation bring light and refinement to what's been an ugly hall on a dusty paddock?
17:28We've got how much budget we're working with?
17:33Our budget's a hundred grand for this project, which we're hoping will see us through.
17:39But yeah, it's a huge concern because it's not a great deal of money.
17:42In my mind, I've already spent eighty grand on just the building.
17:45I haven't got outside yet.
17:46So that brings me to sort of this question of what happens to this place after the wedding?
17:51Yeah.
17:52What are you going to do with it?
17:53What we bought here, this block, you know, it's two thousand square metres in a small country town.
17:58You know, we could turn this place into a house and live here in future.
18:02Solid asset.
18:03The gardens are established.
18:04That's right.
18:05It is a solid asset.
18:06We haven't, you know, spent too much time on it because we can't absorb those costs right
18:10now.
18:11So it's kind of like, let's get married and then, you know, see what the future holds.
18:16Wow.
18:17Talk about a date with destiny.
18:19At least in the short term, what the future holds is a very large amount of work and six
18:25months is not a lot of time to do it in.
18:28Sally and Angus, they're not designers, but they have a vision here for a wedding, which
18:33is a fairy tale.
18:35And I say that advisedly because I can't see at this point what they're seeing.
18:40I mean, it's a nugget of a building, but maybe that's the thing.
18:43It's not just about the church.
18:45It's the whole project, the family being involved, the whole lead up and enjoying the
18:50journey rather than the end point, which sounds very weird for a wedding.
18:53I mean, you've heard the expression, getting to the church on time.
18:57Let's just pray they finish the church on time.
19:12Six months from the wedding day, perhaps the most important part of this transformation
19:17is backing down the driveway.
19:20Oh my gosh, there are so many trees.
19:26They look awesome.
19:28They're huge.
19:29So today, all of our mature trees arrived.
19:33There was 103 of them, which is very, very exciting.
19:37It's huge because this is the masterpiece.
19:40If you kind of look at the 2,000 square block, it's all about the garden.
19:44What are you doing out here?
19:46We're turning this place into a spot where we're going to get married.
19:49All right.
19:50But it's top secret, Louie.
19:51You can't go selling anyone.
19:52It'll be nice.
19:53It will be when it's all planted out.
19:56Yeah.
19:57So what, are you going to plant these yourself?
19:59Yeah, yeah.
20:00We've got plenty of work ahead of us.
20:01Yep.
20:02We're going to plant them all this weekend, basically.
20:03Yeah.
20:04All this weekend?
20:05Yep.
20:06You flat out?
20:07Yeah.
20:08Yeah.
20:15They're flat out back at Tenerife too.
20:18James and Kylie's giant Queenslander extension is rising up out of the hillside.
20:24Now, eight months into their year-long project, a shortage of trades and material delays are
20:34blowing their timeline to smithereens.
20:37There's some good news, though.
20:39The old stone wall is holding ground.
20:42Those deep piers that caused the problem in the first place are now full of concrete
20:47and giving it some much-needed stability.
20:49I mean, there's concrete behind it now that round.
20:52So, I mean, I don't think it's going to go anywhere.
20:57For Kylie, staying ahead of the endless decisions and setbacks has become a full-time job.
21:06And when it comes to her pet project, creating a $13,000 rose-coloured cast concrete rooftop
21:13bar, she's not leaving anything to chance.
21:19Just to see the science going into it, controlling the temperature, humidity, the mix, the colour.
21:25They're putting the oxide in.
21:27Yes.
21:28Yes.
21:29See, that doesn't look the same colour.
21:31Are you sure?
21:32I think so.
21:33That amount is going to come out that colour.
21:35OK.
21:36I trust you.
21:37I trust you, boys.
21:44It doesn't seem like you've made enough.
21:46I know you're an expert.
21:47How can that make a whole bench?
21:50Like a whole...
21:51This is a three-metre bench.
21:52Very thin.
21:53Very thin.
21:55Kylie's got one chance to get it right.
22:00And after all their unexpected mishaps, trusting the process is getting harder and harder.
22:06But one person Kylie can trust is her dad, Harry.
22:2313 years ago, he handcrafted this family dining table for his daughter, which was salvaged from
22:29the flood and is being repurposed for Kylie's kitchen.
22:32This is a photo of little James making it with you in the workshop the first time.
22:39Like the family, the table didn't survive the flood unscathed.
22:43The timber got a lot of water damage.
22:47They had the roof collapse.
22:49That was more water damage, but the light fitting hit it and caused some more damage.
22:54But if we can get that off and get some oil back on it, then it'll be back to its original glory.
23:0113 years of wear and tear, battle scars.
23:04I'm actually really sentimental about the table.
23:07I love it.
23:08Sienna, having a birthday.
23:09Every single birthday was at this table.
23:12When you go through a flood, you start to look at what means a lot to you, what's sentimental.
23:18The outcome is that you, I guess, you kind of look at things a little differently, having gone through that.
23:23This is not just a repair job.
23:30To fit with the snazzy new extension, Harry's been handed the job of modernising it.
23:35Yes!
23:36You did it!
23:38The old table's a bit like this whole build, really.
23:43A familiar old character getting a fashionable facelift.
23:49Out at Dubbo, family is well and truly top of mind too.
23:59With the wedding looming large, it's the first family working bee at the old church.
24:04And there are more than a hundred trees to get in the ground.
24:08This neglected paddock needs to become a thing of bridal beauty pronto.
24:13Try and get that old toilet out of there.
24:16Angus's dad, Leon, and Uncle Steve are taking charge.
24:21Dad's, you know, Dad's a pro at this.
24:23He's a landscape gardener, so he's used to getting to site and just starting work straight away.
24:27He sort of almost has the plan in his head before he even gets here.
24:30You don't want to flatten that out?
24:32Oh, that'd be right, I think.
24:35With no wedding day eyesores allowed, the dunny quickly becomes a port-a-loo.
24:41Look at that.
24:43That's cleared the way to plant a line of 80 conifers.
24:51It's heavy, hot, tough work.
24:54It's rocky under here.
24:56An instant wake-up call about the scale of the challenge ahead.
25:00It would be great to have a team of ten guys here in the landscape company
25:04and really power into it and knock it over in three or four weeks.
25:07We haven't got that budget to do that.
25:10Of course, at the end of the day, we've got a deadline to meet.
25:13So, um, still a lot more hard work to do, so...
25:18And, of course, the garden's only half the job.
25:21Of all the things a wedding chapel needs, top of the list are church doors at the front
25:27for the bride to make her grand entrance.
25:30It's always a bit nerve-wracking the first time you see anything after you buy it online, so...
25:33I know.
25:34In what she hopes will be the heroes of the transformation, Sally has sourced three sets of doors.
25:40From Egypt, of all places.
25:42They've been sent to restore a wing in Sydney for what they hope will be a quick touch-up.
25:48Oh, wow.
25:49Oh, my gosh.
25:50There's a bit of work to do on them.
25:53Oh, wow-ing.
25:55They're very cool.
25:57Very cool and very old.
25:59Yeah, they're very old.
26:01A hundred years old, apparently.
26:03The shame is this store's in Goodnik.
26:06Some of them look more like firewood.
26:10This piece, suppose, belongs to here.
26:12Yeah, it's a joint.
26:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:14It's going into there.
26:15Yeah.
26:16But it's just...
26:17When we take it apart, it's just broken.
26:19Yeah.
26:20Sally paid two grand for these doors, sight unseen.
26:23Who knows how much more it'll cost to restore them, if it can even be done.
26:29Cool.
26:30I don't know.
26:31I just think we'll just give it a crack.
26:32You know, we don't...
26:33We don't have another set of doors.
26:34So, this is the set that we've got.
26:37We probably just didn't foresee that it was going to be this much work.
26:44It is a lot of work.
26:48And as both Sally and Angus are discovering, and Kylie and James are finding in Tenerife,
26:53old and new aren't always easy bedfellows.
26:57But there's a remarkable home in Brisbane that I think has made that transformation stunningly
27:03well.
27:04Both our projects start from the same place, and that is from very humble buildings.
27:11So, I brought you to this place.
27:13Now, tell me, what do you see?
27:15A lot of timber, a lot of tin.
27:18Very cute garden.
27:19But, you know, very typical of this area in Brisbane.
27:22Well, you're correct.
27:23It is.
27:24But this place has had something of a glow up recently.
27:28It's pretty phenomenal.
27:29Let me show you what I mean.
27:31A glow up?
27:32Yeah.
27:33At first glance, this 1890s Queenslander cottage looks fairly typical.
27:39Central hallway with bedrooms off to either side, and living spaces downstairs.
27:45When does the glow up begin?
27:46Yeah, you're nearly there.
27:47Ah, okay.
27:48I see what you mean.
27:49Holy moly.
27:50What do you think?
27:51This is crazy.
27:52Didn't expect that, did you?
27:53No.
27:54Wow.
27:55The thing about it that I think is really interesting, the whole thing has come from a love of the Queenslander that's right behind us here.
28:12So what they embraced was the idea of the veranda and sort of pushed that extra space out into this, you know, fantastic tower, this little tower of timber.
28:21They have reinterpreted the Queenslander, right?
28:24Yeah.
28:25As I stand here, I can see the fan whipping around, the cane furniture, the timber cladding.
28:30It all feels like I'm in Queensland still, but completely refreshed.
28:37Designed by Form Architects, the new addition is pivoted on the block, allowing the old house, now all bedrooms and living spaces, to be preserved with maximum light and ventilation.
28:49But it feels like I'm literally going from one veranda to the next.
28:54Yep.
28:55Through these platforms for living.
28:57Now this is special.
29:00Yeah.
29:01What a beautiful room.
29:03Well, this is where the tree house becomes a little timber jewel box, I think.
29:07Check this out.
29:08This whole wall here, fantastic architectural hardware just slides away, changes the scene up completely.
29:17Wow.
29:18And it's amazing, yeah?
29:19Incredible.
29:20Classic Queenslanders, of course, were built for the tropical climate, and simply at that.
29:32And it's all here in the super cool kitchen.
29:35The express studs clad on just the one side.
29:40The chicken wire on the cupboards, old school pantry style.
29:45It's both nostalgic and contemporary at the same time.
29:50And in another nod to heritage, there's so much veranda space, it's one to one, inside and out.
29:58But it's all been done with such an authentic and careful consideration that something new and wonderful has emerged out of this.
30:05What I'm a little bit worried about with Sally and Angus and their little church is they're trying to build memories, but they're kind of treating it a bit more like a stage set or something.
30:15Well, I'm equally worried, but for a completely different reason.
30:18For James and Kylie, it's about scale.
30:21My concern is about how big they're going.
30:23Right.
30:24Like the expanse of their renovation is massive.
30:26Yeah.
30:27They're going to be left with this big old house and the kids want to move out because they're getting older.
30:31It's all about balance, and getting it right is not so easy.
30:41But even more difficult for Kylie and James, just getting the house finished.
30:46Their year-long deadline has come and gone, but stress is their constant companion.
30:52They say the last 10% takes 90% of your effort, mainly because by now you're just so tired, but also trying to get every last little detail right.
31:01If bone weariness weren't enough, Kylie's just heard that the family's temporary accommodation has run out.
31:10We've been renting for the past year and a bit, and I've extended my lease two times, and then I asked to extend it the third time, and they said, no, you're out.
31:20They're moving to a house sit in a nearby suburb, but packing and unpacking on top of everything else is pushing the whole family to breaking point.
31:30Remember when we flooded, and it was 10 months before we were back in from the floods?
31:35Yeah, that wasn't fun.
31:38The house sit is a lucky break from a friend headed overseas.
31:43He is hoping it sees them to the finish line.
31:47I tell you at this point, it is hard.
31:51I hope it's going to just give us that little bit of extra inspiration too, to put in the effort to get this house finished.
31:58Because James and I, we are running out of steam.
32:01They're certainly being tested, both off-site and on, from the smallest details to giant features like the internal staircase.
32:11We originally tried to plasterboard the stairwell with just standard six-bill plasterboard, but the setters weren't going to be able to make a nice curve without all the flat spots.
32:21So we're wetting down all this billboard to make it extra bendy, and then we're going to try and slowly curve it into place and then screw it off in place.
32:30So that way the centre's going to have a nice, tight curve.
32:34Woo!
32:36After many hours of manipulation, the staircase finally has curves.
32:42Now comes plastering.
32:44Now it's hard part.
32:47And bending a balustrade to complement the twists and turns.
32:51Every detail is really beautiful, but need time, need attention to make a really good finish.
33:00But all that adds up, and is causing Kylie and James' project to overrun even further.
33:06Easy.
33:07Alright, alright?
33:08It gets stressful when you don't know when you're moving in.
33:12I think that's the hardest bit.
33:14And it's hard with teenage kids, they just sort of, mum, show us when it's finished.
33:18But I want to say at the end that this is going to be a beautiful family home and it's worth it.
33:22I truly hope so.
33:28Back in Dubbo, Sally and Angus' wedding is just three months away.
33:33The early plantings are starting to bloom.
33:36And Dad Leon is about to give the church an even bigger facelift.
33:41Today is obviously we're going to get the new doors, front doors in on the church,
33:46which is a massive transformation for the church.
33:49It's never had a front door.
33:51It will be the biggest transformation of the church, and I think of the whole property,
33:56in one day.
33:59The first job is removing a huge door-sized slab of concrete.
34:05They've brought in a professional cutter, and they'll use those holes to lift the heavy pieces out with a forklift.
34:17Well, we hope we get this bit of concrete out, and I don't tip the tractor.
34:22That's what I'm hoping.
34:25Mark?
34:26Yep.
34:27I might just need you just to stand on those two bloody things at the back there.
34:30I'm only 40 kilos now.
34:31Yeah, I know.
34:32A bit of extra 40 kilos might help us though.
34:35As soon as I pass, I'll come down to where my tines are on that bit of concrete.
34:39All right, now?
34:40Here we come again.
34:41Oh!
34:42Whoa!
34:43That was well done.
34:44I think it's right on our bloody limits of our way.
35:00Beautiful.
35:01We have it.
35:02The Restorer Wing has worked miracles rebuilding those dilapidated doors and making a frame.
35:17Finally, the church should start to look like, well, a church.
35:22The doors fit perfectly to the millimetre, so you have to see it from back down, you know,
35:28back down the pathway.
35:29It's a really nice proportion to the wall that's here.
35:33So, I think it looks fantastic.
35:41Sally's been away at a dress fitting.
35:44Hey, Mark.
35:45Sal, how are you going?
35:47But even after that, the doors are her pride and joy.
35:51It's so nice to see these doors.
35:54It's like a whole different feeling, like seeing them in Wing's shop.
35:57I was like, oh, I love them.
35:58But, like, seeing them here in the church, I'm like, oh, wow.
36:03The scale, they're big, they're beautiful.
36:05It's really nice.
36:06What's not so nice is the bill for the concrete cutting.
36:11Unanticipated travel expenses meant it was triple what they expected to pay.
36:16Yeah, bugger.
36:17OK, that's annoying.
36:18The tiny budget has taken a massive hit.
36:21See ya.
36:22OK, bye.
36:23You know, the doors already cost us a lot to source.
36:25Then we had to restore them.
36:26Now we're cutting out holes for them.
36:28So, it's just like what you thought were a couple of thousand dollar doors are turning
36:32into, like, $20,000 doors.
36:34When you look at our doors, you'll go, I've never seen them anywhere else.
36:38And that's because no one else was stupid enough to spend this much money on doors.
36:45Let's hope the doors are the only blowout.
36:51There's still a lot to do before that grand wedding, and not a lot of time or money left
36:57to do it.
36:58There's under three months now to go.
37:00We've got turf to lay.
37:01We've got irrigation to put in.
37:03We've still got a lot to do.
37:05It's going to put pressure on all of us, but we've just got to do it and keep going.
37:14Don't talk timelines in Tenerife.
37:17Thanks to supply delays and labour shortages, Kylie and James' 12-month Queenslander transformation
37:24has now gone over by six months.
37:27And the hits keep coming.
37:29We're so close to lock up.
37:31We're so close to having everything weatherproof.
37:35And, of course, this big rain event happens, and it'll find...
37:38Rain will find a spot where it's not finished.
37:41During four days of unrelenting Brisbane rain, the house has sprung leaks.
37:48You can see the colour of the concrete.
37:50You can see water is wicking across the ceiling.
37:54So I'm worried this is going to delay us.
37:56I'm worried.
37:57Ah!
37:58See?
37:59That's wet.
38:02When I see water inside the house again, it just brings back memories.
38:09It just evokes that feeling of panic or overdrive.
38:14I struggle with that whole flooding.
38:17Like, it's that feeling of here-we-go-again.
38:19It's literally here-we-go-again vibes.
38:25It's the last thing they need.
38:27It's low as much as you can.
38:30The second last thing?
38:31Another house move.
38:33I know you were just found...
38:34Lady Luck's done a runner.
38:36Suitcase travels again.
38:38James and Kylie's old mate is returning from overseas,
38:42so they're off to a hotel.
38:44It just feels like monotony of move after move after move.
38:50For 18-year-old Sienna, it's the final straw.
38:56She's called time on the uncertainty and is moving in with friends.
39:00For good.
39:01You don't look at that and change your mind and go, you really wanna...
39:05Well, we weren't talking about this.
39:06No.
39:07Yeah, true.
39:08OK.
39:09A lot of friends are talking about moving out or moving into share homes
39:12and, like, that excitement of being able to be finally independent
39:17is something that I'm looking forward to.
39:19But I think it'll be hard for mum and dad to grasp that I won't be there forever.
39:24I'm just gonna miss you not moving in.
39:28Maybe you can come in for a week.
39:34It's a blow for Kylie.
39:36For her, this whole build is about family.
39:39I'll go past.
39:40You guys swing in.
39:41Her pet project has even arrived.
39:44That 200-kilogram rose-coloured concrete bar
39:47for family drinks on the top balcony.
39:51We've got a bit of a tricky install ahead of us,
39:54up the curved staircase and onto the rooftop.
39:56We've got that nice brass balustrade, too.
39:58We don't want it damaged.
39:59We're good today.
40:00What Kylie can't come to grips with is Sienna being a no-show at family happy hour.
40:11I can't believe it.
40:14We got this close to moving in and now she's moving out.
40:18It's irony, right?
40:21But when we started, she was 16 and here we are.
40:24She's now 18 and she's like, I want to move in with them.
40:28I'm like, what do you mean?
40:29We're moving into this beautiful home we've designed.
40:32She's like, yeah, mine.
40:35Oh...
40:40The Tenerife build seems never-ending.
40:45But there's no such luxury in Dubbo.
40:49The wedding's in three days, ready or not.
40:58And as is the way of these things,
41:00there seems more jobs than ever to do.
41:03I think I told Gus I refuse to be painting the week before the wedding
41:09and we're three days out and I'm here painting.
41:12So, shock horror.
41:14It's just kind of, like, head down, bum up at this point.
41:18And it's been, like, a lot of late nights in the lead up to it,
41:21you know, sort of out here until, you know, midnight or more.
41:28The sprint to the finish has taken its toll.
41:32Angus is crook.
41:35I've obviously picked up something you can tell in my voice,
41:37um, which isn't ideal, but, yeah, look, we'll get through it.
41:42Um, I just want to be able to, you know, deliver the speech
41:44and deliver my vows without, um, without too much angst.
41:48Let's go.
41:49With the arrival of the marquee,
41:51Sally and Angus have hit that critical junction
41:54between finishing the renovations
41:56and setting up the wedding.
41:58Two worlds are colliding right when they're most exhausted.
42:02We've also, you know, got to write our wedding speeches
42:05and vows and everything else that comes
42:07that we've sort of been neglecting
42:09to sort of make sure that this is, um, looking perfect.
42:12So there's plenty on.
42:14Very tired.
42:15It is, without doubt, the perfect storm.
42:23Though best not to mention storms.
42:25I think I can feel the rain.
42:42That might just be the final straw.
42:46And I haven't done my speech at all.
42:52And, yeah, it's just, yeah, it's really gotten away
42:55and we haven't got the great hurdles at all.
42:57You know, we've got to fill these pots
42:59and, yeah, it's just way too much on.
43:02It's all gonna be okay.
43:07I mean, as any bride would know,
43:09putting a wedding together and some of those finer details,
43:12it can be quite a stressful environment.
43:14It's a lot of work.
43:15And it's also exciting as well, you know,
43:17the celebration of Sally and I getting married.
43:19It's, you know, it's what it's all...
43:21All the hard work's been for, so, yeah.
43:25I just hope, come the big day, it's all been worth it.
43:36While the countdown is on for Sally and Angus,
43:40back in Brisbane, time has moved very slowly indeed.
43:44for Kylie and James' Tenerife Queenslander.
43:49Two years of endless frustrations and delays
43:51have proved torturous.
43:53And I'm fascinated to see where they've ended up.
43:56OK, this is good.
44:09I was always so nervous that the extension would overpower this tiny cottage.
44:21But I can safely say, this is delightful.
44:29Kylie and James.
44:30Hiya!
44:31Oh my God!
44:32Hiya!
44:33We've made it.
44:34You've made it.
44:35Finally.
44:36This looks incredible.
44:37I know.
44:38We've moved so many times.
44:39But now that we've finally settled and in, we're really happy.
44:42I think it was the toughest year we've had, but we are better than ever.
44:47And life is really settled here.
44:49It's beautiful.
44:50I think you actually called it a lemon at the start.
44:53Yeah.
44:54You're right.
44:55You're right.
44:56I don't think it's a lemon anymore.
44:57But how amazing is his transformation?
45:00Are you loving it?
45:01We are loving it.
45:02Yeah.
45:03We really are.
45:04Yeah.
45:05Now that jacaranda has always been the hero.
45:09And I'm just dying to see what it looks like because it's teasing me down that corridor.
45:12All I can see is this amazing view.
45:14Yeah.
45:15Let's go in.
45:16See me there.
45:19From the front of the house, they've done a great job retaining the charm of the old cottage,
45:24while marrying it with the new.
45:26It's quite the feat both outside and in.
45:33Look at the height.
45:34I love a good vestibule.
45:36It's so good.
45:37But what really strikes me is the texture.
45:40There's so much of it.
45:42The concrete.
45:43The crouse bricks.
45:45The timber.
45:46The beautiful textured render.
45:48The stone.
45:51It's all so warm and inviting.
45:56The natural materials and beautifully crafted elements, including granddad Harry's restored
46:02table, creating a relaxed elegance.
46:05It's like being in a super luxe tree house actually.
46:11It is stunning.
46:12And the big long 11 metre window kind of gives that expanse of the room.
46:16It's open the whole time and it really does feel like that Queensland environment where you are outside.
46:21While it's all very smart in the new extension, the charming old cottage adjoins it.
46:33Now kids bedrooms and a study.
46:36It's all very simpatico, with the old house cosying up nicely to its futuristic cousin via that beautiful moulded staircase.
46:48Look how good it looks.
46:50It's almost sculptural or art.
46:52Oh, very much so.
46:53In its helix kind of pattern that threads its way through all three levels.
47:01Downstairs to the games room, gym, the tricky heritage walled cellar and the pool area.
47:10Following the beautiful brass solid handrail.
47:12Oh, look at that.
47:13Upstairs to Kylie and James' bedroom and ensuite, opening out to the ultimate rooftop bar.
47:24Oh, look at the little pizza room and how cute.
47:26Yeah.
47:28I didn't know if, you know, anything could top downstairs, but I'm really bloody jealous about this.
47:35I want a bar.
47:36We wanted another space to entertain at home, so it's like a second kitchen up here.
47:41I hate to ask, but you know where I'm going to go.
47:46Yeah.
47:47This is high end.
47:49How much did this all cost?
47:52Well, our original budget was around 2.4 and I think we spent just under 2.7.
48:00So about 10% over budget, but a lot of that was the structural integrity, it was finding a swimming pool that we weren't prepared for, retaining walls that weren't waterproofed, and the cost to build three levels.
48:14Well, I think the other thing is the market, you know, with construction has moved so much in the last few years.
48:19It is insane.
48:20I think we did pretty well, to be honest.
48:22It's still a lot of money.
48:23I know.
48:24It's crazy.
48:25It really is.
48:2612 months for the build.
48:27Haha, she laughed.
48:29Optimistic, wasn't it?
48:31How long did it take?
48:33It took us.
48:34I'm not answering the questions.
48:35You still haven't answered the questions.
48:36I know.
48:37It did.
48:38It actually took us just under two years.
48:4018 months.
48:42Was there ever a moment where you just wanted to throw the towel in?
48:44Plenty.
48:45Yeah.
48:46Finding the pool, that was testing.
48:47Finding no structural integrity.
48:50Yeah, moving three times, that was hard.
48:53But now, like, we're really, really happy we're finished.
48:56Very, very lucky that a husband and wife team can work so seamlessly together.
49:00And also not kill one another at the end of it all.
49:03And he's still here standing and smiling, and it's...
49:05Yeah.
49:06I think maybe the hard times are there to test you.
49:09And if you can get through them, you come out a little stronger.
49:12I think that's definitely true for us.
49:14Well, I think I need a stiff drink.
49:16Yes!
49:17I'd love to have a drink in the Rosie Mo bar.
49:21Let's get there.
49:22I'm so happy for James and Kylie.
49:33They wanted to move to higher ground and create a safe family home,
49:38but had no idea how much of an uphill climb it would be to get there.
49:43Hey!
49:44It's amazing.
49:45Hiya!
49:46Hiya!
49:47Come on in!
49:48You get to finally see it finished.
49:51Guys, you can take a look around if you want.
49:54Finally, it's happy hour on the roof.
49:57Finally finished.
49:58Cheers!
49:59Everyone, do you remember Sienna?
50:03And it's not just the kids that are back for sundowners.
50:07Cheers!
50:08To an amazing home.
50:09Cheers!
50:10Oh, drink to that!
50:14It's still a little too early for a drink for Angus and Sally in Dubbo.
50:33Just 24 hours out from their big day, their ugly little duckling of a chapel is looking surprisingly sweet.
50:44The dusty paddock, all garden party sophistication and everything primed and just about ready to go.
50:56This is unbelievable.
50:59You look perfect.
51:01Lovely to see you.
51:02Yeah, good to see you.
51:03Lovely to see you too.
51:04Is this the dream?
51:05Yeah, it is the dream, isn't it?
51:06It is.
51:07It's like a fairy tale come true.
51:08Yeah, it's nice seeing it in person, in scale.
51:11I mean, the church, the marquee, all the elements.
51:15Like, it really feels real.
51:17You've been the main engines, but you've had a whole team around you.
51:20Family, yeah.
51:21Like, Angus's dad, Leon, was pivotal to this.
51:24He laid every single brick.
51:26He's laid the turf with us, mowed the turf, did every plant, you know, made the steps for the doors.
51:31And it sometimes feels like it's more his than ours because of how much he gave to it, you know?
51:36The secret?
51:37Have you been able to keep it?
51:39There's been a few inadvertent family members that may have put things on Facebook, but...
51:44They help and then they go and do something like that.
51:47Yeah, yeah, exactly.
51:48But look, all our friends are the large, large majority of the people that are turning up.
51:52Have no idea still.
51:53I have no idea, so...
51:54Well, look, this is...
51:55It's looking like a festival.
51:56More than a church, it's looking like a whole carnival which you've created for yourselves
52:00in the very best way possible.
52:02This old church slash change room has changed.
52:09The rescued doors signal the building's purpose.
52:13The brilliant white paint chases away any sign of concrete blocks.
52:18It's an idyllic little wedding chapel.
52:19Just practising my walk.
52:20Oh, you look very good.
52:21I mean, come on, this is picture perfect.
52:22It is.
52:23Yeah.
52:24Clean lines and, yeah, clean...
52:25Look at the smiles on your face.
52:26Very tiny.
52:27It's beautiful.
52:28It's really beautiful.
52:29Yeah.
52:30And the pews are here and everything.
52:31So, you're ready to roll.
52:32You stayed with the sort of fairly neutral tones.
52:33It feels kind of very minimal still.
52:34Wow.
52:35You've caught us right at the time where all the stylists are going to come and the florist
52:39and vice versa.
52:40So, the colour is coming, I swear.
52:41It was such a concrete pillbox.
52:42Hard, hot, all the wrong things.
52:43And it's just, it feels so beautifully different.
52:44Yeah.
52:45Yeah.
52:46Yeah.
52:47The effort is tangible.
52:48Yeah.
52:49Yeah.
52:50Yeah.
52:51Yeah.
52:52Yeah.
52:53Yeah.
52:54Yeah.
52:55Yeah.
52:56Yeah.
52:57Yeah.
52:58Yeah.
52:59Yeah.
53:00Yeah.
53:01Yeah.
53:02Yeah.
53:03Yeah.
53:04Yeah.
53:05Yeah.
53:06Yeah.
53:07Yeah.
53:08Yeah.
53:09Yeah.
53:13Outside, Leon and the rest of the family are working on the finishing touches.
53:18It's taken hard labour to plant hundreds of trees and shrubs, those mature plants worth
53:27the extra cost.
53:28It's green and manicured, inviting you to wander and ponder.
53:34I think the gardens were probably the hardest task because when you look at the grounds,
53:41the church, it's still an important part, but it's the little building that sits in the
53:45middle of what was nothing.
53:47So, you know, every brick, every fence, pillar, turf, plants, like we had so much space to fill
53:54in and there was so much labour in that.
53:56Yeah.
53:57But this is, yeah.
53:58Better than we could imagine.
53:59Yeah.
54:00And how about the money?
54:01You had a hundred thousand dollars.
54:02Yeah.
54:03Set aside for this.
54:04Yeah.
54:05Well, we definitely went over a hundred, but we were under 200.
54:09Yeah.
54:10Yeah.
54:11180.
54:12Ish.
54:13Okay.
54:14That was quite a bit more than I was expecting actually.
54:16Yeah.
54:17Yeah.
54:18Now that you see like this, I mean, it is looking very spectacular.
54:21It's, it feels like all that's missing now is a, I don't know, about a hundred people
54:25to come and celebrate with you, I think.
54:26Yeah.
54:27And I don't want to get between you and that important moment.
54:29So, congratulations.
54:30It's looking a million bucks and tomorrow's going to be perfect.
54:33Thank you so much.
54:34You're welcome.
54:3524 hours later, and all that's left to do is reveal their big surprise.
54:49And get hitched, of course.
55:05Welcome to the wedding of Sally and Angus.
55:09One day, they had a conversation.
55:12Imagine if we could buy a chapel, do it up and surprise our friends and family by getting
55:18ready dinner.
55:19And here it is.
55:20They did it.
55:21It is my great honor and joy to now pronounce you husband and wife.
55:25Angus, you may now kiss your bride.
55:28Six months of slaving and subterfuge have gone off without a hitch.
55:51Well, maybe one.
55:54But finally, the secret is out.
55:57This was a surprise.
55:58We didn't pick this.
55:59No way.
56:00Like, I can't believe they did it.
56:02It feels like you're in Greece or somewhere.
56:04Like, it's a world away.
56:05It's incredible.
56:06It was wonderful.
56:07Angus and Sally getting married in their church.
56:11Not just a church, their church.
56:14Brought tears to my eyes.
56:16And I think it brought tears to a lot of people's eyes inside that church.
56:19Yeah, we've done it.
56:20And it was really nice.
56:21It feels like a full circle moment now.
56:22It's nice.
56:23Yeah.
56:24Completed it.
56:25Better than what we could ever have imagined.
56:26Why wait a week when you can watch Grand Design's transformations now on ABC iview?
56:43Or next, the excavating pals are at it again in Amanda and Alan's Italian job.
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