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00:01From coast to coast, Ireland,
00:04our old buildings are calling out to be loved and lived in.
00:10But restoration is no easy task.
00:15Who dares take on the challenge of reclaiming our ruins
00:20as homes fit for the future?
00:32On the coldest day of December in the port town of New Ross County, Wexford,
00:37Hugh is visiting a Georgian merchant's house overlooking the River Barrow.
00:42It's unmodernised and unmeddled with.
00:46But retail workers Aaron Deegan and Aileen O'Neill have sold up their former house
00:52in order to afford to transform it into a home.
00:59It's been a long time.
00:59Good morning.
01:01What a lovely door surround, isn't it?
01:04It's really unusual. Lovely to meet you.
01:07Lovely to meet you.
01:08You're well?
01:09It does. Can I have a look?
01:11Perfect, isn't it?
01:16So it's a terrace of four, isn't it?
01:18It is, yeah.
01:20And do you know any background?
01:21There is a plaque on the very last house. It says 1838. They were originally built.
01:26The house is just outside New Ross's medieval town walls.
01:31Aileen and Aaron both grew up nearby and then lived together in the suburbs.
01:37So we were living in Aaron's home place.
01:40With the two kids, when they came along, things just got a bit tight.
01:43We grew the place.
01:45Aaron's mom, Joan, spent the last 17 years living and working in the Cayman Islands,
01:50but now plans to move home to New Ross.
01:54Aileen and Aaron sought out a house big enough for her to move in with them,
01:59the growing kids, rescue dog Ivy and house rabbit Bungie.
02:04I walked in here and I just fell in love with the place.
02:07They were bidding against property investors who had more disposable funds.
02:13But this special house's future was protected by the previous owner, Áine,
02:18who spent her entire life here.
02:21She actually left the property in her will to concern the charity.
02:25And one of the wishes of Áine in her will was to give it to a family if possible.
02:31Yeah, I just feel like it was fate that we were the only family bidding on it.
02:37And how much did you spend?
02:39200.
02:40To Áine and Aaron's kids, Olivia and Oscar, it was a dream come true.
02:47It's going to be our new house.
02:57There she is. There she is. Victoria, we're coming for you.
03:02The one careful lady owner trope has played out perfectly here.
03:07All the original design features have been preserved.
03:11Is the property listed a protected structure?
03:14We were never told it was anyway.
03:16No.
03:16You should follow that up.
03:18Yeah.
03:18Because a lot of the windows are original on the front of the house.
03:22Yeah.
03:23And they can all be refurbished.
03:24We don't think we can afford to refurbish them.
03:27Our plans for the windows would be to keep the same style,
03:31but have the PVC, maybe double or triple glazed versions.
03:38No.
03:39Really?
03:40No, no, no, no, no.
03:41You mustn't do that.
03:44And I tell you why is because the windows timber sections in between are really narrow.
03:51And that's what makes the house special.
03:54You should look for a heritage grant to do the windows.
03:58Wherever possible, the simple elegance of this building should be preserved.
04:03The next part we're going to tell you you're definitely not going to like.
04:07Because we're not taking up the floors to...
04:10Wire and plummet.
04:11Yeah.
04:11We're going to take down the ceilings.
04:13So we are going to lose the cornicing.
04:16Sorry?
04:16Yeah.
04:19Yeah.
04:19I think the floorboards are just too good.
04:21Like the floors are solid.
04:22So I think taking them up would be a bigger crime than, like it's pitch pine.
04:26Do you have...
04:26Do you have...
04:27I feel weak.
04:28I think pulling down the cornices here, which are in such good neck...
04:32Yeah.
04:32...would be a bit naughty.
04:38We're not naughty.
04:39We're not naughty.
04:40They're not naughty, but there are interventions aplenty.
04:45Aileen and Aaron plan to widen and replace the door at the left of the entrance hall with a new
04:51double glass one.
04:52And knock the two rooms on that side together to make one large kitchen dining room.
04:59Alongside the stairs they plan a cloakroom and toilet, accessed via a newly built archway.
05:06The sitting room and kids playroom will be to the right hand of the entrance hall, also with a glass
05:12door.
05:12And with the two existing rooms knocked into one.
05:18On the first floor, Aaron's mother's bedroom will be to the front on the left, with her sitting room behind.
05:26The family sitting room is across the landing, next to the family bathroom.
05:32On the second floor, Aileen and Aaron's bedroom will be straight ahead, with a walk-in wardrobe and ensuite attached.
05:40The children's bedrooms are alongside.
05:45What's the budget?
05:47Hopefully 150,000 if not under.
05:49And that's including the refurbishment grant that we've been granted.
05:53Of what?
05:5350,000.
05:55Quarter of a million.
05:58Quarter of a million what?
05:59That's what this house is going to cost you.
06:02No, I refuse to spend that much on it.
06:05If that's what'll happen, it all tiddles along.
06:07So with our budget, we just don't have the means to fall back on this hidden 100,000 or something.
06:15Who's stripping all the plaster off the walls?
06:17Our builder.
06:18Yeah.
06:19Why?
06:21Gaffert.
06:23See, just, you have a really tight budget.
06:27Yeah.
06:27So, there are things you can do that cost an awful lot of money because they're filthy jobs.
06:34Yeah.
06:34Let's go upstairs.
06:35Yeah, yeah.
06:35Come on.
06:36Hugh wants to pinpoint elements of the project which this pair can take on to stretch their money.
06:43You have to strip all that wall.
06:45Damaged plaster leads to further issues, so it must be removed throughout the house.
06:51If there was any way you could do that, that's where you make savings.
06:56Genuine, genuine savings.
06:58Yeah.
06:58And, like, the floors are just perfect.
07:01But you'll be able to lift those.
07:03All the boards will need to be lifted so that heating pipes can be laid beneath.
07:08And, you see, the interesting thing about this house is, did you hear?
07:13There's no movement.
07:14No.
07:15Just solid.
07:15Nothing?
07:16Yeah.
07:17It's fabulous.
07:18Yeah.
07:18All right, well, let's keep going.
07:21I was just going to say, you make it sound easier than it is.
07:24See?
07:26There's nothing easy about this house.
07:29At construction, it was dug into an old quarry, and with the outdoor loo still in place,
07:35this yard feels as if it's from another time.
07:39Isn't this just fabulous?
07:41Yeah.
07:41Yeah.
07:43It's funny, the back of the house reminds me of my uncle's house in Pitarlington.
07:48Really?
07:49Yeah.
07:49He was 92, put up the ladder to clean the gutters, and fell off and killed himself.
07:54Oh, no.
07:55That was a good way to go.
07:56Do you know what I mean?
07:5892, never sick in his life.
08:00Over.
08:01I loved it.
08:02Do you know?
08:04I thought of it.
08:05I did.
08:06I just loved it.
08:06So, this house evokes memories.
08:09Yeah.
08:10Yeah.
08:10The house also evokes memories for Aileen.
08:14I grew up around the corner, top of the hill on William Street, and back in the day,
08:18I'd always be playing in the park, and these houses were just untouchable nearly to me,
08:24and it's lovely that we're here, coming in to bring it back to life.
08:29This untouchable house's heritage details call for a light restoration approach.
08:35The original features in the entire house, with the exception of the top floor, haven't
08:41been touched, adapted or fiddled with, which is most unusual.
08:45And I think the fact you were saying about the heritage of the house, the history, and
08:51the work of art, it kind of does make sense to keep them.
08:54Aaron's now on board with taking on the work and preserving the features.
08:58But Hugh has a last minute layout idea up his sleeve, to ensure that they maximise light
09:06and space in the rooms they will use in daylight hours.
09:09My suggestion is you flip over where you're putting your kitchen and dining, to the wider
09:16side of the house, and have your snug on this side with your playroom in front.
09:22Yeah.
09:22Yeah.
09:23We felt better straight away, when Hugh was like, no, you have to have the kitchen over
09:27here, and we were like, yeah, okay.
09:29For my part, I've never seen a building 180 years old in such great condition.
09:35So many of the original features are still in the home.
09:39And for me, that's so exciting.
09:42And I do hope they don't tamper with it.
09:45Because this home is exceptionally important to our architectural heritage.
09:51Because their budget is so small, they really do need to roll up their sleeves.
09:56Otherwise, they'll run out of money.
09:58Some of the things we've lined up for our build are, we now think we'll actually tackle
10:03ourselves, anything to keep the cost down.
10:08Stripping the entire house as building novices is going to require steely determination.
10:14Their days are already full with parenting and their paid jobs.
10:19Aaron works full time for an electrical wholesaler, and Aileen at a local boutique.
10:25But, determined to make their new home happen, they locked their remaining energy in, to
10:31cover all the soft demo themselves.
10:34Aided all the way by Olivia and Oscar.
10:38Throughout the cold months of January and February, with no power in the house, they stripped
10:43the walls.
10:44The kids love it.
10:45Any chance they can get, they'll come down.
10:47And when you see the kids just getting so involved, it kind of spurs us on a little bit
10:51more.
10:51Sofina couldn't actually stop.
10:53If the kids are wanting to keep going, they'll look bad.
10:55I'm so proud of the kids.
10:57They really are so excited.
10:59Coming from our little two-bedroom house to this, to them, it's massive.
11:04It is a big house, and it's their dream home.
11:06They're troopers, really.
11:09Just looking at the place now, and being here, working in it, it's a complete
11:13building site.
11:14We never expected it to be so dirty.
11:17There's been tons of wallpaper.
11:19I'm so sick of wallpaper.
11:20I feel like I never wanted to go back into the house.
11:23While the others tear away the old wallpaper and plaster, Aaron has 12 doors to sand.
11:30Spend hours and hours and more hours stripping the doors.
11:33It was good.
11:34It was, I think it lasted about three stone and sweat.
11:36But it's needed.
11:37I'm just imagining what these floors will be like when we strip them back and bring them back to life
11:44again.
11:45It's hard to imagine them right now with all this rubble.
11:48Yay!
11:52They're staying positive, but all the weekend work is exhausting.
11:57Spring's on its way, but Aileen, Aaron and the kids have little time outside the house.
12:03They're living with Aileen's parents, so their own family time is precious.
12:09By March, they've tirelessly thrown themselves into all the aspects of the house stripping, with varying levels of success.
12:19Aileen's prepared to take on anything, but her real interest is design.
12:24On the drawing board today is a new archway in the entrance hall.
12:29I love the opening.
12:30I even feel like getting rid of that whole frame, bring it up into a nice curve.
12:35Yeah.
12:36And it'll just give us, it'll feel bigger even if the hall will.
12:40Yeah, it'll look bigger.
12:41Yeah.
12:41Okay.
12:42I love it.
12:43Already.
12:44But Arch Design only provides short respite from more demo.
12:49They've discovered that the ceilings on the top floor are beyond repair.
12:53They don't have cornices, so they will be torn down.
12:57So, we watched someone tearing down ceilings, and we just thought, yeah, we can do that.
13:02So, Aaron got inspired and came down one night, and then he was like, I have part of it down.
13:08So, I followed him down.
13:12Only got ten more rooms left.
13:14And then we were just hammering away, and we were like, yeah, we can do this.
13:18So, one turned into four.
13:21Four months of labour and celebratory one-woman discos since his first visit, Hugh's back to check on progress in
13:29his very modern baseball cap hardhat.
13:32Hello.
13:34How are you?
13:34Good morning.
13:35Lovely to see you again.
13:36You're well.
13:37Good to see you.
13:38Lovely to see you.
13:39Lads, lots of work.
13:42It's a bit messy.
13:43Yeah.
13:43I wonder, would it be really nice on, you know, the window below this, to get stained glass in?
13:49It'd be wild.
13:50Just put in a single paint.
13:53I would love stained glass.
13:53Yeah.
13:54It'd be modern stained glass and, you know, it'd be just super.
13:58I would love it.
13:59Stained glass is on the wish list, but more practical matters come first.
14:05You've now clarified this is a protected structure.
14:08Yeah.
14:09Yeah.
14:09We didn't know that.
14:10We didn't know much.
14:11We didn't know.
14:12It's a mercy that Aileen and Aaron did the research.
14:16If they hadn't, the house's stunning 1830's 6 over 6 window frames, mostly still with their
14:24original glass, could have ended up in a skip.
14:28Your windows are really important.
14:30The glass is 170 years old, which is wild.
14:34There is so little left in Ireland that you're in the lucky and unique position to have it.
14:43We didn't realise.
14:44There you go now.
14:46We're learning.
14:47However, preserving the windows and glass will put paid to the original plans of double glazing.
14:53I don't believe you can get double glazing into those windows.
14:56The way you keep the heat in, I'm not being smart.
14:59Yeah, close the shutters.
15:00Is that what the shutters are for?
15:02Yeah.
15:02If you could stop the draught in the window, you'll have dealt with an awful lot of the cold.
15:07Fully insulated shutter boxes are a great solution for draughts.
15:12And in fact, the worst culprit is in here.
15:15Yeah.
15:15See there?
15:16Yeah.
15:16Yeah.
15:18So, it's how you wrap the insulation into there.
15:23Yeah.
15:23Okay.
15:23So you're the lucky people.
15:26They'll have to look after it.
15:27They'll have to look after it and nurture it for the next 70 years.
15:32Aw.
15:32So you're saying if you wanted to sell it then we could get money?
15:37The only money to be made here is by continuing to DIY as much as possible.
15:43They've done so much already.
15:45But with their stretched budget, they will have to keep up that pace.
15:49You're really doing the work?
15:52Yeah.
15:52Yeah.
15:52You don't have a choice?
15:53No.
15:54No.
15:55Okay.
15:55Fine.
15:56And your kitchen needs to be second hand?
15:58Our friend is a kitchen maker.
16:01Fine.
16:01But you'd be better off getting a second hand kitchen and getting him to fit it.
16:06This is big money.
16:07They can't reduce the workload, but they could make the project more workable by extending
16:13their timeline.
16:14When do you think you're moving in here?
16:17Originally we had planned at kind of end of the summer.
16:19That's an unrealistic five months away.
16:22So I would reckon this time next year.
16:26Okay.
16:27Aaron's 40 in March next year and that's what we're aiming for.
16:31That's perfect.
16:32Yeah.
16:33Well done, Aaron.
16:34How's party?
16:36Isn't it great?
16:36I might look 50 by the time it's actually.
16:40Very nice.
16:41Lovely to see you.
16:41Lovely to see you.
16:44See you soon.
16:44Bye-bye.
16:47Fast progress costs money.
16:50At last, in the middle of April, there's a big change on site.
16:55Contractor Paddy Kinsella and his team arrive to begin knocking walls for the new room layout.
17:02It's the start of shelling out their small budget.
17:05But it's a relief for Aileen and Aaron to see somebody else at work.
17:10So today was a major day in our calendar because Paddy and his team started cutting out walls.
17:18This is our dream like since last September to see the rooms cut out and start seeing it all come
17:25to life.
17:26They've engaged with their heritage.
17:29They've engaged with their heritage officer and the building team is knocking the dividing walls between the front and back
17:34rooms on either side of the front door, as well as the back wall where a glass door will open
17:40onto the yard behind.
17:42We're grateful as well to the lads.
17:44I know this is like a mundane, monotonous job for them but it's actually, I feel like, a major day
17:52for us.
17:52After school, Aaron and Aileen bring Olivia and Oscar in to give their verdict on progress.
18:00Oh, my God!
18:02Wow!
18:03Oh, yes!
18:05Oh, my God!
18:08So much bigger and brighter.
18:09Yeah.
18:10Oh, I just love it!
18:12I actually welled up a bit and just thinking, wow, this is...
18:16There's no going back now.
18:18Jesus, it's all coming together.
18:23It's a big change, but it's only the first in a long list.
18:28This building has remained barely altered and unmodernised for almost 200 years.
18:35Today, Aileen and Aaron are meeting local historian Miles Courtney, five minutes from their house, on the Dumbrody ship in
18:43New Ross Port, to find out who lived in it over those years.
18:50Well, we go back as far as when the houses along the terrace there were built in the 1830s.
18:57And at the time, the town was basically owned by the Tottenham family.
19:01Yeah.
19:02So, we see the Tottenham name on some of your deeds.
19:06And I have a copy of a map here, which appears in the Tottenham collection.
19:10There it is.
19:11Yeah.
19:12Yeah.
19:12In the back, sold.
19:14Coach Factory.
19:15Coach Factory.
19:15Never heard of that.
19:16Theirs was one of a number of terraces, built by the Tottenhams to accommodate a new class made rich by
19:23a new trade.
19:24These developments in the town were prompted by the development of the port, the developing transatlantic trade from New Ross.
19:35Local families used ships like this one to trade with Newfoundland and North America.
19:42New fortunes emerged from the port and new families gained power.
19:48New house marks a monumental change in the change of society here in New Ross.
19:53One of the first recorded tenants in it was a howlet.
20:00And the howlets were a significant family in the development, the mercantile and the commercial development of the town of
20:06New Ross.
20:08Empowered by trade with the Americas, the howlets were local traders who built up new wealth through brewing and the
20:16cloth trade.
20:17They were involved in transatlantic trade with the West Indies and the east coast of America.
20:23OK.
20:24But now we come to a certain dark side to the story in the sense that with the trade between
20:30New Ross and the West Indies and the southern states of America was the slave trade.
20:36While bringing wealth to the new middle class in European cities and towns like New Ross, the transatlantic trade brought
20:45immeasurable suffering to the enslaved people in America and the Caribbean.
20:50And it would not have been uncommon because of the trade between here and the southern ports like Savannah in
20:56Georgia that would have imported tobacco in the towns.
20:59New Ross, like most European towns, profited from and was transformed by the barbaric transatlantic trade in which African men,
21:10women and children were trafficked to the Americas as unpaid labourers on plantations.
21:15But members of local society fought against enslavement.
21:22There was an active anti-slavery movement here in the town. One of the residents of your house was a
21:30Henry Joy McCracken.
21:31In 1857, the Howletts let Aileen and Aaron's house to a McCracken whose aunt Mary Anne McCracken was one of
21:40Ireland's most prominent campaigners against enslavement.
21:45I'm so happy to hear that, honestly. I would call myself an activist as well for human rights and just
21:52hearing that, I'm obsessed.
21:54You have a history there attached to that house that just expands across every aspect of the town.
22:01Yeah.
22:02You know, it's incredible.
22:03Yeah.
22:03Yeah.
22:06But, for all of the house's historic significance, in the present day, its transformation is an exhausting process.
22:14The builders have dug the floors and cleared the rubble.
22:18But the budget won't stretch beyond full-time workers Aileen and Aaron continuing to labour here whenever they can.
22:26I probably wouldn't think I'm a little bit fed up the past month or so, yeah.
22:30It's just, it's a struggle to, to see where it's going or what's going to happen next.
22:35Seeing the place, you know, such a shell as it is at the minute, it's, it's obviously nice to see.
22:40You know, there's progress but it's just how is it going to look, you know, how is it going to
22:45get fixed from here.
22:46There's no, there's no way around it. We have to do as much as possible.
22:54Six months since they bought an 1830s terraced house in their hometown of New Ross County, Wexford, retail workers Aaron
23:02and Aileen are still spending their every spare moment stripping the house back so that it can be insulated and
23:09upgraded.
23:11To add to the urgency to create a home, Aaron's mom Joan has moved back after years working in the
23:18Cayman Islands.
23:22Well, hiya.
23:24There's such a good view there, isn't there?
23:26I'm just envisioning my little craft area there in the window.
23:30She is keen to move into their intergenerational home as soon as possible.
23:36I'm renting a small house just nearby, just until this gets sorted out enough so that I can move in
23:44and rent isn't cheap.
23:46So I'm looking forward to not paying rent any more and putting that money towards like even some paint or
23:52some furnishings or something like that.
23:55I'm going to have to get moving a little bit quicker maybe, but like she has somewhere to stay for
23:59seeing the future so she's not too bad.
24:01As Joan's cat will be moving in, Aileen's upcycling extends to constructing some personal space for their free roaming house
24:10rabbit Bungie.
24:11I found this chest on Facebook marketplace and for 30 quid I think it's a great piece.
24:19This bit of home conversion is much more within Aileen's wheelhouse than all the soft demo.
24:25I kind of always had this interest and flair for it. Even when I was younger I would have done
24:30loads of things in my bedroom and like hung things on the walls like way before I should have been
24:37able to do it.
24:38I just loved uniqueness to a house and it's not all modern pieces, fitted pieces.
24:44You like it?
24:45Yeah.
24:46I hope no carpenters are watching.
24:53Ooh, yay!
24:57I am so happy with that.
24:59Isn't it cool?
25:01I think it looks great.
25:03Bungie is sorted, but for her own home Aileen is still short of funds.
25:09So she's tracked down a second-hand kitchen for only €7,500.
25:15She dreamt of a bespoke kitchen, but she had to scale back.
25:19So today was an exciting day. We got to go and pick up our new kitchen.
25:24Well, old kitchen. It's new to us though.
25:27And I just hounded the internet for a second-hand kitchen, got a deal and we're thrilled.
25:33The kitchen's a van hire and a half-hour's drive away near Wexford town. They've roped in friends, but it
25:42requires all hands on deck to get it loaded up.
25:45When we arrived to collect it then, it probably was a bit more like worn than I expected. You know,
25:52the photos always probably look a bit better.
25:56Unfortunately, collecting the kitchen is just the first stage. As always, Aileen and Aaron have more work ahead.
26:04No, I'm not looking forward to painting it whatsoever or sanding it or nothing. Just get it into the house,
26:08please.
26:09It is extra work, but less money. So it's a labour of love again. Everything about this project is a
26:16labour of love.
26:17For now, the kitchen and all its associated jobs are stored out of sight, though not fully out of mind,
26:25in a storage crate they're renting.
26:31Back at the house at the end of July, contractor Paddy has been busy preparing the ground floor.
26:38Laying the raid on in today just to get ready for insulation and concrete then next week.
26:43However, after that, Aileen and Aaron's funds will have run out to pay for his team to continue professional work
26:52on site.
26:53They will be back to DIYing from here on in.
26:57Obviously, they've undertaken the task themselves, which fair play to them for doing it, but it's a mammoth task ahead
27:03of them.
27:10Seven months into their mammoth task, and without a finished wall, floor or window in sight, Aileen and Aaron are
27:18still managing to keep smiling.
27:20Are you ready for round six?
27:24Today, they're following Hugh's advice and starting to take up the floorboards in order for insulation to be sandwiched in
27:32between floors.
27:34Sit up straight. I think you're leaning too much.
27:37I feel like your mother. Sit up straight. Yeah, that's fair.
27:42I'm looking forward to seeing Hugh. I have a little bit of a bone to pick with him, with the
27:45floor.
27:46At the moment, it's kind of more up to us to just lift up all these floorboards, get ready for
27:50first fix electrical and plumbing.
27:53The floorboards are proving a lot more difficult than we thought.
27:56I feel it's the most, the biggest hurdle that we've come across.
28:01I love the fact that we picked the hottest day of the year to do this as well.
28:05Yeah, so taking the floorboards was the first part of the job.
28:09I think the second part of the job is kind of taking about 6,000 nails out of the Joyce's.
28:13Each floorboard is held in place with tacks, which have no heads, meaning they can't be removed to loosen the
28:21board.
28:22Treat them. Seal them. Stain them.
28:24No, just to try and get them back to what they can be.
28:28I do like the idea of, like, I don't mind...
28:31Putting in new floorboards, yeah, me too. I love that idea.
28:36Aileen's the main advocate for saving the original floorboards, but even she is starting to lose faith.
28:43I've lost a little bit of my mojo and enthusiasm because I feel like it is the biggest hurdle.
28:51That's not even for timber. Are you messing?
28:54That's for metal and steel.
28:58We are feeling it now, and it has been lovely and exciting, and now it's a little bit scarier and
29:05daunting.
29:07Oh, no. OK. Oh, wow.
29:11Against the odds, they've managed to preserve enough floorboards to make their bedroom presentable.
29:17Unfortunately, they now need to redirect their energies to a whole new area of problematic wood.
29:23So, yeah. Recently, Paddy discovered that there's dry rot over the lintels. No.
29:31There's dry rot in the lintels and over them.
29:34Like, we were a bit kind of disappointed to hear that everything about the house has been in such good
29:41condition for such an old property.
29:43This wood cloud has a potential silver lining, though.
29:47This is possibly going to get us the extra 20,000 in the vacant property grant, because it would be
29:54seen as derelict. So, yeah, we're hoping for that top-up.
30:01While they wait for news on the grant, Hugh has brought Aileen and Aaron to Dublin's Donnybrook on a summer's
30:08day.
30:08Isn't this something else? Just the scale and proportion of the rooms.
30:13Yeah, it's really inspiring, isn't it? Just like this, our kids will have the playroom, and then our little chill
30:21-out room will be just offered exactly like this with a sliding door, which is so nice to see.
30:26Though Aileen and Aaron won't have an extension themselves, Hugh wants them to think about how the house connects to
30:34their outdoor area.
30:36This, to me, is just a fabulous extension.
30:40Oh, wow.
30:41And it just engages with the garden.
30:44Yeah.
30:45Which is terrific.
30:46They're also looking for design inspiration for their kitchen.
30:50The black and white tile in the kitchen would be gorgeous.
30:54So, big tiles?
30:55Yeah.
30:56Kind of a 60 by 60 diameter.
30:59Black and white.
30:59Black and white.
30:59It's very definite.
31:01I just think you should think about a more neutral tile.
31:04Okay.
31:05That, if you like, you're relying on the kitchen and the features and the shape and the form.
31:13Right.
31:13Rather than having the strong black and white.
31:17I think one day you'll wake up and scream.
31:20Yeah.
31:21Okay.
31:21I know.
31:23What I have in my head, though, is very nice.
31:26I feel like I want to prove you're wrong.
31:28But don't.
31:28You're going to prove me wrong.
31:31Maybe.
31:32We'll have to see.
31:34Going by Aileen's great personal style, she could very well be the winner here.
31:39And she deserves a win after seven months of back-breaking work on the house.
31:46Yeah, recently we've found it stressful.
31:49Yeah.
31:50Yeah.
31:50Yeah.
31:50Yeah, it's just a juggling act between family, work.
31:54You know, you have to have some sort of downtime as well.
31:56Yeah.
31:57Money-wise, budget-wise, everything is tight.
32:01Yeah, it's tight.
32:02For all their work, the budget's still strained.
32:07Back at the house in August, though, their major spend is underway and Hugh's dreams are
32:12coming true.
32:14The team from National Gates and Windows have arrived to remove and restore the original
32:20six over six windows.
32:21The windows at the front are being taken away to be restored.
32:27They aced it 200 years ago, we were just copying it again.
32:31They have bad news, they rot.
32:33Okay.
32:34Yeah, that's not good.
32:36No, no, no, no.
32:37Don't want that.
32:38What I'll do there now is I'll take a sample.
32:41Okay.
32:42In the best position we can get it where it's intact.
32:44Okay.
32:45We'll bring it back to the workshop and we'll...
32:47Replace?
32:48Yeah, we'll use that scale.
32:51Ah!
32:52Spider.
32:53Sorry.
32:55Shocking as they are, it's said that spiders bring good fortune.
32:59We got the top up for 20,000 from the grants.
33:03That 20 was falling under dereliction because the lintels were rotted and had woodworm, so
33:09they all have to be replaced.
33:12Fixing the rot in the load-bearing lintels qualifies as structural work.
33:17Yeah, definitely the grant has been a boost.
33:19Because I know our budget was always low and tight.
33:25But we want to prove that we can bring it up to a great standard even on a lower budget,
33:32you know.
33:34Within weeks, Hugh is visiting Aileen and Aaron's windows in the workshop.
33:39Kyle Murphy and Orla O'Reilly are talking him through the restoration process.
33:45So, the process of bringing a window back, what happens to them?
33:51The first thing we do is we remove all the old ironmongery or anything that's on the window.
33:58We remove the glass and then we strip the paint.
34:01The boys in the factory then go through all the joints and make sure they're all still tight.
34:06And if they're not tight, they're all re-glued.
34:08And then they're sanded and they're filled.
34:10Then they're sprayed.
34:11I think it's extraordinary as you can see where you've replaced elements of the timber which were damaged.
34:20Yeah.
34:21Really, really beautiful look.
34:23It's a long process, like a long process.
34:26I just thought you got the windows and dipped them.
34:29You know, dipped them.
34:30There you go.
34:31There's no dipping here.
34:33No.
34:33No dipping here.
34:33No, no.
34:34Everything's hand done, La.
34:36All the stripping and everything?
34:38Everything.
34:38Wow.
34:39Very intricate.
34:40Yeah.
34:41So, a labour of love.
34:42I think your job is fascinating because you're taking something that a lot of people would
34:47go out and put it in the bin.
34:49Yeah, we get great satisfaction fixing them.
34:52It has plenty of character as well then.
34:54Yes.
34:56My dad used to do woodwork.
34:58Did he, yeah?
34:58Yeah, yeah.
34:59But he used to get the pig bones.
35:01Okay.
35:02Pig's feet.
35:02Yeah, yeah.
35:03And melt the glue out of them.
35:05Right.
35:05Yeah, to do the joints.
35:07And the smell in the house was just repulsive.
35:11Absolutely repulsive.
35:13Yeah, I can imagine.
35:15Perhaps pig's feet stories don't have the same draw to a younger generation.
35:21So, a window like this, shutter boxes frame, and this is a difficult question.
35:27How much does one of these cost me?
35:29Lock, stock and barrel.
35:31Is this one of these?
35:32What we're doing?
35:32Yeah.
35:34Two grand, two and a half thousand.
35:37I think it's wonderful to know that there are people in Ireland who can skillfully and
35:46with respect, you know, hang on to our heritage.
35:50The wonderful thing about what you've done is all these windows have another good 200 years in them.
35:56Yeah, they'll see us out anyway, you know?
35:58Isn't that amazing?
35:59Yeah.
36:01The eyes of the building are closed for now.
36:04But Hugh is popping in to see how close Aileen and Aaron are to completion.
36:09So, it's funny, isn't it, when you come in here now with the windows all closed up.
36:15Yeah.
36:15It's like a spooky home.
36:17Yeah.
36:17Yeah.
36:18It's grim looking.
36:19Yeah, it is grim.
36:20Yeah.
36:21Lots of work done.
36:22Yeah, it's just, I suppose, we work here every day or whatever week and it just looks like
36:27it's only small but it's done here and there.
36:28For people, you know, to come in once a month or whatever, they might think,
36:32geez, no, you've done so much since we've been here last or whatever.
36:35To them, it looks a lot.
36:37To us, it just seems, it's just another small bump in the road.
36:41Yeah.
36:41It's kind of hidden progresses.
36:44The house remains in darkness for the duration of winter.
36:49With progress limited to tired after work hours, there's a real danger that this challenging
36:56project could grind to an absolute halt.
37:06It feels very surreal to be recording this video because recently we got the devastating
37:13news that Hugh had passed away.
37:16It's hard to believe that such a larger than life character can just be here one minute
37:22and gone the next.
37:24And we really, really do hope we make him proud with this.
37:27It's kind of driven us to complete it and, yeah, just complete it to what we think he
37:35would admire and like.
37:37Yeah.
37:39Yeah.
37:41Yeah.
37:41Rest in peace, you.
37:47Aileen, Aaron and the children keep working through a stormy January and February.
37:55By March, as the cherry trees come into blossom, the house is finally deemed liveable, meaning
38:02that their derelict properties grant can be drawn down.
38:06I'm visiting New Ross on my friend Hugh's behalf to see if the house has emerged from its own
38:13long winter, the refurbished front doors freshly painted, and for Hugh and for Aileen and Aaron,
38:21I want today to be celebratory.
38:25Hello.
38:26Hello.
38:27How are you?
38:28Nice to meet you.
38:29Great to meet you.
38:30Congratulations.
38:31You have the nicest house on the road.
38:33Don't let the neighbour see you.
38:36Wow, look at this.
38:38Absolutely gorgeous.
38:40Inside, lightness and brightness stream in from all sides.
38:44The hall with its stained glass feature, which Hugh suggested, opens onto a games room and snug
38:52on one side and the kitchen on the other.
38:55Congratulations.
38:56Thank you very much.
38:57Is it safe to say you're just in time for your birthday?
39:00Almost.
39:01We spent his birthday here, but we weren't celebrating.
39:04We were working.
39:05Working.
39:05Well, I have to say, I am blown away.
39:08The light, the space, the fact that the kitchen's here as you walk in, what a genius
39:12idea.
39:13Was this Hugh's idea?
39:15It was.
39:16On his first visit, Hugh advised moving the kitchen to the brighter side of the house.
39:22It's a very unique feeling for a house of this age to walk in and feel the kitchen just
39:27here, but it's the heart of the house.
39:28Yeah.
39:29And it really works.
39:30And your kitchen is stunning.
39:33We're delighted with it.
39:34Yeah.
39:34We got lucky with the kitchen.
39:36Hugh was down here one week and he was just kind of going through budgets and he just
39:39made us realise that we couldn't afford to get a new kitchen.
39:42I spent the weekend looking for secondhand kitchens totally deflated thinking we wouldn't
39:46find something we loved.
39:48And that came up on my phone on the Monday and I just thought, wow.
39:52Yeah.
39:53So we quickly started measuring the space and we...
39:56It just fits perfectly.
39:57It fits.
39:58That's so lucky.
39:58So was there a lot of extra work involved in making the kitchen happen?
40:01It wasn't spick and span when we got it.
40:04So there was a lot of work involved and we didn't pay anyone else to spray it or anything.
40:10So we hand painted it and...
40:11You did a great job.
40:13As well as cleaning and sanding the kitchen themselves, they paid a kitchen fitter friend
40:19to adapt it to suit their space and their needs.
40:22The one thing about you two that I've noticed is you're really not afraid of a bit of hard
40:26work.
40:27No.
40:28You know.
40:29No, we love a challenge.
40:31There's still hard work ahead with the top floor yet to be completed.
40:36I love the floor.
40:38I love that the tile isn't in the hall, that it's actually in the reception room or the
40:42kitchen.
40:42Yeah.
40:43Now, Hugh didn't love that idea but I do know Hugh loved to be proved wrong and I think
40:48in this case, you were right.
40:53Hugh may have conceded on the tiles but his advice won through on the subject of preserving
40:59the elegant 1838 cornices.
41:02There's a little indent at the top of this wall here.
41:04Tell me about that, how that came about.
41:06That was Hugh's, one of Hugh's big ideas in the house.
41:08It was his original cornison.
41:10It's there about 188 years, 189 years.
41:13Wow.
41:13So he just says, whatever you do, you have to keep it.
41:15So he came up to an idea that, as you can see, you have the angle.
41:18You know, because it creates that effect with the light and the shadow.
41:21Old now meets new seamlessly in these rooms.
41:25But making that happen was far from straightforward.
41:29To get to this point, it's a challenge isn't it?
41:31My body personally is just aching from head to toe.
41:35But there's bruises and scratches and Aaron ended up in A&E one day from a broken glass.
41:40Did he?
41:41That's not to do with a divorce either.
41:44Literally blood, sweat and tears.
41:46100%.
41:47Yeah.
41:47I'm proud anyway.
41:48I'm proud of us.
41:50Well done.
41:51Well done.
41:52Let's have a little look around, shall we?
41:53Yeah.
41:54I'll follow you, lead the way.
41:55Yeah.
41:56The bright new games room leads onto a colour-drenched, moody, snug space for the grown-ups.
42:03We've come from a two-up, two-down house.
42:07So the kids, they've never had their own room and they've never ever considered even having a playroom.
42:12So this for them is their space.
42:14I have to say, you have great taste.
42:17I'm very inspired by your taste, the colour combinations you've done.
42:21The fact that you did that ceiling makes it really cosy.
42:23Cosy.
42:24There's loads of little design flows in this house that I absolutely love.
42:27Credit where credit's due.
42:28Fairness now, it's really lovely.
42:29Are you happy?
42:30Really happy.
42:31All the finishing work is all Aileen's.
42:34That's all her doing.
42:34Aileen and Aaron chose glazed pocket doors between the rooms.
42:39The sliding doors here are just a touch of glass.
42:41Yeah.
42:42They're just great.
42:44They just work properly.
42:45Yeah.
42:45They're gorgeous.
42:46Aileen picked out the house's character-packed furniture second-hand on online marketplaces.
42:53We've been lucky with a few vintage finds as well.
42:56They look really good, but they're not all that very expensive.
43:00Shall we have a look upstairs?
43:01Yeah.
43:02Let's go.
43:02Dying to see it.
43:04Up the stripped-back staircase, the family sitting room centres around former resident
43:10Aileen's family piano.
43:13Alongside, Nanny Joan's brand-new bedroom opens onto a light-flooded sitting room.
43:19Oh, wow.
43:20Look at the view.
43:21Yeah, it's gorgeous.
43:22Absolutely stunning.
43:23So, this will be Joan's boudoir.
43:26Yes.
43:26Tell me this now.
43:28How is the house going to function in its current state for you guys when you move in?
43:33For now, the only functional bedroom is Joan's.
43:37Aileen and Aaron plan to sleep in her sitting room with the kids until they complete the third
43:42floor, which is still a building site.
43:46Yeah, well, we're going to sleep here and turn this place into a bedroom just for our family.
43:50Joan will have that room.
43:52Yeah.
43:52It's got to be tight.
43:53I'd say eight-week stops we'll have upstairs done and, yeah.
43:58Oh, that's quick.
43:58Yeah.
43:59It's got to be very busy.
44:00I'm sure you're used to it.
44:01The Waltons come to mind.
44:03Good night, Jim Bob.
44:04Yeah.
44:06Just like the Waltons' house, this home combines close-knit family living with a handsome
44:12heritage exterior.
44:14One of the big heritage pieces that you've achieved is these windows.
44:18Your windows really stand out.
44:20Yeah.
44:20As beautiful, finished, original windows.
44:23Yeah.
44:23So, it was the right thing to do.
44:24Absolutely.
44:25Yeah, I'm glad.
44:26We didn't want to do it at first, but just looking at the end results, it's just unbelievable.
44:31Your journey is literally floor to ceiling.
44:35The footage of you lifting up the floorboards is like not for the faint-hearted.
44:40Really?
44:40Yeah, I could watch that all night.
44:41Sweats are for nothing.
44:42Sitting there and drinking tea and eating chocolate biscuits, watching you lifting floorboards
44:46going, oh, my God.
44:48And then when you're both pulling the stuff out of the ceilings, I was like, oh, God.
44:51Oh, God.
44:52I was getting itchy watching it.
44:54That's some job, isn't it?
44:55Yeah.
44:55That was disgusting.
44:59How did you not lose heart when you were doing that?
45:02I did.
45:03But it's something that you can't buy anymore.
45:05It's like the glass you can't get anymore, so we're trying to keep what we have.
45:09They're gorgeous.
45:09Yeah.
45:10They were worth it.
45:11Yeah.
45:11There's a lot of good in this house that you've preserved.
45:13Let's have one final look at that kitchen.
45:15Yeah.
45:15I want to measure up that hob for my own.
45:18Yeah.
45:19I'm jealous, I'm not going to lie.
45:21Despite the work still to be done here and the sacrifices to be made in terms of sharing rooms, this
45:28house has its own exquisite charm.
45:31Bungie and Ivy are settling in already.
45:35Talk to me about money and sacrifice.
45:39That could be the name of your interiors.
45:42The novel.
45:42Your interiors book.
45:44Money and sacrifice.
45:45Figures wise, we bought this for £200,000.
45:48We got a mortgage from the sale of Rudderhouse.
45:50So I think at the moment, you're looking at about £110,000 that we've spent just to get this far.
45:55We're just about qualified for the vacant property grant and the derelict property grant as well.
46:00So we still have to draw down on that.
46:02So that's the next phase of the construction.
46:06So you have £70,000 to spend there.
46:08We have borrowed since our mortgage.
46:11So we owe a bit.
46:13And so we'll have a little bit left over.
46:15What will you have left roughly?
46:16Less than half.
46:17Less than half.
46:17That should be enough to do the top floor though, I'd say.
46:19Yeah, we think it will.
46:21You definitely have the back of it broke.
46:22Yeah.
46:23Their budget wouldn't have worked if they hadn't taken Hugh's advice to do so much themselves.
46:30To cut costs, we took on a lot more work.
46:33And then the more we did stuff, the more we tried the next stage.
46:38And we just kept going to see what our ability could reach.
46:42And we saved a lot that way.
46:44And if you had to put a rough figure on what you saved.
46:47Are we up near £30,000, £40,000 maybe?
46:50It's a significant sum.
46:52And tell me, Hugh's influence, how big an impact did he have on this build?
46:59Well, it's forever more we want to look out the window.
47:02And that's the window he advises to keep.
47:03He's left his mark everywhere, honestly.
47:06And it's been such an honour to be part of it.
47:09And probably wouldn't look half as good even without his guidance as well, you know.
47:13And I am so sad that he won't see it.
47:17I knew him very, very well.
47:18He would be very impressed.
47:20Oh.
47:21Yeah, he would be.
47:22That means a lot.
47:24That was emotional.
47:26Hugh was looking forward to seeing this sturdy building emerge as a family home.
47:32And was always wowed by the family's hard work here.
47:36I can't believe I'm actually here.
47:40They were just absolutely brilliant from start to finish.
47:44It's just amazing.
47:46My mum and dad did a great job.
47:48It was better than I ever imagined.
47:50I'm most looking forward to having our own space and just spending time in our own house with my family.
47:56Growing up in this historic house meant so much to former tenant Anya.
48:00She was determined it would be sold to a young family.
48:03That thoughtful provision meant that Aileen and Aaron could afford this house.
48:07Along with Oscar and Olivia, they have devoted a gruelling year of making this home liveable within their means.
48:13And while there's loads of work still to do, along with Aaron, Aileen has fulfilled her childhood dream of living
48:19on this terrace.
48:20And created a multi-generational home that's exceptional and completely against all odds.
48:27Cheers to Victoria please!
48:29Cheers!
48:31Cheers!
48:31Cheers!
48:31Cheers!
48:33Cheers!
48:34Cheers!
48:35Cheers!
48:38Cheers!
48:41Cheers!
48:41Cheers!
48:51Cheers!
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