Original subtitles

Here in the UK, we do love a period property.

I never dreamt I would own a castle.

For me, it looks like a typical doll's house.

From countryside houses...

It was everything you could dream of.

It was a palace.

..to timeless terraces.

I turned up and I thought, "Whoa, this is pretty cute."

But, beneath the grand facades...

Hopefully, the house won't fall down. We'll see, won't we?

..these historical homes are falling to bits.

Everyone told us to tear this building down.

All over the country, an army of renovators

are snapping them up at knock-down prices.

I think we should leave it like this.

It looks old-timey.

Then facing challenges of epic proportions.

I said all along to get a new build.

This series, we meet the brave new renovators...

We were looking for a bungalow with a shed.

..and return to our familiar band of determined dreamers...

Who else has got a chapel in their house?

..all risking everything...

I thought I had a good idea of what was needed.

I was quite wrong.

People think renovation's lovely, don't they?

HE CHUCKLES

Oh, God, I'm trembling.

..to create the forever home of their dreams.

Oh, my God, it's so nice!

Brick by brick.

Whoa! This is amazing.

Room by room.

I'm still having my "pinch me" moment.

We're nowhere near finished but it feels like a house now.

We are a Renovation Nation.

Today...

It looks OK like that, doesn't it?

But we're not having it like that.

Relations at this splendid Cornish townhouse become a little unstuck.

Why do a job once when you can do it twice?

Check twice, do once.

At the old farmhouse in rural Monmouthshire,

Matt and Michelle's new windows create just the right impression.

I love them. They're really lovely.

I think what this does to the house,

it's going to start having a bit more of a wow factor.

And on the Isle of Gigha,

where one couple is ready to ditch caravan life for ever.

Tonight, we celebrate at the thought of a level bed, a warm shower.

In Cornwall, in the heart of the historic town of Helston,

where there is a paradise of period buildings,

including this four-storey, four-bed townhouse built in 1775.

It was owned by the Godolphin family, who made their fortune

from mining and were notable parliamentarians.

While a hair salon occupies a street-level room,

the building has barely changed in almost 250 years.

For its latest owners, Helston locals Sophie, a graphic designer,

and Colin, an engineer, with their two boys,

Joshua and Sebastian,

it was love at first sight.

The day we got the keys,

seeing the look on Sophie's and the kids' faces,

I just knew this was perfect,

the perfect family home for us.

Spending every last penny they had,

Sophie and Colin paid 435 grand for this stunning Georgian beauty.

Amazingly, it still retains fascinating features

from its historic past...

..including Lord Godolphin's original writing desk.

We do know that Lord Godolphin did cause quite a bit of tension

between the UK and the US presidents at the time.

So to think that, you know, those letters were potentially

written here, in this very room - which, bizarrely, we now sleep in -

is just really... It's really amazing.

As well as the desk, there are door handles and decorative ironwork

that are thought to represent the Godolphin crest.

But peeling back the layers of this fascinating old house

is already revealing challenges.

Well, we didn't have a survey, purely on the basis

I've got a little bit of building background in me,

so I thought I had a fairly good idea

of what work was needed.

And, yeah,

I was quite wrong.

With three-foot-thick granite walls,

it's a tough property to renovate

but so far, grafting on their lunch breaks from work,

they have begun to replace plumbing and electrics,

as well as fit a new kitchen in the basement.

Their next project is the first-floor room

directly above the hair salon.

So, in we come into what will become our new lounge.

In here, we really want to work with the fireplace.

We believe it to be Victorian. And I would also like to have some

window seats in-built.

In this room, we have noticed damp patches, so this is probably

going to be a problematic wall that we'll have to look into.

But this is the joys of an old house.

Elsewhere in the four-storey house, there's a dated bathroom that needs

urgent attention, some tricky structural repairs to a balcony

and a fair few spongy floorboards. But Colin isn't fazed.

I enjoy breaking things and fixing things. As an engineer,

that's just been my goal in life -

break it, fix it, see how it works, etc. I've made a few mistakes,

but that's how you learn.

And it's not long before the damp wall in the sitting room presents

Colin with his next learning experience.

Oh, God!

No going back now then.

I think it's the old plaster.

You can see the cracks in it there.

You can see the flex.

So it's basically telling me this is all going to have to come down,

and reboard it.

So reboard it, replaster.

I was hoping to get away with it, but it's a way of the house

revealing itself to me as well, because I now know what's

behind it and what I have to do and how I can fix it.

Really pleased with the progress,

but probably not so much the state of the wall.

As every renovator knows, uncovering problems like this is all part

of the experience of working on a very old house.

Over 600 miles away,

lying just off the Kintyre peninsula on the west coast of Scotland

is the Isle of Gigha.

Just seven miles long, it's home to only 170 people.

This tiny piece of paradise

was known by the Vikings as God's Island.

A stone's throw from the ferry port is the Old Church Manse,

built in 1816.

This nine-roomed property was bought for 170 grand in 2021

by IT professionals Andy and Karen.

When we started looking for a project,

we were driving down the coast.

I said to Andy, "Would you mind if we pop onto this wee island?"

So we came over in the ferry, and a lovely lady on the ferry

suggested that we came to see the Old Manse.

She goes, "Please go and have a look."

And then that just started our whole journey.

While the 170 grand price tag is cheap, the scale of the work

that needs to be done is huge.

When we first looked at the house,

it was covered in this old concrete render that had seen better days.

It hadn't been occupied for four years, hadn't had any heating on.

On the ground floor, straight away, you could see there was rising damp.

The smell in the property was not desirable.

But what is desirable -

when it's finished, it could be worth upwards of £400,000.

Karen's now retired from IT

and, with the property coming with five acres of land, she's perfectly

placed to help kick-start their new business venture.

We had an ambition to build shepherd's huts for staycations.

Immediately, you could see the potential in the land

and the views that the house offered.

It was fantastic.

It's spring 2023, two years into the project.

So far, Andy and Karen have removed the concrete render and restored

the sash windows.

Inside, the whole house needs doing,

but the kitchen is their priority.

Throughout the property, the couple are keen to retain what remains

of the period features.

So, in the wall here, there's an old traditional Scottish press

and you would traditionally have had them

one on either side of the fireplace.

And I'd really love a gin and whisky bar there

to make good use of the space.

That's the spirit, Karen.

This is our living room and, boy, what a view!

This is the thing that really was the wow moment in buying the house.

This is our homely space -

warm fire and being very comfortable.

Comfort is currently in short supply.

With building work ongoing,

Andy and Karen are living on site in a caravan.

We'll probably be in here at least another five months, I should think.

It's cold, it's damp, it's leaking.

You have to empty the toilet every two days.

I really don't like the caravan.

We are trying to find other rentals on the island but, of course,

that has to be affordable.

For now, the caravan is the best we can muster.

I think you suggested a tent the other day.

Yeah. I don't really think that would be a step up. No.

Fortunately, they do have a plan.

Alongside the renovations to the house, Andy and Karen

are fitting out the first of their shepherd's huts,

where they plan to live until the house is ready.

Hopefully, by summer, we can think about having enough services in here

that we can put a bed into the room.

We'll have a small kitchen in the middle and a bathroom,

so it will be more comfortable in terms of space than the caravan

we're living in at the moment.

To make this space work,

there's a lot to do.

Money is tight, so Andy and Karen will be pushing their DIY skills

to the limit.

Coming up...

Michelle gets in a lather over bathroom tiles...

Stunning.

It's lush.

..but knows exactly what she wants.

I'm going with them. That's it - made a decision.

OK, there you go. Very decisive.

Made a decision! OK, well done, well done.

And Sophie and Colin attempt to get to grips

with a very long decorative border.

So, as this is our first time ever looking at this and doing it...

We have no idea what we're doing. Yeah.

In south Wales, in the county of Monmouthshire,

lies this 200-year-old grade-two-listed farmhouse,

where former Welsh rugby international Matthew

and Olympic triple-jumper Michelle

are midway through a top-to-bottom renovation.

Because of Matthew's job being based over 100 miles away in Devon,

progress is slow.

Managing the project from a distance is not easy, by any stretch

of the imagination, but for me, when I come down here,

it's just like...

I love it. I just love it.

They bought the farmhouse in 2021 for £537,000 and are dreaming

of the family moving in as soon as possible.

All those hours on the road, up and down, 100% for me

and, in the future, I know, for the rest of the family

will have been worth it, without question.

Tough times don't last but tough people do.

Isn't that the saying? Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

We've already seen Matthew and Michelle create the beating heart

of their farmhouse, a Shaker Style open-plan kitchen

with marble-topped island.

Today, their bathroom is the focus of their attention,

and Michelle is measuring up for tiles

in what will be a traditional family bathroom.

Hey, how are you doing?

What are you doing here?

You frightened the life out of me, Hywell.

I've got a surprise for you.

Hywell, that's lovely, babes.

Tile specialist Hywell has brought along some samples

so Michelle can make final choices for the colour scheme.

Hywell... This is an option for your floor.

Oh, my gosh! Hywell, that is beautiful.

Do you have anything with, like, a pop of colour?

Right. Right, OK. What have we got here?

Stunning.

It's lush.

That ties in with the colouring and with the marble.

There's a lot of options there.

This is safe but stunning.

Yeah. I know what you're thinking,

that the browny burnt orange colour is going to look a little bit safe.

However, that's a glazed tile with a texture to the surface.

I'm going with them. That's it. Made a decision.

OK, there you go. Very decisive.

Made a decision! Well done. Well done, well done. Well done.

We did it.

With progress being made in the bathroom,

outside, it's a day of big changes for the farmhouse.

Morning, Matt. How are you? Not bad, you?

Yeah, good, thank you.

The original wooden window frames are rotten.

So, today, a team of joiners, led by Wayne,

are beginning the huge job of replacing them all.

It's quite a big day today.

I think that it'll make a big transition for the house, in terms

of the look externally and, you know, internally, we'll stop

losing quite as much heat. So that should be nice as well.

With the farmhouse's listed status, Matthew and Michelle

have had to work with local conservators to agree on the spec

of the replacement units.

These windows are slightly different to the existing windows,

inasmuch as these are now going to be double-glazed.

We are using what we call heritage units,

which the conservation officers will accept.

With a number of the windows already fitted,

Matthew is delighted with the progress.

Do you know what?

Even as they are sat is great.

It is a completely different look to the house.

It just looks so much better.

Right, we'd better crack on then.

All right, then. Make another shilling. Perfect, yeah.

While huge steps forward have been made today with the farmhouse,

Matthew has also put his best foot forward

by applying for a deputy head role at a local school.

Well, obviously, you've got the property here in South Wales

and I work and live at the moment with the family in Devon.

And there's an opportunity locally to the house here

and I'd be silly not to go for it. It's a decent post.

Who knows? They might like my application, they might not.

That is the way of the world. It's a very competitive market.

A lot of good teachers out there, a lot of great experience.

But, as I've always said, you can't win it if you're not in it.

And, if Matthew does get the job,

it will really put the pressure on to get the work finished

so they can be living there in time for the job starting.

200 miles away in Cornwall,

Sophie and Colin are grafting away in the lounge

of their historic Georgian townhouse.

Money's tight, so they are doing most of the work themselves.

And we both work.

We're both doing it on lunch breaks.

It is quite hard to fit it all in but, at the end of the day,

we still want to get it done because it's our passion as well.

With all the paper on the lounge wall now stripped off,

Colin has discovered the plaster is not, as he first thought, in need

of being completely redone.

Instead, he's now fixing it with patch repairs,

using a traditional lime plaster.

Colin is also pushing ahead with the construction

of the window-seat storage units.

The character property has its quirks.

There's not a straight line in the house.

Every wall bows, which makes it very interesting,

especially when you're trying to learn a new skill.

So it was like a learning curve up Mount Everest.

It's constant learning for this pair.

Next up, they're hanging a textured border on the newly-repaired wall.

So, as this is our first time ever looking at this and doing it...

We've no idea what we're doing. Yeah.

These textured paper borders first became popular in Victorian times

as an affordable way to mimic the ornate plasterwork found

in stately homes.

The plaster ceiling rose that's arriving will also have floral

detailing like this as well,

so it's all kind of tying in together,

so it will look quite beautiful.

Before it can all tie together, they need to try

and get it up on the wall.

Oh, no.

I have no idea how this is going to work.

So you come to me.

Do you want me to double-check first and make sure that's the right way?

It is.

I'll jump up.

Then come to me.

Uh, you're going to come up the ladder.

I'm coming up the ladder? Yeah.

Oh, Lord.

Whilst balancing?

I'm up.

They always say that a designer and engineer shouldn't mix.

And we don't mix.

And I'm a designer and he's the engineer,

so he breaks everything, and I'm...

But it has to go right,

and it has to be pretty by the end of it.

For now, at least they actually do seem to be working well together.

We've got a slight problem.

Right, but it looks OK like that, doesn't it?

But we're not having it like that.

Unfortunately, it's been hung upside down.

You realise what's going to happen now?

What? You've cut it the wrong size.

Yeah, so that's cut to match there. I know. Yeah, don't come in all...

No, I'm just saying, I'm just saying.

So, if we swap that around,

that piece that I've cut for here is not going to fit.

I did ask you this.

I asked you, "Is it the right way round?"

And you kept telling me, "Yeah." I said, "Did you check?"

We had it laid out on the floor, didn't we?

I said, "Did you check online?" And you said, "Yeah."

Well, no, I didn't. Well, don't say... I said, it was on the floor,

"Which way is up?"

Right, well, it doesn't look right, so... Why doesn't it look right?

It looks fine.

There's only going to be one winner here, Colin.

Don't take it out on the wallpaper.

No, this is the problem.

OK, I can see that.

Yeah?

COLIN SIGHS

Why you do a job once when you can do it twice?

Check twice, do once.

Teamwork makes the dream work...

..anyone?

That does look better, I've got to say.

Like you said, it's a good job we made the error to start with,

on the first one.

We obviously didn't check to see what way round it went

and we just went with it.

But we've learnt from our mistake.

We won't do it again.

But I think that it does.

It looks... It looks really good.

It's done now, anyway. I'm not doing it again.

Let's hope things go a little more smoothly with the other three walls.

Oh, and there's still a ceiling rose to install.

Coming up -

Andy and Karen get their measurements in a muddle...

We are short of sides.

No, we're not.

Six metres 50.

Is that not what I said?

No, you said three, darling.

..Sophie gets trigger happy with a nail gun.

THUD

THUD Watch your fingers. Next.

..and Matthew and Michelle have a robust discussion

about the height of their loo.

It ain't that low.

No, Matt. That's low.

I know I like training and everything else,

but I don't want to be squatting every time I go to the toilet.

Back on the stunning Scottish Isle of Gigha,

where professional builders continue to work on the old manse,

as the renovation continues, in the orchard,

Andy and Karen are fitting out the empty shell of their shepherd's hut,

where they plan to live until the house is ready.

Today, Karen is fitting panelling to the interior walls.

I'm really hopeful.

But what I have to do now is I have to hope I can cut straight.

And at least it doesn't have to be perfect.

The novice DIYer is also flying solo, as Andy is busy in the caravan,

bringing in the cash with his IT consulting work.

As you can see, this isn't an ideal working setup by any means.

So, normally Andy and I would do this kind of stuff together.

But needs must, I'm afraid. He needs to earn the pennies.

Prices of everything have gone through the roof.

While they plan to live here in the short term,

eventually, it'll be one of six self-catering units

for their glamping business.

In Andy's defence,

he did say I should give this to the joiner to do,

but I want my house finished, so I'd rather not distract the joiner.

Hello. Hiya.

Andy's lunch break means he can lend a hand.

Can I help? Yes.

I'd appreciate your help cutting. Let's have a look.

Andy and Karen need to plan meticulously,

as renovating on an island brings its own unique challenges.

One thing that didn't occur to us was just how difficult

it was going to be to bring all the materials on.

The nearest hardware store to us now

is three hours out of your day immediately.

We have to plan ahead.

I'm going to leave you to screw that in place, I think.

OK, right, cool.

With Andy back at work,

Karen consults the go-to resource of every modern renovator...

"How to install tongue and groove." There we go.

..online video tutorials.

PHONE SPEAKER: If you follow these simple steps,

you'll have it done in no time. Yeah, I believe you, mate.

These are the tools you'll need for the job.

A month later, Karen has made great progress.

People say measure twice - I measure three times.

With the panelling complete,

Karen is going solo again, fitting kitchen units.

Put this down here.

Next step...

Here we go.

Ta-da!

Only another three to go.

Meanwhile, over at the old manse, progress is also being made.

The builders have started on the ground floor.

We realised there wasn't a damp course, so that's now been put in.

The floor here is new concrete screed,

ready for underfloor heating to go in.

It's the weekend, so Andy is free to help Karen

with the shepherd hut's shower room.

We are short of sides.

No, we're not.

Six metres 50.

Is that not what I said?

No, you said three, darling.

I think Karen preferred it when Andy was too busy with work to help.

It's not OK. How much? It's come off.

Can we turn it over and do it again?

Perfectionism.

Karen's perfectionist approach has worked pretty well so far, Andy.

It's not as tight as I was hoping for.

It's pretty tight.

I can get my finger down... Yeah.

Soon enough, it all starts to come together.

Have you got your end? I've got this side.

That... That is fantastic. ..works.

What do you think of my choice of material? I like it.

It's pretty good.

I'm of the larger girth of man,

and I think that gives a really good size shower.

With the kitchen and bathroom close to completion,

they'll be enjoying shepherd's hut life soon enough.

I think if we could get most of it ready,

then as soon as the plumber and electrician are here next week,

we'll have a shower.

More than 600 miles to the south, in Helston, Cornwall,

at the 250-year-old granite townhouse

where Sophie and Colin are working in harmony

to bring back period styling to their lounge...

Rest that there.

..having successfully hung the rest of the decorative border,

today they are hoping good relations continue,

as they attempt to install a ceiling rose and chandelier.

Hold this. What, this?

Leave that there, yeah.

It's actually really heavy.

It's all a bit of a juggle.

And this is how two novices DIY. SOPHIE CHUCKLES

When I work on my own, I wouldn't get myself to do things like this.

With the ceiling rose, the chandelier, the cable,

the screwdriver and a couple of screws...

What are you doing?!

..Colin has had to find novel places to keep everything.

Get the screwgun out me legs.

SOPHIE CHUCKLES

But with a bit of perseverance and a lot of ingenuity...

..this determined couple get the job done.

It's on.

And with the chandelier securely attached, Sophie's rightly chuffed.

I think it makes a big difference to the space already.

Yeah, I can't wait for it to be properly used.

It's all come together,

so we're not too far away from it now.

Nearly there - for this room.

Period perfection well done.

A few weeks later, huge progress has been made.

The window seats are coming together and a new carpet has been fitted.

Screw that one in.

It is a huge sense of relief to say this room's nearly finished.

It's great to have it nearly done, so we can finally tick off a room.

We just eat, sleep and breathe this house.

There's no respite, but when you see the room coming together like this,

it's actually... Yeah, I do enjoy it.

And it's worth it in the long run.

Today, they are measuring up to make period-style wall panels

using wooden beading.

With Colin cutting all the pieces to size, Sophie's on nail gun duty.

Like that? Yeah. Push it? Push it in.

Yeah. Press the button.

THUD Ah!

There you go - simple.

THUD

Watch your fingers.

Next. Come on.

THUD Yes!

I'm learning just as much throughout this whole process.

And because we want to build a home, don't we,

and the only way to do it is for me to be able to help as well.

THUD Yes!

A few days later, and Sophie has set Colin the challenge of

creating a bar in the alcove.

While Sophie preps the surface, Colin is on the tools.

With this room edging closer to completion,

once the bar is shelved and the cupboards fitted,

it'll soon be time to crack open the fizz.

There you go.

Oh, that's good.

So, that will sit...

And then you can have a think about where you want to finish it.

That looks good.

It's looking good too in Monmouthshire,

at the grade II listed farmhouse...

Beautiful day.

Beautiful day.

..where Matthew and Michelle have just arrived with two of their kids,

Eden and Elijah, travelling up from their current Devon home.

Their replacement heritage-approved windows are now all installed,

and the couple are keen to have a close-up look.

What do you think?

I love them.

They're nice.

They're really lovely.

The windows are in now.

I think what this does to the house,

it's going to start having a bit more of a wow factor.

And...I think it's got a wow factor anyway.

Somewhere else that's very close to having wow factor

is their traditional family bathroom.

The walls have now been prepped for tiling and their bathroom suite

has been delivered.

So this, I mean, we've got to position it, right?

Yeah.

But...the toilet's quite far down.

Yeah. It looks small.

So it's a traditional toilet. It ain't THAT low.

No, it's low, Matt. No, that's low.

That's for Elijah's height.

I know I like training and everything else,

but I don't want to be squatting every time I go to the toilet.

Their current Devon location makes it difficult to spot

issues like this.

Actually, you do need to be down here a lot more, you know,

and that's, I know, not easy and not been easy with my personal

circumstances and Matt's work.

But you do need to be here so you can see these things.

While they can't agree on the height of the loo, hopefully the bath

can be positioned without too much disagreement.

Two, one, lift up.

So against this way, you're saying.

Yeah. Against that way there.

Yeah, I much prefer it that way. Yeah, it's more space.

It's more space.

I think it's, erm...

It's the right place? Yeah, absolutely.

Done. Boom! Boom. That's a wrap. That's a wrap.

Well done. Pump it up. Pump it up.

One more thing to check off the list.

Two weeks later and tiling has begun in the bathroom.

But Matthew has some even bigger news.

I got a job in, uh, the school up the road starting in September.

So, yeah, I'm very excited. Very excited.

Erm, the pressure is most definitely on to try and get things sorted,

but, you know...

Sometimes a little bit of stress and hassle,

sometimes a little bit of fear, that's what you need to

just get you across the line.

So we'll see.

A few weeks later, and with the whole family now mucking

in to get the house ready to move into...

I'll do the top and you can do the rest of this wall.

..it's a big day at the farmhouse.

After months of planning and hard graft, what was just

an empty shell with uneven floors and walls

is finally the dream family bathroom Michelle has waited so long for -

complete with walk-in rainfall shower and freestanding bath.

Managed to finish the bathroom, haven't we?

I think it's beautiful.

What a brilliant job we've done.

Mixing traditional style fittings with contemporary but classic tiles,

Michelle has created a tranquil space with muted tones

and a splash of colour.

Tiles speak for themselves.

I think they are fabulous and I absolutely love this place.

I think it's beautiful.

And they even found a clever compromise when it came

to the toilet height.

We talked about the toilet and whether it was too low.

And I spoke to John, our tiler, I said, that's right...

I said, erm, "Mate, you know, we think it's a bit low,

"uh, the throne sort of thing. We want it a little bit higher.

"And as we get a bit older, we don't, you know, your knees,

"the knees don't want to bend quite so much."

So the guy's just put a solid piece underneath and then tiled

over and around it... It's stunning. ..and raised the toilet.

And I just love the high flush as well.

I think that the toilet for me is the best part.

And with the traditional roll top bath perfectly positioned, the room

is the ideal spot for a bit of relaxation.

When you have a bath in there now, yeah, you sort of get

in and you're able to look out at the view straight

out of the window.

And it's absolutely stunning.

With Matthew's new job beginning in just a few short weeks, they now

need to push on and get the bedrooms finished

so they can finally move in.

So it's about us now, just focusing on the other rooms and doing

one step at a time, but we'll get there.

We will get there. We'll get there.

Love you, baby. We'll get there.

Coming up...

Andy gets super excited when he and Karen successfully

hang a blind...

Voila-a-a!

That actually looks quite good, I think.

..and engineer Colin fits a marble top to their new bar

with millimetre precision.

That's perfect. It's solid, it's not going anywhere.

Off the west coast of Scotland on the Isle of Gigha, where Andy

and Karen's living quarters are about to have an upgrade.

You hold the blind just while I figure out the... Put my glasses on.

I love it when a plan comes together.

While work in the Manse continues, after a year of living in a caravan,

the couple, having grafted hard, are nearly ready to

move into their shepherd's hut.

Before they can officially move in, they have one last job to finish.

There. Thanks. Hold the blind. I've got the blind.

Thank you.

This time I've listened to you... It makes a change.

..for the fourth time in 25 years of marriage.

Voila-a-a!

That actually looks quite good, I think.

Though the shepherd's hut will be warmer and better equipped,

Andy and Karen are also looking forward to life

being a little less stressful.

When we were in the caravan, we were very aware

we were in a building site.

It'd be nice to be down in the orchard in amongst the greenery

and no rubble.

And our inevitably sinking caravan, just general groundworks,

without it being on a solid footing, have caused that back end

to sink and sink.

We've been sleeping on an angle.

Tonight we celebrate at the thought of a level bed, a warm shower...

THEY LAUGH

No sinkage. And no sinkage.

Right, shall we go and get the duvet? Yes, let's.

Let's move in.

Here goes.

Here goes nothing.

Four months ago, this shepherd's hut was just an empty shell.

But putting in the hours and learning new skills has meant

it's been transformed into a pocket-sized palace.

Inside there is a small but perfectly formed fitted kitchen,

an en-suite with a spacious luxury rainfall shower...

..and there's still room for the couple's Chesterfield

armchairs and full-sized bed.

And it's all Andy and Karen's own work.

For two people who don't profess to be DIY experts -

far from it in many ways - I'm really pleased with the job

we've done with this.

My DIY was definitely rusty when we started this journey.

I was quite nervous about it.

I feel my skill set has grown.

To be fair, you've always been very practical.

I'm the duffer who can't put a shelf up.

You're the project manager who tells everybody else what to do.

Yeah.

Finishing the shepherd's hut has given Andy and Karen

the confidence to push on and follow the dream of setting

up their glamping business.

Our unique selling proposition is very much

the peace and tranquillity.

Hopefully, we've appealed to a broad audience.

We'll find out next year.

Cos we'll be in this one, let's face it, until winter

and then we'll be in the house, and if we're going to do another one

we might think about it next spring or next autumn.

So that gives us the winter to really do our research

about the best way forward.

Definitely.

It's amazing what the prospect of a good night's sleep

can do for morale.

And later this week, we'll be back with Andy and Karen

as they turn their attention to the main house.

Over 600 miles away in Helston, Cornwall...

SAW BUZZES

..the transformation of the lounge in Colin and Sophie's Georgian

townhouse is almost complete.

A week on from Colin beginning work on their recessed bar,

and with Sophie making all the design decisions,

Colin is following her plans to the letter.

Sophie now says she doesn't want the shelving to be on show,

so I'm going to put those brackets back in

and then I can MDF up to it and it'll just give it

a nice clean finish on it.

With the arch fitted and a frame built for a cupboard unit,

the elegant finish will be enhanced by this stunning piece

of black marble.

It was a small expense, but because it was a scrap piece

it wasn't as expensive as we thought.

So we thought, yeah, this would just finish off the bar and give

it that nice, elegant look on it.

So this is the moment of truth now - we'll see whether it fits.

HE GRUNTS

A tight squeeze, Colin, but trust an engineer to make sure it fits

to the millimetre.

Perfect.

It's solid. It's not going anywhere.

On the home straight of it now. Let's just do...

I'll get the shelves up and, erm, it'll be ready for Sophie

to paint it then in whatever colour she wants.

Over the next few weeks, Sophie and Colin push on until the sitting

room is finally finished.

Six months ago, the room was dark and dated, with decades

of problems hidden beneath the layers.

But now it's utterly transformed.

So, here we are, our grown-up lounge.

Finally.

The calming neutral colour scheme contrasts with the classic black

and brass fireplace...

..which in turn is complemented brilliantly

by the stunning recessed bar.

The showpiece chandelier adds to the grown-up glamour,

and the period details are the perfect nod to the history

of the house.

We've been in, what, a year now, and we've finally got somewhere

that we can sit down and relax in in an evening.

Exactly. Just chill out. Shut the door.

Yeah. Relax.

I'm really, really pleased with how the panelling has come out

into the space.

It's really elevated the room.

A simple yet affordable technique which has restored an element

of Georgian period detail to the room.

And in the windows, another original feature cleverly

recreated from scratch by Colin.

They look like they've always been here. Yeah.

I really love these cushions in the window seats.

Yeah, it was a good way to re-use the old kitchen countertop

to make those seats.

And it helps with the storage in this house cos we need

a lot of storage.

It's the bar, though, that this pair are most proud of.

I'm quite happy with the fact I made it from scratch,

and it just really ties in the room because it was

a dead space, wasn't it?

Yeah, I think we've done it for under 300, haven't we?

A lot less. Yeah.

And it's made a huge impact.

It's a statement in the room, isn't it?

Made it work for us, which is great.

And now the whole family can enjoy it.

It's an incredible transformation and testament to all the hard work

that Sophie and Colin have put in.

Yeah, it's been a really good team effort, hasn't it?

Yeah, it's like every evening we sit down here, it's like you look

around and say, "Yeah, well, we done this." We did this.

Yeah. We did this.

Next time...

..we return to Matt and Charlotte's 228-year-old Georgian

beauty showing worrying signs of ageing.

Looking at this, you can see how it's...it's all moved.

The timbers they've used aren't adequate at all.

We rejoin Graham and Jodie as their neo-Palladian renovation

reveals a secret room that time forgot.

Got 59 rooms and now we've got 60! Yeah!

We've got another room and I didn't pay any for it - it's free!

LAUGHTER

And in Cornwall, has Sophie bitten off more than she can chew

with her dining room restoration?

I'm going to be here in 2050.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media