All language subtitles for Renovation.Nation.2022.S02E16.1080p.WEB-DL.H264-5Pr1N680K_[English] (SUBRIP)

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 knockdown prices.

I think we should leave it like
this. It looks old-timely.

...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
is lovely, don't they?

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.

This week,

five new renovators, raring to go...

I'm quite sure a professional
would be laughing right now.

...breathe new life
into their precarious properties.

I'm exhausted.

Today, in Warwickshire,

We catch up with Andrew and Mandy

turning a dusty old stable block
into a stunning photography studio.

I wanna get my camera out
and start taking photographs.

In Kent, we rejoin Iain and Miranda
at the old rectory...

...creating a fabulous family
movie room in their attic.

It's really, really cool.

And in West Yorkshire...

There you go. All right. So, next...

...we meet a couple
transforming a Victorian villa

into an airy, modern home.

John did prep me, um,
that was, like,

"We are going to gut it
and start again."

In the county of Warwickshire,

birthplace of Shakespeare,

lies Dunsmore Hall.

Built in the 1770s,

this three-storey, 27-room
Georgian giant

has been extended many times
over the decades.

Falling into a desperate
state of disrepair,

in 2020 it was snapped up for
676,000

by chemical engineer, Andrew,
and special needs teacher, Mandy.

We think we got it for a bargain.

A lot more problems than
we were expecting, though.

Yeah. Yeah.

Two years ago,

the couple were living in the hall

without heating or hot water.

We had a thermometer

that showed it was
ten degrees in here

when it was snowing outside.

We haven't been in the front
room for two months

because it's been too cold.

But slowly, this
250-year-old house...

Hold on. That's a doorframe.

...reluctantly began
to reveal its secrets.

Oh, some cornice there!

...uncovering the history within.

You always see the programmes on TV

where they reveal fantastic
mouldings,

and no, we're not gonna to get that.

But, we have! This is great.

So far,

they've installed a
new heating system,

completed a stunning,
new kitchen diner

and a formal dining room.

It always, always to be airy
and light, wasn't it? Yeah.

To keep that feel.

For these rookie renovators,

living onsite with only two rooms
of 27 complete,

they take it all in their stride.

Sometimes feel like
we're playing at it

cos we don't really know
what we're doing.

But, what's the worst
that could happen?

It's not gonna fall down
by something we do.

It's gonna fall down if we don't...
...don't do stuff.

It's now January 2023,

and there are a couple of structures

which are, actually,
in danger of collapse.

We've got feeder troughs
on all the stalls.

They're against the wood.
So, they've got to come out.

The stables are in need
of some serious renovations,

but this being Dunsmore,
there's not just one block, but two.

One set of stables, which we think
of as the old stables...

...and then the other ones are...
...we call the big stables.

Unfortunately, the cupola on the top
was rotting on the outside.

...and that's the air vent.

So, it creates,
it creates the ventilation

for when it's full of
seven large horses.

And both stables are in
desperate need of repair.

We've had to redirect finances

that would have been used
elsewhere on the house to,

as we're putting it,
saving the stables.

While their plan for the old stables

is to restore them to
their original state,

photography enthusiast, Andrew,

plans to turn the other block
into a studio.

Today is our strip-out
of the stables

so that we can get
that room progressed.

That's a piece of ceiling lath.

Andrew and Mandy's team of builders
set to work

dismantling the old horse stalls.

In no time at all,

the potential of the cleared space
becomes fully apparent.

Wow!

It makes the space look
twice the size.

I wanna get my camera out
and start taking photographs.

Would you just stand there, Liam?

Never ones to let anything
go to waste,

Andrew and Mandy will
repurpose the timber

from the centuries-old stable stalls

with the lids from the feed troughs
earmarked for shelving in the studio.

A few months later,

with the roof of the big stables
well on the way to being repaired,

in the other stable block,

work on the photography studio
is coming together.

We now have brand-new
soundproof ceiling

and underfloor-heated floor.

It's very warm.

While the studio will be
a very modern workspace,

Mandy is keen that any new additions

are sympathetic to the building's
equestrian heritage.

Because it's an old stables,
it was, obviously, not domestic.

So, we've left it with
galvanised light switches.

Everything's surface-mounted
because there won't be any plaster.

So, the stables had lots of,
sort of, feeding troughs.

We left this one in
cos it wasn't in the way.

The others would have been
but, nod back to it

and we've left as many of the rings

that the horses would have been tied
up to, as possible, in the wall.

Today, Mandy is doing a paint test
on one of the stable doors

and she's being very mindful
of the history of the building.

So, we're painting,
undercoating this white.

Everything at the moment
is painted black.

It's very depressing and
also not period correct.

So, that's the colour
we're going to go with.

It's sort of a stone colour.

We did some research on
different paint companies',

uh, historical colours,

and this was either
late Georgian, early Victorian,

which is about the age of the,
the stable block.

So, that seemed appropriate.

And also, having a lighter colour,

it's gonna lift the courtyard, generally.

The stables have a way to go

before Andrew's dream
photography studio can be realised.

To help with insulation,

the pair plan to make
their own lime mortar

to keep the space warm and dry.

120 miles away, in Kent,

on the edge of the North Downs,

lies this 19-roomed former rectory,

dating back to the 1850s.

The church dignitaries long gone,

by the 20th century,
it had fallen from grace

until salvation arrived in the form
of Aussie couple, Iain and Miranda.

The self-made entrepreneurs
left their corporate Sydney life

and paid just over £1 million
for the rectory,

with a dream of building a future
here with their three children,

Ted, Celeste and Sophia.

We got to a point in our life
that we needed a bit of a,

a, sort of, sea change.

in our life, sea change is always
gonna be drastic, right?

A bit like the house.

We don't tend to do things
in halves.

A year ago,

Iain and Miranda set out
to create a modern family home.

Looking good!

But there'd be no fancy
architects or interior designers.

It's not perfectly straight.

They were getting hands-on.

Couples that strip together,
stay together. Is that so?

Learning skills from
carpentry to plumbing...

Oh, it's heavy.

...demolition to restoration...

...breathing life and love
into their family home.

Is this worth it?
Well worth the effort.

12 months on,

there's still a way
to go at the rectory.

We've been living in this renovation
for over two years now,

but we're probably only
a quarter of the way in.

Wow. That's pessimistic.

How many rooms have you completed?
But they're nearly done.

But they're not completed.
Not finished, but it's done.

It's not done at all. All right.

We have somewhere to sleep.
We have somewhere to wash.

We have somewhere to eat.

But now, in phase two,
we're gonna have somewhere

to relax, enjoy, dine, socialise.

So, I can't wait to get
this part done.

This year, they plan to restore
their dining room

to make a fabulous
space for entertaining

and create a self-contained
three-bedroom apartment

where friends and family can stay
on the top floor of the house.

But today,

they are planning to bring some
Hollywood glamour to the rectory.

Here we are.

The movie room of dreams.

This family movie room in the attic

will be a place to kick back
after a hard day's renovating

and somewhere for the kids
to do their own entertaining.

There's some great features
that we've added into here

for the kids to be able to use.

So, for instance,
we've created these pods.

We call them pods.

It will fit a standard-sized
child's mattress.

So then, when the kids have
friends over to watch a movie,

they can have a sleepover up here.

They're super-excited about it.

Miranda, the creative visionary
behind this renovation,

has set Iain the challenge of
creating a magical nighttime ceiling

as the centrepiece
of the movie room.

So, this is the starlight ceiling,

which is what this board
is here below us now.

So, this is the backside of it.

So, this is cut to fit
the hole above. Yes.

And then, what we've got is,
we've got these fibre optic cables

which are then going to create
the starlight ceiling.

That's gonna involve drilling
a number of holes,

either in a pattern or randomly.

If we turn it on,

they'll go through, like, maybe
they're gonna hang like that

through the board.

Yep. So, lots of them hanging off.

The school summer holidays are
the deadline to get this finished.

Before any of that,
they'll need to feed all 800 cables

through the holes to create
the stars.

You don't wanna do, like,
a star sign or... No.

...northern hemisphere
versus southern hemisphere,

Southern Cross versus
the Big Dipper?

I think we're gonna go
for the random

"put holes in the board"
constellation.

Coming up...

in West Yorkshire...

There you go. All right. So, next.

...a cost-conscious couple
are doing as much as they can

before trades take over.

Right. This is the really glum bit.

And in Kent...

Hold those two bits. Very delicate.

...chaos ensues...

Teddy, Teddy, you're caught in that.

...as Iain and Miranda
reach for the stars.

Oh, no. No, no.
Be careful, be careful.

Just keep pulling.

In West Yorkshire,
perched above the Colne Valley

is the village of Golcar,

where this six-bed beauty stands,

built in 1884.

Originally a family home,

most recently, it was a
doctor's house and surgery.

But falling into decline, the
building landed on the critical list

until it was snapped up in 2022
for £460,000

by Jill, an accountant,
and her fiance, John,

a professional builder.

As soon as we saw this place,
it was just beautiful.

We couldn't have really afforded
something as grand as this

without getting it, you know,
at quite a good price

because it did need a lot
of modernisation.

So far,

builder, John, has gutted what
was a 13-roomed house

to give them the blank canvas
required to create their vision

of a modern family home.

Jill was stunned by the extent
of the demolition.

John did prep me before we bought,
obviously,

um, that was, like, "We are
going to gut it and start again,"

which, obviously, I understand,

but there are some times
when I've come in and thought,

"Oh, my God. What have we done?"

We've made it so much worse
before it can get better

and that's been a bit of
a shock to me.

Having knocked down
most of the internal walls,

their idea is to reconfigure
the floor plan

and create a much lighter and
brighter contemporary space.

With the building's
structural bones laid bare,

Jill and John's ambition is to
renovate the entire house in a year,

which is a lot of pressure,
particularly on the purse strings.

You have a budget and then you find
that you need a new floor, uh,

and chamber joists on the first
floor in this part of the building

and, you know, that just,
you just have to take it

and you have to, sort of, press on

but... Yeah. ..there'll be ways
in which we can manage that a bit.

And they're essential as well,
aren't they?

What, a floor? Yeah, yeah.
Quite, quite essential, yeah.

Living off-site in a rental
and working full-time

means renovating
is restricted to weekends

and as they want to keep
the costs of the build down...

There you go. All right. So, next.

...they're keen to make sure
their limited time

is as productive as possible.

For us, it's mainly just about,
like, trying to prep jobs

for trades to come in,

so they're not doing loads of work
that you could have done.

With stud walls now in place,

Jill and John are fitting
some much-needed insulation

to this 140-year-old building.

Right. This is the really glum bit.

Meanwhile, outside,

their renovation has reached
an important milestone.

The stone exterior has been
sandblasted

and the entire roof
has been replaced,

which means the scaffolding
is coming down,

revealing the renewed exterior
to the excited couple

for the first time.

It looks so much better than it did,
now, though, doesn't it?

It's, like... Yeah. ..a facelift.

It's good to, sort of, finally have
a nice, new, watertight house

because there's quite a lot
of damp spots inside.

Secure outside and the structural
work moving along inside,

Jill and John can begin
to visualise their new layout.

For a house this size,
the kitchen was absolutely tiny.

The lounge area here,

this room was. Uh, it had
a fireplace, obviously,

that's still there at the minute,
but that's going,

um, and this is going to be
the kitchen-dining area.

This goalpost steel structure
in here that you've got

then, massively opens it up.

There'll be an island in the middle,
gonna make a feature.

So, there's three different
antique lights

that will sit in the middle here.
It's gonna look brilliant.

But with electrics and plumbing
to be installed,

walls to be plastered

and period features to be reinstated,

Jill and John's dream kitchen
is still a long way off.

230 miles away at
the old rectory in Kent,

where drill bits between the teeth,

Iain and Miranda are working
on the starlight ceiling

of their movie room.

It's actually quite easy,
once you get your rhythm.

You just gotta get your rhythm.

With the MDF ceiling board
painted and cut to size,

the first job is to drill holes
to create a constellation effect.

This is two liney.
Gotta be more organic.

That's my middle name.

But precision is required.

Each hole will house a single fibre
optic cable to create the stars.

With a staggering 800 holes drilled,

Iain and Miranda have called
on apprentice star makers,

Ted and Celeste,
to make it a family affair.

Hold those two bits. Very delicate.

Don't drop them.

Yellow!

But mix 800 fibre optic cables...

Pink!

This white gold.

Blue!

...a six and a seven-year-old...

Who seconds? Is that all right?

...and Iain and Miranda

and the result is...

Teddy, Teddy, you're caught in that.

...utter chaos.

Keep pulling.
I think it'll come apart.

Oh, no. No, no.
Be careful. Be careful.

Despite the madness, Iain and Miranda
are savouring every moment.

I think one of the benefits
of doing what we're doing

and how we're doing it

just, by nature, allows us to
spend more quality time as a family.

Can you see it? Huh?
Can you pull it through?

At the age that we are,
that's quite fortunate.

I don't think a lot of people,
sort of, get to sit there

and do that in their life.

Thought it would be, like,
an hour or so.

It's taken a bit longer than that.

It's a few days later...

Oh! Watch your feet.

...and after some further
painstaking hours of work,

the stars have finally aligned

and the couple,
with the help of builder, Steve,

are launching their sparkling
centrepiece into its celestial home.

All right. Now, grab the thing, beautiful.

One small stepladder for Steve,

and after a short struggle,

one giant leap forward
for the movie room.

Good job.

Yeah! Yay!

But they're not quite finished.

Time to snip all 800 cables to size.

Uh, yeah, there's a lot to cut.

A lot.

Once you cut it,
then you get the actual effect,

which is, like, really lovely.

I think that looks really good.

Iain is delighted
with the progress so far

in this once-spooky attic space.

When we first came in here,
this was,

it wasn't a very comforting
place to be.

The kids used to bring their friends
up here

just to scare them, really,
to be honest.

Now, they'll bring them up here
for a different reason.

And with the final few strands
left to cut,

it's only fitting that the family
get involved once more.

What I've done

is I've let you guys do some of
the cutting at the end, yeah?

Does that sound like fun?

Yeah!

This way.

Squeeze.

Good job. Great.

Oh, you just got that on my head.

Mum gets the last one.

The ceremonial one. One!

One. A single clip.

One. Yeah, that's it.
That's the one.

Just, just comes in for the glory
at the end.

Ha-ha! Whoa!

What an effort you've put
in there, Miranda. It's amazing.

OK. Are you ready?

Who wants to turn it on? Me!

Just turn it on, which is the red
one, yeah?

You got it. There you go.

IAIN GASPS
Wow!

It looks like the Australian
Outback, doesn't it? Oh, it does.

The white twinkle is the best.
Yeah, it is.

Yeah. 100% the best.
It's really, really cool. Yeah.

Hey! High five.

With a carpet still to fit

and a snack preparation
kitchenette to build,

there's still a bit to go

before it's the movie premiere night.

Coming up...

...in Warwickshire,
something's cooking...

I certainly don't want any
of it splashing up on me.

...but is the mixture quite right?

Is it staying on the wall? Ish.

In Kent...

Ooh!

...magic carpet rides aren't
all they're cracked up to be

for Iain and Miranda.

There is a big risk

that Iain could put the carpet
through one of the windows.

And in West Yorkshire...

Ooh, look at that! Oooh!

...artisan craftsmanship makes
a big impression.

This is the showstopper.

Oh, isn't it gorgeous? Isn't it?

In Warwickshire, at Dunsmore Hall,

Andrew and Mandy's renovation
of their old stable block

into a photography studio for
amateur photographer, Andrew,

is moving forward.

I put these on in case it splashes.

Today, it's the room adjoining
the studio getting all the attention.

This will become Andrew's
new home office.

While Andrew preps the walls inside,

outside, Mandy's taking charge
of mixing up

the traditional hot lime mortar
for the interior walls.

I certainly don't want any
of it splashing up on me.

Having had an expert teach
them how to make lime mortar

when they were renovating
their dining room,

Mandy knows what she is doing.

You read lots of books and
you ask on online forums

and you watch videos and,

and someone comes and teaches you.

But, at the end of the day,
it's still seems to change,

every batch you do, how it looks.

It's still a bit powdery,
so, in the bottom,

so I might need to add more water
and leave it to...

...it's still hot.

Using traditional lime plaster
or mortar

is common in period restorations.

The bricks used in the 18th century
to build the stables are porous,

which allows water to travel
through them,

something you definitely don't want
building up inside your walls

and damaging your home.

By putting lime plaster on it
allows that moisture to,

to move between the
two surfaces a lot easier.

So, for the last day or so,
we've been wetting down these walls

to try and saturate the bricks,

but I don't want it to suck all the
water out of the plaster
as I'm putting it on.

The final ingredient are these
woody stems of hemp known as shive.

Mandy is adding it to the mix

as it will help the plaster retain
heat and keep the room cosy.

That's OK to mix up.

Definitely modern tech.

It's another step forward at
Dunsmore,

as the inaugural batch of the
insulating lime mortar is applied.

Is that staying on the wall? Ish.

It is a lot harder to work.

So, do you want me to put
more water in? I think so.

Back to the mixer again, Mandy.

Three weeks later,
inside the old stables,

Andrew's office walls have had
two coats of lime mortar

while next door, in the
soon-to-be photography studio,

smart light fittings have gone in.

Have you got a tape measure there?
Yeah.

Today, it's another day of hard graft
for Andrew and Mandy.

We have been putting down the floor

that is going underneath
our final finished floor,

which is being glued
and screwed down.

Using battens laid into
the concrete as a guide,

this job requires precision.

So, if we don't screw
into the battens,

then we'll screw into the kilometre
of underfloor heating pipe instead.

So, if we are...
...only half a kilometre. Oh, yes,

half a kilometre of
underfloor heating.

As the heating system is now
sealed under a layer of concrete,

if any screw misses the battens
and punctures the heating pipe,

it would mean ripping it all out
and starting again.

Too costly to even think about.

Ready to check?

This is probably the most stressful
thing we've done in the entire
renovation, isn't it?

Rather you than me, Andrew.

Right angle,

93 and 98.

OK, yeah. It's in the middle.

A layer of PVA glue
helps to seal the boards

as they're dropped into place...

...before the drill comes out
and they pray

they've measured everything
correctly.

If I did inadvertently drill
through one of these pipes,

how likely would be the insurance
to pay out?

Let's hope you never need
to find out, Andrew.

With some smart flooring to be
fitted to finish off this space,

it won't be much longer before
Andrew's studio is camera-ready.

Back at the old rectory in Kent,

where Iain and Miranda's
movie room is taking shape.

With the starlight ceiling finished,

Iain's begun installing appliances
for the cinema snack bar.

Soon, this will be a space
for the whole family to enjoy.

The summer holidays,
an awfully long time here.

It just, sort of, gives them
a great space,

anything to keep them occupied

will go an awful long way.

Popcorn and ice cream on tap
would do it for me.

But there is only one thing
their kids are dreaming of.

We moved them in, we promised them
that there would be fresh carpets.

We still haven't delivered them
with the fresh carpets.

There's many, many, many splinters
that end up in their feet,

but they've become
so good at it now.

They can take their own
splinters out by themselves.

That's all about to change today,

as the first new carpet
to adorn the rectory has arrived.

Once that carpets in,
it's gonna be fantastic.

It's got this, sort of, a little bit
of an Art Deco-Grecian
thing going on.

It's gonna really make the room pop
and come together

and add just a little extra pizzazz.

There is one slight problem, though.

The roll of carpet is so long

it won't fit up the narrow staircase
to the attic room,

but Iain has a plan.

This is an articulated boom.

We use it quite often to get to the
higher-up places of the house.

Today, we're gonna try and use it
to put the carpet for the movie room

in through the window.

I'm reasonably confident
that it's gonna work.

Not the best start.

Yeah, it's these small little things
that just become really annoying.

Problem one is swiftly resolved.

Iain's soon on his way to put
his master plan into action.

I'm always really nervous of
Iain's half-baked, half-brain ideas.

That's not gonna work.

Sometimes they work
really, really well

and sometimes they fail.

Yeah. 450.

Cool.

Often the problem is,

is he doesn't tell me what is
exactly happening in the moment.

So, I don't know how to help him,

but fingers crossed.

Yeah. It's tight enough,
but it'll do the job.

It's gonna work.

Have faith.

With the articulated boom in place,

many hands are needed
to lift the carpet.

One, two, three.

They are soon on a roll...

...and Operation Carpet Lift
springs into action.

There is a big risk

that Iain could put the carpet
through one of the windows

that he's spent the last three weeks
trying to fix.

Oooh!

Yeah, what I'm gonna do is...
Watch.

That will do. That will do? Yeah!

That was nice.
Ah, a little bit proud.

Oh, look at you!

Oh, you're so proud of yourself.

Yeah. Yeah.

Couldn't have done it without Ted.

Thanks very much, Ted.

But celebrations
are a little premature.

Iain had no problem getting it up,

but getting it in
is a different matter.

Despite their best efforts,
the carpet's not budging.

It's now Miranda's turn to shine.

So, just hit the green button
to make sure it's on.

Turning it on now.

And after some delicate manoeuvres...

Stop!

...and some good communication...

Now, can you go...
Can you, then, do me a favour? Yep.

Can you turn it into the building,
which is the third one?

More?

...the carpet is in
with no major disasters.

That's it. Now we're in. That's it.

Well done.

Good job, Ted. Thanks, Celeste.

Fingers crossed
it doesn't look terrible.

After two years of
dusty floorboards...

There we go. Ooooh!

...three members of the clan,
at least, are positively delighted.

Look at Darcy.
Darcy's loving it.

Oh, I love carpet.

The whole family will be loving it
as soon as that carpet is fitted

and, of course, when the cinema
snack bar is fully operational.

Back in Golcar, West Yorkshire,

where it's full steam ahead
with Jill and John's renovation

of the former doctor's house
and surgery.

With Jill and builder, John,

having done much of the prep
work at weekends,

trades have now fully taken over.

In the last four months,

walls have been plastered,

rooms have been painted

and period features
have been reinstated.

Most of the rooms, we're leaving it
fairly simple for now,

just so we can move in
quite quickly.

But then, we've put back really nice
original features back in.

So, we've got the ceiling rose,
the dentil cornice and stuff in here

and keep everything quite plain
for now and live in it for a bit

and then, see what we want.

Elsewhere in the house,
the open-plan kitchen-diner space

is ready and waiting
for the new kitchen to arrive.

Their sitting room is also
much closer to completion.

It's certainly a far cry
from the previous sitting room

that sat in this exact same space.

To help bring the style to this room,

today, Jill and John are
very excited to take delivery

of a showstopping Italian
hand-carved marble fireplace.

Ooh, look at that! Ooh.
Oh, gorgeous.

This is the showstopper.

Oh, isn't it gorgeous? Isn't it?

Oh, my gosh.

So, this is going in the lounge.

John chose it. It's like a creamy
colour as opposed to a white one.

That's special, that.
It's obviously been hand-done

by some geezer in Italy,

giving it that for, you know,

a good period of time.

We'll feel like we've moved
in when we can, um,

light the fire for the first time
and, like,

it's these little things like that
I really can't wait for now.

Two weeks later and the
kitchen install is in full swing

with John labouring for Stephen,
the fitter, to help keep costs down.

So, if you watch out for that
plumb line there, then. Yeah, yeah.

It should just hook on nice
there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Um. All right.

First time, Stephen.
This is where it falls off.

Kitchen fitting's an art form, really.

You don't just want to be banging
your own kitchen in first time,

Otherwise, it's gonna look
like a dog's breakfast, so...

It's just knowing your limits
but yeah, everything else, yeah.

I try and get involved with.

Look at that. Pretty good.

It's been six months since Jill
and John embarked on their journey

to transform their rundown former
doctor's house and surgery

into an epic contemporary home.

Having gutted the interior,

ripping down nearly
every internal wall

and reconfigured the layout to create
an open and light modern space

within the walls of the
impressive Victorian structure,

the end now feels
like it's in touching distance,

and with the kitchen nearly done,

it won't be long until they'll be
making their first home-cooked meal.

This is where, sort of,
the kitchen, at the minute.

Obviously, it's not finished yet.

We've got worktops to go in,
big centre island units go in

and we're waiting for
the extractor fan as well

that will match the range
and that's it but

it's a million miles
from where we were

when we were stripping it out.

It's just tying everything
together now.

I mean, it looks a little bit
like a half-finished product,

but, actually, in terms of
where it is now,

it's, it's only, sort of,
small finishing touches.

It's really exciting.

Every day I come, there's
something else big that's changed.

Oh, good. Like, more units that have
gone in, more tiling's gone in.

It's a privilege to be able to have
a crack at a place like this,

and it's turned out how we wanted,
and if not better.

So, I think we're happy with
how it's gone.

It feels like a house now.

With the kitchen setting a high
benchmark for this renovation,

the other rooms are sure
to be just as stunning.

Delivering the dream forever home
Jill and John have always wanted.

Coming up...

...in Kent...

Go for it.

Good job.

...Iain and Miranda work together
in perfect harmony.

It's like proper teamwork, isn't it?

You've done a nice job. Yeah, I
know I did. I was quite proud. Yeah.

...while in Warwickshire...

You need to make a decision

about which way we're
going to lay this.

...Andrew reluctantly agrees that
Mandy has all the best ideas.

So, as much as it grieves me
to agree with you...

It's going the other way.
...it's going the other way.

Back in Kent, at the old rectory...

Hey, big dog.

How ya doing, bud?

...Iain and Miranda's new carpet
is ready to be fitted

in their soon-to-be
attic cinema room.

What I really liked about
this design was it's, sort of,

a little bit, sort of, Art Deco,
1920s, the age of opulence

in terms of cinema.

Today, the couple are going
to attempt to fit it,

something they have
never done before.

It's quite a challenge.

I don't think we could have
picked a harder carpet

to try and start this with.

I think we'll, we'll get there, hopefully.

But with most of the 19-room house
still to be carpeted,

they could save a fortune
by doing it all themselves.

So, let's try and get this back
down. Yeah.

Yeah, that's come up nicely.

To make sure he's doing it properly,

Iain has invested in some
professional tools.

Oh, yeah, I can see
it stretching here.

This is a power stretcher.

It's about £900 to buy,

but carpet-fitting tools can also
be hired for a fraction of the price,

a great way to save on costs.

I'm so cautious about it
because you know what?

I'm scared it's just gonna rip out
and rip the carpet.

Whew!

So far, so good.

That's the idea of
where we're going. Yep.

Right, and then... Got it. Pretty
nice. ..and that's a nice finish.

Professional!

Gradually, the pair get
ever more confident.

Nice. Go. Oh, yeah.

Yeah! That's up.

And out comes the carpet
trimmer tool to cut the edge.

Perfect.

And then, get your tucking thing.

Using the same tool
at a different angle,

Miranda pushes the edge down
beside the skirting boards.

Does that go? Oh, yeah!
Look at that. Oh!

Oh, I'm sorry about the skirting
board. Just, just doesn't matter.

Go for it.

Good job.

Soon, they're making fantastic
progress around the entire
11m long room.

All right. Look at that.
I think that looks a lot better.

It's like proper teamwork, isn't it?
You've done a nice job there.

Yeah, I know I did.
I was quite proud. Yeah,

cos that's looking nice, right?
Uh-hm.

OK.

Cool bananas.

In just five hours, Iain and Miranda
have fitted their very first carpet.

It looks great

and for Iain, it's all down
to the new tools.

Having the right equipment
just makes it easier and I think...

I think the finish looks better
as well if you have the right

tools and equipment. Yeah.

Four and a half months ago,

this attic space was just an idea.

This was like, sort of, like,
a storage area and stuff

and then there was a room
down the other side.

Yeah. Because of the wall,
I think you forget that.

Now, it's all, sort of, one space.
Yeah.

Only a first coat of paint
and the beginning of a plan.

Today, that dusty attic room
is consigned to the past

as the family cinema room is
officially open for business.

Movie time.

Stylish recessed lighting
adds a gentle warmth

to the dark painted walls.

The sleepover nooks add a fun touch
for Iain and Miranda's children.

Plush chaises longues for the adults

and beanbags for the kids

provide comfort under Iain and
Miranda's handcrafted ceiling

of fibre optic stars.

It's so nice to be able to lay
on this, kind of, bed-couch

to watch the movies. Hm,
it is very comfortable. Yeah.

And in the window, a smart
and functional snack kitchen

to make all the movie night
treats they need.

It's a complete transformation

and despite their efforts
elsewhere in the house,

for Miranda, there's one feature
that makes this space really sing.

This is still the only room in the
house that actually has carpet.
Yeah.

In my mind, carpet is such a luxury.

I think, for me, this is why
this room feels so luxurious

and feels so special.

They may still have a
mountain of work ahead

to complete the rest of the house,

but now, they'll have a
luxury space to retreat to

when the reno gets too much.

I think having this space
really helps us as a family,

cos we can spend time together

and the kids really enjoy it...
Yeah.

...and I think we really enjoy it
and so, like, that's, all round,

that's just nice for everybody.

120 miles away in Warwickshire

at the sprawling Dunsmore Hall...

You clean the floor.

I'll go and get a knife.

...for Andrew and Mandy,
the transformation of the old stables

into an office and
photographic studio

needs one final push
to get them over the line.

Watching a man at work.

Well, for Andrew, at least.

With the floor of the studio
now successfully lined with ply,

today they are fitting
oak veneer flooring.

Right.

You need to make a decision

about which way
we're going to lay this.

So... Put a board down
and have a look.

These are important decisions.

If you want to put it down
the other way, just double check.

We got one with this, this,
sort of, clicking system.

So, it just clicks together
and locks

which means if we get damage

we can just remove
a couple of sheets,

take one out. See that, now,

if you pull that,
that shouldn't move.

Oh! Yeah. That's quite strong.

So, as much as it grieves me
to agree with you...

It's going the other way.
...it's going the other way.

And a few weeks later,

with a supreme effort
from Andrew and Mandy...

So, this is the studio.

It's a moment I've been looking
forward to for ages.

Six months ago, if Andrew and Mandy
hadn't stepped in to save them,

these stables were in danger
of falling down.

But now, with the building
watertight,

the ceiling and walls fully repaired,

it's a warm and functional
photographic studio.

With the addition of the underfloor
heating, it will be a cosy workspace.

Remaining faithful to
the building's history,

Andrew and Mandy
are delighted with the outcome.

So, the rest of the house,

we've used the repair, restore,
renew type of approach

and we wanted to do the same here.

We didn't want to change
too much of the fabric.

They've even left reminders
of its past.

The stalls for the,
for the stables were all wooden

and we've retained all those.

We have them stored,
but they were bolted to the wall.

So, we've left those bolts
sticking out to, sort of,

nod back to what its use was.

Andrew is also delighted
with his new adjoining home office,

where the pair did a fantastic job

to apply period-authentic
insulating lime mortar to the walls.

More rustic than we were intending.
Yes.

But it's my space and it's
a 200-year-old property.

They didn't have perfect walls.

With his previous office in the noisy
building site of the main house,

this ought to be an oasis for Andrew.

It's great.
It's so relaxing for me now.

I mean, just a bed and I,
perhaps, would have no reason...

...no, I do have a reason
to leave the room.

Back in the studio,

the old stables are welcoming
the very first photographic subjects,

dressed in a nod
to the building's past.

It's nice to see people
milling around.

Amazing experience.

Really having fun.

I'd say it's picture perfect, Andrew.

It's something that we've been
looking forward to for a long time.

History is uncovered...

This is our fun discovery.

...and fears faced...

That was terrifying!

...at Andrew and Mandy's Warwickshire
farmhouse.

Dun, dun-du, du dun-dun!

OK. Got him.

Unusual objects are repurposed...

This is security chain found
on most car parking spaces.

...in a Regency villa in Cornwall.

This is very exciting.

And in Kent...

God,
it's really heavy.

...there's money to be made...

I could use the money that
we could sell these items

and pay for the renovation.

...at Iain and Miranda's Victorian
rectory.

High five.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media