Episode 2 Money for Nothing

-Can I have a little rummage around in your rubbish?

-Yeah.

How do you make money for nothing?

I love that!

The answer could be hiding in

the 30 million tonnes of household waste we throw out every year.

So heavy, they don't make them like this any more. Look at that.

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore

wants to get her hands on things before they hit the skip.

I'm a passionate maker, buyer, and user of old stuff,

and I've turned that passion into a money-making business.

I make new stuff out of old stuff, and I sell it for a profit.

And, with some of the country's elite designers and makers...

-Say something nice about it!

-My juices are flowing in this one.

They're going to be, "Wow."

..she can transform her finds into desirable...

Isn't that stunning?

..valuable...

Oh, wow!

..and, hopefully, saleable items.

That is bonkers!

If Sarah is successful, then she can hand the profits back to the very

people who had no idea there was cash to be made from their trash.

Oh, my God! That is amazing!

First stop on Sarah's tour of the country's tips is

the Witley Recycling Centre, in Surrey.

I think today is going to be a great dump day.

There are people flooding in here as fast as they can.

Somebody is going to have some treasure in their trash.

Sarah, who got special permission to raid the rubbish,

is searching for four items that have the potential to be

transformed from trash to cash.

-I've got a fish tank in there.

-Fish tank? Is that...? Oh, that's...

-Yeah, he died yesterday, that's going out.

-Oh, no. That was quick!

And, talking of water tanks,

Sarah has spotted something of interest in the back of Neil's car.

What are you clearing up?

Well, we're clearing out an old attic, and we've had a chimney

taken down, so there was an ariel up on there that's no longer used.

OK, and what's...? Is that the water tank?

That's the old galvanised water tank.

Great for planting things in the garden, I understand that.

-We got toilets.

-Have you? What, planted?

-Old WC. I'm a plumber.

-OK.

We've got toilets at home, that have got plants and things in them.

-Excellent.

-But they're so bulky.

They are, but people love them, people love them.

-Can I have a quick rootle around with it?

-Yeah, course you can.

Cos I'm hoping the bottom of this has got a bit of patina,

decorative...

-METAL CLANGS

-Few rivets?

-There you go. Few rivets.

-It's fab!

-Good? Do you like it?

-Yeah, I absolutely love it.

-Good, good.

-Pop that there.

Neil's old water tank is made from galvanised metal, which

means it's got a corrosion-resistant zinc coating to prevent rusting.

Perfect for water tanks, but it's a tricky material to repurpose,

and could cause problems further down the line.

-I'd love to take that away...

-Yep.

-..and I'd love to keep in touch,

and hopefully have made something amazing out of it.

You say it, you can have my e-mail address,

you can have whatever you like, so, you know, feel free.

Trading e-mail addresses. Let's keep things professional, eh, Sarah?

So, Neil, what do you think

she's going to do with your old water tank?

I can't think of what you could use it for,

unless it's to hold something up, supportive, cos it's quite strong.

Can't think of what else she could actually use it for,

so I'll be intrigued to find out.

Now it's cut up, I know just who to take this to,

and I think we're going to make some money on it.

Artist blacksmith, Bex Simon, is an expert in manipulating metal

into high-end furniture and bespoke metalwork commissions.

When I went to art college,

and I was looking round to see what degree I wanted to do,

I went into the forge, and I saw people working with fire and

the anvils, and hammering metal... Oh, that was it.

I just knew that that was what I needed to do.

Together with husband, Dave, this formidable team has the skill

and imagination to create something special from any old iron.

There's nothing more exciting than to come into work,

light a fire, heat up your metal.

It's very magical.

Well, I don't know how magical she'll think it is

when she gets a load of the old water tank.

It's rusty, it's riveted, and it's cut up into little pieces.

Who else to bring it to but Bex and Dave?

I have got high hopes for this beautiful old water tank,

but this is made out of galvanised metal,

and you know, that can be tricky to work with.

And by tricky, you mean poisonous. BEX CHUCKLES

The layer of zinc coating the metal releases quite harmful fumes

when heated. Hmm. Good luck, you two.

It's quite heavily galvanised, so, you know,

to work with this we'll have to wear sort of masks and things.

I did know that galvanised is tricky,

because it's the fumes, is that right?

Yeah, you get a really, really nasty headache, quite sick, so...

OK, well, I thought beautiful, rustic, galvanised table,

maybe sort of console-style, but pretty straightforward metal table.

Why don't we get it out, put it all together,

-and see how big this thing is?

-OK.

If Bex and Dave can rustle up a couple of gas masks,

this should be a straightforward job.

Join the bits together, stick some legs on it, and hey presto, a table.

But what will it cost?

As we're heading for something that is probably not going to be

the centrepiece table of somebody's dining room,

I think we have to be a bit careful on the price, because we're

asking somebody to buy something basically on its decorative appeal.

-OK.

-What are you thinking?

I think, if we could get a good frame together...

I think maybe if we say £500, plus whatever materials we're buying.

Yeah.

-Does that work for you?

-Yeah.

-Love you!

And she's off!

Give me a bell when you've got something to show me.

That was quick. Have you got somewhere else to be, Sarah?

So this is going to be a rough and ready riveted table.

THEY CHUCKLE

That's really easy for you to say.

That's a real relief because that slightly dangerous zinc material

is now in really safe hands.

I think with the plan that we've come up with,

we're going for a rustic, hearty table.

I think there's some potential there to make some real money.

-Do it again.

-The rough and ready riveted...table.

-You're losing it.

-I know.

-It's all the rough and ready.

-Let's try that again.

Riveted... R-r-r...

Let's try it again.

So if Bex and Dave can get this one done for £500 plus materials,

Sarah's on track to make a good bit of money.

We'll be catching up with them a little later on.

I hope!

With one item found, the search goes on for other odds and ends

that could prompt a profit.

I thought this guy was working here, that's why I asked him for a hand.

No. He hardly ever works!

Well, while you're all standing about chatting, you're about

to miss something very unusual coming out of Dick's boot.

That looks interesting. What are you throwing out?

-It's an old Post Office truck they used to put the parcels in.

-OK.

It's coach-built. I mean, that's...

Coach-built - there's the crankshaft for the wheels.

So it was used where?

In the sorting office.

They would use these to move the parcels around.

They probably used that from about the 1930s, '40s onwards.

Lovely, it's amazing.

I have no idea if it's something I'll be able to re-use or make

anything out of but I just feel that it's so beautiful

and the age and the wear on it is so lovely...

If it's all right to take it away?

You can, please. If you show me where you want me to put it

-I'll come...

-That's really kind of you.

If I do manage to do something, it would be really good to get

-back in touch and show you what I've done.

-OK.

-All right.

-I'll start with these, that's lovely. Thank you so much.

I found it probably 10 or 12 years ago.

I refurbished it, the wooden part of it.

Painted it and used it as a decorative area for plants

for many, many years.

I brought it along here but luckily it seems to have met somebody

who's maybe giving it a new home.

I wish her luck!

Now, this... This one's a seriously unusual tip find.

It's absolutely beautiful. It's a coach-built, enormous

platform wheels that had a basket on it that was used at a post office.

It looks like it'll clean up really well.

There's certainly enough metal and chunky stuff here to be able

to make into something else. This is really exciting.

And Sarah has just the men in mind who can put their own stamp

on our post office trolley.

Say hello to Josh and Oli, designer makers,

business partners and best friends.

These boys use natural and recycled materials to create

handcrafted furnishings and high-end interior pieces.

I'm Josh and this is Oli. and we are Forge Creative.

The main thing we love is designing new products

and new furniture where you've got that idea and you come into

the workshop and just see it come to life.

The sort of thing we'd like Sarah to bring us would probably

be something with a bit of character, a bit of age to it.

We like something with a bit of a story.

Like a rusty bit of metal or a weathered bit of wood,

something like that. That has got a bit of history and character to it.

Well, boys, this one sounds right up your street.

But what you're going to do with it, I have no idea.

I hope Josh and Oli are full of enthusiasm and imagination today

because it is going to take a real leap of faith to believe

that this is going to end up as a high-end interior piece.

A high-end interior piece?

Looking at all that, I'm not quite sure what you could do.

Yes, we're trying to put it together.

Bex has already got started on her table

so I'm dying to find out what ideas the boys have.

Straight away, it kind of lends itself to being a table.

Another table. Great!

What kind of table are you thinking about making?

We've got some old reclaimed farmhouse doors

that would go perfectly.

What, those?

These up there, yeah.

-They're huge.

-They're massive.

It would be a dining table and I mean they would just lend themselves

really well because they're a similar style.

I think that is absolutely inspired. A dining table would be fantastic.

If you've got the right house to fit it in,

I think that would be an amazing... What a feature piece that would be.

What do you think the surface of the metal would end up like?

I mean, hopefully, we can keep some of that colour on.

Most of that will come off because it's so flaky.

I love the idea of keeping a bit of pillar box red on it

so it reminds you of where it came from.

I think big dining table sounds fab.

Is it heaps of work, is it loads of money?

I think it will be a fair bit of work, yeah.

Probably around the 750 mark.

Oh! Ouch!

I think 750 quid sounds like, you know, about the money

and then if it sells, depending on how slick and how exciting it is,

if we've got at least £1,000 for it then that would be fantastic.

If it sells, Sarah! Big if.

Any chance you could get one of them down?

If not, you can have a £750 bonfire.

I mean, look at the size of it.

This is huge. Have you made many tables this size before?

Not quite this big.

We've made one at about two metres but this will be enormous.

Great, well, I hope it goes well!

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-See you soon.

-Bye!

-What do you reckon, then?

-Yeah, pretty good.

I think Sarah's done a good job for us.

Spending £750 on a commission is a bit scary.

It's going to have to look fantastic to make some money.

So with the table coming in at a whopping £750,

the boys will have to do something pretty special

if Sarah hopes to see a profit.

So the boys are making a table, Bex is making a table.

There's only one thing for it.

-BELL RINGS

-Table wars.

And in the red corner,

Bex "The Anvil" Simon

and Dave "The Brute" Harris

will be taking on "The Sledgehammer" Josh Kennard

and Oli.

First up, it's Bex and Dave's table,

so let's get ready to rivet!

So what are we going to do?

BEX CHUCKLES

At the moment it looks like a cut-out water tank.

It's down to us to try and make it look presentable and nice.

-Yeah, and worth lots of money!

-Ha-ha, ha...!

That's the fighting spirit.

Bex begins by cutting lengths of metal that will form the legs

while Dave gets cooking on the table top.

He's trimming off the edges with an electric saw and the

all-important gas mask will protect him from the toxic zinc fumes

that are released when the metal is heated.

Bex is heating her table legs in the charcoal forge,

a blacksmith's best friend for centuries.

The basic tools of the trade have pretty much stayed exactly the same.

When you're working with the fire, a hammer and the anvil,

it's really lovely.

If you go to the British Museum, you know, there are some old tools that

they've dug up and they are pretty much exactly the same as ours.

Maybe a little bit smaller because people were smaller then.

Is that true? Or did we just have tiny blacksmiths?

Bex's legs are now hot enough that she is able to bend them by hand.

It's now probably about 700 Celsius,

or... No, actually, it's probably a bit hotter, about 800.

Remember, working around this kind of heat is very dangerous and you

could end up with nasty burns.

I daren't show my mum.

Just like Bex.

It's going, "Hello.

"Hello, how are you today?"

Ugh!

While Bex talks to her finger, Dave is welding a steel

frame together which the water tank sections can then be riveted to.

We're going to put copper rivets in because copper's soft.

With steel rivets you have to get it red hot.

Because this is galvanised steel,

we don't want to get too much heat to burn the zinc.

Dave's able to bash the copper rivets in cold with

a hammer and a snap tool and leave Bex to drill holes in the legs.

After a smattering of tomato sauce they should be ready to attach.

The next part on this stage will be working together because it

will need four hands,

two people.

-Four hands, two minds.

-Yeah.

With a bit of arguing in between.

-No, it won't.

-It will.

I think we'll leave them to get on with it.

With Bex and Dave well on the way,

it's time to check in with table number two.

Over in Sussex...

-Josh, look, the original Segway.

-Yeah, sweet.

Josh and Oli are clearly taking this challenge very seriously.

Come on, boys. Get to work.

So this is going to be one end support of the dining table.

The two halves of the table top will sit on here.

Shall we get rid of that block and see what clearance

-we've got on that wheel?

-Yeah.

The boys plan to attach the bendy bit to the wheely bit by

first removing the wooden block and then welding in place.

Ah.

But there seems to be a little bolt in the way.

So it's time to get drilling.

Are you sure you shouldn't be wearing goggles doing that, Josh?

Naughty boy!

So Josh is just trying to make a little hole in the axle

so that this bolt,

this nut here, will sit in there.

But we've just realised that the axle is solid

so Josh is having a bit of a hard time getting through it.

Oh, look at the size of that thing!

They don't make post carts like this any more.

Yeah, I think that's done it.

With the welding saved for later,

Josh moves on to cut some reclaimed wood on the band saw,

which will form a support beam between two metal brackets

from the postal cart frame and with another one of those bendy bits

on top, it makes another set of legs.

Kind of.

OK, so I think we know that this is all looking all right.

We need to fiddle around with it a little bit.

Shall we put this to one side and we can work with the table top?

-Let's crack on.

-Cool.

So this is one of about five doors that we got from a friend

from an old barn and they're supposed to be about 150 years old.

You don't say!

It looks like Josh has upcycled his mum's old tumble dryer hose

to clear away the 100-year-old dust

while Oli works to get the hinges off the door

with a socket wrench

but it's no match for the 100-year-old rust.

It doesn't want to come, does it?

When in doubt...

smash it with a hammer.

But what they're left with underneath might be a problem.

What do you think, Josh?

Yeah, that's nice where the rust has soaked into the wood.

Really?

That will make quite a nice feature.

I don't fancy eating my dinner off it.

So we have to incorporate these in some way, don't we?

Josh and Oli are firm believers in using absolutely every part

of an item so nothing goes to waste.

Using them somehow as a brace in-between the two doors, or...

But how to get the rusty hinges onto a table?

Why don't we try and flatten them out and see how well that works.

They might crack or something might go wrong.

-Yeah. Cool.

-OK.

Josh's heating the steel with a blowtorch so it will be

bendy enough to flatten out straight.

Oli can then bash it with a hammer to remove the kinks and what

they're left with is a perfectly flat piece of metal.

That, as yet, has no use at all.

But, much like everything else today,

they'll just put it to one side and worry about it later.

Josh and Oli seem to have an awful lot of bits

being worked on individually.

They've still got a huge amount to do if they hope to assemble it

all into a dining table.

Back in Surrey, Sarah's arrived to see how Bex and Dave got on

with their table.

Bex is putting some finishing touches to the table top

while Dave has a cup of tea and a biscuit.

I dropped off three chunks of battered old water tank,

a material that's really difficult to work with

because it's galvanised.

I'm hoping for a table because it's really saleable.

I know whatever they have done, it's going to look lovely.

But...seeing is believing.

I'm really excited.

-I think she's going to like it.

-I think this is Sarah's bag, yeah.

I think she'll like it.

Well, only one way to find out.

Before, the old water tank had nowhere left to go

but the bottom of a skip.

Now it's been totally transformed.

Bex's lovely legs are supported with

a steel bar running along the middle

and separate straps attached to the frame

means the rickety water tank top

is strong and secure.

Bex applied a simple acrylic lacquer to the top to retain

the industrial feel.

All in all, their rough and ready riveted table is a cracker.

But is it going to make Sarah jump for joy?

Oh, there she goes.

How cool is that!

You made it work.

Well done. That's amazing.

-How are you doing?

-I'm doing really well.

Oh...

I completely love it!

Look at those.

I can't believe it, I thought it would be a lot rougher than that.

This is...this is a gem.

I think because it's riveted all the way round, you know,

we just used some nice solid section to keep it quite simple,

like the nuts at the end, they're forged nuts.

Handmade ones.

I think you managed to finesse something that should never

have been finessed like this.

It's genuinely really beautiful.

Handmade. Stunning.

Did it cost a fortune?

We pretty much worked to budget on this one, didn't we?

I think you've created something fabulous, genuinely.

That's going to walk away.

And so are you.

-Bye!

-Bye.

I don't want to be overemotional about it

but I'm overwhelmed by that table.

It was going to end up in the tip and Bex and Dave have

poured their heart and soul into that.

I can't believe how fantastic it looks.

Well, there may have been a few arguments along the way

but I think it's been worth it.

-Do you love me again?

-I've always loved you, love.

That's why I'm married you.

Aw...

Stunning and on budget of £500 plus materials,

this one has a real chance of raking in the cash.

Before the table was a table...

-What are you clearing out?

-We're clearing out an old attic.

..Sarah stuck her nose in the back of Neil's motor and found

something well good.

Good. Do you like it?

-It's brilliant.

-Good, good.

Good?! It was great and Sarah had big ideas of what to do with it.

Neil wasn't as sure.

I can't think of anything she could actually use it for.

So I'll be intrigued to find out.

Well, with a little help from Bex and Dave,

it turned into a shiny show stopper.

Sarah invited around Nick who runs online vintage

and antique outlet Smithers of Stanford...

-Hiya.

-Hi, Sarah.

..hoping he'd be interested in today's tables.

I could see it in a bar in London, or something.

And after one look at Bex and Dave's...

Would you put your money where your mouth is, do you think you'd buy it?

Definitely. Yeah, I definitely want it.

..he bought it.

Sarah's travelled to Milford in Surrey to show Neil

what Bex and Dave did to his water tank.

I hope she phoned ahead.

-Hello, Neil, how are you?

-I'm fine, thank you, and you?

I've never seen "beware of the chicken" before. How are you doing?

-No, you have to watch the chicken and watch where you're walking.

-OK.

Animals at loose.

OK, so this is the house the tank came out of.

This is the house that the tank came from.

It's been up in the loft for many years.

-It was you who cut it up, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it was. I cut it up.

We had it outside the gate

for a month and then it was time to go to the dump.

-That's when I met you, wasn't it?

-That's where we met you.

Have you thought what we might have done?

I couldn't think what you were going to use it for, I really couldn't.

-OK.

-To turn it into anything, there would have to be a lot more cutting

and of course it's a galvanised tank, so lots of smoke.

-Yeah.

-I was just intrigued to find out what you could do with it.

-Well, we did manage to do something and I've got some pictures.

-Yeah.

-Let me show you.

-What have you got?

-Yeah, that looks like just as I left it.

-OK.

At the dump. Against a fence.

This is what it was turned into.

Wow!

Into a table. Fantastic!

Absolutely wonderful.

We had somebody come to my barn where I live to have a look at it

and we hoped to sell it.

-He took one look at it and said, he's got to have it.

-Really?

-Yes.

-That's amazing.

-Would you be surprised to learn that we made

a profit of over £100 on your table?

I'd be flabbergasted. That's amazing.

Actually quite a lot more than £100.

I've actually got £500 here for your water tank table.

No!

That is unbelievable!

Wonderful, thank you! It's amazing.

How an earth do you get £500 for that bit of old galvanised tank?

-It's incredible.

-Is there anything you might spend that on?

I'm sure the wife will find something to spend it on!

That's absolutely amazing. That is tremendous. Something for nothing.

-Thanks, Neil, take care.

-Thank you, Sarah.

Aw... I think he should spend it on the chickens.

That was a great reaction, wasn't it?

Working with lovely designers,

meeting people like Neil and handing over money for nothing,

makes those long days at the tip really worthwhile.

With the extra material costs Bex and Dave's total spend was £650.

Nick paid £1,150 for it,

so Neil's walking away with a cool 500 quid.

That's our first item selling for a whopping profit.

Sarah's travelled to Altrincham near Manchester to continue her

search for more items to re-purpose.

I think it's going to be a top-tastic tip today.

What will she uncover?

Will it be trash, or treasure?

I think it's fair to say that's trash.

Take it that way.

Can Jean-Luc add a little je ne sais quoi to proceedings?

-Oh, hello.

-Hi.

-Hi.

That's not going in there, is it? It looks brand-new.

-I'm afraid, yes.

-Really?

I tried to recycle to charity but it wouldn't go because it

-doesn't have the labels on.

-Oh, I know, I hear that all the time.

-Do you mind if I have a closer look at it?

-You can have a look at it.

-Is it yours?

-It's my daughter's.

She needs some room in her house.

It's absolutely fine, there's nothing wrong with it.

Would it be all right to pull it out and have

-a closer look to see what it's like?

-Yeah.

Jean-Luc's talking about the UK fire safety label.

All upholstered items should have one.

Charity shops can only accept sofas if the label's attached.

It's not a concern for Sarah, as once she's finished, it will

comply with all the regulations.

Come on, let's have a seat.

-And a cup of tea.

-Yeah, I think so.

-What do you reckon?

-That's not bad, that.

I'm looking thing for things that I can maybe use again,

maybe reupholster and if it's not comfortable,

-there's probably no point. But this is...

-Quite comfortable.

Great. I'm so glad you came, I might stay the rest of the day here.

Two sugars, please.

If it's all right, I'll take it away.

-You can, indeed.

-Can I keep in touch and

if I manage to make something out of it,

-I will show you what I've done and...

-That'll be fantastic.

-Let's save this for another day.

-OK.

Jean-Luc's trip to the tip has turned up trumps for Sarah.

If you can do something with it, that will be great.

It'll make my day.

Tres bien, Jean-Luc.

Who knows what Sarah has in store for this item?

It's que sera sera for this settee.

This sofa is a little bit newer than the stuff I normally take but

it's compact, it's in really good condition.

It's comfortable and therefore it's saleable.

I think I have potential to turn this into some cash.

Not without a little help, Sarah.

Meet Ray Clarke, upholsterer extraordinaire.

Ray made a name for himself in the world of fashion design

before discovering his love for vintage furniture.

His fresh, modern designs mix practicality, comfort and luxury.

I never intended to become an upholsterer at the beginning,

it wasn't the thing I set out to do.

I suppose you could say upholstery found me.

With my creative background in fashion design

and textile design, I was able to use those skills and redirect them,

and now this is all I do.

I just give birth to chairs. I love them.

Yeah.

Give birth to chairs?

Ooh, let's hope sorting this sofa will be a bit less painful.

Hiya. Let me just pop that there.

I've got a little something for you outside,

-will you come and help me in?

-Yeah, sure, sure.

-Wow, ho-ho.

-Let's get it inside.

Wow, look at this.

I personally hate maroon, and I'm not that keen on red stuff,

so for me this is like...horror sofa.

-I am really keen on this.

-Natural.

-Natural.

Now, I did bring along a little bit of natural linen,

and what I was wondering about this is if we could rough it right up

and make it look really rustic.

I don't want to say the word "knackered", but I want this

to look like it is something the dog has been sleeping on.

A dog bed? Now that's barking mad.

Is that really bad to ask?

No, it's not bad to ask, if that's what you feel it deserves,

I can deliver that for you, sure.

-Less show home, more rustic, traditional.

-More boutique...

-Yeah.

-..rustic...

I'm pushing on the rustic, aren't I? I can tell.

I'm going to end up dreaming of rust, rustic.

-Do you use any hessian-y fabric?

-I do.

-That's not quite the grade you'd want to sit on, is it?

-No.

Erm, it's not.

That's scrim, Sarah, it's not meant to be seen, let alone sat on,

even by dogs.

I do have some linen scrim. It's quite thin,

but it can be doubled up.

I'm looking at designer stuff, £50 a metre. How much is this a metre?

That's about £3 a metre.

Now that's my kind of money!

But it's the look, it's the overall look!

But you know something, you are so good at your craft,

if you can make it look good in a sack...

Sarah's made a saving on the material,

but how much will it cost for Ray to weave his magic?

-Ballpark figure?

-Er...between 600, 650.

For re-covering, just re-covering.

-OK, I would happily leave you with 650 quid to do this.

-Right.

-Done deal.

-Fantastic. Well, best of luck.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye!

-Bye.

Fantastic!

I think Ray is going to duff that sofa up and make it look

really rough, rustic but reassuringly expensive.

I can understand where she's coming from,

I know the kind of work she wants to have done,

but it's got to be done properly, done well, done right,

and I'm a bit of a stickler for that as well.

Ray has a budget of £650 plus

materials for the transformation.

HE SIGHS DEEPLY

Oh, where do I begin?

HE LAUGHS

But can he really get onboard with Sarah's cost-cutting design?

And so, we are heading back to Sussex.

Sarah's here to see if Josh and Oli's table is any match

for Bex's metal marvel, which did make an impressive £500 profit.

Yeah, I reckon Sarah will be shocked.

It has changed beyond recognition, to be honest,

from the pile of crusty metal she brought us, it's now a dining table.

So yeah, I think she'll be surprised.

So I'm back here to find out if Oli and Josh have managed to turn

a rusty old mail cart that I left in pieces into a high-end dining table.

There's only one way to find out.

When Sarah dropped it off,

the mail cart didn't have a leg to stand on, but now...

..it's a huge table.

The boys ditched the flaky red paint job, choosing instead

to sandblast the metal and paint with a matte black finish.

They treated the old wood with a simple sealant

and a top oil to keep the wood's age and natural pattern shining through.

Ooh, this is a tough one.

I think I like this table more than the other one,

but what will Sarah think?

Ohhh.

SHE LAUGHS

-That's amazing.

-You all right?

-I am now.

That looks fantastic.

I had no idea it would clean up so much, and haven't these worked well?

Yeah, they came in nicely. This is a little feature for you,

a built-in trivet for your hot pots and pans.

Ah, so that's what you did with the hinges - clever.

That's a great idea, isn't it?

It's practical and beautiful, you have done so well with it.

In terms of the bits you had, those are the old handles,

those bits up there,

-they've worked really well, haven't they?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-I'm really surprised how tidy and neat and good-looking it is.

-Cool.

Because...battered old doors, rusty old frame,

-was never going to look like that.

-No, it did come in well.

So in terms of budget, there was 750 quid on the table...

-Like what I did there?

-Very good, very good.

..in order to transform it. Did it work,

have you done it anywhere near budget?

Yes, I think we are pretty close.

It turned into a bit of a labour of love, but I think...

Yeah, we are happy with 750.

Well, hasn't this turned into a tight race?

The boys are most definitely still in the running with this one.

Those lads have completely come up trumps. That table is immense.

It has got charm, character

and I'm going to make loads of money out of it.

Well, it will have to have a high price tag attached

to beat Bex's, so let the bidding commence.

What ARE you throwing out?

When Sarah met Dick at the dump, she pounced on his old postal cart.

They would use these to move the parcels around.

Dick was more than happy to give it to Sarah.

If you show me where you want me to put it, I will come.

And Sarah politely took them away.

I wish her luck!

And with the help of Josh and Oli, it became our second tiptop table.

Sarah invited Nick back to see if he fancied two tables,

but having already forked out over £1,000 on Bex's,

Sarah's chances weren't great.

Do you feel it when you see it, is it...?

Yeah, it is very unique, I think we're going to go for it.

-Yeah?

-'But he bought it as well!'

Gotta make me a seriously good offer on this one, Nick.

Sarah has travelled to Shackleford in Surrey

to hand Dick some cash.

But will it be more than £500?

I can hardly wait.

-Hello there.

-Hi, nice to see you.

-Lovely to see you again.

-How are you, all right?

-Yeah, very well.

I have come to catch up with you about what we did

-with your old mail cart.

-Indeed.

I know you said it had come to you and you had found it,

and you had had it for quite a few years.

200 yards up the road here is a crossroads,

and it sat there for two days, so I walked it down here.

Possibly in the '90s, was when I acquired it,

because that is also probably the time that the Post Office

stopped using them, I would think.

They certainly used them when I did the post, when I was 18.

-So were you a postie?

-No! Christmas job.

Christmas job, ah, Christmas postie.

-More lucrative at Christmas.

-Yeah, that's right.

When I took it away, did you have any thoughts about what

we might be ale to do with it?

No, I didn't, I didn't know whether you would do research

and take it back to what it was or, you know, do something exciting.

OK, well, we went down the exciting route.

We took it to two fantastic young guys down near Goodwood,

and they have managed to create that.

Oh! Wow.

HE LAUGHS

But that is... Is that a door, or...?

It's a pair of doors in there,

and actually you can see on the detail where they have used

the hinges for the doors to make a trivet to go in the middle of it.

Yes, tremendous. That's fantastic,

I really do like that. That's a clever idea.

I wish I'd have thought of that.

So it turns out that people love investing in a dining table,

and I have a dealer who I deal with a lot,

and he took one look at it and snapped it up.

I have got some profit to share with you, actually.

I have got for you...

I have got £500 here to give to you to do whatever you like with.

HE LAUGHS

-I'm staggered.

-£500, what do you think?

I am overwhelmed, I did not expect anything like that.

I think my daughters and grandchildren might have

a fairly good idea what they might do with it,

but, yes, I have my own ideas.

They involve a charity.

But that is tremendous, and thank you very much for that,

that's wonderful. Thank you. OK, when are you going to the tip again?

THEY LAUGH

Can you believe it? It's a draw.

Coming in on-budget of £750

and selling for a mighty £1,250

means Josh and Oli's table has made

exactly the same as Bex and Dave's.

I'm glad it worked out like that,

I really couldn't choose between them.

Well, that was fantastic, handing over £500 to Richard.

That's one mail cart that just keeps delivering.

Sarah's had success with both items sold so far, so it's time to

pick up one more, and this time it will be one she works on herself.

But if it's already hit the skip, then it's off limits.

She has, however, spied a little gem she'd like to share with us,

so has asked a recycle centre employee to fish it out.

I love these. If you find one of these, don't throw it away.

It's got a hook on it,

you put a little tealight on the bottom and it props up, and you

have the most beautiful little wall sconce, and it sends out these

lovely little rays of light. Don't throw them away.

Even as a grater, that's worth a fiver.

Love it. Never mind.

If you're quite finished, Sarah,

you might be even more enthused by Tamara's set of old ladders.

-Wow, they look like nice old ones.

-Yep.

Where they from, then?

These were left in my new house by the gentleman that used to

live there and I've no need for them.

-I think they look cool, can I have them?

-Yes, you can have them.

-I'll try and make something cool, make some money, maybe.

-Yep.

-Be back in touch?

-Yep.

-That'd be lovely, thank you.

That's another item saved from the scrapheap.

I would have used them had they been safe, but I didn't think

they were safe, so I'm glad Sarah can make some use of them.

So what do you reckon - a step too far or a stairway to heaven?

It's a step in the right direction, but it will take

a lot of imagination if you hope to make something saleable.

Back home in Sussex, Sarah's wasting no time

getting started on the transformation of the ladders.

I love these ladders, but as they are,

I just can't make enough money out of them if I just sell them

like this, so I've got to make them into something.

And because they're quite a complicated set of angles,

I think it's best to go for something really simple.

So, I want to make lovely little planters out of each of

the steps, fill them up with beautiful bulbs

so that people can have them in their homes,

out on their windowsill, by the front door,

just bringing a little bit of colour into their life,

and then using all this lovely white paint,

flaky surface, as a real selling point.

How hard can that be?

To make flaky paint a selling point?

A lot tougher than you think, Sarah, especially if you can't use a saw.

Let's make a plan. When you do something, measure twice, cut once.

Not a complete novice, then.

Look away now.

Oops, spoke too soon.

A good start would be to secure the ladder by clamping it down.

Let the saw do the work. The longer the stroke, the easier it will be.

Hmm, we could be here for a while.

Oh.

Just cleaning up those bits.

Could have maybe cut that a bit better. Never mind.

Have a back across there, plants in there...

It should look quite cool.

But one planter isn't going to bring in much.

Time to step it up.

See what I did there?

You can come and help, if you like. Don't just sit there.

Oh, I'd love to, Sarah, but, quite frankly,

I think I'll keep my distance.

I'm channelling potting shed chic.

It's going to be awesome.

Well, I suppose you have to believe your own propaganda,

but you still have to nail the backs on.

Just want to make sure I can make one...

and I'm on the right track before I cut the whole thing up

and have to make a plan.

This could be fun.

Chin up, Sarah.

Hopefully, all the hard graft will be worth it.

On the bright side, Sarah bagged a bargain at a car-boot sale,

paying only £30 for bulbs to put in the planters.

But will her idea really flourish and bring in the big bucks?

At his studio in Poplar, East London, it sounds as though

Ray has come up with a design compromise for the old maroon sofa.

The overall look is quite rustic,

like a countryman's jacket with, you know, the leather patches.

Kind of that look but translated into a two-seater sofa,

if you know what I mean.

So, Ray's giving a nod to Sarah's rustic version but

with an extra air of elegance. Sounds expensive.

Before re-covering the sofa, Ray and his assistant, Anna,

have to strip it back to check that the frame and the filling

are in good order.

Yeah, ripping this should be fairly good fun.

I'm saying this cos I already know

what's already going on underneath here.

I can feel it with my hands and it's like...eurgh.

Modern sofas aren't always built with quality in mind.

No, it's not feathers. This is polyester wadding.

Yeah. Bleurgh, bleurgh. Don't like that.

But Ray's about to change all that.

Oh, this could be painful.

Cardboard here, cardboard here, cardboard here.

They haven't even bothered putting webbing in here. It's just...

I could punch through that.

I'm not going to.

But, yeah, it's a cardboard sofa.

High-end sofa frames are made of solid hardwood like oak or

maple and are put together with screws, glue and wood blocks.

These could last a lifetime.

But modern manufacturing methods and price wars have created some

new ways of building frames. Some are OK. Others, not so good.

The springs should be lashed laterally from end to end

so that when you sit in them, they don't spread apart.

Yeah.

This is...

I wouldn't say shoddy.

Yeah, I would say shoddy, actually.

This has got to be pushing Ray's perfectionist nature to the limit.

I want to do this properly, or as well as I can possibly do it,

so it's going to be upgraded better than it was when it arrived, anyway.

Much better.

Ray's exacting standards has meant that the job has gone from

a relatively simple re-cover

to almost a complete rebuild.

That's the excitement of the challenge on this -

trying to produce something and still keep to within

the budget so it's not just, like, built...

..with cardboard.

Oh, I hate cardboard. I hate cardboard. I can't stand cardboard.

I feel your pain, Ray.

Look at that. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

Back in Sussex, Sarah's putting the final touches

to her refashioned planters.

It's coming along, isn't it?

Not quite there, though. I want it to really pack a punch.

That, at the moment, stands me in at four quid.

It's got to be worth more than that.

It needs wow factor, sparkle, pizzazz...

or an old tin bucket.

Not exactly what I had in mind.

Happy days.

Happy days indeed.

This old wooden stepladder was saved from the skip.

The steps of the ladder now make up seven country cottage planters.

Sarah kept costs down by using soil from her own molehills

and bulbs from a car-boot sale.

And, as much as it pains me to admit,

the tin bucket tags are an inspired addition.

I was a little bit intimidated when I first started this.

I couldn't quite visualise how they were going to look together,

but I think these planters,

all the foraged stuff inside them, all the free stuff that adds

that lovely look to them has worked out really well,

and I think I'm going to make a blooming great, big profit

out of this lot, too.

Sarah first discovered the stepladder

in the back of Tamara's car.

-Wow, they look like nice old ones.

-Yeah.

-Where are they from, then?

-These were left in my house, my new house,

by the gentleman that used to live there and I've no need for them.

The ladder's days may have been numbered but Sarah's crafty

talent means it looks great revamped into planters.

And where better to get the sales started than at her barn sale?

Get it out there, make it sell.

So, do you know what that's made from?

-No.

-Door. Doorframe or something or other.

-Old stepladder.

-OK.

-No way!

You almost want the full set, don't you?

I'll do you a deal.

They seem to be flying off the shelf.

Fantastic. I'm so glad you bought that. Excellent.

One more planter. Have a lovely day.

Sarah managed to sell four planters

and Matthew, who owns Spriggs Florist in Petworth,

snapped up the final three.

I love the fact that these were made from old stepladders.

It gives us an opportunity

to offer something really quirky to our customers.

Now Sarah's on her way

to tell Tamara the tale of her old wooden stepladder.

-Hiya.

-Hi, Sarah.

-How are you doing?

-All right, thank you.

Nice to see you again.

You were madly tearing about, last time I saw you.

-And you'd just moved here, is that right?

-Yeah. Yeah.

And you had some ladders. They had a lovely vintage look to them

but they're not that practical when they're old, like that, are they?

-No.

-Did you imagine what we might do with them after we took them away?

I don't know what you've done with them but, yeah,

I can imagine you've done something good.

Well, I know you said you found them in the garden

so we thought it'd be nice to make something for the garden out of them

-so do you want to see what we did?

-Yeah.

So here is your stepladder

-planted up with spring bulbs.

-Wow.

We managed to make seven of them.

-They're lovely.

-So I've got a little bit of money to hand over to you.

Aw, thank you.

I've got £90 here.

Wow. Just off a ladder.

-Just off a ladder.

-Wow.

-Thank you, Sarah.

-What will you do with £90?

Probably buy some paint and some new fabric to go on my couch

-cos I need my couch re-covering.

-Oh, fantastic.

So that's what that will be going towards.

It was great to catch up and, yeah,

-so pleased that you let me have your ladders.

-Thank you.

-Take care.

-So nice to see you.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye. Thank you.

Well, I loved working on those stepladders, turning them

from practical into pretty planters and it sounds like Tamara

has projects on her mind, too, and that money's going to be helpful.

Sarah did well in keeping her costs to just £30

and even better in selling the lot for 120.

That leaves £90 for Tamara and her family to enjoy.

Back in East London, Ray's putting the finishing touches to the sofa.

Actually, I'm more nervous than confident, to be honest. Yeah.

It's always a bit nerve-racking when Sarah comes to see the piece.

You just never quite know what her reaction's going to be.

Not long to wait, Ray. She's on her way.

Oh, you tease!

Well, I left Ray with a chain store sofa

and the idea that he was going to turn it into potting shed chic.

Who knows if he's managed to achieve that?

-Hiya.

-Hey, Sarah. How are you doing?

-Really well. How are you?

-I'm good. Come this way.

-Is this the baby?

-This is the baby.

-It's interesting under there.

-Yeah.

It looks...

-considerably different from before.

-Come on, then.

-Let's see it.

-You want me to whip it off?

-Yeah.

-OK. One, two, three.

Ta-da!

Oh, wow!

Sarah challenged Ray to transform this floral sofa into

a rustic two-seater that would look at home in a country manor...

..and Ray's only gone and done it.

Hours of love and attention have seen this sofa stripped back

and reassembled using master craftsman techniques.

The mix of rustic raw linen with luxury leather and suede

makes the old sofa almost unrecognisable.

The vision I had was not something as sophisticated and loved as this.

-Oh.

-You have created, you know,

a bit of the potting shed chic that I was after...

-OK.

-..but with some lovely detail.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-It's lovely.

I love the scrappy look. Thank you for giving it that.

But it's not... It's...

The thing is, to actually achieve this type of look

-takes so much work.

-That's all hand-stitched.

-It's hand-stitched.

That's like just hours and hours

just getting that looking really quite perfect.

You know what they say - the devil is in the detail.

-And that's what...

-Exactly.

-..you've put into this.

Did it blow the budget, then?

Cos this isn't the spec that I left with.

I was on the £3-a-metre fabric

and I'm not looking at that for that, am I?

-You're looking at somewhere around the 950 mark for this.

-OK.

That's 650 for the labour, plus the materials.

OK, so that's a bit more than we were hoping to get away with.

A bit more than we were hoping but, to be honest with you,

it's infinitely more saleable, I think.

And it's a case of the cobbler's shoes.

-I've love to have something like this at home as well.

-Great.

We're going to a tip near you and you, too, may have a sofa like this.

You just need to have a keen eye like Sarah.

It was at a tip in Altrincham that she struck lucky

when she met Jean-Luc.

-Oh, hello.

-Hi.

-Hi. That's not going in there, is it?

-It looks brand-new.

-I'm afraid, yes.

-Really?

I tried to recycle to charity but it wouldn't go because it

-doesn't have the labels on.

-Oh, I know. I hear that all the time.

In reupholstering the sofa,

Ray has also ensured it complies with all the fire regulations,

complete with fire labels, so it's ready to sell.

And where better to flog a high-end piece of furniture

than at her barn sale?

Well, it's a rustic setting, I suppose.

And it's certainly caught Ron's eye.

-If you bought it...

-Yeah. I love this.

-Beautiful, yeah.

-I think I'll go for it.

-Really?

-Yeah.

You sound surprised, Sarah.

I didn't expect to sell it today cos I didn't think it was quite

-the right environment to sell it, but...

-In here?

-The perfect environment!

-We just love it.

Another happy customer but, with a £300 overspend,

has it made enough of a profit

to make Jean-Luc, its original owner, happy?

Sarah's travelled to his home in Hale to show him

what Ray did with the old sofa.

-Hi, there.

-Hi, there.

-How are you doing?

-I'm doing very well. Thank you.

Last time I saw you, I think you were being a very helpful daddy

or you were helping drop off a sofa.

-That's right.

-It wasn't yours, was it?

-No, I was dropping it for my daughter.

-Yeah.

In the end it went up to London

-to a great upholsterer called Ray Clarke.

-Mm-hm.

-Do you want to see what he did with it?

-I'd love to. Can't wait.

See if you recognise this.

Wow. That's very smart.

That's outstanding.

I love the leather on it, as well. It's really nice.

Yes, we were really pleased with how it looked.

-I know you said that you couldn't give it away...

-That's right.

-..but we managed to sell it.

-You did?

Yes, and I have some profit to hand over here for you,

-so I have £100 here from the sale.

-Fantastic. Thank you very much.

That's not for me, anyway. That belongs to my daughter, anyway,

which will go to my granddaughter, hopefully. Everybody's happy.

-Perfect. Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you very much. Bye. Bye.

Don't you just love it when they just love it?

Jean-Luc was genuinely impressed with what we did with his sofa

and he's got a £100 nest egg to give to his granddaughter.

Even though Ray went over budget, bringing his costs to £950,

Ron was happy to pay 1,050 for the sofa,

which meant a lovely £100 profit for Jean-Luc's granddaughter.

Not bad for a sofa a charity shop had to turn away.

Sarah managed to make money from all four items saved from the tip.

The water tank transformed into our first fabulous table...

..and the postal cart made it two.

The sofa is now trendy with at least 25 years of good use ahead,

and, of course, Sarah's idea for the ladders

flourished into spring planters.

Well, there's no denying it's great to turn a profit

but what is really satisfying is taking things that are

destined for the dump and making them into lovely things that can

go on to have a whole new life.