Episode 1 Money for Nothing

What are you chucking out today then?

How do you make money for nothing?

Don't throw them, don't throw them!

The answer could be hiding in the 30 million tonnes

of household waste we throw out every year.

-Thanks so much for letting me have that.

-OK.

I think that's absolutely made my day, I love it.

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore

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

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

and I turned that passion into a moneymaking 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...

-What do you reckon to that?

-Quite smart, isn't it?

-Tell me you love it.

-I love it!

She can transform her finds into desirable...

Isn't it amazing?

..valuable...

That's quite a statement piece!

..and, hopefully, saleable items.

-I'll take you down to the till, that's fantastic!

-OK, fantastic.

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.

Wow! That's amazing!

Today, Sarah's at the Whitley Recycling Centre in Surrey

and, like all parts of the country, it processes tonnes of rubbish.

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 has been granted special permission to be here, by the way,

is searching for three items which 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 what it is.

-Yeah, he died yesterday. That's going in.

-Oh, no! That was quick!

LAUGHTER And, talking of water tanks,

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

-What are you giving up?

-Well, we're clearing out an old attic...

-Yeah?

..and we've had a chimney taken down, so there was an aerial

-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've got toilets at home.

-Oh, yeah?

-What, planted?

-You see, I'm a plumber.

-OK.

We've got toilets at home that are covered with...

-We've got plants and things in them.

-Excellent.

-They're so bulky.

-They are.

-And they're very heavy.

-People love them, people love them.

-Let's have a... Can I have a quick root around with it?

-Yes, you can.

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

-decorative, a few rivets?

-There you go, a few rivets.

-It's fab!

-Good? Do you like it?

-Brilliant! Yeah, I absolutely love it.

-Good, good.

-Put 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.

-Yeah?

And I'd love to keep in touch and...

hopefully have made something amazing out of it.

You can have my e-mail address.

You can do whatever you like on it, 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.

Um... Supportive because it's quite strong.

Um... I 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 around 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.

Ah, 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 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.

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.

Wow, that looks interesting. Wow! What are you...?

-What are you throwing out?

-It's an old post office truck...

-Yeah?

-..they used to put the parcels in.

-OK.

-And...

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

Oh, coach-built, there's the crankshaft for the wheels.

So, it was used for...

In the sorting office, they would use these

to move the parcels around

and they probably used that from about 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 that...

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 would be really... That's really kind of you.

If I do manage to do something it'd be really good to maybe

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

-All right.

-I'll start with these. That's lovely.

-OK.

-Thank you so much.

I found it, probably, 10 or 12 years ago.

I refurbished it, the wooden part of it.

I painted it...

and then used it as a...

A decorative...

area for plants for many, many years.

I brought it along here, but luckily I seem to have met somebody

who may be giving it a new home.

-LAUGHTER

-I wish her luck.

Now this is one 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 mental and chunky stuff here

to be able to make into something else, so 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 Ollie, 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're Forge Creative.

I think 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. I think we like something

with a bit of a story.

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

something like that, if it's 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.

So, that's two items found and one still to go.

Whatever Sarah picks up next will be her own personal project,

so it'll have to be good.

I love a bunny. You can't throw that out!

Oh, yes, he can.

Flamonge. Love flamonge.

So, you're going with the bunny?

Or would you be more interested in what's coming out of Grant's boot?

-Hi, there.

-Hi.

-I was just looking at this.

-Yeah.

-Have you had it long?

-Uh...

-15 years or so.

-So that wasn't...

Yeah, it's a lot older than that, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is indeed. I think so.

-Yeah.

Grant's brought along his old ottoman

and it looks to be in good nick... Oh, no, it's horrible.

Where'd you get it from before...?

It came from Kidderminster, from an antique shop in Kidderminster.

They're quite useful, aren't they?

I can see it's seen better days.

I know why you're chucking it out, but...

-I quite like it.

-You do?

-Can I have it?

-You can have it, yeah.

I think it's in good enough shape that I might be able

-to breathe some new life into it.

-Take it and do as you wish with it.

Right, you're coming with me. Thank you very much!

So, it's a simple upholstery job,

but what does Grant think it'll be worth

after Sarah works her magic on it?

So, if she redoes it, I'm sure she'll get 100 for it,

maybe a little bit more, something like that, so...

A lot more than we paid for it.

It's really in bad shape.

It might be worth just pushing it over into the tip,

but, with some nice fabric on it

a refresh of the paintwork,

there's a chance I might be able to make a few quid on it

and it's something, I think,

I'm definitely going to have to do it myself because...

this could go either way, this one.

With Sarah's search over for another day,

she's saved three items from certain doom.

The galvanised steel water tank

will now be worked on by Bex,

the post office trolley will be

looked after by Josh and Oli,

and Sarah's chosen to work on

the old, crumbling ottoman herself.

It's home time and I'm happy.

I've saved some absolute treasures from the tip today

and I think I've got a real chance to make some good money.

Sarah's first stop is deep in the heart

of the picturesque Surrey countryside,

where she can wave goodbye to the rust and dust of the dump

and step into...

Oh, well.

Blacksmith Bex Simon is standing by with husband Dave

and they're sure to get a surprise when they see the old water tank.

So, I used to feel quite nervous about what Sarah was going to,

you know, bring around for us to work with,

but now I've sort of become a bit more to expect the unexpected.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll bring today.

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 I know that can be tricky to work with.

And, by tricky, you mean poisonous. SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

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.

I did know that galvanised is tricky because it's the...

It's the fumes, is that right?

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

OK, well, um, 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

like 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.

-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, right.

-Does that work for you?

-Love ya!

-LAUGHTER

And she's off.

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

That was quick.

You got somewhere else to be, Sarah?

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

LAUGHTER

That's really easy for you to say.

Well, that's a real relief because that slightly dangerous

zinc material is now in really safe hands

and 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!

SHE STAMMERS

-You're losing it.

-I know!

-I said the rough and ready, riveted...

-Let's try that again.

LAUGHTER

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.

So, from Surrey to Sussex and yet another quaint little workshop

tucked away in the lovely countryside.

It's time for Sarah to unload the old mail cart onto Josh and Oli,

our boys with beards.

They may look like a pair of hipsters, but they've got the skills

to transform Sarah's finds into something saleable.

A little bit nervous.

She's usually got a knack of

-bringing some pretty crazy stuff along with her.

-Yeah, yeah.

Hopefully it's something that we can see some real good potential in.

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 interiors piece?

-Cool!

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

Yeah, should we try and put it together?

Bex has already got started on her table,

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

I mean, straightaway, 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...I feel would go perfect.

-What, those?

-These, up there, yeah.

-They're huge.

-They're massive, so 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 will be fantastic.

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

I think that would be an amazing...

Like, what a feature piece that would be.

What do you think the surface of the metal will 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.

Yeah, I love the idea of keeping a bit of, you know,

-red on it, so it...

-Yeah.

..it reminds you of where it came from.

-I think big dining table sounds fab.

-Yeah.

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

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

Probably around the 750 mark.

Oof! 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 can 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?

Uh, not quite this big.

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

Great, well...

I hope it goes well!

-LAUGHTER

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-See you soon.

-Yep, see you soon.

-Bye!

-Bye!

-Yeah, 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, with the makers battling it out in the war of the tables...

..Sarah has travelled back home

and is about to turn the tables on the ottoman.

You see, Bramble? Turn the tables!

DOG WHIMPERS Ooh.

The main problem is this top is in a really bad state,

so what I need to do is strip it back...

And just see if I can fix it up, put some new board

and a bit of fabric over the top of it,

refresh the paintwork,

and see if I can get it done in an hour.

Right, let's get cracking.

Well, if anyone can get it done in an hour, it's Sarah.

She just loves to upholster.

Ah, look! She's even done the clock!

Time is really of the essence.

You really wouldn't want to spend too long

because the end value of this

probably isn't really much more than £40, £50 at the most.

With all the loose materials removed,

Sarah can start to take off the lid

to get a better idea of what she's working with.

Oh, dear. That's not a good sign.

The lid comes off without the hinges!

Right, I really do have my work cut out now.

Did I say an hour? I think an hour might be...slightly optimistic.

With the top off, Sarah gives the whole thing a good rub down

to get it ready for its makeover.

I've got some gold spray that I think will look fantastic on it.

Not that I'm lazy.

Not that painting in-between these crevices would be really dull,

and this would be instant, so I'm going to take it outside

and do a little test to make sure it's going to work.

Remember, if you're spray painting,

always do it in a well-ventilated area

and I don't mean the sides of buildings and bus stops.

With spraying, you get instant gratification.

Very quick, effective results.

And you don't even have to clean the paint brushes afterwards.

Wow!

That is five minutes' work

and I think that looks fantastic!

Leave that to dry. Let's go and get the top done.

With 15 minutes gone already,

Sarah's really going to have to step it up a gear.

She's cutting out some high density fibre board with a jigsaw,

which will add some support to the crumbling lid.

So, that's pretty rustic, but that...can go onto there.

And then I can get this covered in beautiful fabric,

a bit of padding over the top of it

and, I think, I might make the time.

Wow! Look at her go!

Sarah's attaching the hardboard to the lid with a staple gun

before she can start her upholstery.

What I need to do now is just pad the top.

I'm going to use an old blanket because I don't want

to pay for the material to do it.

I'm on a thrifty makeover with this one.

If you're doing this at home,

you can use any old blanket you have lying around, even a dog blanket.

BRAMBLE WHIMPERS Oh, sorry, Bramble.

So, as Sarah attaches it to the lid with her trusty staple gun,

all that's left to do is cover it with material and she's done.

And, with just £5 worth of gold paint to factor into costs,

it's not going to take much to generate a good profit.

So, as Sara cracks on, it's time for our makers to battle it out...

BOXING BELL SOUNDS

..in table wars!

ENERGECTIC MUSIC PLAYS

And, in the red corner, Bex "The Anvil" Simon

and Dave "The Brute" Harris

will be taking on "The Sledgehammer"

Josh Canard...and Oli.

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

so let's get ready to rivet! MUSIC SWELLS

So... What do you want to do?

LAUGHTER

At the moment, it looks like a cut up water tank, so...

It's down to us to try and make it, you know, look...

presentable and nice!

Yeah, and worth lots of money.

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 a fire,

a hammer, and the anvil, it's really lovely.

If you go to the British Museum,

you know, there's some old tools that they've, like, dug up

and they are pretty much exactly the same as ours,

maybe a little bit smaller cos people were smaller then.

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

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

It's now probably about 700 degrees C 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...

Don't show my mum.

..just like Bex.

It's going, "Hello!"

LAUGHTER

"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.

So, 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.

And, after a smattering of tomato sauce,

they should be ready to attach.

The next part on this stage we'll be working together

because it will need four hands, two people.

-Four hands, two minds.

-Yeah.

With a bit of arguing in-between.

LAUGHTER

-No, it won't.

-Yeah, it will.

LAUGHTER

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,

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

Should we get rid of that block

-and see what clearance we've got on that wheel then?

-Yeah.

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

by first removing the wooden block

and then welding in place.

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

so it's time to get drilling.

Oh, 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 just kind of 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!

-Don't make post carts like this anymore.

-DRILL WHIRS

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 kind of looking all right.

We need to fiddle around with it a little bit.

Should we put this to one side and then 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.

They're supposed to be about 150 years old.

You don't say(!)

It looks like Josh has upcycled his mom'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?

But 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 is heating the steel with a blowtorch

so it'll 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.

With the table challenge well underway,

it's time to see how Sarah's doing with her own

one-hour ottoman makeover challenge.

Time's nearly up.

I'm not quite there, but I'm not far off.

When Sarah rescued it from the dump,

the ottoman was pinky, but certainly not perky.

But now it's a golden treasure chest.

Sarah lined the lid with floral cream fabric

to complement the shiny gold base.

The top is now padded and comfortable,

and secure enough to support the largest of bottoms.

So, I failed the challenge, quarter of an hour too long,

but, I think I've done the right thing by the ottoman.

It was well worth just taking that little bit extra

to make this lovely.

It's got a brand-new lining.

And I think I've got a good chance now of making some money on it.

What do you think, Bramble?

I think she's thinking, "Can I get my blanket back?"

So, with the transformation complete,

all Sarah has to do now is turn it from gold to sold.

-Before its transformation...

-Hi, there!

-Hi.

..it was just Grant's old ottoman destined for the dump.

It came from Kidderminster, from an antique shop in Kidderminster.

Sarah could see the cash potential...

-Can I have it?

-You can have it, yeah.

..and so could Grant.

So, if she redoes it, I'm sure she'll get 100 for it,

maybe a little bit more, or something like that.

A lot more than we paid for it.

Well, 100 might be a bit optimistic, Grant.

Sarah showcased the ottoman at her barn sale

and, after a slow start...

I think there's somebody interested in the ottoman.

..she hooked a buyer.

That is beautiful.

I think the fabric on the top is just so lovely.

-I'll take you down to the till, that's fantastic.

-Thanks, Sarah.

And it's sold!

This is usually the bit when Sarah gives Grant the money

and you get to see his big smiley face, but...

Well, since I sold the ottoman,

I haven't been able to get in contact with Grant,

but all is not lost because I did manage to turn a quick profit of £25

and I'm going to hand that over to Children In Need.

Ah, at least it's going to a good cause.

Sarah spent just a fiver on materials.

And with a sale of £30,

it's £25 profit for the ottoman.

Yeah, it's an all right start.

Now, let's see which one of our tables can rake in the most cash.

And first up,

it's the water tank table.

Sarah's back in Surrey to see how Bex and Dave have got on.

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 cable 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 is amazing!

-Hi, how are you doing?

-I'm really well.

I completely love it!

Look at those!

I can't believe it.

I thought it would be a lot rougher than that, but this is a gem.

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

you know, we just used some nice solid sort of sections

to keep it quite simple,

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

I think you've 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?

Well, 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?

Yeah, I've always loved you, love -

-that's why I 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 up?

We're clearing out an old attic.

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

and found something well good.

-Good, good? Do you like it?

-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 what else 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 Stamford...

-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 and do you think you'd buy it?

Definitely. Yeah, I'll 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.

Hope she phoned ahead.

-Hello, Neil. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you, you?

Yeah, I've never seen "beware of the chicken" before.

-How are you doing?

-No, 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 the tank came from.

-Right.

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.

-And that was where I met you, wasn't it?

-That's where we met you.

Have you thought about what we might have done?

No, I couldn't think what you were going to use it for,

-I really couldn't.

-OK.

To turn it into anything there'd have to be a lot more cutting

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

-Yep.

I'm just intrigued to find out what you could do with it.

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

-Let me show you.

-What have we got?

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

-OK.

..at the dump, leant against the fence.

This is what it was turned into.

Oh, wow! Into a table.

Fantastic. Absolutely wonderful!

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

and we hoped to sell it.

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

-Really?

-Yes.

-Oh, that's amazing.

So, would you be surprised to learn

that we made a profit of over £100 on your table?

I'd be flabbergasted. That's amazing.

Well, actually quite a lot over £100.

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

No! That is unbelievable.

Wonderful! Thank you. It's amazing.

How on earth do you get £500

from that bit of old galvanised tank? That's incredible.

Is there anything you can think about immediately

that you might spend that on?

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

Yeah, that's absolutely amazing.

That is tremendous. Something for nothing. Thank you ever so much.

Thanks, Neil. Take care, bye-bye.

Aw, I think you should spend it on the chickens.

With the extra material costs,

Bex and Dave's total spend was £650.

Nick paid £1,150 for it,

so Neil is walking away with a cool 500 quid.

So, with our first table making a very impressive £500 profit,

it's still all to play for,

as we head back to Sussex in time for Sarah to see

if Josh and Oli's table has the potential to beat half a grand.

Yeah, I reckon Sarah will be shocked.

It's changed beyond recognition, to be honest,

from the pile of crusty metal that 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.

Oh, this is a tough one.

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

but what will Sarah think?

That's amazing!

-How are you doing, are you all right?

-I am now.

-Yeah?

-That looks fantastic!

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

Yeah, yeah. They came in nicely.

Here's a little feature for you.

So, this is 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 it's beautiful. You have done so well with it.

In terms of the bits that 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

because it...battered old doors,

rusty old frame...

-It was never going to look like that.

-Right, 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?

Yeah, I think we are pretty close, yeah.

I mean, it turned into a bit of a labour of love,

but I think, yeah, we're 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's got charm, character

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

Well, it will have to have a higher 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...

You show me where you want me to put it, I'll come...

..and Sarah politely took them away.

I wish her luck.

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

-Yeah?

-But he bought it as well!

I'm going to make you a seriously good offer on this one, Nick.

Sarah's travelled to Shackleford in Surrey to hand Dick some cash,

but will it be more than £500?

I can hardly wait.

-Hello, there.

-Hi, hello. Nice to see you.

-Lovely to see you again.

-How are you, all right?

-Very well, very well.

I have come to catch up with you

-about what we did with your old mail cart.

-Yeah, indeed.

I know that you said that 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 is when I acquired it

because that's also probably the time

that the post office stopped using them,

I would think, maybe.

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

-So, were you a posty?

-No. Christmas job.

Christmas job, ah, a Christmas posty.

-They're more lucrative at Christmas.

-Yes, that's right.

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

-what we might be able 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 do something exciting.

OK, well, we went down the exciting route.

We took it to fantastic young guys, who are down near Goodwood,

and they have managed to create...that.

Wow!

But that... Isn't that...? Is that a door or something?

It's a pair of doors 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.

I think that's... I mean, that's a clever idea.

I wish I'd 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've got £500 here to give to you to do whatever you like with.

-I am staggered.

-So, £500, what do you think?

I'm overwhelmed. I did not expect anything like that.

I think my daughters and my grandchildren

might have a fairly good idea what they would like to do with it.

But, yes, I have my own ideas.

that may 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?

LAUGHTER

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.

So, Sarah has managed to make money from all three items saved from the dump.

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

..and the postal cart made it two.

And, of course, Sarah brought the bling to the crumbling old ottoman.

Well, those were three great items.

Both sets of artisans managed to produce winning tables

and I'm pleased with my little ottoman makeover.

And all three things are going on to have a new lease of life

and, the best bit of all, they all sold for profit.