Episode 29 Money for Nothing

Throwing out the whole three-piece suite, are you?

How do you make money for nothing?

What have you been smashing up?

The answer could be hiding in over 20 million tonnes of household waste

thrown out by us every year.

-Can I have them?

-You're welcome to them,

they're only going in the skip.

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 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...

I think we can really be quite playful with this.

I could make several mankinis out of this, couldn't I?

She can transform her finds into desirable...

Oh, that's such a relief.

-..valuable...

-Oh, it looks all shiny!

..and hopefully saleable items.

I love them, you are a gem.

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.

I really can't believe that, that's amazing.

This is Walsall recycling centre near Birmingham

where Sarah is searching for tantalising tip treasures

and there is plenty to pick through.

There's truck loads of rubbish coming in here

and I know there will be some beautiful finds amongst it.

Beautiful to you, maybe.

Sarah is here to find three items to revitalise and renew,

then sell on for a profit

and fortune definitely favours the cool, calm and collected.

Round here, you've got to have the patience of a saint,

but I tell you, it's going to pay off in the end.

But remember, Sarah has special permission to be here,

so don't you just turn up at your local tip

and start sifting through the rubbish

or you'll be the one getting chucked out.

What has Graham got in the back of his motor?

Wow, I love your legs.

-Oh, hi, hello there.

-Hi, I'm Sarah, how are you doing?

-Fine, thank you.

-I was talking about your furniture legs.

-OK.

-What is that part of?

It's part of a desk with drawers to both sides and front.

Wow, it looks fantastic. Is it all there?

-Is it broken?

-No, it's all here.

It's just that we are moving house and we need to have a sort out.

-Things have to go.

-Well, it looks amazing. I'd love to see it out.

-Would it be OK to get hold of this bit?

-Yeah, sure.

-That's the bottom of it, is it?

-That's the main part.

This desk was made by Beresford & Hicks,

using materials such as veneered walnut and European ash.

This British company sold to the masses at affordable prices

and gave the Scandinavian market a run for their money.

That is a fabulous piece of furniture.

I would love to save it before it hits the skip.

I wouldn't be against that at all

if you can do something worthwhile with it.

I shall take it away in several bits

and try and put it back together

and make it into something fabulous again. Really lovely, thank you.

First catch of the day, then, a desk,

and Graham for one sees the potential.

Essentially, it's a solid piece of furniture other than the broken leg

so I would imagine Sarah can do a good refurb on that.

That's the plan, Graham, that's the plan.

Every so often, a piece of furniture turns up at the tip

that I just fall in love with.

It's a stunner and I think that after we finish with it,

this is just going to be one of the most fantastic

designer pieces of furniture that I've ever found in a tip.

It's beautiful. I know exactly who to take it to

and I can't wait to see what they do with it.

This trio of talented friends are the 3Restorers.

Tom, Rosie and Johnny have been crafting

beautiful pieces of furniture in their Crystal Palace workshop

for the last year.

Our background goes back not too long ago.

Rosie and Tom met at uni doing furniture restoration.

Me and Rosie met way before that cos we're married now,

so we've known each other for quite a while.

With their combined knowledge in furniture and interior styles,

they offer high quality, creative restoration.

No two jobs are the same, really,

and there's a lot of problem-solving.

We won't just say yes to each other.

I think we question everything,

so we always look at something from everyone's point of view

before we do something I think.

I think we all bring different things to the table as well.

Three heads are better than one.

And what lovely noggins they all have.

But what will these three make of Sarah's broken desk

and can they meet her high expectations for it?

Back at the tip, it's not always a success in this rummaging business.

-You're not going to like it.

-Is it rubbish?

No, you're right. Come back with something more exciting, please.

It's just not good enough.

Yeah, how dare you come to the tip with, um...

something rubbish.

Maybe there will be a morsel more to Sarah's taste in Maldwyn's motor.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-You having a clear out?

-Yes, I am.

-I like the look of these.

-What are they?

-Teak legs from a Norwegian sofa.

What do you know? More legs turning up at the tip.

These ones are quite nice, actually.

What have you done with the rest of it, then?

I've carved it into relief carvings and things like that.

-Really?

-Yes.

-I'm really rather taken by your legs.

-Well, there we go!

-They are a fine pair, I have to say,

but I would love to try and save them from going in the skip

and see if I can make something out of them.

Would it be OK to take them away?

-By all means, yes.

-I'm going to say thank you so much

-and I'll be in touch.

-OK, thank you.

Sarah walks away with four teak legs.

I'm stumped as to what she'll do with them.

Maldwyn, what about you, mate?

She could make another stool or something, I suppose,

or a small chair? A baby's chair?

Good thinking, but whatever it becomes,

folks will have to go gaga over it.

Well, they might not be very big and they might be broken,

but actually these have got heaps of potential

because they've just got style. There's something about them,

I don't know if it's their mid-century charm,

but there's money to be made out of these little beauties

and there is a whole list of people

who I think would like to get their hands on them.

And at the top of that list are Lorna and Clinton, the Junk Gypsies.

This pair are truly on board the eco-locomotive,

steaming down the tracks to a greener future.

Combining Lorna's upholstery skills and Clinton's design talents,

they deliver quality, handmade furniture

with that steampunk feel that's very on trend.

Using salvaged material gives you an opportunity

to not just be cleaner and greener,

but it gives you a chance to preserve pieces of history.

We are like yin and yang.

I love all the soft, fluffy, warm, clean side of it, and Clinton...

I just love the rust and the dirt and the grime,

but, actually, the collaboration of the two,

that's what makes our small company work.

We work well together, don't we, love?

And what better to give them a run for their money

than a pair of old legs.

That's two items now saved from the skip, but where is Sarah?

Ah, having a rest, are you?

You've got one more item to find.

I know, I'm allowed a break occasionally, you know.

It's quite exhausting trying to find all this rubbish.

Yeah, yeah, poor you(!)

Come on, then, on your feet.

-OK.

-The cheek!

And she's heading straight for Ian's chairs,

hopefully not for another sit down.

Ian and Sarah have met before at the tip,

but will she like what he's got this time?

How have you managed to get all that lot in one car?

A little Nissan, yes, I know, I'm surprised myself.

You must be clearing out a house if you've got this much.

Yes, I am, it's my father's house.

He's gone into a nursing home now so the house has got to be emptied.

-And that's your job, is it?

-I got the short straw, yes.

He has got a really 1970s kind of purple and green thing going on.

Trapped in the '70s, most definitely.

Oh, wow, I like that.

It was used every day up until he went into the nursing home.

I love it. Does that one work as well?

-It should do, yes.

-Oh, look at that.

I like the chairs. Can I just have a look at these green ones?

Yes, yes.

Wow!

Look at that. I'm loving it already.

-Can I take them away?

-Yes, certainly.

I'd rather see them used than thrown away.

-Brilliant, you've made my day, thank you.

-You're welcome.

It's easy to forget how emotional a trip to the tip can be,

often making it harder to have that much needed clear out.

I'm really sad to see them go,

because I've got a lot of memories of my dad around them, so...

Yeah, it would be nice to see something done special with these

rather than throw them in that skip over there.

Don't worry, Ian, you can trust Sarah to look after them.

What a fantastically retro set of table and chairs!

Three chairs, a very useful table,

these will fit into the smallest flat or the biggest house.

I think these are going to look enchanting.

That's all three items collected.

Johnny, Tom, and Rosie have the desk to make over,

the teak legs are off to Lorna and Clinton,

leaving Sarah to work on the table and three chairs.

Well, I've run the gauntlet at the recycling centre today

and now I'm going to make haste with my waste

because I think the moneymaking marathon is just about to begin.

Crystal Palace in south London,

an area that straddles five of the city's boroughs

and it is a hub of independent art galleries,

book shops and furniture boutiques.

It's a perfect home for furniture restorers Rosie, Johnny and Tom.

Sarah is heading their way with the desk from the tip.

Hopefully, it will be right up their street.

I'm kind of hoping to get something that has got a bit of age to it,

something we can kind of give a new lease of life to and hopefully...

-Make a good profit.

-Yeah, yeah.

Come and see.

Time for them to see the goods.

-What do you reckon?

-Yeah, nice!

Remember - bend from the knees.

So, what do you think?

-It's great, it looks really good.

-Yeah, it's cool.

So, when I saw it in the tip,

I just thought it would be lovely

to try and bring it back to its former glory.

Nothing too complicated,

because I think the design of it and the details,

it's got these beautiful angles, it's got those lovely legs,

it's even got lovely positioning of the hand-pull there, so you can...

The whole thing I just thought was lovely.

Can you make it just sing again?

I'd say strip it completely,

strip all the old finish off it and then just refinish it, basically.

I think it shouldn't need too much else.

It just needs to be taken back to what it would have been,

which is just a really amazing piece of furniture, really nice design.

It has got one really obvious fault, though - it's got a terrible repair.

-Yeah, it's pretty crude.

-And how would you repair it?

We'll take these metal pieces off and we'll repair it with some wood,

we'll have to let some wood in and then shape it

so that it bridges this damage.

That sounds like quite a lot of work, but it is doable?

-Yeah.

-I think it sounds worse, and it looks worse, than it possibly is.

-At the moment, it looks worse.

-Yeah.

The plan, then, is to completely strip the desk and legs,

sand them down and apply a fresh new finish.

The broken leg will get properly fixed

and that unsightly metal bracket will be banished for good.

What is that going to cost to bring it back to its former glory?

Well, we're thinking around 300-320.

-Yeah.

-All in.

Fantastic, I'm so pleased you're going to take it on.

I hope it comes out amazingly.

-Give me a shout when it's done.

-Thanks.

Sometimes in this game, it's all about bringing things back to life

rather than completely re-purposing them.

I'm really looking forward to seeing back

the contrast that would have been on it.

It's going to look quite different.

Well, that is just so exciting.

I think that desk is now in the best possible hands

and I'm hoping for a subtle, but really beautiful transformation.

For £320, Tom, Johnny and Rosie are hoping

to bring the desk back to former glory.

But I reckon that broken leg might be more tricky than they think.

Over to Dodford, a tiny hamlet in Worcestershire,

founded by members of the Chartist movement

to give working-class families land

in the hope that they could make an honest living,

which is exactly what the Junk Gypsies do in their barn here.

With Lorna's expertise in upholstery

and Clinton's mastery of woodwork and metal,

they are the perfect pair to take on Sarah's teak sofa legs.

Definitely, I like to work with old pieces,

lots of character in them - holes, dents, dings, rust...

-Dirt.

-Dirt, yeah, that's where I'm at. I'm dirty.

Easy, now.

Well, I've come to see Lorna and Clinton

with my salvaged sofa pieces.

I'm hoping they come up with an idea with legs

and I can walk away with a profit.

-Hello?

-Hey, Sarah.

Hi, guys, how you doing?

-Good, are you?

-Very well. That's nice, isn't it?

Just a little lamp I'm working on.

Hey, I've got something for you.

-OK.

-What do you reckon to those?

So, where's the rest of it?

No, that's your lot, I'm afraid, Clinton.

I have been thinking...

Go on, what were you thinking?

I was wondering about perhaps making a big long bench

and you doing some upholstery on the top, but I'm open to offers.

Like some sort of sofa?

Yeah, or an ottomany kind of thing.

I've got a little idea I could run by you.

-Go on, then.

-I've got this trough.

You could potentially even have a little look at that.

-What do you reckon?

-Sounds good.

An old water trough - what on earth are you thinking, Clinton?

Maybe we could do a shelving system, something like that.

I would slightly worry about it being a bit top-heavy.

Any chance we could try it the other way?

-Flip it up?

-Maybe sideways.

-OK.

-Do you want to put it up here?

-Yeah, let's do that.

-OK.

Mind your backs.

OK.

Oh, OK, so you're thinking more of a sideboard,

a TV unit-type situation?

I've hidden it, I've hidden it. It's there.

What do you think of that?

Yeah, I think it's cool.

It's even got a hole ready-made for wires.

Would you put shelves or anything inside it?

I'm thinking a nice, just one wooden shelf.

Like a single floating shelf in the middle.

What about something like this?

That is looking good.

This rustic, hip sideboard is not to everyone's taste

but architectural salvage pieces like this are getting more popular.

Can you give me a price for this one and then a price for a bigger one?

Maybe 170 on that.

I think 170's cool. What about a big one?

Cos I know these come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

We've got one that's probably twice the size of this.

Now, maybe we could do that for, all in, £300?

I always like things when they're big.

I think that if you're going to make an impact,

you might as well go for it.

If you're going to make the effort to put the legs on the end,

let's do it. Let's go large.

-What do you think, Lorna?

-Erm, I think I'm with Sarah,

like something big.

Big is always better, isn't it?

Mmm, but just how big is "big"?

£300 for a unique and big sideboard.

-Deal.

-Great!

I love it when a plan comes together.

-Give me a shout when it's ready.

-OK.

-Bye!

As Lorna is an upholsterer and there's no fabric in the plan,

it will be Clinton tackling this project by himself.

I'm super-excited about working with Sarah's legs.

But I think this is a project I'm going to have to work on on my own.

-No problem.

-Obviously with some expert guidance from Lorna.

-Yeah.

Well, things evolved really quickly in there.

I think I might just have commissioned

the world's first water trough sideboard,

but I think it sounds amazing.

Going big, and now I'm going home.

Going home? I don't think so, there's work to be done.

For £300, Lorna and Clinton will use the teak sofa legs

to create a water trough sideboard.

Fingers crossed going big doesn't create too many weight issues

for those fine legs.

Sarah's back home in Sussex, where she's about to start work

on the yellow Formica-covered table and three chairs

that she rescued from the tip.

The more I look at this, the more I like it

and it's because I like it

that I think I'm just going to do a subtle transformation on this.

I don't want to cut it in half,

I'm not looking to make a bench out of the chairs,

but what I'd like to do is clean it up,

paint it up and 'luxe it up a little bit.

Better get scrubbing then, Sarah.

She is using cream cleaner on the old Formica.

Formica laminate, to be precise,

is a heat resistant wipe clean plastic coating

commonly used for table tops and work surfaces.

Well, thankfully the top here is really not in bad condition

because this has been probably knocking around

since about the late '50s, early '60s.

It would be really difficult to recover this

or to paint over the top of it.

So, I'm pleased that it's coming up all right.

The Formica seems to have stood the test of time.

The same can't be said about the wood, though.

I really want a crisp, lovely edge to this table,

but I can't tell if it's going to get any better than that.

Sarah is going to paint the woodwork

and it's always best to make sure as much dust and dirt is removed

before you get your paintbrush out.

Looking good, Sarah.

There's one thing that's bothering me, though.

There are three chairs here and it looks to me like one is missing,

so I think I'm going to take one away

and just concentrate on having a lovely table and a pair of chairs.

Okey-dokey! Sarah starts to take the covers off the seats

to see if the padding underneath is still usable.

I'm just going to use my spare chair seat

to find out exactly what is going on under here,

to see if it's worth covering these or starting again.

They could have used anything as padding back then.

What's the verdict?

Old-fashioned, I think material-based stuffing,

like a cotton, so that's really good.

With a layer of fireproof calico over the top of that,

I've got myself a really smart seat base

without spending too much money.

To meet modern safety standards, you need to use a fire retardant layer

when reupholstering old material.

Sarah is using a type of calico which costs about £5 a roll.

So it's out with her trusty staple gun

to secure it to the old seat filling

and then a few quick trims and, hey, presto,

it's ready for a new velvet seat cover,

which Sarah still has to make.

Then she needs to line the other seat filling

and paint the chairs and table.

Best let her get on with it, then.

Sarah has spent just £20 on the fire retardant material

and the new seat covers that she is still to make.

She's got a long way to go,

but hopefully it's shaping up to be a winner.

Time to catch up with Tom, Johnny and Rosie

in their south London workshop,

where they are starting work on refurbishing that old desk.

-Shall we get started then?

-Yeah, cool.

Tom will strip the unit ready for a new finish,

Rosie will do the same to the legs

and Johnny is taking the old metal bracket off the broken leg

and will be repairing that properly.

Just going to examine the extent of how sort of bad the break is.

It's definitely fixable.

It's just it's not the best break we were hoping for

cos it looks like it's been broken once or twice before

so there's quite a lot of wood missing.

It doesn't really hold, when you put it back in place.

But with some clamping and a jig made up,

we can get it back together.

First, Johnny needs to clean off any old glue and he's using hot water.

If it's an animal-based glue, it should dissolve easily.

While he does that, it's Tom's job

to strip the old finish from the unit.

So I'm just putting on my stripping outfit now.

STRIPTEASE MUSIC PLAYS

This desk isn't a Chippendale just yet,

but I reckon Tom's got what it takes to shake his stuff.

Take it all off, Tom.

So I'm just coating up the top here with this stripper,

which will dissolve the old finish

and make it kind of bubble up

and lift out of the grain of the wood.

Stripping the unit bare should get rid of surface scratches

and Rosie is also giving the legs the full Monty.

We've decided to do this just because all the marks and stuff,

we just thought touching them in won't look good,

so we'd better just redo them and it'll match the whole,

like, newly restored look of the whole piece.

The paint is coming off really nicely so it's not too hard a task.

You lucked out on that one, Rosie.

Look how much Tom has to scrape off.

Quite a bit of that finish has come off,

which is good so I'm just going to go over it with wire wool next.

The coarser the wire wool, the better

to really get into the grooves

and always go with the grain for a smoother finish.

And talking of a smooth finish...

It's pretty much finished.

Just neutralising the stripper with methylated spirits,

just to make sure that when we put the paint on,

it doesn't re-bubble up and strip off again.

Yeah, looking good.

Johnny is now working on the fix for the broken leg.

He's made oak splints to apply pressure to each end of the leg

to create a smooth joint.

So the idea, in theory,

is that when we get this leg cleaned up and we can stick a clamp

on the bottom here and get the right pressure in the right places,

to give us the best possible chance of going back sort of neatly.

Looks like there's still plenty to do

to get this old thing back to its former glory.

Rosie has still got the legs to paint,

Tom's got a fresh finish to apply

and Johnny's got to sort that wonky leg.

Back in Dodford, near Worcester,

Clinton is about to start work on the sideboard.

He's working on his own for this, as he is the metal and wood expert.

The plan is to attach the teak legs to an old farmyard trough

and Sarah asked for a large one.

Boy, oh, boy, that is definitely large.

This is the bigger trough that I was telling Sarah about.

Sarah hasn't seen this one, but we dug it out,

we've done a little bit of a clean-up for it

and this is the one that hopefully we'll impress her with.

It certainly is impressive.

First things first, though,

he needs to drill holes ready to attach the legs.

When drilling into metal, eye protection is highly recommended

and when dealing with heavy items like a trough,

probably best to have adequate footwear on,

like steel toe capped boots,

rather than flip-flops.

Best not to copy Clinton.

So, we can just basically see how it's going to look.

So we use a washer to spread the weight.

The legs are made of very strong teak

so can take the weight of the trough,

but Clinton needs to use those washers,

otherwise the pressure on the joints

could be enough to rip the bolts out of the wood.

With the washers, the sideboard won't fall apart,

and it won't be falling over,

as Clinton has a plan to keep it balanced.

These two holes are going to give it double strength on each side,

but it will also, hopefully, when it stands,

it'll have a little bit of give, so when you actually do knock it,

it will have a little bit of bounce to stop it actually cracking,

as opposed to something being so rigid that when you push it,

it just snaps.

Time to see if it all works, then.

All right.

Success. Those fittings work perfectly.

This architectural-salvage look

wouldn't look right in my front room,

but it's completely on-trend and Clinton is cracking on,

staying true to the plan.

Always try to work with what the material, and the features that the

material, has to offer,

I try literally to keep all the things as authentic as we can.

Clinton has still got the shelves to make and wants to put

panelling up on the back of the trough, for safety,

as it's full of rusty holes.

For this, he'll be using wood from a table that used to be a door.

Talk about repurposing.

He'll also be using some longer pieces from an old ladder.

If I can get it right with the wood and it all comes together nicely at

the end, I think Sarah is going to absolutely love it.

But if it's wrong and there's too much chunks missing

and dents and stuff,

I don't think it's going to work, so it's kind of in the balance.

You're not wrong there, Clinton.

I can't wait to see how your water trough sideboard turns out.

Time to head back to Sarah's in West Sussex,

where she's adding the final splashes of colour to the table

and two chairs.

-That's better.

-Let's have a look then, shall we?

From junkyard trash to retro smash,

the vintage Formica surface has cleaned up beautifully.

The yellow now contrasts with the dark green and orange paintwork

on the table legs and chairs.

Sarah used acrylic eggshell paint, which gives that sharp, crisp look,

and for a touch of lush,

she's covered the seat pads in a black velvet.

All in all, a striking and distinct makeover.

The colours make the whole thing stand out like a cool and funky

tropical insect. I think that's a good thing.

Now all that's left is for Sarah to grab some snaps and sell it online.

Well, it's certainly had a face-lift, hasn't it?

It's bright. It's now got a really hard-wearing, durable finish,

luxury velvet seat pads and this is going to fit into all sorts of

different places. Just need to get it sold.

Sarah rescued the table and chairs from Ian's boot.

You must be clearing out a house.

Yes, I am, yes, my father's house.

He's gone into a nursing home now, so...

-Oh, dear.

-The house has got to be emptied.

-And that's your job, is it?

-I got the short straw, yes.

Ian was more than happy to let Sarah give them a brand-new lease of life.

They've got a lot of memories of me dad around them, so, yeah,

it would be nice to see something done special with these.

Don't worry, Ian.

They're definitely something special now.

The table and chair set sold very quickly to a private buyer,

who saw them on Sarah's Facebook page.

Sarah has travelled to Walsall,

to show Ian the transformation and hand over the profit.

-Hello.

-Hello there. Nice to see you again.

-How are you doing?

-All right, thank you very much.

I'm here today to catch up about the table and chairs.

-Do you remember those in your dad's house?

-I certainly do, yeah.

I've seen them for quite a long time.

I suppose you could say they were dated,

but you could also say they were retro.

Did you wonder how we might update them or try and make some money

-out of them?

-Well, I'd be amazed if you could do anything with them,

-to be honest.

-It was actually me who worked on the table and chairs.

-Brilliant.

-I've got some pictures here, to show you how it ended up.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

-Oh, no!

-Is that "Oh, no, oh, yes", or, "Oh, no, oh, no!"

That's good, yeah, that's brilliant.

-Do you recognise it?

-No, no, I wouldn't have, no.

I think that's brilliant. That's excellent.

So I've sold them.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

-Oh, right.

-I've got profit.

-Oh, no!

-How much do you think?

-50p.

50p!

I've got 200 quid for you.

-You're joking.

-No.

No! Thank you.

-That's amazing.

-What are you going to do with 200 quid?

I'll probably try and fight the children and the wife for it,

but lose the battle, as always.

It will come in very handy.

-Lovely to catch up with you.

-Thank you ever so much.

I hope you have a nice time with that.

I'm sure I'll manage to get £10 out of it.

Well, you take a tenner from me and it was lovely to see you again.

-Bye-bye.

-Brilliant. Thank you very much, thank you.

Bye, then.

Sarah spent just £20 on the velvet material and paint

for the table and chairs.

She sold them for a cracking £220,

giving Ian a whopping £200 to share with the family.

Sarah is back in Crystal Palace to see the refurbished desk

that Johnny, Tom and Rosie have been working on.

Tom is giving it a last-minute polish.

Hurry up, she'll be here in a minute.

Are they pleased with the way it's turned out?

Yes, it's come up exactly how we wanted it to.

-Yeah.

-It's a really, really nice piece.

We're really happy with it.

I think she'll like it. Feeling pretty confident.

I'm here to pick up my designer desk. It needed TLC.

It had a nasty fracture to the leg

and I'm hoping it's had some serious cosmetic surgery.

Well, if it's rejuvenation you're looking for, how about this one?

The desk has now been brought back to life in all its original glory.

After being completely stripped and sanded,

complementing shades of wood now offer a stunning contrast between

the veneered walnut of the main unit and the European ash of the drawers.

Both have been lovingly treated with Danish oil,

which gives a gorgeous low sheen.

The teak legs have been given a classy, glossy black shellac finish

and the broken one has been expertly fixed and sanded,

so the join is invisible.

But what will Sarah think?

Hello.

Oh, my word.

Isn't it fantastic?

-Yeah.

-Oh, guys, it is amazing.

Doesn't it look cool? The brass and all the bits.

It came up really nice.

-Do you love it?

-Yeah, we really love it.

We're going to be sad to see it go.

-Kind of want to buy it ourselves.

-Yeah.

It looks just in mint condition.

Wow, it's amazing, and the broken leg, you don't even notice.

-Which one was it?

-It's this one here.

-You'd never know.

-No.

That is a serious, serious restoration.

I'm so pleased. It feels like it's perfect now.

Yeah, it pretty much is.

-Absolutely is.

-How much has it cost to make something look like that?

We stuck to budget, didn't we? So 320, we said.

Obviously including materials.

I can't thank you enough for making it look like that,

because I think it's fantastic.

Yeah.

Sarah is over the moon, and no wonder.

It's a job well done by Tom, Johnny and Rosie.

This piece sort of sums up exactly what all three of us love doing,

you know, uncovering something that's kind of been hidden

from years of just, you know, being used,

so to be able to sort of present this to Sarah and, you know,

and we're so proud of it as well.

It's just been a really nice piece to work on.

How good was that?

Those guys clearly loved working on that piece

and what they have created with that finish, well, it's amazing.

I'm going to go all-out to sell that for a proper profit.

Sarah rescued the desk from the back of Graham's hatchback.

What is that part of?

It's part of a desk

with drawers, so that it's both sides and front.

That is a fabulous piece of furniture.

I would love to save it before it hits the skip.

I wouldn't be against that at all,

if you can do something worthwhile with it.

Graham was happy for Sarah to take it away for a bit of TLC.

Essentially, it's a solid piece of furniture other than the broken leg,

so I'd imagine Sarah can, yeah, do a good refurb on that.

I think Graham is in for a wonderful surprise

when he sees how good that update has been.

Unsurprisingly, it's been bought by a retro shop in Hertford.

And owner Hannah is over the moon

with the new addition to her shop floor.

This is a really nice piece of furniture.

It's been well finished.

I love the style of it.

It's great. I don't think I'll have any problem at all selling this one.

Good to hear. And Sarah is now in Walsall

to tell Graham how much profit she's made from his old desk.

-Hi there, Graham.

-Sarah, hello. Hello, good to see you.

-How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

Well, I was so excited when I met you at the recycling centre

and saw what was coming out of your boot.

It was a great desk, wasn't it?

Yes, fascinating to see what's happened to this piece of furniture.

I've actually had it restored and I've got some pictures here

to show you how it now looks, in its new state.

Oh, wow.

-That's amazing.

-What do you think?

-Yeah, wonderful.

-There's good news that it's sold.

-Good, OK.

-And it has gone on,

it's actually been bought by a shop who will go on to retail it.

It will end up in pride of place in somebody's house,

so I've got some money here for you.

-OK, thank you.

-I have got a little £90 windfall for you.

Oh, splendid, thank you very much.

-That's wonderful.

-£90 that you weren't expecting.

What are you going to do with that?

Well, we have a house refurbishment going on here,

so I think it'll help us on the way, won't it?

-That will be wonderful.

-Refurbishing your house is like

having a bottomless pit, isn't it?

-It is.

-So hopefully that will go some way into that pit.

-It'll help, thank you.

-Lovely, thank you so much.

I know you were very busy when I met you at the recycling centre,

so I appreciate that too.

-Lovely to have caught up, Graham.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

The desk cost £320 to renovate.

The retro shop bought it for £410.

That's a healthy profit of £90

for Graham to spend on his house refurbishment.

Sarah is in Dodford in Worcester,

to see how the old farmyard water trough

has been transformed into a sideboard.

Clinton did all the work, but Lorna has joined him for the big reveal.

Really excited about Sarah seeing the finished article.

-Yeah. A little bit nervous.

-Yeah, quite nervous.

Obviously it's not to everyone's taste, agricultural salvage,

but I really like the simplicity of it,

so I hope that she just buys into that type of feel, so...

You'll find out soon enough, Clinton.

Well, I dropped off a little pair of sofa legs to Lorna and Clinton

and I'm back to see if the plan has come off, because they promised big,

they promised brilliant and I'm just hoping they've pulled it off.

Let's take a look, shall we?

Once a pair of unwanted teak sofa legs, but now...

..a bespoke sideboard.

It's a striking, bold design.

The rough metal perfectly complements the smooth teak legs.

And the trough's rust has been celebrated rather than hidden away.

Finishing off the desirable rustic look

are the reclaimed wooden shelf and back panelling.

This kind of architectural salvage furniture is massively popular.

And Clinton hopes it will make a striking centrepiece

to any hip living room or cool watering hole,

but what will Sarah make of it?

-Hi.

-Hello.

-How are you?

Clinton, it's enormous.

Oh, isn't it beautiful?

-Do you like it?

-I love it.

-Genuinely?

-Yeah, I absolutely love it.

I've tried my hardest just to keep it simple,

because, I think, because of the bulkiness of it, if you try

and overcomplicate, putting whistles and bells on it everywhere,

I didn't think it would work.

I think you've honoured where it's come from.

We're not trying to get away from the fact

that this is a rustic farm trough with that interior in it,

and wherever that's going,

it's going to have to have some real hipster vibe anyway,

so they're going to love that.

It's a thumbs up from Sarah,

but how much did the project cost in the end?

The condition of the trough wasn't as bad as I thought it was,

so we managed to save a little bit of money,

so, as opposed to it being £300, it's £285.

Oh, that's fantastic all-round. Isn't that good?

Sarah is overjoyed with the price

and delighted with the finished sideboard. She heads off happy.

How were Lorna and Clinton feeling?

I'm really glad she loves it, really glad.

It's made it all worth it and I was a bit worried about how simple

it actually looked, so I'm glad she bought into that theory.

Well, I reckon they really pulled that off.

You're either going to love it or hate it,

but as a piece of recycling and salvage, it's a lovely design,

and when it comes to sales,

I think that might be more of a peak than a trough.

The teak legs were saved from the back of Maldwyn's car.

What have you done with the rest of it, then?

I carved it into relief carvings and things like that.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-That's fantastic.

I have to say, I'm really rather taken by your legs.

Well, there we go.

LAUGHTER

Maldwyn had a few ideas of his own for what Sarah could do with them.

She could make another stool or something, I suppose,

or a small chair, a baby's chair.

Furniture was in the right ballpark.

This rustic sideboard is a true one-off.

And it's been bought by a hotel in Chichester.

Front of house staff member Ben thinks it'll fit in nicely.

What a great item this is.

So well-built, fits in with the whole country feel.

It's just amazing.

Sarah is in Aldridge in Walsall to tell Maldwyn how much he made

from his old teak legs.

Hello again.

-Hello, good morning.

-How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

-Really nice to see you.

I said I'd come and find you,

because when I saw you at the tip,

I loved the look of your legs the moment I saw them!

They went to a fantastic couple called the Junk Gypsies,

who specialise in taking things like your legs and mixing them up with

old materials to make new stuff,

so here's a picture of how your legs have ended up.

-Good Lord.

-They have been...

-Wonderful.

-..put on the end of an enormous trough to make a sideboard.

A trough, yes, I can see that.

-Yes, that's excellent.

-What do you think?

I think it's marvellous. I'm impressed.

It's a very rustic piece of furniture.

It's huge.

It's gone to a beautiful pub in West Sussex

and they have a lovely, big, rustic, country interior

and that old trough sideboard has fitted in perfectly.

Well done, well, there we go, then.

A great place for you to go and visit,

if you ever need to catch up with your legs again.

It sold at a profit.

Well, that's excellent, isn't it?

£80 here for you, for your legs.

Wow, well, that's something, yes.

What are you been to do with that £80?

-I'm going to give it to the National Children's Home.

-Oh, fantastic.

Well, I was throwing it away, wasn't I? They might as well have it.

Lovely. Well, I'm so pleased it's going there.

-Yes.

-Thank you very much for letting me have your legs

and there is a great pub in West Sussex where you can have...

West Sussex, I'll try and remember that.

-I'll...

-Thank you very much.

-So nice to catch up.

-Yes, really good.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye, now.

Sarah spent £285 on the sideboard

and she sold it for £365.

That's a great profit for Maldwyn to give

to the charity known as Action for Children.

Sarah saved three unwanted items from being thrown in the tip

and with a bit of elbow grease and lots of love and attention,

they have been transformed and given a whole new life.

Well, three fantastic finds that were about to be binned

have been transformed into unique and valuable items.

And what's more, we made some money for nothing along the way.