0:00:03 > 0:00:09Across the country, empty properties that could be homes are just waiting to be brought back into use.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14I'll be finding out why and what you need to do to rescue a house for yourself.
0:00:14 > 0:00:20Along the way, I'll do some digging of my own to find out more about our housing stock, our heritage
0:00:20 > 0:00:25and why we should be both reinventing and preserving Britain's empty homes.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37Finding a vacant property at the right price in the right area is only half the battle.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Once you've got your hands on an empty shell, the real work begins
0:00:41 > 0:00:46because pulling an empty property back from the brink can be a real labour of love.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52'On today's show, a couple from Sussex who have got big plans to transform an empty property
0:00:52 > 0:00:56'into a dual-purpose building - a home and a business.'
0:00:56 > 0:01:02We're putting our life savings into doing it up, so if it fails, then we'll be in serious trouble.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08'An innovative group of artists who are turning disused warehouses into live-work spaces.'
0:01:08 > 0:01:13It was a bit like a war zone. There were people doing very dodgy things down here.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15A sort of area people wouldn't want to walk down.
0:01:15 > 0:01:21'And an Empty Property Officer on a mission to get derelict buildings lived in again.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:25It's been empty for so long, so I'm really excited about seeing it.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30'Hairdressers Simon Eden and Caroline Matthews had long aspired
0:01:30 > 0:01:34'to live in the seaside town of Brighton
0:01:34 > 0:01:39'and a chance meeting with a property developer led them to their dream premises there.'
0:01:39 > 0:01:41He came in for a haircut
0:01:41 > 0:01:46and I was just discussing how there was a lot of empty commercial properties,
0:01:46 > 0:01:52then suddenly he went, "I'm a property developer and I've got several properties I want to sell."
0:01:52 > 0:01:56'So the ambitious hairdressers took him up on his offer
0:01:56 > 0:02:01'and found an empty property in an up-and-coming part of Brighton that ticked all the boxes
0:02:01 > 0:02:05'with both a work space for a hair salon and a living space above.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:11To take on an empty property is really nice and it's an opportunity to make the area better.
0:02:11 > 0:02:18I'm really passionate about that and making sure we can do something a bit better for the environment.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21'With the ground floor of the building set to be their business,
0:02:21 > 0:02:26'Simon and Caroline need to complete the salon quickly, so they can earn money,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'but when they got started, structural problems appeared.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:33I knew this was going to be the biggest problem that we'd done.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37When the cracks started to appear, I thought to myself,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41"Perhaps this is a bit bigger than we budgeted for
0:02:41 > 0:02:46"and maybe we haven't got the skills to go forward with it."
0:02:46 > 0:02:52'By the time Simon and Caroline realised the true state of the building,
0:02:52 > 0:02:58'they had already spent ?308,000 buying the premises, but they've got to make this work.'
0:02:58 > 0:02:59At stake is our life savings.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04I've sold both my businesses, barber shops, to buy this premises
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and we're putting our life savings into doing it up,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12so if it fails, then we'll be in serious trouble.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19'Simon and Caroline are ready to overhaul the building
0:03:19 > 0:03:23'that will house their business and provide their dream Brighton home.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27'Hopefully, I can help them figure out their next step in the process.'
0:03:27 > 0:03:32I'm Joe. Caroline, nice to meet you. Simon, how are you? Fine, thank you.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Tell me about your property. Three floors and a basement. Wow, four levels!
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Yeah. What's the history of it? What sort of period does it date back to?
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Probably about 1800. Yeah?
0:03:43 > 0:03:47How long has it been empty? Do you know? A few months. How exciting!
0:03:47 > 0:03:52You've got the keys and scaffolding up. Shall we look at what you've been doing? Yeah.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57'Simon and Caroline have put everything on the line to fulfil this dream,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01'having sold two other properties and used their entire life savings,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05'but they're brimming with ideas and plans are under way.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:09This is a great space. What's the big dream here?
0:04:09 > 0:04:12The overall dream is to have a salon which we can live above,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15so we won't have to go so far to work in the morning.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19A live-work space. This would be the salon, would it? Yeah.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24What do you want to do with it? Is it big enough for a salon? I don't know how salons work.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29We'll have to take the chimneys out, otherwise we couldn't manage to fit it all in.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31You want this all to be open-plan.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36So you've got to get rid of these supports and have some steelwork in.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Did you know that when you took the place on? Was that a surprise?
0:04:40 > 0:04:45It was a bit of a surprise, yes. We didn't know that steelwork was going to be necessary.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'But that wasn't the only problem.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53'The walls were made from some unusual material specific to the Brighton area.'
0:04:53 > 0:04:58We found the bungaroosh walls are not quite as good as they were when they were put up.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00You've got bungaroosh here? Yeah.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05That's stripped down the back? That's a good example. It's a funny material.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09It's basically lime pressed in with anything they could find,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14stones or flint from the Downs or broken bricks. Is that what you're seeing here?
0:05:14 > 0:05:18It seems to be layers of flint built up between brick piers. Yeah.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23Tell me about your experience. Is this the only kind of project like this you've taken on?
0:05:23 > 0:05:26This project is not our first project,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30but our other stuff's been more like decorating compared to this.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33What's the scariest bit about creating a salon?
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Getting things in the right place because once they're there, you can't move them
0:05:38 > 0:05:43and you need enough space for you and your client. You don't want to feel cramped at all.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'With plans afoot to reconfigure the ground floor into a hair salon,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51'they need to turn their attention to the living space upstairs.'
0:05:51 > 0:05:55This floor and the floor above, this is going to be your home,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57a two-storey flat effectively? Yeah.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01How will it be laid out? This will still be the living room.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06We'll knock through this wall and have a big, open-plan living room and kitchen.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Then upstairs, you've got two bedrooms? Yeah.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13One's really big, so we're thinking that we can have an en-suite
0:06:13 > 0:06:18or perhaps split the upstairs into a bathroom and two bedrooms. Wow!
0:06:18 > 0:06:22That's quite a lot to take on, isn't it? Yeah.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27We walked past a bath in the corridor. That's presumably not plumbed in? It is plumbed in.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32We've got to use the bath there. It's the only place we've got to wash.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Wow! That's quite open-plan bathing.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Do you need permission to turn it into a salon or to live up here?
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Yeah, we did have to change it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45Yeah, we had to get a "change of use" on the office part to make it residential again
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and permission to remove the chimneys as well.
0:06:48 > 0:06:54How quickly do you hope... Realistically, how long do you think it will take you to do this?
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I think probably at least six months, maybe more.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Six months for the salon or for the whole project? The salon.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Do you like to work to a budget or do you prefer not to have a budget?
0:07:05 > 0:07:10I'd like to stick to our budget and get as much work done as possible for 50,000.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13It seems quite tight to me, 50,000. It is.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17That's why we're doing quite a lot of the work ourselves to save money.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Have you got experience in doing this kind of thing?
0:07:21 > 0:07:27I worked as a builder when I was younger, so I have a bit of hands-on experience. OK.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31'Even with Simon's experience, a renovation on this scale,
0:07:31 > 0:07:37'encompassing a two-bedroom, split-level flat and a business premises all on such a tight budget,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39'is not for the faint-hearted.'
0:07:39 > 0:07:44Guys, you've got a huge amount ahead of you, but what are your key concerns?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Not letting the project drag out,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49not letting the builders run behind,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54making sure they turn up when they say they will and sticking to budget.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58It will be good to meet another couple who have been through this.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02They haven't taken on a salon, that's a specific challenge for you,
0:08:02 > 0:08:07but they have renovated a period property, so they can answer lots of these problems
0:08:07 > 0:08:13about how you get the look and feel right, how you balance the heritage with the modern use of a property,
0:08:13 > 0:08:19but also how you project-manage, how you keep things ticking along, keep it within budget,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and, most importantly for your salon, on time as well.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Does that sound useful? Great. Fantastic. Brilliant.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32Buildings of all kinds can become unoccupied and empty for many different reasons.
0:08:32 > 0:08:38With hundreds of thousands left vacant across the country, it's the job of Empty Property Officers
0:08:38 > 0:08:40to bring them back into use.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44That's just what Andy Emerson does for Thanet Council in Kent.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48He and the team restore around 120 properties a year
0:08:48 > 0:08:51and he's on his way to visit his latest project.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56Today, I'm going to visit a property which has been empty for over a year.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01The landlord at the time fell into financial difficulty and he decided to sell it
0:09:01 > 0:09:05and the council actually bought the property at auction.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10It was reported to us by the Margate Task Force as being empty for over a year,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15so we decided to purchase it for the Margate Housing Intervention Project.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21Before it was abandoned, this late Victorian era terrace had been divided into 13 bedsits.
0:09:21 > 0:09:27Now the council has big plans to revive the building and create more social housing.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31I'm visiting the property because we've started work on the site.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The demolition people are stripping it out. Work's going really well.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I'm meeting our surveyor Matt who's bringing the plans.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42We can discuss what the proposals are for the level of accommodation.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45It's fantastic to see what's going on here.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50It's been empty for so long, so I'm really excited about seeing it.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56Matt, the surveyor, has drawn up ambitious plans to transform the dilapidated five-storey house
0:09:56 > 0:10:00into three high-end flats, but it's still early days for this project.
0:10:00 > 0:10:06We've started the structural demolition. The soft strip's in progress. It's enabled us
0:10:06 > 0:10:12to see that there are some issues that we need to deal with, one of which is just located behind you,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15that we need the structural engineer to have a look at.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21There's quite a lot of load acting on that lintel, so it's something we need to get assessed,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24get some temporary support. Yeah, pretty quickly.
0:10:24 > 0:10:30What's the condition of the roof, now it's stripped out? I can see that some areas don't look too good.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32No, they don't, to be honest, Andy.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37It's quite clear that there's been some water penetration up in the roof,
0:10:37 > 0:10:42so it's a fair indication that the coverings aren't in particularly good condition.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45When we come over to the main walls as well,
0:10:45 > 0:10:50there's a lot of movement as well, so we need to sort of get that addressed.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54With an abandoned building of this period and size,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58there can be structural problems inside,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03but it's also essential that Matt identifies and resolves the exterior issues too.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08It's obviously allowed us to look a bit more closely at the structure again.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Unfortunately, there's a number of issues that we need to address. Yes.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Andy is pleased with the progress.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Even so, the building will stay on his books for quite some time.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23That was very positive. It won't be my last visit to the property.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26I'll come back once the contractors start on site properly
0:11:26 > 0:11:30and obviously keep an update as to how they're going on site.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35If you wish to find an empty property, there are many ways to pick one up.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40You could ask around friends and family, contact estate agents and auctioneers
0:11:40 > 0:11:46to keep abreast of run-down buildings in the area or contact your local Empty Property Officer.
0:11:48 > 0:11:54It's not just councils and organisations who are rejuvenating our forgotten houses.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00Countless numbers of people in the UK are finding ways of bringing abandoned buildings back to life
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and, in turn, this has a positive impact on the local area.
0:12:04 > 0:12:10In Yorkshire, Robin Peart and his wife Michelle were struggling to find the perfect house
0:12:10 > 0:12:14that they could renovate and turn into an eco-friendly home
0:12:14 > 0:12:18until a visit to Robin's parents' house sparked an idea.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23We were in the garden here and I was looking at the outbuilding.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I thought, "Perhaps we could live in there!"
0:12:28 > 0:12:34So they took a leap of faith and asked Robin's parents if they could turn the abandoned chicken shed
0:12:34 > 0:12:36into their dream eco-home.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42We didn't know how my mum and dad would react to us... Living in their garden, basically.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45This is what we do. We're living in their garden.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49They just had no problems at all. No. They thought, "Yeah, great idea."
0:12:49 > 0:12:54They realised straight away that it would be a very good idea.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57With that agreed, next they discussed the price.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01They sold it to us for ?1. That's right. With a slight bit of land.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The garden divided off, so we could own half the garden.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Clearly, the chicken shed was never intended to be a domestic dwelling
0:13:09 > 0:13:13and the building lies in a conservation area and borders a national park.
0:13:13 > 0:13:20All these factors combined meant Robin and Michelle spent five years gaining planning permission.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25We had to jump through hoops to get the permission to do it
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and one of them was we had to sell it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32We had to advertise it for sale for six months to make sure
0:13:32 > 0:13:38that no-one wanted to buy the property to be used for agricultural purposes.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It had to be just for agricultural use.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44I'd get a phone call every week from the estate agent saying,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48"Somebody's interested in buying your outbuilding."
0:13:48 > 0:13:51I'm like, "No!" I'd say, "What have they got?"
0:13:51 > 0:13:56They'd say this, that and the other. "It's not agricultural, so it's fine."
0:13:56 > 0:14:02With the necessary paperwork complete, the couple went on to spend ?220,000 on the project
0:14:02 > 0:14:05with Michelle managing on site every day.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It took seven months from start to finish.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12They started in the May of 2010 and they finished in the December.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18We moved in. We didn't have the under-floor on. It was minus 15. It was really cold.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21We were sat on the sofa with our duvets on thinking, "Oh, dear..."
0:14:21 > 0:14:25But anyway, it got there eventually.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The stove was fitted in time for Christmas Day. Yeah.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31We both wanted to do an eco-house.
0:14:31 > 0:14:38We both wanted to do as many eco-features as we could afford within the budget.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42That was from the off, wasn't it? It was straight from the off. Yeah.
0:14:42 > 0:14:48That's what we wanted to do. We didn't have a great deal of money, so we had to do it as cheap as possible.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52With the trials and tribulations of the renovation behind them,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Michelle and Robin can enjoy the fruits of their labour.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57There were some frustrating times,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02but we still realised that it would make a fantastic end result.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It just feels so nice and homely. It does.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08We would never have been in a place like this
0:15:08 > 0:15:13if we hadn't had the opportunity to buy it for ?1 and convert it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And your determination to see it through. My determination, yeah.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24Different shapes and sizes of empty properties have different potential.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29Some are great for living, some are great for working, some are great for both.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35'According to the Live Work Network, over 2.5 million Britons now work and live in the same space.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39'I've come to Forest Hill, South London, to meet sculptor Jeff Lowe,
0:15:39 > 0:15:46'a passionate advocate of sympathetically converting derelict buildings into live-work spaces.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'20 years ago, he led by example,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52'turning a derelict street into 12 live-work units.'
0:15:52 > 0:15:58Jeff, really nice to meet you. It's a lovely mews here. When were the buildings first built?
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Some of the buildings date back to about 1860.
0:16:02 > 0:16:08The original one that I first bought was actually an original coach house and stables underneath,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10so it had a blacksmith's there.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15The one next to it, which was the next one that I bought, similar sort of use.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19When you first came cross this mews 20 years ago...? Just over 20 years.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23What sort of state was this mews and the area in?
0:16:23 > 0:16:29It was a bit like a war zone. There were people doing very dodgy things down here. There was no lighting.
0:16:29 > 0:16:35A sort of area that people wouldn't want to walk down. What attracted you to this derelict street?
0:16:35 > 0:16:41What could you see that others couldn't? Living and working in the same building attracted me.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45And just the space. I'd spent time in New York. I'd had exhibitions.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I could see that people lived in warehouse spaces very successfully.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53And artists here, no-one had heard of it, live-work.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56So I approached Lewisham Planning Department
0:16:56 > 0:17:02and said, "What about me having planning permission to live and work in this building in Havelock Walk?"
0:17:02 > 0:17:05They initially said, "No way." They just didn't get it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09'Even as the future use of the premises hung in the balance,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12'Jeff forged ahead with restoring the mews.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'Soon after, the street became part of the Forest Hill Conservation Area
0:17:16 > 0:17:22'and after a change in the council's attitude, Jeff received permission to live and work in the mews.'
0:17:22 > 0:17:26If all this hadn't happened, what would have become of the buildings?
0:17:26 > 0:17:30A developer would have come along, knocked it all down
0:17:30 > 0:17:34and would have built the usual, bog-standard mews-style development,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38very small, cram in as much as you can into the space.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43What's interesting is if I was to compare what's happened in Havelock Walk
0:17:43 > 0:17:45with what I'm now trying to do in Brockley.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51There's a 20-year gap between the two, but it's just interesting how things have changed.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55That's happening now in Brockley? Absolutely. Can we take a look? Yes.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'Having already sparked a full street revival in Havelock Walk,
0:17:59 > 0:18:05'Jeff and some other artists are in the throes of doing the same again in another part of South London.'
0:18:05 > 0:18:07So this is Ashby Mews.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12My son, about three years ago, contacted me about a workshop here
0:18:12 > 0:18:15when I was looking for a much bigger studio.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18As soon as I saw this workshop,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21I realised that it was the perfect space.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23It's huge. It's massive.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27It's so rare to find anything with this light and everything like that.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32'Also embarking on a live-work renovation is local artist Erica
0:18:32 > 0:18:35'whose building is right next door to Jeff's.'
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Erica, tell me what you do and why this building that you've taken on was so attractive.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I'm a glass artist
0:18:42 > 0:18:48and this building is going to allow me to not only live here with my husband,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50but have an amazing workshop.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56That doesn't give you a huge pressure in terms of "I can't escape work"? No, not at all.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00You like being saturated? Yeah, completely because I don't work nine to five.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06'Erica is at the beginning of the process and has a clear plan to maximise the warehouse space.'
0:19:07 > 0:19:12On the top floor, you step up into the bedrooms which are above...
0:19:12 > 0:19:18Living space is raised up, work space is very much on the ground floor? Yes. Very functional? Yeah.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24How exciting is it that little creative buildings are popping up around you? Is that important?
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Yeah, really important. Brockley is quite an artists' community.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31There's quite a few artists that work here.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35I've lived here for many years and they've developed an artists' community
0:19:35 > 0:19:41and I'm excited about getting involved in that and doing some joint shows, that type of thing.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46I'm pleased it's worked out so well. Best of luck. Thank you. A bit of building work to go.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49I find what's happening here very inspiring.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53It can be difficult enough to renovate an individual empty property,
0:19:53 > 0:19:59but to renovate a whole street to create this creative community from scratch really is something special.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04Jeff has shown it can work in Forest Hill. You can feel the same energy here in Brockley
0:20:04 > 0:20:10and it's a great model for brownfield sites in London and for cities and towns across the country.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15'Back in East Sussex, I'm with hairdressers Simon and Caroline
0:20:15 > 0:20:22'who bought a run-down, dual-purpose building, combining space for a hair salon on the ground floor
0:20:22 > 0:20:24'with a two-storey flat above.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29'I'll introduce them to a lady who has also completely modernised a similar period property
0:20:29 > 0:20:32'to a very tight schedule.'
0:20:32 > 0:20:36This is the place I want to show you, a red-brick, Victorian terrace.
0:20:36 > 0:20:42Pretty big. First impressions? It doesn't look like it's had much work done on the outside. Very good.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Exactly. It's had a full renovation,
0:20:44 > 0:20:49but what hasn't really been touched is the outside, so it's slightly misleading.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55We'll meet Alex and Richard. Alex owns the property, but she's also an interior designer,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59so hopefully, lots of inspiration there, and Richard is the builder.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04He specialises in period properties like this, like yours and I think he'll have some good advice.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Shall we go and say hello? Yeah.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13'Alex Legendre from Shoreham in East Sussex bought this run-down, Victorian house in 2012
0:21:13 > 0:21:17'and she's completed phase one of her renovation - the interior.'
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I wanted a property that I could get my teeth into.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25I needed something that I could really push myself, push my boundaries, get physical
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and get into it and really feel like I'd really done it myself.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It was just a bit of a personal mission, I think.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38'Despite the fact that the house had been empty for some time and was in serious disrepair,
0:21:38 > 0:21:43'interiors enthusiast Alex immediately saw straight past the decrepit facade.'
0:21:43 > 0:21:47The craziest thing about finding this property was walking in,
0:21:47 > 0:21:53everything was painted dark brown, original wallpaper 100 years old, and I fell in love completely.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58I just saw what I could do, what it was going to look like, how the light was going to fall.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Everything it is now is how I envisaged it on the first day.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07'And this love was further enhanced when Alex learned more about the previous owner.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:12The guy that I bought the house from has lived here all of his life and was born upstairs.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17He's 103 and now in a nursing home and still going strong.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22His parents bought this house, I think, 105 years ago.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25It was built 123 years ago
0:22:25 > 0:22:27and he lived here all of his life.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I feel like this house was kind of brought back to life,
0:22:31 > 0:22:36so I think to kind of fill it with people again is brilliant.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38I love it. I couldn't be happier.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44'Alex bought this semi-detached house for just under ?275,000
0:22:44 > 0:22:47'and worked to a tight schedule and budget,
0:22:47 > 0:22:53'but she insists she couldn't have done it without her trusted builder Richard who has come along
0:22:53 > 0:22:55'to offer his advice to Simon and Caroline.'
0:22:55 > 0:23:02Walking into this space is incredible. You don't have a clue what awaits as soon as you step in.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04What problems does that lead to?
0:23:04 > 0:23:09These guys are taking on a building that hasn't been modernised or brought forward.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14What sort of things do you come up against in that situation with a period property?
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I think we were really lucky because everything was so untouched
0:23:18 > 0:23:21that once you removed it, there wasn't anything else.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27The main problem these guys are up against is there will be different eras where they've added to it
0:23:27 > 0:23:32and they'll have to uncover other people's mistakes in covering things up.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37You want to be as eco-friendly as possible and part of that is using reclaimed materials
0:23:37 > 0:23:43and second-hand bits and bobs, so looking around, is this a similar style to what you're envisaging?
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Similar, yeah. It's really nice that everything ties in.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51It's the consistency here? Yeah. I think that's a compliment.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Consistency and everything looking in place. It's consistent. There's nothing new in here at all.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Everything's reclaimed and reused.
0:23:59 > 0:24:05In terms of these guys, bungaroosh is in the building. How do you look after and maintain that?
0:24:05 > 0:24:09You have to be careful with bungaroosh.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14The main strength of the wall comes from the outside coating, the renders.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Do you know if it's a cement-based or lime-based render? I think it's cement-based.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24That's why it's cracking. It's moving at a different time to the wall which is much softer.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28'As a keen interior designer, Alex spent years gathering furniture,
0:24:28 > 0:24:34'as well as the knowledge she needed to confidently project-manage such a big renovation.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:39This is quite unique. Very simple, but beautifully simple. Was that the idea?
0:24:39 > 0:24:43I think budget was the idea. There wasn't a lot of budget.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47I always wanted just that space that you can hang out in and cook.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53Simon, you're looking to knock through and have an open space with dining and the kitchen.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Yeah, similar reason, really.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Yeah. Let's talk about schedule.
0:24:57 > 0:25:03Am I right in thinking you carried out this project in a ridiculously short space of time?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Yes, just a little bit. It was... How long?
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Eight weeks. Eight weeks? Pretty much. How?
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Planning. Planning and just being...
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Because I was really involved, there wasn't a day when I wasn't on site
0:25:17 > 0:25:22and there wasn't a day when anything was going on here that I wasn't part of it,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26so I kind of physically could oversee everything
0:25:26 > 0:25:28because I was the main labourer.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31This is exactly the role you want to take on. Yeah.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Project-managing, being on site and labouring to speed things up. Yeah.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41And looking at budgets, what did you think you could do a renovation like this for
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and what did it end up costing you?
0:25:43 > 0:25:47I think I was a little bit naive when I...
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Richard's smiling right now.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55When I first bought it, I had a notion that I was going to do it for about 10,000 to 12,000,
0:25:55 > 0:26:00but that was very whimsical and I was just thinking about decoration, really.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I was kind of going by everything that I thought I could afford,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08so I've had to borrow a bit more and I've spent about 22,000.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12But the estimate for the renovation was 50, so I got off very lightly.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Yeah, that's staggering.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Really great advice and a wonderful property.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21It's been a real treat to look round it, so thank you very much. Thanks.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28What did you make of that? It was beautiful, really interesting
0:26:28 > 0:26:34and great to see all the inspiration that she's had and the things that she's reused.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Yeah, it's just really beautiful.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Was that the most important bit for you, the design, the concept, the inspiration?
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Yeah, I've got to find where we're going with things and start collecting things,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48so, yeah, it's really helped.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54Simon, what did you find most useful? To just get a bit of advice on how to take the project forward.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58The fact that if I put the hours in myself, I can save a lot of money.
0:26:58 > 0:27:04I think that's key, isn't it? This actually was done for a very reasonable amount of money.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09Alex was saying, "To do that, I just had to work very hard," and you're prepared to do that as well.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Yeah. Did you get the sense that planning is key?
0:27:13 > 0:27:18That's how they managed to stay on top of this, do it quickly and make it affordable. Yeah.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22I think we'll have to put a bit of time into that planning.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Is that the next thing to tackle, to keep going over the plans?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Yeah. Get written down what's in our head.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32I hope today's been useful, some very pertinent advice there.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And fingers crossed, if you keep working hard,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40before long, that first haircut will happen in your brand-new salon. Very good luck.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44It really has been a pleasure to see this place.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49There was some great advice on how to work on a period property using sympathetic materials
0:27:49 > 0:27:53and how also to get the work done quickly, yet keep costs down.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Those details will be key for Simon and Caroline as they plough forward,
0:27:58 > 0:28:04but fingers crossed, if all goes well, very soon they'll have their dream home and their perfect salon.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd