The Big Build - Maidstone DIY SOS

Because of what I'm going through, I feel like I've had my life.

To call it a day in your life at 46, that ain't right.

'We're here to help a soldier fight the biggest battle of all...'

You seem to have it in your head

that if you can't be the man you were, you're not a good dad.

It doesn't compute.

'..to face the future stripped of the life that defined him.'

You do know they don't think any less of you because you're injured?

You know that, don't you? He thinks he's a burden to us.

I don't see him like that.

He's my dad, it doesn't matter if he's in a wheelchair or not.

'We're rebuilding a home to give a family a chance for a new beginning.'

My worst fear is that he's going to try going down the stairs

and he's going to end up in the bottom of a pile.

This is just... It's going to blow their mind.

I am so, wow, pleased.

'But it's not going to be easy.'

There is a crack that wide down the brickwork trying to break

away from the house, taking next door and everything else with it.

With just nine days to do the job,

we're going to need a small army to carry it off.

And here they are!

This is DIY SOS: The Big Build!

CHEERING

Maidstone, Kent is home to the Morris family - Mo, Jan,

and their three children, Charelle, Karissa and Jordan.

As a paratrooper for the Royal Engineers,

Mo devoted 20 years of his life to serving his country.

From war-torn Bosnia to humanitarian missions in Kenya, Mo spent

his whole career striving tirelessly to be the best of the best.

That was just my mentality. I just wanted to push all the time.

Sit-ups, press-ups, pull-ups, whatever.

I set the bar and then everyone was saying, "We've got to compete.

"We've got to beat Mo, we've got to beat Mo."

But I wouldn't let that happen.

But after two decades,

the gruelling demands of constant low-level parachute drops

started to take their toll on Mo's body.

Catastrophic nerve and ligament damage to his knees

left him in constant pain.

I kept on going, and yeah,

they eventually got me in for an op and basically all my ligaments,

crucial ligaments and everything else had just gone.

A few years down the line, they basically told me

that I'm going to be going through a medical discharge.

In one fell swoop, Mo not only lost his career, but the army

accommodation the family had called home since the children were born.

We had three children, no job, no income.

My husband was lucky enough to get a pension from the army,

but it would only just cover some of our bills.

For four years, the family struggled on in cramped,

temporary housing before scraping together every penny of Mo's

army disability pay out for a deposit on a family home.

Mo attempted to find work, but after a string of operations,

it was clear the damage to Mo's knees could not be repaired

and that doctors had done everything they could.

They've told me that I'm not going to get any better.

I've basically got to live with this and take the medication.

Because of so many operations, I've got severe nerve damage.

If I get any more operations,

I then have to resort to sitting in a wheelchair.

Mo now lives his life in constant pain,

confined to one room in a home totally

unsuitable for his needs, where even climbing the stairs to the

only loo is an excruciating ordeal.

We help Dad quite a lot.

Get around the house and getting up and down the stairs.

It's hard at times. Yeah.

My mum was having a lot of down moments. She cries a lot.

She comes home from work stressed.

It's not good for her.

But we get on with it, though.

It's clear this house is not just dragging Mo down

but the whole family, too.

They've somehow slipped through the net of support that should be

there for them from day one.

Seeing the predicament they were in, a friend of the family contacted us

on their behalf and we felt it wasn't right for anyone,

let alone a man who'd served his country, to live like this.

That's why we're here to help.

We did ask just for a downstairs toilet with the council,

and that's taken a while.

But we thought... Cos he started not drinking as much as you normally

would, because he knew that he'd have to go up and down the stairs.

Can't do that all day, though. That's what he does.

You don't drink anything all day because you can't go to the loo? Yeah.

I'm not asking for the world.

All we wanted was a downstairs toilet

so that I could go to the toilet as and when without any hassle.

I just wanted that bit of freedom for myself. Freedom and independence.

And I didn't want my kids staying in the house just to try

and help me get to the toilet.

I just wanted them to go out and enjoy themselves, because...

You do know they don't think any less of you because you're injured?

You know that, don't you?

What, my kids? Yeah.

Oh...

They understand.

We'll have a chat about this at a different time.

I try and help him as much as I can,

but there's some stuff that I'm not physically able to help him with.

Like, I went to a hospital with him

when he had his operation and getting him back after that,

I've never seen him in pain like it before.

All right? MO: Yeah.

JORDAN: The amount of times I've heard him struggle to get in the bath

and there's been a little slip and my mum's just come

running because I haven't been able to have the strength to hold him,

we'd have to get two or three of us to help.

I've learnt to get on with it and love him for who he is, really.

Having a downstairs loo may sound like a small thing,

but for this family, it will be life-changing.

But we're not stopping there.

This whole house needs to work for Mo, no matter what the future holds.

It's going to improve Mo's life

and he's going to be able to move around freely and be mobile.

It's giving him the sense of being able to do more for himself,

so that he's got his pride and his dignity.

Mo's an incredibly proud man, which I know makes it

hard for him to accept help.

As a soldier, he's done enough for others around the world.

I know it's difficult, but this time

he's just got to let us do the same for him.

Make much of a difference, then, if we can actually sort this out?

Have you seen the programme?

ALL: Yeah. OK, so you know what goes on.

Are you excited about what the potential is? Very.

'It's time to get Mo, Jan and the family off.

'We've got just nine days, as usual, and the clock is already ticking.'

All right, then? Thank you very much.

Take it easy. We'll see you soon.

There you go, that's the family gone.

Time to the meet the builders.

'And the Maidstone trades haven't let us down!

'They've turned out in force.

'There must be at least 60 blokes on site this morning.

'Well, 59 blokes.'

We've got our first lady electrician, this is Clare.

That's Craig, that's Jordan, and that's... Harry. Harry.

I heard there was cakes. Would you like one? Yes, there are cakes. Yes.

He'd smelt them.

If you eat it quick enough, you can pretend you didn't eat it.

Thank you very much.

Very nice.

'Really, before you've even started?

'With all these people on site, the pace of the build is already

'cracking along, but some things aren't just about manpower.

'Concrete can only set so fast, so, these foundations

'for our planned extension had to be laid before we got here.'

You had to hand dig a lot of it, didn't you,

to avoid the services underneath?

Yeah, we hand dug, initially just to avoid the drainage and bore down.

We went down to five metres on these particular ones.

In view of the fact that we're not paying you for this, why would you get involved?

It's all about helping out those that haven't got the ability to do

what's needed to be done.

It's left to the likes of us and you to come and sort it out.

What do you make of the site now that you see it?

I think it's moving at an incredible pace, actually. I think it's fantastic.

'Only an hour in and the place already looks like a bomb's hit it.

'But there is a plan behind all this pandemonium

'and that's down to our designer Gabrielle.

'Her challenge is to redesign this house to work better for Mo.'

Yeah, this is as small as we can possibly, possibly make it.

We've squeezed... we've even done

thinner stub walls to divide this space.

'With his injuries getting progressively worse,

'he could end up wheelchair-bound, so we're making the whole

'downstairs wheelchair friendly, which is proving tricky.'

Another tight one for you.

Another one where your design skills to turn this into a TARDIS -

get more inside than there's space to put, if you know I mean.

Just trying to get everything you need for Mo in this

extension has been absolute hell.

It's really been millimetre by millimetre to get this to work.

It's been so frustrating for him, cos he just wants to contribute and do stuff.

He's just been trapped in this one room,

not being able to get stuck in and actually do things.

So, I hope we can change all that.

Gabby is not leaving an inch of this house untouched to get it

right for Mo and the family.

Downstairs, we're ripping out the kitchen

and knocking through into the existing dining room to

create a kitchen-diner the whole family can use together.

To the rear, we're building a timber-framed extension to give Mo

and Jan a downstairs bedroom and all-important

en suite wet room, so Mo doesn't have to negotiate the stairs.

With Mo and Jan sleeping downstairs, it frees up a bedroom upstairs,

so the two girls can now have a room each

for the first time in their lives!

And Jordan's boxroom is getting some custom space-saving furniture.

Along with all this, we're putting in a brand-new family bathroom.

Last but not least, we're widening all the downstairs doorways

and creating a new entrance and pathway

to the side of the house, to allow for wheelchair access in case

Mo needs to use his chair in the future.

It's a gargantuan task and they only wanted a downstairs loo. Ha-ha!

Right, better get on with it and get this house cleared.

LAUGHTER

Here you go.

It's not heavy.

Something happened when I turned 50.

You're having pains and aches and stuff, are you?

You know when people pick something up from the floor, they go, "Eurrr..."

They make a noise when you lean down.

You do that, do you? I do that now.

I've done that for 20 years.

Are you saying I'm fat?

Eurrr...

Yeah, that's basically what it is.

'Marvellous. From one wide load to another -

'the timber-framed extension's arrived

'and it's as big-boned as our Devonian cousin.'

Isn't it a little bit over engineered for a timber frame?

It's well-engineered. It's well-engineered?

It's well-engineered, is what we're saying.

It's well-engineered. It's interesting.

When engineers do the job, they want to make sure that nothing goes wrong.

You could hang the Tyne Bridge off of this.

But, to be perfectly honest, it's not just supporting the timber-frame

extension, because we're removing all this back wall of the house.

We're taking that middle spine out and putting the steel

structure in, so all the pressure on the building is on this corner.

Oh, I see, yeah. And what's the brickwork like?

The brickwork is absolutely rubbish.

So the house is a bit crumbly.

This is not just holding a single-storey extension,

it's putting the strength back into the house again.

This house is crumbling like a bag of old biscuits,

but this massive amount of structural work is the only way

we can get everything sorted for Mo's needs.

Jules has just been given the instructions to take the wall

out below and put a steel in.

What we're looking at is that that wall isn't supporting

anything above the ceiling line and Jules has just correctly said

it'd be quicker to take the whole wall down from the top to the

floor and rebuild this in timber up here.

'Go on, son!

'We're pretty much taking out every internal wall in the whole

'house, but the trouble is, when you start peeling back

'the layers of a building, you never know what you're going to find.'

We have some interesting news for you. What's that?

The end of the building's trying to fall off. Which end of the building?

This end of the building here.

See if you can see the mistake.

Oh.

What do you notice that's missing?

There's nothing holding that thing up. Yes, yes.

"That thing" being the chimney.

That, just looking at it from here,

is the scariest thing I've seen all day, and that's saying something.

This will comfortably put us back by a day.

'This is a nightmare situation.

'The entire weight of the upstairs chimney stack is

'sitting on nothing more than these tired floorboards.'

This bit here is part of a chimney that did used to

go down through into the kitchen below and it does connect up with

the house next door, then goes up through the roof

and out into the open world.

All the weight's just wanting to go that way on the house now.

Taking the chimney next door and everything else with it.

The big difficulty is, there is a crack, a hole that wide,

running all the way down the brickwork, parting company up there,

which turns into this crack over here

and goes all the way down here, through this wall here, and

ends up downstairs in the kitchen below, below the stairs there.

But that's one of the problems with houses of this period.

All the mortar's died on them, they're all a bit tired,

the bricks have started to crumble.

When people make alterations, like, "Oh, we'll make the kitchen bigger,

"so we'll take the fireplace out, take the chimney breast out

"and just leave that one there..."

You just can't rip a chimney breast out

and leave it on floorboards.

So, apart from there being a chimney trying to fall into the kitchen,

the fact that the end of the building's trying to fall off,

that we've got a crack all the way down to the first floor,

and we can't get the padstone in, because the current one's

in the way, so we'll have to take the staircase out, it's all going very well?

Wonderfully well, yeah. Swimmingly.

It's a good day, really.

'What we need is an overview from Dappy from N-Dubz.'

Looking at the size of this job, I think it's going

to take a little bit longer than we usually do.

I know we do get it done in the end,

but I think this is going to take more than the nine days.

'Yes, thanks very much. This is the last thing we want.

'We're going to need some specialist help to get these cracks

'fixed, and that's really worrying with such a tight time frame.

'But everyone on site is doing what they can to solve the problem,

'as it's our one chance to get the house sorted for the family.'

Since he was medically discharged from the army ten years ago,

Mo has faced not only the loss of the career he loved,

but a life with limited mobility and constant pain.

It's tough, and ten years on he's still struggling to come to

terms with his injuries, both physically and psychologically.

When you add everything together,

how do you think the way you've been has affected the children and Jan?

I think about it all the time. I try and hide my emotions.

I try and keep all that away from them,

because if I wake up with a smile they think, "Oh, Dad's OK."

So they go out and do their thing.

Rather than say, "Look, kids, I'm in a bit of pain," and then, you know,

it's then them thinking, "Well, I better stay home with Dad."

Would that be a terrible thing?

I suppose it wouldn't be,

but I feel that I've now stopped them from doing what they want to do.

They do worry about you.

I know they worry, but I just don't want them to.

I don't want them to worry about me.

Can you imagine any situation where you'd stop worrying about them

if they were struggling with something?

I'd never stop worrying about them.

So, why should they stop worrying about you?

Because I feel that I've had my life,

whereas they're still trying to live theirs. Had your life? You're 46!

OK, OK, OK, I've still got time to go, it's just that at the moment

because I feel, because of what I'm going through,

I feel that I... I've basically come to a wall.

To call it a day in your life, at 46, ain't right.

Ain't right for you, ain't right for them, is it?

Oh, no, definitely. No.

You've got to find a way to see this as a new beginning.

You're toughest challenge -

the way that you will show your kids that you can conquer anything -

is get to get your head around this and conquer this.

And find something positive to do yourself.

So that you aren't saying that this is the end.

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. That's your toughest task ever. Yeah.

That's very hard.

I'm really starting to see the extent of the baggage

Mo is carrying with him and it's sad to see.

This build is about so much more than bricks and mortar.

But I can't help thinking all this work will be in vain

unless I can get Mo to see he has got a future

and a family who love him no matter what.

It's certainly been a first day full of stresses

and the large cracks we found are still very much hanging over us -

literally!

But at least we can get these steel girders in position

to give much-needed support to the back of the house,

so the whole thing doesn't fall down on our heads!

You're even paying for the steels?

You paid for the steels? Yes.

So you're working for us for nothing? Yeah.

And you paid for the steels? Yes.

Mate, I don't know what to say!

Why would you do a thing like that?

Just to help out. Yeah, that's a lot of money, though.

What size are we going, then?

Hang on, I am biggin' him up at the moment.

Give the man a moment! LAUGHTER

Give the man a moment in the sunshine.

No time for sentiment around here, is there?

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. No, it's no problem at all.

SHOUTS

CHEERING

Well, it's been a really interesting first day,

because the house has really fought us.

We got a lot done, but a lot of problems thrown up, too.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Mind you, seven o'clock at night,

you can't fault the commitment, can you?

Isn't it marvellous!

Morning. This morning is all about trying to stay warm.

It's...fff....freezing!

And they say there might be snow on the way.

It never ceases to amaze me the effort of the local trades

up and down the country,

and it's no different here in Maidstone -

they're here in droves.

Oh, it's snowing! See, I told you.

All pitching in to help and donating their time

to do the best they can for Mo and the family.

After ripping the guts out of the building yesterday,

we've now got to start to try and put everything back together.

Look, you talk to these bricks - they've had enough.

They've held this house up for over 100 years - they're tired.

When we're 100, we'll want to be rested, won't we?

I'm feeling a bit that way during this conversation, to be honest.

I think there's life in the old dog yet.

I'm talking about the house, not Billy.

Because of yesterday's cracks threatening to pull the house apart,

we've had to call in specialist structural fixers.

Until they get here, we've got to be super careful,

but there's still plenty to be getting on with outside.

A team of gas fitter have been working overnight

to put in a bigger pipe for the new boiler,

which will keep the house warmer for Mo during the day,

and crucially, with Jan the only earner, it will save them money.

You'll need more volume of gas, hence we've put in a bigger pipe.

These boys have been working all night?

Yeah, these have been here since... Good-looking bunch, aren't they? Oh, yeah.

These are the better-looking ones.

Did you have to hand-pick 'em from the... I did, yeah.

Modelling agency, yeah.

They normally model the balaclavas.

But, yeah, we've got 'em out.

When you were leaving school,

and you saw the careers officer,

was it "I want to work with gas"?

All my family have worked with gas.

Is that right? Gassy family. Yeah, a gassy family.

It's in my blood. The gas is in my blood.

Hope not, that's the bends, isn't it? If you get gas in your blood?

You meet some lovely people along the way, don't you?

With limited mobility, it's often difficult for Mo to leave the house unaided.

So the garden becomes a vital part of his world during the summer.

And we drafted in Rich and the team to transform every inch of it.

The first thing is to level the area to make a flat pathway for Mo

to get around the whole garden.

Mo and Jan love their gardening, so we're putting in raised beds

so Mo can tend his plants and veg more easily.

Along with this, we're putting in a special greenhouse

with wide doorways to give Mo easy access,

but it's tough work in these sub-zero temperatures.

The cold not affect you?

Do you not fancy maybe a job in an office?

Nice collar and tie, sandwich at lunchtime?

No, I don't do technology.

Photocopying your arse at the Christmas party?

Yeah, we do that. Oh, do you? THEY LAUGH

The single biggest problem with this build

is that the end of the building is trying to fall off.

It is really worrying,

but luckily for us, at extremely short notice,

a team of specialist fixers have turned up

to try and stop the house falling down around our ears.

So all this problem,

with the crack going right up through the house and into the loft,

this is how it's being solved? That's right, yeah.

You're stitching the wall together. Yes, yeah.

We'll be using a special grout, with a stainless steel bar,

and that will hold the wall.

We've gone from the base here, right the way through to the loft.

So that little twisting stainless steel rod is strong enough to hold all that together.

Oh, yeah. Very strong indeed.

That's absolutely brilliant.

Saved the day.

With luck, hopefully! THEY LAUGH

Absolutely fantastic.

'That wasn't an accident, that was a critical review.'

Shut up and get on with it.

That's the whole house well on the way

to being stitched back together.

It's brilliant news, and it means our timber-frame extension

can now be erected and fixed onto the rear of the building.

And this little house really needs the extra space.

Have you seen Julian through the hole? Julian?

Thank you very much. Appreciate your work. Thank you very much.

These guys put all the chemical fixing in, held the end wall on,

held the chimney on - done all that. In, out, in a day.

We've got a building that will stay standing now. Very lovely of them.

Very lovely of them. Top blokes. Lovely lads.

By the way, could I have a 99 with strawberry sauce? Strawberry sauce?

Yeah.

There you are, son. Beautiful, thanks very much. ?7.80.

I should've asked if he had a flake, or crushed nuts.

With the build now back on track, we can start to fit

one of the special features Gabriel is putting in for Mo -

a wood-burning stove.

So, Ben, my darling. You found us a log burner. I have, yes.

For the dining room. I'm so excited.

Can I have a look at the drawing?

What we were hoping is, with these raised legs,

it will be more accessible for Mo if he needed to be in a wheelchair.

That's right. So will that still work in the arch we've got?

We will make it work.

That's the attitude we're getting all over the site.

Everyone has been touched by Mo's situation,

and is going the extra mile for him and the family.

It was family friend Alison who originally contacted the show.

He's not a man that takes easily to having people help him, though, is he? No.

I wrote that e-mail and it was sitting on my computer

for about two weeks,

and I was like, "No, I shouldn't be sending this."

Because I know how proud they are.

But now I've seen it, and now it's really happening,

I'm so excited. Just so excited for them.

What do you make of the fact you've got, like, 70 blokes on site,

giving all their time free, and all these materials and everything?

It's amazing! I can't believe how many people are here.

I don't think they've got any idea how big the changes are they're making.

All they wanted, really, was a downstairs toilet.

So, this is just going to blow their mind.

And the girls, and Jordan, it's going to be brilliant.

Since Mo left the army ten years ago, both Charelle and Karissa

have seen their dad's condition deteriorate.

It's a hard situation for everyone

but if the new house design can give Mo more independence,

it will take so much pressure off the rest of the family -

and that's down to Gabrielle to get it right.

It is tough with him because he's got it in his head that he's OK.

So he's trying to get around everywhere when he knows...

his body knows he can't, but he thinks he can.

So, yeah, to help him, his body, physically

and mentally, to know that he can get around...

So how does he get up and down the stairs at the moment?

It did take all of us to get him upstairs once, didn't it? Yeah.

And it hurt a lot. So we were... "Oh!"

But you can't... It's hard, because we can't help more than we can.

You feel like what you're doing for him isn't enough,

that you can't take that pain away from him, so...

You kind of have to just deal with that,

and help as much as you can.

But them stairs really do hurt him.

Last time we met we talked a little bit about your dad

and using a wheelchair. And I know that that is a really...

He doesn't want to use it. No. And why should he?

We were talking about him being stuck in the hallway.

Once he's in his wheelchair he can't move around the whole house, can he?

And he just burst into tears. He thinks he's a burden to us. Yeah.

It's really sad because I don't see him like that.

He's my Dad. It doesn't matter if he's in a wheelchair.

The fact that he came out with the fact that he thinks he's a burden was really upsetting,

because I don't think he is.

I don't want him to feel like that at all.

I just think if we had more space for him so he wasn't trapped in one room,

that would be a really big, positive change.

And just warm everything up a bit.

Just make that lay out work so he's not having to fight the house. Yeah. Yeah.

It's clear listening to the girls how much they love their dad

and how much they want to help him.

But it's tough for a proud man to accept help,

especially from your children.

Morning!

The sun is out, the snow is gone and we are at the halfway stage.

Look at this timber-frame extension. It's up in just a few days. Amazing!

It's the biggest size planning regs would allow, and we're trying to maximise every inch of living area.

So instead of a traditional brick system,

we're using a clever space-saving thing which simply slots together.

The rear of the garden has now been levelled to allow better

access for Mo and a new pathway created, which is handy,

as what's going to sit up the end of said pathway is just arriving.

Good morning. Good morning, gentlemen.

What is so special about this greenhouse then?

This greenhouse is modified for wheelchair access.

It has got a lower threshold. Have you got one in your own house?

I haven't got one. Have you not? No. You're joking!

I've got a very small garden.

Why did you want to contribute this to the job?

In the past, I've had hard times and people have given me a leg up

and that sort of thing. Let's help this family out.

Let's give them a greenhouse. You're a gentleman and a scholar.

Very nice.

Seems like we haven't got rid of all the cracks in this household.

The extension is up, the roof is on it, amazingly.

There's a stud wall going in. The floor is being prepared.

Plumbing and electrics in in this room.

New window being built and a new door has already been punched through.

Up here, the bathroom is taking shape.

We've built a bathroom and the plumbing is in.

There is a bit of plastering prep going on.

There is plastering going on here. It looks like a plaster floor.

It most certainly is and do you mind leaving? Yes. I best get out of the way. Busy though, isn't it?

They are a bit like that, plasterers. They want their space.

By tonight, it will be plasterboarded.

And skimmed. So this area will have a kitchen in it tomorrow.

There's 16 hungry plasterers, having it. You watch. You wait.

I used to be a cab driver, a taxi driver. Do you know why I packed up?

Why? I didn't like people talking behind my back!

Talking behind my back! Yes? No? Nothing. Tough crowd.

With the greenhouse up, the garden is really starting to take shape now

and along with the usual suspects, we're being helped out today by some of Jan's mates from work.

Including best friend Lynn.

How has it been for Jan these last few years?

It's been harder for Jan than anybody knows.

Because people see Mo's disability

but they don't see what Janet copes with.

She works full-time, she is a mother. She does absolutely everything.

She deserves this and Mo does. But especially her.

She's going to love it.

It's clear Jan and Mo have lots of friends.

Jan has been there through all Mo's battles with injury,

the stress of leaving the army and adapting back into civilian life.

Working hard to not only look after Mo, but raise a family

and keep a roof over their heads.

You can see the kids are worried about him.

Worried about, you know, how he is within himself.

My worst fear is after he's had an operation that he's going to try

and go down the stairs and end up at the bottom of a pile.

And you are going to walk into that? Yes. That is why I ring him every day. I phone him every day.

This has been very hard on you, all this, hasn't it?

Do you see light at the end of the tunnel?

I don't necessarily see light at the end of the tunnel.

I see it as, this is how life is.

What do you make of the fact that all of these

builders are in there, changing things around you and the family?

It's amazing but I can't quite...

I can hear you saying it but in my head it's sort of like, why?

Because they think what's happened to him is unfair and they think

they can put themselves out and make a difference.

They will be making a difference all right.

You wait until you see it. It's lovely.

I'm not supposed to give anything away but it is lovely.

It will make life easier for you and the kids and Mo.

And maybe you will see it as a new beginning. I hope so.

Well, I told her a bit of a white lie.

The house doesn't look great at the moment,

but it will do and that is thanks to everyone on site, including Chris

and his team of 16 plasterers who have put in a monumental effort,

which is great news as we've only got three days left.

That is the way to skim a kitchen. It wouldn't happen in the real world, would it?

Just goes to prove you don't have to wear a cape to be a superhero.

With every inch of this house plastered, we can start to turn our thoughts to kitting the place out.

There's a new kitchen going in,

which has been specially designed for Mo, with an eye-level oven

and low work surface to make baking, one of his passions, easier for him.

And talking of cakes. Can we interest you in....

Look at that! Or maybe... Or maybe...

That's enough. No. Wait! Or maybe...

I'm going to have a banoffee. You made all of these, did you?

Thank you very much. That's very kind of you. Thank you very much. Very clever. I couldn't make those.

Have you got someone here working on the build? Yes. My dad and my brother.

What about your girl? I know.

I'm the chief cake taster! Is that your job, is it? Yes.

My brother actually likes baking bacon and cheese muffins.

Bacon and cheese muffins? That sounds nice. That's tomorrow.

That's tomorrow! What?

We don't believe a bacon and cheese muffin can taste nice.

No, not at all. No, I'm not having that.

That would just be weird, wouldn't it? I'd like to see you try!

What do you mean, hint? What hint?

With the new Mo-friendly lay out of the house taking shape,

we can start to see how the design is going to help him in the future.

To get this right, we have been working closely with Mo's

occupational therapist, Francis.

So what do you think? It looks brilliant.

I can't believe the difference.

I came on Friday and it wasn't even plastered then.

The kitchen wasn't in. The space, the doors are wide. It's excellent.

So not only does it look beautiful, it's actually effective for Mo.

Yes. He will be able to...

If he's using his wheelchair, he'll be able to get around.

He can enter the bedroom, he can enter the bathroom, use the kitchen, use the oven.

We are designing it for wheelchair use because it makes life easier

for him if he uses a wheelchair at least some of the time.

Yes, and we don't know what the future holds.

I think it's good that we make sure we meet his current needs

and longer-term needs as well.

Coming to terms with leaving the Armed Forces and re-entering

Civvy Street is tough enough, even without Mo's injuries.

Helping him through that transition has been his old friend and ex-Royal Engineer, Roy.

Tell us about Mo himself. He strikes us as a very solid, very likeable lad.

But he seems to be finding it difficult to come to terms

with the fact that he can't go running and jogging

and doing all the things he did before.

When I first met him, he had a slight injury,

which a lot of ex-servicemen have.

I've known him over 20 years. He was a really fit character.

But over the years, the injury has worsened and worsened and also,

it's dragging poor old Jan down as well.

She has been solid all the way through.

But, you know, it's a strain on her as well.

I can see by the way you're talking about him,

you are very emotional about the family and about him. Yes.

What do you make of what we've done?

Well, we've destroyed it so far but you know where we are heading.

It looks fantastic. I'm so... Wow! Pleased.

I am so... Words...

I'm filling up.

Sorry. Come with me. Grab a crash hat and I'll show you what we are up to.

The last time I spoke to Mo, he told me he'd had his life.

At 46, he thinks his injuries have robbed him of a future.

It's just not right.

And it's this which has been playing on my mind throughout the build

and I must admit I'm struggling to try and help Mo find a way of moving forward.

So I've contacted a close ex-army mate of mine, Ken Haines,

who's been working with ex-servicemen, many of whom are injured, to see if he can help.

If we can somehow get Mo to see this build as a fresh start,

I'm hoping it will at least be a foundation for a brighter future for him and the family.

I'm just hoping Ken can relate to Mo in a way I can't.

I'm going to get you down to Bristol to come and see the guys down at my place.

Some of them are very much like you.

"I don't want to be a burden", all that kind of stuff. That is not right.

You are entitled to your life. You are entitled to your aspirations.

You are entitled to enjoy your life.

Because at the end of the day, if you don't,

it's going to have a detrimental effect on you in the long-term.

It will drive you into the ground. It will drive you into the ground.

The aim is to go up. The only way is up.

I like my family to enjoy what they are doing.

Going with their friends and doing whatever.

For my son, if he wants to go to a match or a party or whatever,

I don't want him at home staying with me,

pushing me around the house or taking me to the toilet.

You know they don't just cope with you. You know that they love you.

You're not something they have to cope with.

From my early time, I missed a lot of their...

The growing up. Yes.

Of course you did, because you were away serving your country.

I wanted to be with them and do things.

So when you then came out of the army and had the time to do them, you weren't physically able to.

Yes, definitely. You are terribly hard on yourself. You just got hurt.

It's your service that hurt you but that's not your fault.

That's not your fault. There are a lot of people who got injured badly.

A lot of people who had niggly injuries they can never get rid of that saw them

being invalided out of the armed services, but it's not their fault. Definitely not their fault.

You can't keep being angry with yourself because of the situation you are in.

I will give you a cast-iron guarantee that when you go back to your house,

it will be absolutely perfectly usable for you to move and spend time with your family.

So you are going to have to do some promising in return,

to maybe think again about some sense of forgiving yourself for getting yourself into this situation

because you can't keep going through life thinking like that.

And I promise you that I'll give you all the help I can to get you that support.

Back on the site, every single person is also doing what

they can to help Mo, working into the night to give him the independence he deserves.

Everything in the house is being fine-tuned for Mo and the rest

of the family to make his home life as easy and stress-free as possible.

Do you think that looks right or do you want it lower?

It can come down six inches. But for the wheelchair...

Looks wise, it would be better a bit lower but I think for Mo, this is better.

In the new extension, the wet room is really starting to look the business.

We are doing the final polish of the tiles with the sweatshirt. I like to see a tradesman!

I tell you what, you knocked that out in record time, didn't you?

Nice! What do you think, Christopher? It's somewhere to wash, isn't it? That's nice!

Praise indeed! In many ways, your builder is defined by his headwear.

I've become rather attached to mine, although I can't say Julian has.

You're saying this hat is not working for me? I look bad in a hat, is that what you're saying?

Terrible. If accentuates your features. And you don't think that's a good thing?

I don't think that's a good thing, no. You're nothing without your hair.

I like the brushed forward look. See what I mean?

It's a better look, is it?

It's like a really bad toupee when you do that.

He looks a bit like Jim Carrey like that.

With me, it's all about looks. And him!

Look, the kitchen is just about done.

Great vibe on the site, isn't it? It's great. I'd love to do another one. Would you? Really? I would.

Without a doubt. Isn't that amazing?

We've just taken advantage of the man for several days

to work in the most uncomfortable environment possible, to put in this

beautiful kitchen for no pay at all, and you want to come and do another one. Why not?

That's the great British builder, that is.

Wonderful!

It's the final day and we are almost there.

How are we getting on with the job? Are we going to get it finished?

ALL: Yes. Fairly confident? ALL: Yes. Lovely. All right.

Don't be fooled. We may sound a little deflated on the outside

but just like this mattress, inside we are raring to go.

It has been vacuum-packed. All the air's been sucked out of it, which shrinks it right up.

As soon as you cut the seal, the air rushes in and it expands and fills up.

It's like getting up in the morning and stretching out.

Give it another go now, Bill.

That is it. That is me. Anyone want to join me?

I'll take you down the gym!

But the morning has not started well for one of us - our designer, Gabriel.

Just to let you know, your lights, your bedside lights, they still haven't arrived.

Why did he have to come and tell me that right now when you're here?

Why are we having bedside lights delivered on the last day?

Because they were apparently delivered earlier in the week, but actually in real life they weren't.

How lame does that sound? So technically, they weren't delivered.

On the delivery note it said they were here but they weren't here.

We will be done in time, won't we? Or are we in the double jeopardy...

Do I need to say something, like they do on telly,

"Will we finish in time?"

I mean, obviously, you know we've never had one where we haven't finished in time

and if we had, we would just work into the middle of the night to get it done.

But you could play along too.

If I do some jeopardy now, because telly people like jeopardy so when we come to edit this together,

if I do a jeopardy thing now, "Will we finish or won't we?"

DRAMATIC MUSIC

But we will finish, won't we? We will finish, but I want it to look beautiful and perfect.

I've spent a long time trying to get it beautiful and perfect.

I just saw Katie. It's fine.

The bedside tables haven't turned up either.

Oh, dear! It's going to be a long day and a long night by the sounds of it.

But before we show off the house to the family tomorrow,

I really need to do just one last thing.

Being a dad myself, I know how tricky it can sometimes be for fathers and sons

to get through to each other, to tell each other how they feel.

It's important for me to try and get Mo to see that Jordan doesn't

need him to be Superman, just a dad.

He loves him for who he is.

You are in a unique position here that he's watching television and he

can't interrupt you, so what is the one thing you would say to your dad?

I just want him to be safe and be able to get about

and have his own independence and enjoy his life. Be happy.

Be happy, yes. He thinks he's a burden on us.

We tell him he's not in our way. We are doing it because we love him.

Even though it's hurting him he'll still go around on his crutches, regardless.

Your message to him is, you love him and he's not a burden. Yes.

He'll hear that now. Good.

Are you looking forward to tomorrow? Are you looking forward to seeing the house? Very.

What is it that you need? Downstairs toilet. That's it, really.

It has always been that, hasn't it? Yes.

He's struggled with that for so long.

So anything above a downstairs toilet would be a bonus? Yeah.

Big bonus.

They are not asking for much, are they?

It's the final push and we can start to see the culmination of all this hard work.

In the back garden, Rich and the team are just putting

the finishing touches to a brilliant new outdoor kitchen.

Look at this! I haven't seen this before. Barbecue built by the chaps. Outdoor kitchen.

And it will work whether he is standing or sitting, won't it? Yes.

It's exactly the right height for both.

That is quite something, that is. How has it been then?

We are getting towards the end of it now and you have been here from the beginning,

so what do you make of it all? I've really enjoyed it.

It's amazing what gets done and the effort that everybody puts in.

It is one big team effort. Yes, loved it.

Have you really? Yes, I have. This is really looking the part.

I can't wait to see it when it's all tidied up and we can show it to them. Amazing. Thank you, chaps.

And in the dining room, there's just one last thing to fit.

Not only have brothers Mark and Steve donated the steel girders

holding up the room we're standing in,

they have designed and built this handmade metallic masterpiece.

Look at that! What you think? That's lovely. It finishes it off lovely.

It looks beautiful. That is lovely. That's the best thing I've seen all day.

APPLAUSE

Even at this late stage,

the generosity of the trades here in Maidstone is amazing to see.

But what a difference this will make to the lives of one family.

Just nine days ago,

we arrived here in Maidstone to find a family at crisis point.

Mo's 20 year army career had left him

with sustained injuries that, even after countless operations,

were getting progressively worse,

leaving him a virtual prisoner in his own home.

Because of what I'm going through, I feel that I've had my life.

To call it a day in your life, at 46, isn't right.

Even with the love and support of his family,

Mo was still suffering in a house which was clearly unfit for his needs.

It was a situation we could never have solved on our own

and it's only due to the monumental effort of an army of local Maidstone trades that we've done it.

We've knocked through and completely opened up the downstairs

to create this open-plan kitchen diner which is now a space

the whole family can use together.

The Shaker style kitchen combines simple elegant lines with the lowered work surface

and raised oven to make cooking as easy as possible for Mo.

There's a super efficient wood-burning stove, helping give this house added warmth,

which massively helps with Mo's knee pain.

It's finished with raised legs so Mo can reach the door more easily.

Above all else, the aim of this build was to solve

the problem of Mo having to use the stairs.

To do this, we have added a ground floor extension to the rear of the house,

allowing us to create a master bedroom suite for Mo and Jan.

There's now a downstairs wet room, complete with rainforest shower

and wheelchair access in case Mo needs to use his chair in the future.

And of course, the most important feature of all - the downstairs loo.

The front room is finished in neutral tones with

accents of colour on the cushions and curtains.

We've added these simple but stylish built-in shelving units either side of the old fireplace,

which is pretty much the only thing we left standing in the entire house.

With Mo and Jan sleeping downstairs,

upstairs has now become a parent-free zone.

Charelle and Karissa now have a bedroom each for the first time in their lives.

Charelle's room has a classical yet relaxed feel,

which is very much in keeping with the period of the house.

Whilst Karissa's room is finished in soft blues,

offset with simple but timeless bedroom furniture.

Jordan's room has been transformed with this stunning

custom-made shelving unit for his games console and TV.

And the old family bathroom has now been completely refurbished

with these cool subway tiles.

Outside, the entire garden has now been redesigned and I've got

to say, Rich and the lads have really gone the extra mile.

They've created this superb new outdoor kitchen area so Mo

and Jan can have their friends over for a barbecue in the summer months.

The whole garden has been levelled and we've used railway sleepers

to create these stylish raised beds to make gardening easier for Mo.

Along with this, we've put in an amazing greenhouse with wide

access doorway and automatic temperature adjustment.

The real challenge with this build was not only making Mo's home

environment better, but also trying to help Mo confront his injuries

and civilian life, which I know he still struggles with.

Rather than dwelling in the past,

I'm truly hoping this build can give this family the fresh start I know

they deserve and give them a chance to build a more positive future.

Open your eyes.

Your beautiful new fire. Do you know where you are in the house? No.

Not yet, no. Have a look at your beautiful new kitchen.

We've spoken to your occupational therapist in the design of this as well.

If you choose to use your wheelchair to move about,

you'll find the floors throughout the ground floor are all level

and the doors are all wide enough for you to move around, if that's the way you would choose to go.

If you want to stand up, like you are, you've got the work surface there.

If you want to sit down and work, you've got a lower work surface to work there.

The ovens are placed at the right height that you can use them standing up.

Or if you are in the wheelchair, you can still use them sitting down.

I'm going to have to go another way, I think. What do you make of it all?

It's amazing. I'm speechless.

This is...

This is as much as I could ask for.

What else did you need? I'm sorry. We haven't dealt with the thing you wanted. A downstairs loo.

A downstairs toilet, yes. If you want to head off in that direction.

Wow!

Not quite what you were expecting? I didn't know what to expect.

It's nice. Very nice. I can't quite believe it's mine.

So you need to turn around and open the door behind you.

Rainforest... Rainforest shower.

The people involved in this have gone the extra mile

on everything they've done. I mean, the tiling is beautiful.

All the workmanship that's gone in. So much work.

This is like staying in a posh hotel. Yes. And it's yours.

I don't feel like it's right.

I'm thinking, OK, when do we check out?

Oh, wow! We've tidied up the hallway a little bit.

We kept your front door because we knew how much you loved that.

So, your living room area. Let's have a look, shall we?

All right?

It's OK.

It's a lot, isn't it? A lot to take in.

What is it that's got to you? Something you're thinking has got to.

It's not bricks and mortar that has suddenly made you emotional. It's something you are thinking.

For people to come in here.

Their effort. Their time.

This is our first home.

Just coming in and seeing pictures, proper pictures on the wall.

What have these builders done for you? It's like a new life.

Like being reborn.

In return for this, will you make me one promise?

You'll never use the expression again, "I've had my life".

I promise you. I make that promise.

Your wonderful young adults,

when I was asking them about it, and I said, "What do you think?"

And they said, "We hope this is going to be a brand-new beginning.

"And Dad will be smiling more

"and we'll be able to do family things and we will be able to

"mix in together and just have a great Christmas,"

and those kinds of things.

They are over the moon for you. Properly over the moon for you.

They see this as a brand-new beginning. This is draw the line.

New beginning? New beginning.

We were very aware that we need it to work for you too, so when you are ready, open your eyes.

You want a little look at the kitchen because I know

the kitchen is an important part of family life, isn't it?

I love it. It's crazy. It looks pretty, doesn't it? Yes. Oh, my God!

It's really nice. Mum and Dad are going to love this.

Dad's going to love that shower. Definitely.

So how have we done so far? Brilliantly. Very good.

The only thing we need to do now is go and look at the non-adult area because of course the upstairs

now becomes yours. Ready to go and have a look?

Yes. Come on then.

Wow! It's amazing.

We wanted to get as much cupboard space and space for you to

put your computers, your music and all your other things in.

Very difficult in a short room to make all the space. Are you happy with it?

It's really good. I didn't expect this at all.

He's a bit gobsmacked, I think. Yes. He's very quiet, isn't he?

Oh, my God!

It's amazing. Wow! I love it.

It's nice.

Don't cry. Oh, my God.

Obviously, the sewing kit because we know you like sewing.

A table to do your work on or write love letters or whatever it is girls do. I don't know.

A pretty bed. Do you like it? Yes.

Do you want to see yours now? Yes.

Come on.

Oh, my God!

Pretty cool, huh? Yes.

I never imagined it like this.

Does this make it feel like a proper family home now? Yes, definitely.

We couldn't imagine it, could we? No.

Why do you think it's hit you so hard emotionally?

Because it has just made it easier for everybody, especially Mum and Dad.

We can finally start again and everything will be better.

That's pretty cool, isn't it? Yes.

You just need a bathroom now, don't you?

You've got have a bathroom between you, haven't you? BOTH: Yes.

Is there any chance Jordan will ever get any time in the bathroom?

Probably not. Not with us two.

Right, let's have a look at this bathroom. Come on.

I love it! It's all ours! Pretty cool, isn't it? ALL: Yes.

I'm glad you like it. I'm really glad you like it.

Hi, daughter. All right?

It's all right. Do you love it? Yes.

I've got one other thing to show you. Come and have a look.

Oh, my God! We've done slightly better than your old barbecue.

What we've got is a full built-in barbecue kitchen for you.

A nice little area for you to sit and have a glass of wine out here if you want to, of an evening. Kids.

And if the parents want to come out and join too!

Obviously, a nice table and chairs.

Raised beds all the way along again so if you wanted to work on them

and plant your own veggies once the weather comes around,

you can either do that sitting down or standing up because we put

the beds to exactly the right height for either.

You'll notice you're getting along fine on the crutches

going up and down the garden, but it works with the wheelchair as well.

You can get all the way to the bottom of the garden and if

we carry on to the end, you'll find the greenhouse has double doors.

Oh, my God!

What's it like seeing your dad walking around? Amazing.

He's able to get up here without struggling which is good.

It's going to be good for all of us.

Good enough?

LAUGHTER

Say no more.

APPLAUSE

Obviously, I've spoken to some of you guys when it first started.

All I want to say is, from the bottom of our hearts...

..it's very humbling...

APPLAUSE

It's very humbling knowing that all you guys

have spent time, your own free time on this project.

It means so much and I could go on

but I just want to thank every single one of you for the time

and effort in making this a new beginning for us,

especially for me,

but thank you all... for a downstairs toilet.

APPLAUSE

Tell these guys what it means from your point of view for your mum and dad.

After so long of going through so much trouble trying to get

what we needed for him, it's just helped so much,

and all of this has helped, their smiles on their faces.

It's just helped a lot.

APPLAUSE

Cheers. Congratulations. Thanks.

I hope you got what you wanted.

Cheers. It's been a pleasure.

Cracking people round here.

It doesn't really matter whether you agree with what we send

our young people in the forces around the world to do.

They do their duty to the best of their ability,

and if during the course of those duties, they suffer injuries,

it's our responsibility as a society to look after them, isn't it?

Somehow Mo and his family slipped through the net of support

that should have been there for them.

As a result, they needed someone else to help

and it was their community that came together to do it for them

and make a difference. And boy, what a difference!

The man we met at the beginning of the week

is a completely different man now, looking forward to a bright future

with him and his family.

That's pretty impressive. Maybe you know somebody who needs your help.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

Some crimes defy description. Why did you choose me to lead this?