The Big Build - Worksop DIY SOS

Isn't this a wonderful church in the parish of Blyth, Nottinghamshire?

Beautiful community, beautiful village.

Yet within the community are a young couple who have faced more adversity

than any young couple should really. To be honest, they're at the end of their tethers.

When we started the extension, I had full expectations of finishing it.

When I lost me job and got made redundant that came to a halt.

An average's night sleep is between three and four hours.

It's the worst kind of torture, lack of sleep. It is quite desperate.

But to get them back from the brink,

we're going to attempt weeks of work in only nine days.

For a job this big, we're going to need, not only the usual suspects...

He weren't much bigger than that, was he?

But also an amazing army of trades.

Out of the way!

A brilliant local community of family and friends.

When you just know what someone's had to go through.

-It's been a tough couple of years, ain't it?

-Couple? Quite a lot.

It's not going to be easy.

On this occasion, we might need a little divine intervention.

-Kate, can you have a word about the weather?

-I'll do my best!

This is DIY SOS...

The Big Build!

YEAH!!

Rebecca and Neil Smith, from Blyth near Worksop,

couldn't think of anywhere better to call home.

It's a great community. Friendly people. Lots of friends.

It's a great place to live. Lovely place to bring up your kids.

Like so many husbands, Neil has spent years working hard to provide for his family -

five-year-old Freya and two-year-old Ben.

He used to work stupid hours on the roads.

He'd be leaving at five in the morning and not be getting back till nine, ten o'clock at night.

I'd be kicking off at home, saying, "We haven't seen you for ages!"

But Neil, it's not in his nature to turn work down.

It's a bloke thing. You want to go to work and provide for your family and earn some money.

Four years ago, they started an extension on their house

to give their family the space they needed to grow.

We did everything with the full intentions of finishing it off...

Erm, and then, Neil lost his job.

And that's when everything just came to a standstill.

I want a job with regular hours,

average money, just regular work, basically.

But Neil hasn't found enough paid work

and the family have been living hand to mouth for the last two years.

We've had to accept quite a lot of help,

even just having to ask for money to go shopping to buy food.

It's so, so embarrassing.

Worse than that, no money coming in has meant that their hope of a safe family home

has become a dangerous nightmare for the kids.

It's not great. Obviously, we don't let the kids in here.

There's a lot of things that are dangerous - sharp edges

where the box for the wiring's going to go and things like that.

This is our bedroom extension, what would be mine and Rebecca's bedroom.

That's to keep the draught out, basically.

Try to keep it a bit warmer for the kids. The wind comes rattling through here in the winter,

straight across into Freya and Ben's room.

They don't like having the door closed at night, so they are exposed to it.

But their son, Ben's, problems are more serious.

I kind of knew from the day he was born... I can't explain why.

I just knew something wasn't right with him.

Your baby is supposed to smile when they're a few weeks old.

He didn't smile till he was about five months.

Ben! Ben! Benny!

Ben's two and a half, but shows no sign of developing his communication skills.

It takes a lot to get his attention, a lot.

If he's distracted, you have to go to him, cos he won't respond to you.

We had a suspicion that Ben might be autistic. Some of the behaviours that he displays.

They're reluctant to give a diagnosis because he's only two,

but we know in our hearts that he's autistic. Ben! Ben!

It's heartbreaking for Rebecca that she can't communicate with her son.

I'd do anything just to hear him say, "Mummy!" or anything, really.

It doesn't really matter what the word would be.

I would just be happy for him to speak, but it is difficult.

He's not progressed at all, really. He seems very locked in the way he is at the minute.

In comparison with other children, he's like over a year behind.

And one of the reasons for the lack of Ben's progress

is the terrible state of the house.

It's not a safe place to play in.

It's got hard concrete floors outside.

If I open the back door, there isn't a step, so he would fall down it,

cos he can't really manoeuvre himself down steps properly.

So he is totally confined to this room during the day.

As if these restrictions weren't bad enough for Ben,

there's one consequence of his problem that's really devastating family life.

Whatever it is, whether it's autism or he's just got learning difficulties,

but he can't sleep either, he will scream all night.

And it's constant. There's never a break from it.

BEN CRIES

The problem is that because they can't finish the extension,

Ben has to share a room with Freya,

meaning she doesn't sleep either.

Freya, please get into bed.

She said, "I'm so tired, Mummy, I just want to stay in bed.

"Oh, please. I just don't want to go to school."

He's noisy. He screams and he cries.

So Mummy has to lay down there to get Ben to sleep.

Don't get a lot of sleep.

So for the last two years, Rebecca or Neil spent the night on the floor in the kids' bedroom

to comfort Ben when he's distressed.

It's the worst kind of torture, lack of sleep.

They are your kids and you love 'em no matter what.

So you just have to cope with it and do your best, don't you? So...

The family can't afford to finish the extension.

And Ben's development is suffering. It's a horrible position to be in for any parent.

We can't see a way of it ever getting done.

We can't let them go on like this.

See, it's a really good space.

-It would have been great if you had continued on through it.

-Yeah.

-It would have been a really nice house.

-Yeah.

-Plans were... Everything's up here. It just didn't happen.

-It does put a stress on your relationship.

The financial difficulties, especially,

are what has absolutely nearly torn us apart.

On top of that, you come home and you've got the stressful environment of this house.

If that stress was removed, it would make things a lot easier.

All right. So what do you need us to do? What's the most important thing?

Obviously, we'll do as much as we possibly can.

The question is, what are the priorities. So what's the most important part of the house?

Definitely, the kids' bedrooms would be the main thing,

-cos that is what's causing us the most problems, really.

-Yeah.

Right, better get going then!

But, of course, no build would be complete without master of plaster Chris,

the big guy Jules,

mini Mark, gorgeous Gabrielle...

Has he had all his jabs?

And, of course, the old dog Billy.

But by far the most important people on site

are the vast number of trades who turn up to help.

It never ceases to amaze us!

-That's a tidy lot, innit?

-Little army there.

-Yes!

The house is sort of broken. We need to fix it, so we really appreciate you joining in.

The local area's done us proud. There's 46 trades here.

What a great turn out and they settled in right away

to the way we work.

LAUGHTER

They've got at it straight away. It's nice how people join in.

We really like it when people turn up, they know how it all works,

and they show the due amount of respect, as you saw there with Mark.

They don't just turn up for that though.

Are you surprised by the number of people who've come out to help

-given we're in a really difficult economic situation?

-Not really.

There's always somebody willing to help.

You'll always find people with big hearts that want to help somebody that's a bit less fortunate.

And that kind of attitude is all over the build.

You can tell it just from the feeling and the atmosphere here.

It's coming from the heart, I think, from everybody.

We're going to need that positivity. There's loads to do.

So probably not a good idea to stand around doing nothing.

-What do you reckon, son?

-I reckon that could be a Monet, son.

-A Monet de douche.

-Monet de douche.

I had no idea you were that into your art.

Mate, there's many things you don't know about me.

-He's into more things than art.

-Did you study at the Sorbonne?

Sore bum?

No! Not a sure bum! The Sor... Never mind!

-Honestly, I shouldn't have...

-LAUGHTER

Good grief! Get back to work, for heaven's sake! Knock something down, Jules, please.

-I need some muffulation.

-There you go.

Not every job requires a wrecking ball!

All it needs to take what I'm taking down,

right, is that!

Julian sort of wades in with a hammer and a ripping bar and demolishes things.

So I thought I'd take the opportunity to use that bad boy.

Yes! What this job needs is some lightness of touch,

some gentle refinement.

Cue the designer! Gabrielle Blackman turns the dingy into the delightful

and almost never gets her auburn locks out of place.

-Right-ho, Ging, what's the plan?

-The plan is...

-We're going to make this house a lot lighter.

-Brighter.

-And brighter...

in certain areas and a lot darker and quieter in Ben's bedroom.

Let's show you graphically how that's going to work.

The biggest job, downstairs, will be to open up the kitchen space

and flood it with light.

We'll shorten the living room to make a cosy little bolt hole.

Upstairs, we'll reconfigure the space to give Ben and Freya their own rooms.

That'll be a big change and makes sure Rebecca and Neil aren't left out either.

-A lot of construction to do over the first couple of days.

-Yeah, there's a lot to do.

Not least, at the back of the house.

The whole inside corner of this house is going to change.

That wall's going to come out and that wall and this will be one big, open area.

There's a lot of stuff to take out,

cos this was essentially the outside skin of the house.

You need a massive piece of steel running through here and down there

to hold up the whole of the back of the house.

This is the point of no return.

Once these walls come down, it's only the props holding the house up,

until we get the steels in later.

Hang on! I'm needed upstairs.

Gabby's having an issue with her doors.

-What's going on?

-I'm trying to work out with Chris, what we can do about this...

-All right, Chris.

-..doorway.

Erm, what doorway? There isn't a doorway.

This is a doorway. Easy to tell the difference. One's open, one's full of bricks.

-See, Chris, what I have to put up with?

-I feel sorry for you.

-Why do you want a doorway there?

-I'd like to make this into an en suite for mum and dad.

-There's a doorway there.

-This is what we're saying.

-That maybe this is just too small.

-This is me getting up in the morning. Yaaaaaa!

In through there. Or this is me getting up in the morning, if we don't do all that work. Yaaaaa!

I'm in the bathroom.

-Yeah...

-It is a lot of work to carry out for the gain.

I mean, you are, literally... I'd struggle to get through that.

To be fair, big fella here...

It might be all right for you, but it's not for me or him.

He doesn't live here! I'm a normal-sized bloke.

- Does that look wide? - Looks all right to me.

You stand against that wall. You get up in the middle of the night, need a wee. Would you get in there?

-Not really.

-Come on! Make a decision.

We've got lots of things to do in this house.

-Aah!

-Make a decision!

-No, no!

-What do you want?

-I want it to stay, really.

-The... This opening.

-You do want the opening?

-Yeah.

-Let's have it then.

-Yeah.

-There you go!

That was actually a decision, wasn't it, in the end? Designers!

Downstairs, the walls are being demolished in the kitchen area

and the joists are coming out to make space for the steels.

I'm not even going to try that.

Get that one out.

You need a hand like his.

'Now that's just embarrassing!'

Flipping one handed! Did you see that? One handed!

One handed then!

When you work every day, you get used to it, don't you?

-What are you saying?

-That you don't do physical work and you're feeble.

-You've gone all soft and like rubbery.

-And marshmallowy, yeah.

I don't know that I need to take this abuse.

I make it sound like I sit around all day and... Oh, cake!

Look at them! They are beautiful!

-Do they taste as good as they look?

-You'd better try one.

Friends Lindsay and Sarah have turned up to show their support.

-Cor, they're lovely, aren't they?

-They're really nice.

Obviously, you know the last couple of years what it's been like for the family.

-Can you tell us what they've been going through?

-Sheer hell, really.

It's been real hard for her, yeah.

Everybody in the village is really geeing them up.

I think they're quite shocked at how supportive everybody's been.

It's brought everybody out to say, "We do think about you and feel bad for you."

-And this has helped us help them.

-But you've got to get back to work.

-This has not helped my diet.

-You'll have to work extra hard to work the calories off.

Yeah, you tell 'em, ladies!

They'll need some strength, cos the steels that are holding up the rear of the house have arrived.

There might be a bit of a problem.

-Five metres 20.

-That's OK.

-What did you just measure?

-In there, 450 in between.

They're the wrong size! That piece of steel was custom made

to fit exactly in the hole we've made in the house,

and we don't have time to make another one.

It's due to go in tomorrow, so it's got to fit!

The difficulty is, we think it's out, which puts it there,

which means that someone has measured it 100mm out.

No! It's very true, actually.

LAUGHTER

I didn't measure this here! The steel manufacturer took it off the drawing.

He couldn't do a site measurement, cos he couldn't get in.

Don't worry, Mark, I'll just apply my superior brain power and get this worked out.

I'll explain, look. In the room currently, we have a wall like that

and a wall that's like that and a wall we've taken out, leaving a piece of wall there.

We've got a steel bridging that gap that runs between here to there.

Drilled in the middle of that, here, are holes that match up with this wall over here.

So the question was, could we shift it that much along

so that these holes in the middle match up down the middle?

The measuring we've done has found that bit will match into that bit,

-if we shift it along, so happy days. We don't need to re-drill it.

-Thank goodness for that.

There's no slack in this schedule. We can't delay this house being finished.

Lots of people in this community have seen how the family

have retreated over the last few years because of the house.

-Jaz, you only live up the road, don't you?

-Yeah, not far away.

-Do you know the lady Rebecca...?

-Yeah, I know Rebecca and Neil. Known them for about ten year now.

We used to all like get together

and, slowly, they started to creep into their shells a bit.

Rebecca were always a bit, "Oh, I don't want anybody coming in!

"Don't tell anybody about the state of what you've seen," and stuff.

Everybody's house is like it when they're doing building work.

Obviously, when it stopped, she wasn't able to invite anybody round.

That's a sad point. You know...

Mm, you become isolated because of the situation through no fault of their own.

I'm going to take a break from the build and meet up with Neil at a local park,

to find out what the impact has been on them all.

If you compare your life, say, four years ago

to the life you're in now, you switch from one to the other,

would you ever believe that it would change so much?

We started on the house fully expecting to finish it.

And then, just out of the blue, you get laid off

and then you think, "Oh, I'll get another job."

But you don't. It doesn't happen as quick now as what it used to.

I feel that, obviously, as a bloke, it's my responsibility to be earning the money.

I feel like I'm not doing my bit,

so it kind of, it does make you feel worthless.

It makes you feel like you're not contributing like you should do and like I always have done.

Do you think with the house and the way you're feeling about that

that you've separated yourself from that support group in the village?

Because you haven't wanted people round the house

and because of the difficulties that you're facing in pressure and time?

If people ever came round, we'd shut the kitchen door,

so no-one could see in through back extension.

We'd only really let them into the living room.

And that's a bit sad really, but that's how we felt

because, you know, it wasn't a house we were proud of.

From the outside it looked great, but step through the front door, it was a different story.

But people who love you don't care about that kind of stuff.

I realise that and if it was me visiting one of my friends, I wouldn't care.

-But when it's roles reversed you kind of do.

-It's true, isn't it?

Sometimes you do need help from the community around you.

We know from people who've come up that you and Rebecca have said you don't deserve it, but you do!

-You know...

-You're very much loved in the village, you and Rebecca and the family.

I know that people do care, but this last couple of weeks has hit home how much really.

It's quite humbling really to... to know.

Back at the house, the trades have worked their socks off today.

We've made some brilliant progress.

As you can see, the bathroom has changed quite a bit.

The old bathroom has been ripped out and the plumbing's all in.

These two rooms haven't changed a great deal, apart from all the electrics that have gone in.

Bill's just clipping off the last bit there.

But the big change is through there, if you look.

The old bathroom's been taken out and it's got this new doorway,

which leads in, as the en suite, into this bedroom here,

where Christopher and his buddies have been putting some ceiling up.

They can't get any further until the electricity has gone in

and they are considering putting some dabbing on the walls. I'll join you downstairs.

Quite a bit of change down here. We've made a new vestibule area,

which I think has made it a lot more airy.

Mind the steel on the floor. In the living room, we've managed to discover the fireplace.

We're going to add a gas fire in there.

We've built a new stud wall, which is shortening the room considerably,

in order to open this area out, but it's a big thing to do.

Look over there. That whole back wall has gone out.

And this forest of Acrow props is actually holding up the back of the house,

as we're about to run our steels in.

So not bad going for the first day, is it?

Day two, and there's a mountain to climb. Not literally! Figuratively, obviously!

The boys have been downstairs, upstairs. Now they're outside.

Jason turned up there as well, so we've another chippy on board.

They're getting this roof prepped, cos what we're going to do

is we're going to put three roof windows in here.

Try and get a lot more light into this back kitchen.

It may seem like a lot of effort just to make it brighter,

but Gabrielle has a really good reason for it.

I just want them to feel, when they walk through that door into this kitchen areas,

that this is what they'd always dreamed of.

I know it sounds cheesy, but the light will be symbolic of just a big change,

from this dark, cramped house to being more spacious.

-The last bit of house, actually holding the house up, is that bit there.

-That's holding everything up.

So if that goes, run! LAUGHTER

He is only joking!

Getting these steels up and fixed is just the start of what needs to happen today.

There's plumbing, electrics, plastering.

Luckily, we've got some muscle on the job!

Not from Mark, obviously!

When I boxed for the county, I had a body like that.

You can have a look if you like.

You know what I mean? He weren't much bigger that that, was he?

-What? I've scratched meself!

-'Oh, sorry, Bill!

'You all right, lad?'

Nips, I think what Gabrielle is trying to achieve is bedroom area.

So this will just be open. And you walk through.

This will be a run of units here. Dressing room area.

So you... Spin round and go this way.

Into the shower, the en suite,

I swear to you, yesterday, I was up here and she decided

not to have a doorway into the en suite. She was going to use the existing door through there.

I went downstairs. I made a cup of tea.

I came back and the big fella was knocking the wall down.

I said, "It's not happening!" He said, "When you went, she changed her mind."

So it's just keeping up to speed with her.

Yeah, you see, that's designers really.

It's about the wind direction, I think. That's what does it.

We were going to have a rad either side of this but we're not any more.

So we don't have to move...?

-Is that how many you want, just six?

-No, we need to completely rethink this plan now.

-The lighting?

Bill, can I have a word, darling? I've been thinking about this kitchen island position.

-Island position?

-Yeah, I think we need to move it just a little bit.

- What's she doing? - Planning the room out.

-Do I not normally do any planning?

-No, no! It's nice to see you in the process.

It's lovely.

Yeah, you see, there's a reason she's a bit distracted.

And he's six foot six.

Looks very good at carrying things across the road, which we like.

Yeah, let's go and look and see if it... I'm stressing about this now.

Oh!

It just feels all kinds of wrong to me, that position.

It seems really high as well.

-Jump in, imagine you're in the shower.

-OK.

I'm in the shower with Tom. Aah! I'm saying nothing. OK, so...

SHE LAUGHS

-Can we do this without anybody else knowing?

-Yeah.

It's a bit hot in there.

-You are blushing!

-Well, I'm hot! But not in a... Just in a hot way.

She's going to get arrested for stalking him. Aren't you?

Yes, despite Gabrielle's, erm, zeal,

people are queuing up to give us a hand.

I was just visiting a customer across the road there.

-So I thought pop over and offer my services.

-And what are your services?

-Aerial and satellite systems.

I didn't think people put much back into the community, but they do, so it's very nice to see.

-We've got a broken garage door.

-I'll have a look at it. I could be the man to sort the job.

Another man just come out of the woodwork and helped us out. Brilliant!

Can you see any more trades from up there?

-Hello.

-Hello! I'm the vicar.

-Why have you come up?

We know the family quite well. They come to church and go up to the toddler group that I help out at.

They're a really lovely family. Nice people.

They are nice people, aren't they? They've had an avalanche of bad luck over the last couple of years.

Just phenomenal bad luck really. So it's nice to be able to...

The village are so pleased about it happening. Everyone's keen for them.

-It's just good that good things start happening to good people.

-That's really nice!

The terrible bad luck that Neil and Rebecca have endured,

started long before the problems with the house.

It began when Rebecca was pregnant with their first son, Toby.

It was like we'd won Lottery, cos it was five years of trying.

Five years of heartache watching all your friends having children.

We thought, "It's finally our turn!"

"We're having this..." Cos I knew he was a boy from the minute I were pregnant, I just knew.

And then, right at the very end, he died, basically.

About 38 and a half weeks pregnant.

So that was a really, really difficult time for us.

Really difficult. Very dark time in our life.

Obviously, when Rebecca had given birth,

they asked us if we wanted Toby to stay with us,

or they could take him down to the morgue.

But we wanted Toby to stay with us, just to spend time with him ourselves.

So...

You cuddled him all night while I was asleep

and it absolutely broke me heart that, to think that you had been

sat there all night cuddling him.

And now their youngest son needs help that they haven't been able to give.

Once this house is sorted, it could mean peace at last for this family.

I've come to the local hospital to find out more about the problems Ben has to live with

and what we can do in the house to help lessen them.

Katie Stork is a speech therapist and has been helping Ben for the last year.

He does have some social communication difficulties,

so there is an element there that actually he doesn't always initiate with you when he wants something.

So even non-verbally, some children would take you by the hand if they wanted a drink,

so they'd take you to get a drink, or they'd show something they really wanted to do.

Whereas Ben, he's not really got that means to communicate, which is quite important.

He's got a few different... As well as the speech, which is the major one.

He can't communicate at all, but the fact that he doesn't sleep...

He's just starting to show signs of being upset when he's in different environments.

A lot of noise upsets him.

How important is a calm home environment

and a routine in order to get him to sleep properly.

It's one of the fundamental things that they do need.

So if we can have that in place,

then, hopefully, that will help with other areas of his communication.

All of his general skills as well, not just his communication,

but, like you say, his sleeping and his pattern,

and all of that is hugely important.

If he's sleeping, you're sleeping, Freya's sleeping, you know.

That would be amazing! If all of us were sleeping, that would be great.

I don't expect that to happen for a long time, but, yeah, that would be amazing.

Well, we need to make sure that happens

Back at the house, we're halfway through the build

and we've got the perfect tools to aid the family's sleep.

We need a lot of insulation because...

If you come round this way, look. Up there, that's the A1.

So there's a lot of noise from the road,

so the house sits in a very noisy little location.

So it's twofold. One is noise insulation, but also, of course,

it's going to be really good with insulation for heat, too,

which will take their bills down and that will be key for them.

Things are moving on apace inside, in some areas.

The plaster's going up.

And that means Gabby can start thinking about making Ben's room a sanctum of sleep.

There's loads of work to do in here.

Because this is the most important bedroom for the whole family.

Cos Ben's sleeping disorder has affected this whole family.

How do you achieve that thing at night when he's going to sleep

with a child that, literally, doesn¹t want to go to sleep?

We're trying to give really strong cues for him.

That this is now night time, so the light is going to be soft and dark.

There will be little pools of light.

We're going to have a day bed over there. He can be read a story in soft lighting.

Nice cuddle, which he loves, and then we're moving into this section,

where I'm going to build two little stud walls,

so when he's in his cot,

he has as little visual stimulation as possible.

You're right. This is the key. Get this right and everyone else gets a good night's sleep.

We've got to finish the house first. In the garden, Mark's discovered something which could stop us.

Wooooa!

Yeah, during a routine test of the drains, we've realised that there's a major problem.

Sewage is seeping away underneath the house, without anybody knowing about it.

We've got a camera down there and it's not a pretty sight.

This could be disastrous.

-Looking like a crack at nine o'clock to 12 o'clock.

-Yeah!

-Got one there.

-And you've got a crack at three and nine o'clock.

-That's a joint between the plastic and the clay.

-Oh, my goodness!

Basically, it could, if it leaks over a period of time,

then the floor could subside and then you've got an even bigger problem.

Trouble is, we're going to have to dig the floor up on our extension, to try and sort it out.

We can't dig that floor up, Nick! We've got a kitchen going in in two days.

Well, the only other option seems to be moving the drain. It's a massive job!

If we re-route the drains, we've got to come right round the back of the property,

take all this out, get underneath that fence

re-route all the drainage right round.

But then you've also got their drainage coming into it.

-And their sink waste there.

-We can't do that!

We'll have to find a drain expert ASAP

and see if, by some miracle, they can help.

I'm going to get on the blower. We're going to run out of time.

Just when things couldn't look worse, there's another setback. This time in the kitchen.

We've just found a problem with the floor.

The sub-floor is out of level

by, like, 70mm

over the floor, so you can't put the insulation in

-to float the floor on it.

-It's all over the place, man!

There's 35mm difference from there t'floor at this end

than there is from that Velux to the floor that end.

There's a deadline tomorrow morning, cos the kitchen is coming at 8.00am with fitters to fit it.

We need this floor done tonight, so they can fit the kitchen tomorrow.

It's probably about five or six hours work and it's 6.30 on a Friday night.

Being an expert in body language, I can tell those fellas over there are not very happy.

I'll just phone me kids and tell them I'll see them tomorrow.

-All right then, carry on.

-It's so far out, it's unbelievable!

I will be late.

This will take hours, but we CAN fix it.

The drains, however... Well, we'll have to wait and see.

This is a new one for us, to discover that the main sewer drain running under the extension

is broken and we're going to have to fix it.

Luckily, we have many people with good ideas on how to get past this problem

and, with luck, someone will turn up tomorrow and sort it out.

If they don't, we're in deep...

trouble.

Another day on the build and even though the sun's still shining and it's the weekend,

we've still got loads of people here to help.

But there's one person we're desperate to see.

Hopefully, somewhere someone's going to fix our drains for us! Where is he?

Hey! There you go!

Lee has come to see if the drain is suitable to be lined by a sleeve,

meaning it wouldn't need to be dug up. It's a major hassle,

but we must fix this problem.

The reason we're so worried is, one - we've got sewage leaking into the earth round your house.

Two - you're also putting water through underneath the property,

so you could have that water washing underneath the foundations,

causing cavities, which could cause collapse in your building.

So you could have cracks in four or five years' time.

So you might think the groundworks are not that important, but they're really important.

They've got to be done right, cos you can't have water undermining your footings.

Your footings being the foundations to the house.

The pressure's on as the kitchen fitters are waiting.

Because if Lee can't fix this drain, the floors will have to be dug up.

-There you go!

-Pull it back a bit.

You've got black rubber showing at the joint, which means that's displaced.

That could be it.

Nothing like a busted rubber to get you into trouble.

Will your cement stocking solve this problem?

Yeah, not a problem. Repair that.

I'd sort of like to kiss you.

I'm going to say owt!

LAUGHTER

Don't hold back, Mark! This cement stocking isn't the cheapest option,

but it means we don't have to dig up the kitchen floor.

I'm lead to believe you that not only have you got a solution, but you've paid for all this.

-That's right, yeah.

-That's amazing! You don't know this family.

You don't know this family. Why would you do something like that?

Well, apparently, they're in need of help.

Let me shake your hand.

I was supposed to be going to Cornwall, but my missus says this is more important.

But no problem.

So, yeah, here we go.

-Shall we crack on?

-Yeah.

-Right.

Absolutely incredible, really.

He's not only give his weekend up, he's give his holiday up.

He's shelled out 750 quid to help somebody he doesn't know.

Blows me away about SOS. Blows me away.

Surrounded by really good people. It's lovely.

Stupid really, but that's how we put these jobs together.

Loads of just brilliant people come out of the woodwork,

give their time, their money, their energy and their love.

Brilliant!

It seems like there are lots of people round here willing to lend a helping hand.

Why did you decide to help out?

I've been there meself with nowt in your life and it's nice to give it back.

Everybody wants to do a good job for an honest living. That's all people want to do.

Even though we're going through a bad time, there's so many nice people.

Because they look at it - "One day that could be me wearing them shoes," you know?

We all find accepting help difficult at times.

None more so than Neil. His mum, Hazel, has had to stand by

and watch her son's pain.

-Hazel!

-Hello.

-Hello!

-I thought I might come and have a cup of tea and a chat, is that all right?

-Yes, no problem.

Obviously, the last two years have been very tough on the family.

But it strikes me, particularly on Neil,

-because he takes caring for his family and looking after his family very seriously.

-Very seriously, yes.

He's just been so unlucky with work, you know? He's so desperate to get work.

He's just been a catalogue of bad luck, as far as I can see it.

It's very difficult for a mum, you know, to sit back and...

You just want your children to be all right, don't you?

In his heart of hearts, he must be thinking, "Hang on here.

"Got two lovely children, a lovely wife and I'm not doing it, am I?"

-Do you know what I mean?

-Mm.

-Sorry. I, er...

Hey, listen... We get it. All the guys that are in there get it and understand.

A man has got nothing if he hasn't got his pride,

and is, he's having to deal with the most difficult thing for a man

which is that sense of not being able to provide.

But isn't it wonderful that this community have actually come out?

It's amazing! It's more than wonderful. It's more than amazing.

It's... Well, you just can't find the words to think what's happened.

You think, "God, they've done that for us, for my family."

It will be quite something when you get back to it.

Mmm.

But right now it looks like, well, a building site, to be honest,

and we've only got a few days left to finish it.

The job Lee has of lining the drains has to be done in just minutes.

These chemicals will harden in the liner to stick it to the inside of the drain,

but, of course, it's not that simple.

How much time have you got to get that in then?

Once we've started mixing, we should have two and a half hours.

If it's warm, the ultraviolet gets to the resins once it's mixed.

That could be reduced to 15 minutes, so we've got to work...

-Reduced to what? 15 minutes!

-Yeah.

-My God!

And it's over 20 degrees at the moment.

So is working time's getting shorter and shorter.

The problem is that if the chemicals harden before the liner is pulled into place correctly,

the drain could be ruined.

That's it, the clock's ticking. That's starting to set.

Out of the way.

He's doing this instead of a holiday in Cornwall, by the way!

Go on!

Go on!

Are you through?

The yellow balloon is expanding along the length of the liner

and will hold it in place until it sets.

That's it!

-How's it looking?

-Brilliant!

-Brilliant. That's it. It's through.

-Through the other end?

-Yeah.

Just go to leave it now. Cup of tea time for me.

And well deserved it is, too.

Elsewhere in the house, progress is just as good.

The kitchen is going in amazingly fast.

They're even doing the floor at the same time.

Jobs are done!

Not all jobs are so spot on though.

See how these lights are getting on.

Oh, yeah! They're working.

Let's see how these are working. What's this one doing?

Hold on a minute!

Hold on. This is the hall light, yeah?

But that's the living room light.

What's going on? The living room lights just stay on!

See? That's added extra for free. Thankfully, Billy's not in charge of painting!

With only a few days to go, the wet stuff's going on the walls and it's starting to look like a home!

So you're going with like a Wedgwood blue?

It's just a lovely sort of soft colour, because we've got bright...

Grey in the hallway.

Ooh! Grey is lovely. It's fine.

You can't paint everything bright colours because it will look like a sort of clown house.

LAUGHTER

The word you're looking for is "anything" not "everything"!

You don't think that looks like the colour HMS Belfast is painted?

It's really lovely AND it goes with the curtains and it's not dry yet.

-If only the navy had realised what lovely curtains they could have put on HMS Belfast.

-Exactly!

-MARK:

-There we go. There she goes! look at that.

That's a nice clean run, isn't it? That's beautiful.

I never thought drainage could be so exciting.

Job done!

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-He's had that glove down the drain!

LAUGHTER I'll go and wipe it on Billy!

-What sort of wood is it?

-Rubber wood.

Tree wood - we can do that...

-It's rubber wood! That's what it's called.

-Say it again.

-Rubber wood.

-We're not messing!

-Rubber wood! Has anyone heard of rubber wood?

-It's rubber wood.

-Shut up!

-It is, honestly!

So what tree does it come from?

From a rubber wood tree.

Have you ever heard of rubber wood? Be honest.

LAUGHTER

Shall we just call it oak? A light oak worktop.

-But it's a rubber tree.

-Rubber wood!

-Is that any relation to a lavatory?

LAUGHTER

Where do you think rubber comes from? From a tree!

Over to someone who actually knows about trees.

Tim and his team have come along to create an extra surprise for the family that will really help them.

-What aspects are you bringing into the place?

-First, we've made the garden safe.

So everything's on one level, so Ben's not going to be tripping over anything once he's out.

-What's going on with your wigwam?

-That's so Ben's got a hideaway.

Around the base there's going to be some rubber chippings so he can have a crawl around.

He's not going to get all filthed up in the soil.

So somewhere he can bounce around.

-And in the corner, you've got a bit of a water feature, is that?

-Yeah, he'll be able to touch that.

If he comes out here and gets a break, so do they.

So, hopefully, everybody can benefit from what we're doing.

What a lovely man! We're surrounded by them here.

But it's not just Ben that were here to help.

It's been tough on little Freya, too.

This is the first time I've ever done anything like this.

-It's really nice.

-Is this fun to do this with Mummy, Freya?

-Yeah!

Unintentionally, kind of been pushed out a little bit with Ben.

He does tend to take a lot of the time and Freya's been kind of in the background.

I'm looking forward to being able to do things with her because...

Hopefully, it will bring us even closer together.

Cos I think we've been pulled apart a bit with the problems with Ben and everything else.

I know she appreciates just time on her own with me, so we'll be able to do more of that.

What difference do you think us finishing your house will make to your family?

A huge difference. People have their home as a sanctuary.

People go home and they relax. And we don't relax.

We... Us... It's stressful.

That's what we're here to change, but we can't do it without help.

Freya's classmates have arrived at the house with a special surprise for her.

-We've made two sets of drawers for Freya.

-Oh!

-For her bedroom.

We thought it would be a nice surprise, like a friendship drawer.

So when she opens the drawer, these little ones have signed on the side of the drawer.

Lily.

-Izzie, James.

-And James!

They're going to look lovely in their room,

which, by the way, is looking lovely itself.

This is starting to come together as a proper little girl's bedroom.

-Is this like a designer wallpaper?

-This is a mass-produced paper.

But it's just really perfect for Freya, because it really suits her personality.

It's really sort of bold and crazy and sweet and girlie.

But also what I really like about this paper is it's got three colours in it.

And, for girls, going through this pink phase, it can be very intense, but very brief.

So you paint their whole room bright pink and then they hate it and you've got to redecorate.

So at least with this, we're going to accessorise with pink now, cos she's five and she'll love it.

But then in a few years' time, she'll have more like turquoise accessories

and have a slightly more grown-up feel.

So you've got two schemes with one wallpaper.

OK. Fair enough, that kind of makes sense.

Yeah, she knows what she's talking about, our Gabrielle.

Friends Sara and Nicola were the ones who contacted us about the family.

We wanted to give them a chance to see what's being achieved.

So, in here, the kitchen used to stop here, well, here.

And then there was a back window.

You're very emotional, ladies. Why is it such a big deal?

-Cos she's...

-When you just know what someone's had to go through.

-It's been a tough couple of years.

-Couple? Quite a lot.

Quite a few years.

Just...

I'm sorry. Just, erm...

knowing the difference this will make to everyday life.

It won't fix all the problems. They've still got ongoing problems,

but just, day to day, being able to be in a beautiful space.

Everybody goes through it. You think, "I wish that was different and that was different."

And it kind of talks at you all the time.

So you start putting your head down and trying to ignore it.

Before too long, you're like that, constantly looking down.

This will make her just instantly want to stand up straight again.

And that just will lift her. Just cannot thank you enough. It's just amazing.

It's very nice of you to thank us, but it's not us. It's all this lot.

The guys other there, the guys wandering backwards and forwards.

All these local trades are all volunteering to do this.

I hope that they're proud of themselves and they feel happy

knowing how much...what they've done.

See the difference you guys make by coming along and volunteering?

-It's no problem.

-You're our heroes!

-No problem.

-You are.

I wish you wouldn't do it! I've got water on me sideboard now.

We're on the home straight now.

Oh, that looks great! So light and bright.

She's going to love it!!

-Mate, thank you very much.

-Thanks, lads!

Here's the en-suite door. There's the door I said wouldn't work.

I tried to convince them not to do it and yet, oddly, it does work.

Through an awful lot of selfless work, this house has been brought back to life.

Oh!

You know, it really is going to change things for this family.

Ten days ago, this house was a weight on Rebecca and Neil's shoulders.

It's a very stressful environment to live in. Not a safe place for playing.

Until something drastic happens, I think it is always going to be stood like this.

It was dark and noisy, cramped and draughty.

It was harming the well-being of their children.

It was a prison with no way out

and isolating the family from the community that loved them.

If people ever came round, we'd shut the kitchen door so no-one could see it through the back extension.

We'd only let them into the living room and that's a bit sad really.

To turn this house around has taken an army of trades,

the affection of friends and strangers,

and the grace of a dad who knew when to accept help.

This is truly the house that love built.

The kitchen has turned from a dark hole to a bright and airy family space,

filled with natural woods and fresh colours.

The new skylights bring the sunshine inside and fill the house with light.

We've given this home back its heart.

The living room has been transformed from a narrow, under-used space

to a cosy and snug lounge.

The family can gather on the comfy sofas around the new open fire

and properly relax.

The upstairs is designed to get everyone back to sleep.

And that process starts with the new family bathroom.

The spacious bath is crowned with colour-changing lights

to relax the children in the evening ready for bed.

Getting Ben to sleep is paramount,

so in his room the mattress on the floor is gone,

replaced with uncluttered space, soft, muted colours

and sound and light insulation.

A comfy day bed provides a cosy snug for story time

and Ben's new cot gives him the reassurance and comfort of being enclosed

with the best possible chance of much-needed peace, quiet and sleep.

In Freya's new room, we've filled it with fun and girliness.

Somewhere she can play with her friends, have space to herself

and, above all, now get a good night's sleep.

Rebecca and Neil have a grown-up room adorned with relaxing tones

and a touch of luxury - a refuge from the stresses of daily life,

where they can finally sleep in the same bed again.

Outside in the neglected garden, we've made a sensory haven,

where the kids can play in safety

and the whole family can be together.

This is now a quiet and peaceful sanctuary,

somewhere they can truly call home.

-Do you know where you are?

-Haven't got a clue!

-I think we're in through a front door somewhere.

-Yeah.

-But...

-I'm not sure.

-OK, you're not very fond of your house, are you?

-No!

-No.

It's pretty much become your sort of enemy in trying to get on with life.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Well, a lot of people in the community have come together to make it better. Are you ready?

-Yes.

-Yeess!

OK, open your eyes.

-Oh, my God!

-That's not our house!

My God, that is absolutely stunning.

That is your dream kitchen, Rebecca, in't it? You all right?

-You said you weren't going to cry.

-I know!

That didn't last long then, did it?

-I can't believe how light and bright...

-It's like being in someone else's house!

-It's like somebody's read my mind.

-That is Gabrielle's job, really.

We've insulated the house massively. If you just go quiet for a second.

SILENCE

-Oh, my God! You can't hear road!

-You can normally hear the buzz...

-You can't hear anything!

The A1, you can always hear that. I can't hear a thing.

Massively insulated all the roofing space and the wall space,

so that the whole thing becomes much more calming and that's been the theme throughout.

To give you the perfect space which you can work with the children, but also to make it all calm down a bit.

-Oh, it's fantastic!

-It's just amazing.

-Oh!

-Ooh! Oh, my gosh!

REBECCA LAUGHS

-Oh, my word!

-This is stunning!

This is absolutely unbelievable.

-Look at all the pictures and everything.

-Oh!

-Who's that happy, smiling couple up the top there?

-Yeah!

You were talking about not having people around because you were upset about the place.

You even said yourself, in spite of knowing people loved you.

You'd put up with it if you went to someone else's house, but you just weren't inviting people round.

-We never invited anybody round.

-Which means you get separated from your friends.

-Yeah.

I think we'll leave all the doors open now.

-Do you want to see the rest of it?

-Yeah! Oh, my gosh!

Aaah!

Look at the size of the... Oh, my God! The kids could swim in there.

-That is beautiful!

-And if you look up at the lighting...

-Oh, my God!

-Of an evening when you're... It's a soothing effect.

-The colour changes in the water.

-The kids will love that.

So the idea is, again, that Ben becomes soothed whilst he's having his bath.

Which is fun as well, but it becomes soothing with the colours of the lights

and you can take the lighting down to start on progress towards sleep.

This will help him immensely, won't it?

Oh, look at this!

It's stunning!

-This is unbelievable.

-Look at this!

I would have loved a bedroom like this when I were a kid.

-The foxes... Yeah! It's...

-Foxes, yeah.

Again, if I had a choice, I couldn't have chosen any better.

It's beautiful. The colours, everything.

-Oh, my God! It's blue! It's perfect!

-This is unbelievable!

-Oh, Neil!

-Is it what you expected?

-No, it's better than what I expected.

If I said thank you from now till the end of time, it wouldn't be enough.

Because they've totally, totally changed our lives.

It's overwhelming to think that people are that generous.

-This proves that you've got a good community around you and good things can happen.

-Yeah.

Definitely. We can't thank everybody enough for all the work...

It's kind of made us re-focus. Things aren't always bad.

Things... Good things happen.

Maybe it's the start of a whole turnaround in our lives.

Oh, look at Ben's room!

Look at Ben's room!

-Oh!

-Is this beautiful, Freya, do you think?

-Yes.

-Do you like it?

-Look, Benny!

-He seems very content in here, doesn't he?

-Yeah.

He's straight into his balls on the floor.

I'm really, really happy with that

-because I thought he'd be clingy with us.

-Yeah.

-I think he's right at home straight away.

-He is!

It's a very calming environment. The colours are amazing.

So that's Ben's room and we've shown Mummy and Daddy their room,

-so that's everything, isn't it?

-Yeah, I think that's everything.

-No!

-Is there anything missing?

-What's missing?

-My room!

-Oh!

-Oh! Freya!

This is your bedroom.

NEIL AND REBECCA LAUGH

We're never going to get her out of here.

Is that the most beautiful bed you've ever seen?

-Yeah!

-Yeah?

Look at the wallpaper and the lights!

Look!

REBECCA LAUGHS Look at yourself doing your hair!

-What do you think of your bedroom?

-It's beautiful!

-Oh!

-Oh, my God!

-Oh!

-Wow!

-Look at that!

-Oh!

Oh, and a water feature!

Freya!

Ben's happy!

-Shall we leave Ben with Hazel and say hello to the people that did all this work?

-Definitely.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Look at all these people! Mummy's really happy.

These aren't all the people that did the work.

There's a few that can't be here, including one who's gone to Crete. He almost cancelled his holiday.

So looking over this sea of people and the community that surrounds you, do you want to say a few words?

For people who don't know us to come and give their time and do a fantastic job

is absolutely unbelievable and just saying thank you doesn't seem enough.

This is going to change our lives, completely.

Mummy's crying. She wants a cuddle.

It's just... I'm so, so thankful.

You've given us the most beautiful home ever!

And I really, really am grateful!

-Thank you!

-Big change, isn't it?

-Yeah!

-Massive change.

-Yeah.

And it's going to transform our lives.

You know what?

It already has.

APPLAUSE

Brilliant job. Thank you very much, mate. Thanks a lot.

It's been a pleasure!

Brilliant job! Absolutely amazing.

They broke the back of the house and put it back together again.

So you're responsible for how super my house is! Thank you!

"Thank you for Freya's house." Isn't that lovely?

-It was hard work, but I enjoyed it.

-Thank you so, so much, yeah.

It's a funny old thing, you know. Here's a family that lived in a really lovely community,

and they had friends and family around, they were much loved.

Yet, because of what happened to their house, they became so embarrassed about it

that they lost touch with that community that loved them

and they felt isolated and took all their pressures on their own shoulders.

And it took the community to come back and give them the house that they needed

to remind them that they had this support network around them.

That's important, you know, for any family, especially when they're going through difficulties.

Maybe you should check and see that your friends are OK.

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