The Big Build - Fareham DIY SOS

I will never accept...

..that my children have to face every day the struggles they have to face.

We're here to help a family who have twins with exceptional needs.

You do wonder why it's happened.

There's just one thing on everyone's mind.

Just our lives to be changed and have a better, safer environment.

Trapped in a tiny house,

they can't make it meet their needs.

I'm still grieving for the children

and the life that they should have had.

This build has got its work cut out. Good job we've got a strong community on our side.

We were running out of ideas how to keep her spirits up.

We're getting help from all over the place and we're going to need it.

This is one of the toughest jobs I've ever done.

Here's why. Around me is the floor plan of the house we're working in, actual size,

and this is the number of builders we need to squeeze in.

This is DIY SOS: The Big Build!

CHEERING

Whiteley, a small town between Portsmouth and Southampton,

is home to Hanna, Mike and their three children -

eight-year-old Harry and two-year-old twins Zachary and Ruben.

Four years ago, they were just an ordinary family of three,

looking forward to expanding their clan.

When we found out we were having another baby, we were delighted. Harry would have a brother or sister.

And we were in a really positive place. Then the scan told us we were having two babies.

As a midwife, Hanna delivered many of the babies in the local community.

But that meant she knew there could be complications with a twin pregnancy.

Then, unfortunately, fate turned on us.

The twins were born 11 weeks early.

They were tiny.

They were very sick when they were born.

Zachary contracted an infection

which led to him suffering meningitis

and it was touch or go whether we would ever bring him home.

You've got all these nurses running around, alarms and machines going off.

You're just sat there watching.

Helpless. I felt really helpless.

Ruben, he suffered a massive brain haemorrhage on both sides of his brain...

..which has led to the cerebral palsy.

We were told that would leave him disabled for the rest of his life.

And they're quite hard words to hear...

..because you would never choose that for your children.

Miraculously, both twins survived,

but their complex and demanding needs meant Hanna had to give up her job

to become their full-time carer.

To make matters worse, Mike was then made redundant. He has been forced to take work away from home.

Hanna gets left alone to cope in a tiny house that is totally unsuited to the family's needs.

There you go.

'Ruben can't stand or sit independently.'

He doesn't have any speech and he can't really do anything for himself.

He is getting heavy to lift over into the bath and lift out of the bath and that's only going to get worse.

Zach and Ruben have to share my room because we've only got two bedrooms,

so it's not conducive to a great night's sleep if all of them are in here with me.

They woke up at three today. They've been on and off awake since then.

Three or four hours' rest is a typical night for Hanna.

Extreme sleep deprivation just adds to her troubles.

Ruben is completely unable to move himself.

Therefore, he relies on me to lift him up and down the stairs.

And certainly, I worry about the safety of it

because it will get to the point where if I was to trip or have any sort of accident,

I could...both of us could come to some sort of harm.

Ruben's brother Zachary is profoundly deaf, but has less extreme needs.

Zachary has learnt to walk which we are so grateful for,

but he is quite unstable,

so he falls over 50, 60, 70 times a day.

At the moment, the house is so confined,

we're finding that he runs into things and is causing himself injury.

And on top of that, Hanna is scared to let them outside.

They're trapped with no means of escape.

The situation has placed demands on all the family,

including big brother Harry.

'Because my dad's away,

'my mum doesn't have as much help.'

And I'm always trying to, like...

..make the babies happy

and get them organised for the day.

I think when Mike's away, Harry almost sees himself as the man of the house.

He says, "I'm going to look after you, Mummy."

'Harry and I work as a team, really, getting the babies together.

'He is great company for me - Harry.

'He helps out with the twins.

'He'd hold him while Hanna deals with the other one.

'He's brilliant.'

- All gone.

Makes you really proud, he does.

Can you go and pack your schoolbag?

'We're facing the future with Ruben in a wheelchair. He won't walk.

'That's been quite a hard thing'

to be able to accept,

so any house that we have, we would ideally love it to be wheelchair-accessible.

'And that's why we're here - to help.'

Explain to us exactly what it is you need us to do with this house

because our thing is not to do what we think we should do with it, but do what you need us to do with it.

Obviously, Ruben's growing every day, so a downstairs room for him.

To stop you having to carry him up and down the stairs all the time? That would be a major help.

It would be nice to have a room for us back. Yeah. They've been in with us for three years.

It would be nice to have some space back where I can shut the door when they're asleep at night and relax.

The thing that keeps us going is the twins. We keep a very positive house, don't we? Yeah. Really positive.

We make the best out of what we've got, but when they're asleep and I sit around and look at things,

and I'm so frightened about the future and that we haven't got anywhere else to turn,

that keeps me awake every night.

We will do our absolute level best to give you the maximum amount of room to take the pressure off.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's what it's about. Thank you. I'm really grateful. Thank you.

'As usual, we've only got nine days to work some DIY SOS magic.'

We're so very grateful for all of you giving your time.

'So out with the family, in with the builders. But it's not just the trades digging deep.

'Harry has spent his pocket money on sweets for all the builders.'

Oh, Harry, that's brilliant!

Give them to my sparks. They need building up.

Thanks, Harry.

Cheers, Harry. Thanks ever so much. See you, Harry. Take care.

Everyone knows what to do. Let's get on with it!

'We couldn't do any of this without the generosity of local trades.

'Many of them, like Darryl and Paul, know the family.'

It's the only sort of way that we can physically help someone without writing cheques out to people

which, obviously, in this current climate, not everyone can do that.

So that's what we decided to do - donate our time, rather than money, really.

'The entire house is to be rewired, so it's good to see Billy's got a handle on his team.'

Thank you so much for coming. I'm going to put Graham in charge.

That's Barry. And Barry.

LAUGHTER Sorry, Barry.

'Will I ask him about the hair or will you?

'Let's leave it until he's had a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea. Everybody's full of beans.

'Don't dance, Julian, please!'

I'm fitting a little dance in as well.

'Chris is wasting no time at all.'

We're not holding that up.

'And Mark has already lost the plot. I need to talk to somebody sensible about what we'll do on this build.'

The difficulty with this house is making use of all the space because we can't make it much bigger.

We wanted a two-storey extension, but were only allowed one.

'Planning permission is tight in this area, but we have been able to get a single-storey extension.

'It will still be a small house, so Gabrielle Blackman, our designer, has to be at her creative best.'

It's just really vital we're just really super-clever about every room and its functionality.

Even the depth of the plaster. Every millimetre counts on this job.

The kitchen, we need as much space there as we possibly can, and it's, you know...

So if we use plasterboard and then plaster where we've told you we're only going to plaster, that 12mm...

I'm scuppered. I've never had a tougher one. Just to fit basic furniture in, it's really been hard.

That's why she's paid the big bucks. Gabby's got ambitious designs for this little house.

Her plans mean we're ripping out the kitchen at the front of the house

to create a bedroom for Ruben on the ground floor.

We're also building him a wheelchair-accessible wet room,

so all his needs can be met on the one level.

The old living room will make way for a kitchen/diner.

And the extension at the back of the house will create a new, open-plan living area,

leading on to an outdoor space for the whole family.

Upstairs, Gabby has designed a bespoke bedroom for Zach and big brother Harry.

And with the twins finally out of their room,

Mum and Dad will get some space to themselves once again.

There's a lot of meticulous work to do to give the family the layout they need.

This has been one of the toughest jobs I've ever done. It really has.

'With so many burly blokes in a tiny space, the pressure is on.

'I see it as part of my role to keep morale up. What's this then?

'Bit of an impression for you. First guess wins.

'It's a fish!'

Your mother must be so proud.

Do you do other fish impersonations? Yeah, but that's enough.

You want to leave them wanting more. Exactly.

'Book early to ensure disappointment.

'We need to create wheelchair access for Ruben throughout the ground floor,

'but an hour into the build, we've already hit a problem.'

This doorway is not wide enough for a wheelchair.

To make it wide enough, we must take this wall out which means taking the wall out into the living room.

It's also the support wall, so that will be a substantial change in building work.

'Our problems don't end there.' You can't get a wheelchair through this door either.

You'll have to take this out and put a bigger lining in here.

We can't do that because we've got a wardrobe on this side. You're joking! Oh! Aaargh!

'Watch this look she gives him. Oh!'

I'm not happy.

'As we know, every millimetre counts on this build,

'so any changes will have a knock-on effect for all the fittings.'

On this side of the wall, we've got to fit all of Ruben's storage. On this wall.

Then we need a turning circle, which is here demonstrated by the boys swivelling round.

Then we have his bed and there is room for nothing else in here.

And he's got to have storage. She's a bit cross.

I'm flipping annoyed. She's flipping annoyed. Why are you annoyed?

This is unnecessary stress in a really stressful build.

We don't need door dramas on top of everything else.

'It's because she cares so much. That's why she's cross. Honest.

'Thank goodness we're surrounded by people who can help sort it out. Look at them go!

'At least that's done. Gabrielle was looking like a woman on the edge.

'And it's only the morning of day one.

'Like the house, the garden is narrow.

'That's it, just that little brown strip.

'The grassy bits on either side are the neighbours' gardens. We'll have to tidy them up before we go too.

'Drainage is a priority on this site as the ground here at Whiteley is very clay-like.'

Look at that. You could make pots out of that.

They used to make bricks round here because the soil was so full of clay.

You can mould it. There you go, there's a rough-hewn pot.

'From a rough-hewn presenter. Maybe I should just stick to the day job.

'Lee and his team of ground workers are here for the whole nine days.'

Why did you guys decide to come and help out?

Obviously, times are tight and jobs are...

We heard about the family and the situation they're in, so we thought it would be nice to help.

It's hard for families these days. I've got kids as well at home.

I find it a struggle. My family find it a struggle just supporting, trying to earn the money for them.

When you've got situations that families have to deal with stuff like this,

you want to make it easier for them.

'It's all very well digging it up, but what are we going to put back on top of it?

'Gabby wants flagstones, but of course, Mark has his own ideas.'

Don't you think it would be much nicer in tarmac? Tarmac would be lovely, wouldn't it? It would be.

Have you thought about tarmac out here? Instead of the flagstones.

No! We are not having tarmac out here. White lines. I like tarmac. We like tarmac.

It would be quick in tarmac. Yeah. It would be nice in tarmac.

The viewers love tarmac, don't you? No, Mark, you love tarmac.

The viewers love tarmac as well. I'll change Mark's name to Tar-Mark. That's how much he loves tarmac!

It's permanent, mind.

'I think that nickname just might stick.' That's good.

'Back inside, the extension is in the capable hands of our Julian.

'Look at him - marvellous!'

We're going to prop this up.

We'll take this opening... This opening's coming out from there to there.

A couple of steels going in... Clear opening through.

'It may be small - not the builder, the house - but the whole house is being reworked all at the same time,

'so Gabby's chippies have set up outside where there's enough room for them to work.

'The bespoke fittings they're making will maximise the space.

'I hope you haven't let Mark near those measurements.

'Creating the perfect home for this family in nine days needs a lot of negotiation,

'what politicians call "a free and frank exchange of ideas".'

Gabrielle, I haven't seen you all day. I've been prepping your patterned ceilings for skimming.

You don't like the coving or the textured ceiling in the hallway. No.

I'll do that. Can we leave the one downstairs when you come in the front door?

Because that'll just stop everyone in and out for three or four hours.

I know you don't... I don't like it. I really don't.

Because it's such a small logistical house we're working in, you'll stop everyone coming in and out.

I totally see your point, but it's the first thing people are going to see when they walk in the house.

My dream would be that we do every ceiling in the house. OK, you want it gone. Yeah.

'Never mind fretting over ceilings that already exist.

'We still have a whole extension to build that doesn't, so could we please all just get on with it?'

The guys with the steels have just turned up. They're talking to Julian.

The difficulty is that the walls that we were going to bear on...

haven't got the strength in them because they're not properly tied into the side wall.

Same on that side as well.

'We don't have time to waste, so we'll have to temporarily prop the steels up and hope that works.'

Bit of a heavy lifting job, yeah.

We've got probably about ten men here to lift it if we need to.

I need another two inches.

Is that brick in the way?

Push that over a bit more if you can.

That's it. It's all there, is it?

It went very well.

If you've got loads of blokes on it, you can just manhandle it.

It's all gone in, it's exactly where we want it, nice and level,

so all we've got to do now is just build that in place. Perfect.

Even Knowlesy's working!

'It does happen now and again. Rarely, I admit.

'I've done my bit for now, so I'm off to see the family. I've arranged to catch up with Hanna.'

"Once upon a time in the Night Garden..." 'She's with the twins Zachary and Ruben

'and health visitor Liz who knows the family very well.'

He's quite happy to sit and play like that, but he can't sit up,

so he just has to lie on his side.

Is that something that you think will develop? It's getting a bit late, really. Is it?

He can sit supported for a little bit, but his trunk is really weak,

so he can't sit up on his own.

But he can roll over and he's learnt to commando-crawl, which is something we never thought, so he's clever.

GIGGLING Is that funny that we're talking about you?

At the outset, the prognosis for Ruben was really, really dark,

and yet he has defied all odds

and has made some fantastic progress.

Is there a possibility that he will become more mobile or more able to look after himself?

All I know is that Hanna does everything in her power

to help him become more mobile

and Ruben is a really happy little boy who laughs, who giggles, who communicates

and, you know, that is fantastic progress.

'So does the layout of the house affect the wellbeing of the family?'

Definitely. Without a shadow of a doubt because safety is paramount.

There is a point where it actually becomes unsafe for not only the parent, but also for the child

because you risk them being dropped down the stairs.

For Hanna, to have everything on one floor,

so, in the daytime, she doesn't have to keep on going upstairs and downstairs,

will save her a lot of work.

Mike's got a theory that it'll be all right in the end because...

Sorry.

Sorry. You don't have to apologise.

I fully understand why it's such an emotional thing.

Mike just says we've just got to love them.

'But for much of the time, Mike is forced to express that love long-distance.'

Sometimes I feel a bit out on a limb when I'm on the phone every day, finding out how she's got on,

how the appointments have gone.

It does make you feel a bit guilty that I'm not helping out more. It's tough.

When I come back, I do get all this new stuff from the twins as well.

They can say this now or they can do this.

I miss them quite a bit. Yeah. But you need the money to support them all, don't you?

Since the twins have come along,

has there been much room for a relationship between the two of you or is it just full-on care?

Full-on care. Can you manage if we sort the house out?

I hope so, yeah.

With a bit of help from all our support network,

I think it will be a lot better.

'We can't change the challenges this family face with their twins,

'but we can give them the perfect environment in which to face those challenges.'

All this wallpaper needs to come off. There'll be a lot of decorating and patching in this room.

But mostly, it's still services. There are holes in the floor.

That's the main family bathroom. There were six guys in there recently.

Then we're through into what will be Harry and Zach's room

because Ruben's going to be downstairs.

Again we've got to make this into a really lovely double boys' room.

It's a bit of a mess because the services are still going in and there's great holes in the floor.

'The biggest job is the downstairs extension. Tomorrow, the priority is building those supporting walls.

'But for now, it's been a long day and everyone needs some sleep.

'Then late at night while all the builders are tucked up in bed,

'there's a bit of Whiteley magic in the air.

'Who's this? A house elf? A local sprite perhaps?

'Actually, it's local brickie Mick who has magically appeared to sort out those supporting walls.

'He's been hard at work all day on another site, but that hasn't stopped him coming along after hours

'to make sure this house gets the extension the family needs.'

I got home, had my tea, then got a phone call and I'm up here doing this.

I know, like, pretty much what the family are going through with all, like, hospital trips

because actually my son has got Hirschsprung's disease

and he's had seven operations before he's six months old.

For about four years he was, like, in intensive care,

hooked up to all tubes and everything like that,

and when you can't pick him up and cuddle him, it's...

You know, I can understand why it's all going on

and I'm quite happy to be here and help a nice family with their two young kids.

'Local people helping local people.

'It's day two and Jules is chirpy this morning.

'Well, he's been chirpy all along.'

There was a little elf here last night. He built this pillar up.

Very kind of him to stay on late. He built that pillar up.

We've just got to finish a few bits and bobs off, building along the top of the steels, then it's all done.

Yeah, thank the Lord for little elves!

'From little green elves to pink-haired electricians...'

I have to ask you about the hair. Everyone's been not asking about the hair, so what...?

The hair was just to blend in with my T-shirt.

We're blue tomorrow, then you want to see him. We're in blue tomorrow.

Were you ever a boy band together? We could have been.

'Listen up, One Direction. This is you in 25 years' time.

'There's someone else on site today - Sarah Mullins.

'She's the one who contacted us about the family's desperate situation.'

Why did you write to us in the first place?

Mike and I went to school together. We've been friends for years and years and years. Too many.

Hanna and I met when they got together.

With the twins born three months early, it's changed their lives in a way you could never expect.

We all try and help, but we're not living that life.

The reality is they're really trapped in that house.

Because they own their own home, they're not entitled to help, not anything like what you're doing here.

But it's just been really tough the last few years. You look very emotional. It's a big deal for you.

It's not my life, but I am very close to Hanna and Mike. I've been through the last three years with them.

She's pretty much at the end of her tether.

If we hadn't had this to look forward to, I don't know...

We were running out of ideas how to motivate her as our friend and keep her spirits up.

'Hanna's other close friends Ali and Emma have also been a huge support to her.'

When I met her the other day, if you don't mind me saying, she does look like a woman right on the edge.

That's the thing with Hanna.

From the outside world, people that don't know her, she looks very capable and on top of everything,

but underneath, there's a swan paddling very quickly to stay afloat.

She does have good days and bad days. Yeah. And Hanna's a midwife.

Was a midwife. Is a midwife. She just isn't practising at the moment.

She has helped a lot of mums in Whiteley, including Ali, have their babies.

She helped you have your baby? Yeah. I went into labour in a snowstorm in which the ambulance got stuck.

So we had to call out Hanna. The babies were still in special baby care at the time.

She walked half a mile. She walked through the snow with all her kit.

Whilst her babies were in special care? Yeah.

That says a lot about the woman. It certainly does.

When we come to help out, it's a double-edged sword because they'd rather do it for themselves.

They'd rather not need our help. It's with complete relief.

I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come. They couldn't live the way they were living.

As a couple, they need their own time and this will give them an opportunity to have their own space.

The basic things we take for granted, she doesn't have,

and when you do go to sleep, to have two children at the end of your bed, it's not ideal.

I don't know how long they could've gone on. No.

Do you ever look at your own families, thinking, "How would I manage in those circumstances?"

All the time. I wouldn't...

I wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as Hanna at all.

I think I'd be sat in a corner rocking or I'd be in an asylum by now.

I don't know how she does it. I genuinely don't know.

'Hanna and her family are really loved locally. That's why so many people are here.

'Today, there are 40 trades on site.

'Our priority is to ensure that Ruben can be looked after solely on the ground floor,

'so how are the boys creating the wet room getting on?'

All right? Yeah. Are you all right?

This is a new member of the team. This is our apprentice Terry.

'He's much too old!' How are you finding the apprenticeship, Terry?

It's all right. It's a bit of a struggle to start with. Is it? I'm slowly getting there.

You're the boss? Unfortunately, yeah. Why are they giving you such gyp?

They think I don't work any more,

so I thought I'd come in and show them how to do it.

How's that working out? It's not. They're showing me how to do it. It's not really working out.

'With space such an issue, Gabby is under the cosh,

'so it's a good job she spent many years designing the tiny interiors of yachts

'and chippy Matt has a background in fitting them.

'He's on board to turn Zach and Harry's new room into a landlubber's cabin.'

Matt, why have you been mad enough to build the most complicated sleeping system in England?

We've done a bathroom in Whiteley for friends of Hanna and Mike

and they kindly put us forward.

We said we'd jump at the chance to help out in any way that we can.

It's a very small piece of time out of your life to give something back.

'It's really starting to look ship-shape in Zach and Harry's room.

'Big brother Harry is such a support to Hanna when Mike's away.

'I wanted to have a chat, so I caught up with him at Whiteley playing field.'

What do you think of what's going on at your house? It's weird for you to be out. What do you think of it?

Well, I just think it's really exciting cos all of these people have given up their time

to help us.

How do you help your mum? What sort of things do you help out with?

Well, I just help out with getting their clothes and getting all the things they need for the day.

Do you mind doing that? Em...no, I don't mind, actually.

I think it just helps my mum a lot. Yeah, she's got a lot to do, hasn't she?

Do you think she's happy having the twins have to sleep in the same room?

I think it's really hard

cos it doesn't give her as much space as she used to have when the babies weren't around. Yeah.

So are Ruben and Zach cool as brothers? Yeah, definitely.

They're always really cheerful and they're really fun to play with.

If I was a genie and could give you three wishes, ever think what you would do with three wishes?

Well, one, Ruben's arms and legs to get better because he can't really play with us a lot.

Two, probably for him to get more things so we can help him along the way.

And for... just our lives to be changed

and have a better, safer environment.

That's three wishes. You didn't have one for yourself. You didn't ask for a swimming pool or cup final tickets

or anything for you. No. No.

Not one for you? No. It's more important, you think, for Ruben and Zach? Definitely.

'I've never met such a selfless eight-year-old lad as Harry

'and we're determined to do something for him, too,

'which is where this pretty amazing surprise comes in. We're lifting in this cabin to be his very own,

'for quiet time alone or to invite friends around for a sleepover.'

Literally over the top of the house!

# Somewhere over the rainbow

# Way up high... #

The wind is really blowing quite strongly up here.

No prizes for guessing the damage if it smashed into the house!

Mind that satellite dish!

'It's very built-up round here, but we have our own skilled crane operator and team

'to manoeuvre it into position.'

This is like big kids' video games.

Here we go. OK, mate. Sneak her down.

OK?

Absolutely lovely. Well done, everybody. Marvellous.

I think it's a real testament to the spirit of the people working here

that despite the number of guys crammed into the house,

with tools flying all over the place and trying to get on with their jobs, all elbows and whatever,

not a single cross word today. It's the most fantastic site to work on. Heartwarming it is. Heartwarming.

One thing Ruben loves is lights, so Gabby's creating something wonderful for him.

It has 164 separate strands, so it's a bit fiddly to install, but we've got just the man for it.

We've got a fibre optic kit coming.

We have got a guy coming in? No. 'Look at that face. No, Billy, it's all down to you,

'every single one of those little fibre optic threads.'

Over to you, Barry. 'Don't try to pass the buck. We're in this together.

'Gabrielle's approaching this fibre optic lighting design in a bizarre way. Has she lost her marbles?'

I'm just counting... Gravel. These represent each strand we've got to pull through this board.

164. So don't knock it over, Nick. You've got 164 bits of gravel? Yeah.

It's like stars so I want it to be random. The trouble with random is that it's random Yeah.

Which means when they land randomly, you'll go, "I don't like that."

Why do you think I wouldn't like random? Cos it's too clumped.

No. There's one. One down. We only lost a couple.

Not that one. That one? No, a browny-coloured one.

Now you've got to draw round every single one. Stop fiddling. Is it me? Go away, everybody.

Go, go. I can't create something beautiful with you all fiddling.

I want to know something technical. Out! Go.

Don't!

'It's tough being a creative genius with a bunch of troublemakers like us around.

'Let's leave her alone to mark out her constellation. Talking of starry skies, we appear to have

'some intergalactic visitors. STAR WARS MUSIC

'What is this? Invasion of the giants? No, it's DIY SOS - Plasterers On Stilts!

'I know we're making a meal of it. Bear with us.'

It's what the boys use all the time. You can save another two blokes by using stilts.

How are those stilts to work on? Are they...? They look a little bit weird.

No, as soon as you've got a bit of balance, they're all right.

'The plasterers have finished early, which is a great sign.'

They're all done. The boys are off.

Cheers. It's been emotional. Top man. 'They're nice, Christopher, but hold it together, mate.

'We've still got work to do.' I'm going with them! 'Come back!

'Come back, Chris, we need you! Chris!

'Did I mention it's a bit of a squeeze? But the trades aren't bothered. Doing sterling work.

'Baz might look like he's had an electric shock, but he can wire a house.'

I've been four hours doing this, trying to make it look tidy.

He hasn't been up here at all. He hasn't come and seen us, but he wants to claim it as his.

'Same old, same old. Talking of Billy, where is he?

'He's bunked off to join Harry at the Tae Kwon Do class.

'Bit of a martial arts expert, our Billy. He's got pink socks in karate. Check out this move.'

# Everybody was kung... #

'Oh, he's pulled a hamstring. Bruce Lee he is not.'

Watch out for that. It's dangerous.

'Right, start again. Before his dad started work away from home,

'Harry used to enjoy going to Tae Kwon Do classes with him. Mike's got home for one more class

'and seeing as he's been away so much, he hasn't had the chance to collect his yellow belt until now.'

If you'd like to come forward, Mike, and receive your yellow belt.

Well done. 'Don't forget the bow, Billy.'

Oh, sorry.

- Did you enjoy it, Harry? - Yeah.

What do you like best doing?

Probably the self defence.

I know Dad works away a lot. What's it like having your dad here today with you?

It just feels great that he's able to just come along and I can do Tae Kwon Do with him.

Very happy and very fun.

While Harry and Mike enjoy some quality time, the rest of the family have fun with Gabby.

Should I be wearing goggles?

'She's caught up with them in the middle of an art therapy session with their teacher, Ann.

'She can also get design ideas.' What does this sort of play do to help Zach and Ruben?

It's helping in so many ways with their fine motor skills,

using tools. They're learning to cope with mess and things on their hands.

OK. Often also children with disabilities or special needs

can have sensory delay and both of mine have had sensory delay.

So doing this helps them catch up. Yeah. We have lots of fun, don't we?

And Ruben loves blue, doesn't he?

Yeah, he does. He does love blue. We found that by giving him options

he'll always go for the blue option.

'Hanna is incredibly selfless and does everything for her boys,

'so we want to make sure she isn't left out.'

So what do you like?

If I could choose my own bedroom, I'd quite like some girliness.

And I do love a bit of sparkle. I do quite like a bit of sparkle.

About prints and fabrics and things, are there things you're drawn to at the moment that you love?

I'm not afraid of pattern at all. I quite like a bird print. Good.

I love bird prints. Yeah. That's given me loads of fun ideas.

Oh, good. I'll have loads of fun with that. Lovely. Thank you.

'And while the cat's away, the boys will play.

'And I'm in!

'Well done, Mark!

'Yeah, he definitely skips like a girl. Got to have fun, though.

'The pressure's really on and we've only got a couple of days.'

How are you this morning? I'm just entering the zone.

The flapping zone. Cushion arranging zone? Yeah.

And lots of my people, curtain-maker type people, are about to descend. Oh, are they?

'There's a lot of people in here already!'

Look, very busy. One, two, three, four, five, six people in here.

Can you find the sixth person?

Are they in there?

No, they're not. Are they under there? No, they're not.

Are they tucked round the corner? No. You need to come to me

Behind the door...

So six people in here painting and there's a lot to paint, too.

It's all very fiddly, bits and bobs.

This is Green Acre... Mediterranean...

Enjoying yourself up there? I'm loving it, mate. I love painting round obstacles.

Every morning, I say, "I hope Billy has fitted them lights for me to go round."

I pray every morning. "I hope there's an obstacle in my way." Billy never lets me down.

I've got two!

'Ruben's light display has become a real labour of love.'

Enjoying yourself? Always have fun. The boys... Are you having fun? Yeah(!)

'Yeah, right. While Darryl discovers his patient side, Matt is working his boat-building magic

'into Zach and Harry's room. But downstairs it's not all plain sailing.'

Oh, no! 'This unit is too big for the size of the room.'

It wasn't ever cut to fit. We need to just discreetly chop the top off this, Ricardo,

and not let Mark know anything about it. He'll chase me around and tease me all day.

Quick, while he's not looking. It's got to be done properly.

Surreptitiously, then.

'You'll be lucky with something that size on a site this tight.

'Nothing escapes the hawk-like instincts of our own Napoleon Bonaparte.

'Here he comes, swooping on his prey.' You look worried. There's something you're not telling me.

Just my normal worried look. I don't believe you.

No, it's fine. We just don't want to... We don't want to chip it.

You will tell me if something's wrong? Absolutely. You'll be the first to know. Thanks.

Nothing to do with Gabrielle's measurements? No.

You will let me know if anything's wrong? Absolutely, Mark. 'He'll find out and swoop in for the kill!'

You just made them a little bit too small. I look after the technical things

like these measurements... No, I gave you the right measurements. You just made them too small.

Technically, my stuff was all right. You just, you know...

It fits!

'That's what it's all about - forgiving and moving on.' Nice. It's lovely.

'Even Christopher has given Gabby what she wanted.'

Flat ceilings. We got rid of the texturedness for you. Thank you. Are you a happy bunny?

I am so happy. So happy. 'She'll be even happier when everything is in its place -

'curtains to go up, cushion-fluffing to be done.'

Shall we open it and see the loveliness?

'But Darryl's done us proud.' I'm liking your lamp. I know. All that feeding through.

It looks really good. Beautiful. What was your inspiration? It was an accident, to be honest.

It looks really, really lovely and you can see the light travel down the wires.

We could market it. Why don't we name it Dangly Bits?

Soft Dangly Bits. DIY SOS Dangly Bits.

That's got to sell. Darryl's Dangly Bits. Brilliant. Darryl's Dangly Bits!

'Dangly bits aside, we're racing against the clock to get ready.'

That's just about it, then. There's still a bit of toing and froing and pictures to go up,

but we're pretty much done. And we got everyone in. All we've to do now is give it to the family.

Just nine days ago, we arrived to find a family struggling in a small house

which was utterly inadequate for their needs. At the moment, we're just existing, not living,

but I know we could be so much happier if the house worked for us.

'I'm looking forward most to the end of it'

when I see everybody that's used their time to help us, a small family,

and change five lives.

And that's what the wonderful trades and suppliers have selflessly done -

turned it into a home designed around their needs.

They needed to be able to look after Ruben on one floor so we made the old kitchen into a calm boy's room

with lights that will help him stay calm.

The corner of the old living room is a wheelchair-accessible wet room

complete with back-saving design the family so desperately needed.

Elsewhere, a new streamlined kitchen and dining area provide a space where the whole family can fit in

and eat together, something they've never done before.

We've knocked out and extended the back of the house to create

a bright and open living space.

Windows in the roof and bi-fold doors bring the outside in.

Upstairs, the old bathroom has had magic worked on it.

The spell's left it sparkling, which Hanna should love.

With the twins out of the master bedroom, Hanna and Mike finally get their own grown-up space back

helping them for the short time Mike's home.

Harry's old bedroom was cleverly adapted into a double boys' room

with an amazing sense of space created by recessed bold and exciting sleeping pods.

Colourful bed spaces to you and me.

Because we felt Harry deserved a space of his own, we've lifted a wooden hideout in,

giving him somewhere to chill out or have friends for a sleepover.

It's been a huge challenge to squeeze every bit of space out, but thanks to all the volunteers,

we can now give the family back a bigger, safer and easier home to live in.

A place that meets their needs and enables them to move into the future with hope.

I'm not sure how much of your house you're going to recognise. Ready? Yeah. OK, open your eyes.

Totally changed, isn't it? I can't...

It's amazing.

I love it. Yeah? I absolutely love it.

Oh, it's more than I could ever have thought. Thank you.

Hey, listen, we've got lots to show you. I can see you're trying to work out where your house was.

Yeah. Yeah. It looks like you've added... Something.

Yeah, your house used to stop here. Oh, OK. Right.

OK. Yeah, it did. Yeah.

Dining area. The key thing was to get the maximum amount of space.

We can all sit together. Yes, you can. Ruben's chair will come up.

Yes, it will. I don't think we've ever sat together and had dinner.

Pretty cool, huh?

This is an induction hob, so basically you can switch it on and put your hand on and it won't work.

It's only hot when it comes in contact with it, through the pan. Take it off and it's not hot.

So it's safe for Zach. Exactly.

Come through and have a look round. There's your new living room area. Oh, look!

Skylights bring in a lot more light. If you extend the house, you have to bring more light into it somehow.

And the floors are all the same level. And all the doorways now are wheelchair-width throughout.

I just can't believe what you've managed to do.

A lot of clever people have put their heart and soul into this. Going to set myself off again!

Go through and look at a bit more. There's nothing for Zach to hurt himself on. No, our thing was

you have to be able to run into it at 100 miles an hour so let's be careful, make sure it's rounded off.

This is the next one. This room didn't used to exist.

Wow.

That's just...

It's cool, isn't it? So Ruben's little wet room.

Look how they got the drainage. I adore it. I absolutely love it.

It's spacious as well. Really big. Our TARDIS, isn't it?

Yeah. No more lifting him over the bath and...

And also, for when we think about Zachary in the next few months,

a downstairs toilet is fantastic for his development. Yeah, for training.

We kind of knew this was key to the house. Yeah. You can't put a value on that, actually.

It's just a way forward for the next chapter, as he grows.

I didn't have an answer to it before. Want to see the other bit? Ruben's room. That is the big thing for me.

Oh, wow.

To think this was our kitchen.

Yeah! It feels like a real proper little boy's room.

It doesn't... say disabled, does it?

You know, it says, "I'm a little boy and I'm three and I've got a really cool room."

Come and see the other rooms? Yes, please.

Harry and Zach's room.

Oh, he will love it! Won't he love it, Mike? It's amazing.

Is that all his precious things?

Zach's side, obviously, a more low-level bed so he can get in and out himself.

Making use of the storage underneath all the way along and over the top as well.

Zach will be made up to be with Harry, won't he?

Oh, my goodness me!

Oh, it's just beautiful.

Look at the shower there. I didn't know you'd touched this. It's really sparkly.

I've got a bedroom to show you now.

Wow.

Oh, it's just...

Oh, I love it!

It's a proper grown-up room.

Yeah, with a proper bed instead of a mattress.

Oh, I'm so lucky.

Look... Oh, I love bird print.

Oh, I just love it. She's just totally got it right. She's clever, isn't she?

Up there...

So this has to be your haven now. This has to be the place where you recover.

I think you've just given us the tools to do that now. We didn't have it before.

And it really will... From today onwards, it's a different life.

A new start.

A new start. A positive, happy start.

A lot of tears,

but for the first time in three years they're really happy tears, not sad ones any more.

Ready?

What's this?

What's this? Is that your bed?

Yeah?

Do you want to have a look? Have a look.

Oh...

Oh, wow!

Wow!

- It's your bed. - I'm speechless!

- What do you think? - I love the big H! It's amazing.

See if you can climb up there. All my stuff.

You can lie up that end and turn the lights on and off. Awesome! That is really cool.

- Thanks so much. - What do you think of Zach's bed?

I like the big Z.

I love it.

Ruben...

Look. This is your room.

Good?

Yeah. You see the bubbles?

Bu... Bubble.

Look.

Yeah, it's good.

Yeah. Good boy.

Good boy.

What is it?

You want to see them? Ready? Is it a bird?

A bird. Yeah, a bird. Is it good?

Goo... Good.

That's good. Is that good?

He gets quite distressed quite easily with things he doesn't like. I know he's happy.

He just loves it.

Goo... Good, yeah.

Is it good?

He's going to be really all right in here. I think so. He looks very relaxed. He should be comfortable.

Without a doubt, yeah.

Oh, you're so lucky.

One, two, three, go.

Oh...!

Harry, look!

You lucky boy!

Go and have a look. See what you think.

Oh...ho ho! Wow!

Look at the stuff! What do you think, Harry?

That is just... I can't see you.

NICK LAUGHS It's just amazing.

It's just amazing. Go up and tell us what's up there.

Wow! This whole thing is insulated.

And it's got electric. It's got lights as well. It's just amazing. I love it.

Would it be all right if we all went outside and said hello to the builders?

APPLAUSE

Thank you.

I just cannot believe what you've achieved in the nine days.

We were reaching a point where we were at crisis point and we didn't have anywhere to turn.

And then you've come into our life and you've changed it.

And you've taken a house that we were struggling with and you've given us back the most amazing home.

Whatever the future now holds for our children, we know we can bring them up in a safe and happy place.

It's down to you, isn't it? Yeah. We could never thank you enough. Thank you. Say thank you.

It's amazing how everybody put so much hard work into changing our house. Just amazing.

Thank you.

Good boy.

Remember your little Wendy house you told me about? You've got a big one. Yeah!

HARRY: Well done. Amazing.

You happy? You're the only one who's got that in the whole world. Enjoy it. Awesome. You're welcome.

Somebody just said, "Isn't it amazing what ordinary people can do?" but they aren't ordinary.

They're extraordinary. All these builders and people who have helped have done this for free

for a family they don't even know.

The reason is they hope if anything happens to them, people would help them, too.

That's how you build a really good community and that's what we've seen. An amazing community.

Maybe you know somebody who needs your help. Go on, be extraordinary.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd