The Big Build - Monmouth DIY SOS

I miss our little chats.

I miss her coming home or into a room, smiling,

and I still expect her to come in one day

and to be as she was.

We're here to help mum Charlotte,

who's fighting to recover from a life-shattering event...

It was horrific and then you're just sort of riding a storm.

..to reunite a family forced to live apart.

-Is there something you would love to give to the boys?

-Yeah, together.

All I want is for us to be that family unit

that we talked about before the stroke.

We're building a home where they can be together,

but it's going to take an army...

It's amazing. A lot of people doing a little can make a big difference.

..and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

This is what puts the job over.

Can you not see the amount of work that's got to be done?

But it will be worth it.

THEY GASP It's kind of cool, isn't it?

We have all the usual suspects

and our designer this week is the lovely Gabrielle Blackman.

We only have nine days to do the job.

This is DIY SOS: The Big Build!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The beautiful Welsh border town of Monmouth

is home to the Fairlie family - Charlotte, Rob,

and their twin boys, Teddy and Fox.

Video technician Rob and childcare worker Charlotte met ten years ago.

Char was flanked by a few guys

and then after I went to go and say hello,

there was another guy and I'm, like, queuing to say hello.

So, when I eventually said hello, I said,

"Can I be fourth in line to buy you a drink?"

And she said, "Yeah", and that was it.

Three years ago, they got married and bought a run-down house

to renovate, ready to start their family life together.

Then Charlotte found out she was pregnant...with twins.

Having twins was so exciting

-and we were obviously elated, shocked, pleased. Brilliant!

-Yeah.

You'd been working with children for so long, you were born to be a mum.

All went well until late into the pregnancy,

when Charlotte developed high blood pressure.

She was monitored as a precaution

but there was no sign of what was to come.

Charlotte gave birth to two healthy boys - Fox and Teddy.

But just minutes later, she suffered a massive stroke,

a rare but devastating event.

Suddenly, she was gone from being quite excited,

even during the Caesarean, and then just being asleep.

But worse was to come.

After a week in a coma,

Charlotte suffered a brain bleed and needed emergency surgery.

It was horrific.

The surgeon said that Charlotte had a 1% chance

of surviving the operation

and we were told to expect, you know, the worst.

Against the odds, Charlotte pulled through.

But the stroke left her with brain damage,

speech loss and partial paralysis.

She spent a further nine months in hospital.

With Rob constantly by her side, Charlotte's big sister, Angie,

took on the role of mum to the twins.

Rob struggled to cope with what happened to his wife,

let alone the arrival of two little boys who need 24/7 care

so, as a family, we all tried to do our best

to support him and help him through.

You can imagine it was just a horrendous time.

After months of intensive rehab, Charlotte is back home.

Physically, she's defying expectations,

slowly teaching herself to walk and battling hard to regain her speech.

But the stroke had another cruel complication.

Charlotte remembers nothing about going to hospital,

and all the bits of Charlotte being pregnant,

-Charlotte can't remember either.

-Totally.

-And giving birth.

Even pictures don't really trigger any memory.

-You just don't remember that time.

-No.

Charlotte is now desperate to make up for lost time,

create new memories with her boys and be a mum 24/7.

But their house is making that impossible.

The cramped cluttered rooms are unsafe for Charlotte to move around

and there's nowhere for her to do her physio, hampering her recovery.

BABY CRIES

Looking after Charlotte and the twins

is absolutely exhausting for Rob and it's taking its toll.

It's impossible to juggle a full-time job,

being a dad with twins, you know, and a full-time job as a carer.

He desperately needs help, especially at nights,

but there's no spare room for anyone to stay over, to give them respite.

So, Rob is struggling to take care of Charlotte and the boys full-time.

The children are basically living half the week away from home.

It's not through choice.

We don't have the space or facilities in the house

-just to be a normal family.

-Painful, yeah. Mm.

It's hard. It's hard for Charlotte, I think, more than anyone.

She'd love to be with the boys more.

That's the main thing, really,

is to get Mummy, Daddy, Fox and Teddy all living together.

It'll be lovely to be at home with Mummy and Daddy.

All I want is for us to be that family unit that we talked about

before the whole brain injury, before the stroke.

That's all I want.

And that's why we're here, to bring this fractured family back together.

To what extent have you now taken over talking for Charlotte

-and to what extent do you let Rob talk for you?

-All the time.

I have to stop myself from jumping in and talking for Charlotte

because Charlotte's got to practise.

So, you can speak but it's actually processing a sentence together.

Process, yeah.

-So, it's easier say "Yes" and "No" sometimes?

-No, yeah.

Tell us about this house then. I notice on the wall is a little sign

-from your occupational therapist.

-Yeah.

Trying to build in the fact that the stairs can become

-an exercise for you, rather than something to fear.

-Yeah.

-So, this is something to embrace.

-Yeah.

Because we can build the house two separate ways.

We can build it so that it's got lifts and pulleys and things

or we could actually make it something to help you progress.

That's it, because Charlotte had a stroke at a relatively young age.

For people of an older generation,

they would need all the gubbins to help

but actually, with Charlotte,

cos her brain's so plastic and her body can still crack on,

those become like a sort of barrier, if you like,

-because that'll stop Charlotte from progressing.

-Yeah.

-So, some tough love, basically.

-Yeah, tough love.

Yeah, if Char can do her physio in the house,

if the boys can be here with us, we're...

I feel we're waiting to start as a family.

-We haven't really started as a family yet.

-Yeah.

-I'm going to get the designer to come round and see you.

-Yeah.

I want you to have ownership.

Just because you can't communicate at the moment,

-I don't want that to stop you being part of it, OK?

-Yeah.

-Good.

-Yeah.

All right, we ought to get you under way.

Monmouth is a small, close-knit community

and it looks as though half the town has turned out to help.

APPLAUSE

When Charlotte had a stroke,

she lost the ability to communicate that well and walk

but, unlike, most, she's much better and it's going to take many years

and, hopefully, with your help, that can happen

and we can finally be a family and the parents we want to be.

-So, thank you all and good luck.

-APPLAUSE

Right, let's get cracking. We've got the usual nine days

to turn this cramped little house into a dream family home.

The groundwork guys have given us a head start

by putting in the foundations for an extension.

The scaffolding's up and, wow, look at the size of that!

No prize for guessing who's going to want first dibs on that big boy.

We're going to get the crane to lift the digger into the back garden

cos, as normal, scaffolding's in the way,

so the boys have very kindly offered to lift it over the roof.

No problem at all.

I'm not sure that's why we've got a gigantic crane here, Jules.

If something does go wrong, it's 1.6 tonnes

that would fall through the house, but that's all right -

we have the manpower to put it back together again.

Now the digger has landed, the trades can get stuck in,

ripping, chipping and hammering out the inside.

When it comes to designers,

we always look forward to working with Gabrielle Blackman.

We love her! We treat her like a little sister,

which I guess makes us the annoying older brothers.

Somebody - and I know it wasn't you -

somebody put my phone...changed the time on my phone

to three hours ahead. And this is NOT funny!

But you just wake up and realise and go back to bed.

No, no, cos my alarm went off and it's day one of the build,

so I'm in a panic.

Sp, I jump out of bed, shower, hair in rollers,

full make-up in my kimono...

-And it's four o'clock in the morning.

-4am.

It's four in the morning and it's NOT funny!

-THEY LAUGH

-Go on, stomp off.

I'm stomping off in the right direction!

Do your big cheese stomp.

-She mistook the other day and stomped into a cupboard.

-Did she?

THEY LAUGH

'Ah, bless!

'She may not have mastered the art of a good stomp,

'but she's got this design lark down pat.'

This is all about creating a home for the whole family

that gives them the space to come back together

and for Charlotte to recover.

We're building a timber-framed two-storey extension,

which will double the ground floor space

to provide an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area,

and reconfiguring the existing ground floor

to create a playroom with space for Charlotte to do her physio.

Upstairs, we're using the extra space

to extend the twins' room

and, importantly, create a much-needed guest bedroom,

which means a carer or Auntie Angie can stay overnight

so the family can be together.

The family bathroom will become an en suite, making it more accessible

and user-friendly for Charlotte, and we're adding a separate wet room.

Finally, we're going to break up the sloping garden,

so Charlotte can get outdoors to continue her rehab.

Charlotte is a busy mum and she wants to be

really hands-on with her kids and I know, having spoken to her,

she puts herself last and Rob is really worried about this,

so anything we can do to keep her rehabilitation

as part of her daily life,

so the stairs, the steps down to the garden,

everything that we've thought about with the layout,

I just want it to be a fun place for them all to be,

so she can recover and look after the boys at the same time.

-So her physio becomes part of her everyday life.

-Yeah.

-Very clever.

The Monmouth trades have lost no time gutting the old house.

Just as well, because I think I hear the sound

of a new flat-pack extension arriving.

-LORRY REVERSE ALARM BEEPS

-Keep going!

-I don't want to put any pressure on here.

-Go on.

-But you've designed it.

-Yeah.

-Is it all going to fit?

-I feel confident it will.

-He doesn't feel the pressure, does he?

-Not at all, not at all.

Gentlemen, thanks for doing this.

It's brilliant. If we can get this in and wrapped up in two days,

as you would say in gorgeous Wales, tidy darts.

Tidy darts - absolutely.

Tidy what? Joking aside, this a big job.

It's going to need pinpoint accuracy. Look at that!

Could you give me a decent tape? I lost mine on my last job.

No, cos the last job I give you the other one, you broke that as well.

-No, I didn't! Can you try and give me...

-No, I will not!

-There's Perryman.

-Where?

-Just went past.

-Trying to pinch my tape.

-He's not having it.

-I don't do it, as a rule.

MARK LAUGHS

That probably is his best joke ever!

I think Mark's got the measure of Billy.

All right, moving swiftly on.

So, we've got a new bit of kit that shows you the top of the house,

and look how beautiful Monmouth is.

The new extension will go straight out onto the garden,

where Gabby's got her heart set on a stone patio.

What are you worried about, Jules?

-I think it's too time-consuming to do in the time we've got.

-Yes.

-We talked about doing it in timber.

-No, it's just too slippy.

-It's a hazard and also, maintenance...

-Yes.

The other alternative is the composite that looks like timber

-but it's supposed to be non-slip.

-They love natural wood.

-I'd rather use something real and lovely.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

If we absolutely have to go down that route...

Can I just suggest there is a way of laying stone

over the top of that decking? There is a method for doing it.

I was at a yoga centre recently

and they had that out the back of the yoga centre.

It wasn't a yoga centre - it was a pub.

If there is a way of me having a stone surface,

that's all I'm interested in.

I don't really care how you get it up. I just want it stone.

'Er, um, a bit personal. Quick, move on!

'Now, there's always a danger with older houses

'that once you start stripping things out,

'you find all kinds of problems lurking.'

We've got a bit of an issue with the side of the house, in that...

Well, is it a big issue? I don't know, really.

You decide for yourself. The side of the house might fall off.

Literally, the whole side of the house might fall off.

If you follow that line up, you can see that it's actually separating.

That looks like a lot of extra work we weren't counting on,

but we don't really want bits of the house falling on people -

not on day one anyway!

We're going to have to go outside

and put some strong boys in the brickwork on the outside

-to hold that end up. Whatever you do, do it double.

-Yeah.

There's a lot of people running around,

so where you'd normally have three acrows, we'll put five.

That's not really double, is it, Chris?

Once the extension's complete,

we'll need to put a lot more strength back into this house,

but at least that's slotting together like a dream.

Just the roof to go. Here it comes.

It's amazing!

What do you guys think of your first day doing this?

We've had a great day, to be honest. We're up to the roof level,

we should be in the dry before end of play today.

We're just glad that we're helping and trying to make a difference

-to somebody else.

-Thank you so much, my loves, thank you.

It's that kind of positive attitude all around the country

that lets us do these ridiculous builds.

If you look at the original house - I've just come through

where the old wall used to be - there's all this extra room.

Essentially, we've doubled the size of the downstairs.

Not bad for a day. We're going to have this watertight

by the end of the day. Just as well, cos it's going to rain tomorrow.

Look at that - our new bit of kit again.

Morning, morning, morning, morning!

Today, we're expecting something big, red and shiny onsite.

No, not Billy's nose. Or that steel.

Oh, that IS what we're talking about.

Oh, that! Yes, we've asked them to come out and hose down Mark.

He just doesn't know anything about it.

SIREN WAILS

-Is there a fire?

-We're here to help.

-What, building?

-Give it a go.

-Oh, yeah? You're here to join us for today?

-We here for a bit.

-Between your shifts?

-Yeah.

-Thank you, ladies and gents.

-No worries.

We really have got the whole community getting involved.

These are the boys and girls of the Monmouth fire station.

We do see people in very tough situations,

but we don't usually see people at this part.

We see it on jobs and then we're kind of detached

from any recovery or anything like that.

So, it's great for us to be part of something here

which is the next step on, if you like, after they've had that trauma.

It's great to be part of someone's recovery and recuperation.

Doesn't that warm the cockles of your heart? It warms mine.

Unlike this old chimney, which won't be warming anybody's cockles.

We're turning part of the existing living room area into a playroom

for the boys and a physio space for Charlotte,

which means getting rid of the chimney breast downstairs.

A good tip, not just to knock out the chimney breast at the bottom,

-about having a good look at what's up top.

-You're right, yeah.

-There's a tremendous lump of weight there.

-There is.

I can see the bricks have been removed and this is just floating.

We'd better do something about it.

-Do you know a man who could maybe sort this out?

-I do.

-Who's that?

-THEY LAUGH

We're already using a lot of steels to strengthen the house,

but we hadn't planned on having to shore up the chimney as well.

By the time we've finished, this house will have

more heavy metal than Metallica.

But it's not the metal that's important -

it's the manpower to make it happen.

Everyone's working hard to create a home

that will enable the family to finally be together full-time.

Charlotte's best friends know how important that is to them.

-I'm Lizzy.

-Lizzy.

-I'm Ruth.

-Ruth. Hello, nice to meet you.

-Who's that down there?

-This is Sylvie.

-Sylvie. Hello.

Sylvie's a day younger than Teddy and Fox,

so Char and I were both pregnant at exactly the same time.

-Thanks to MY wedding.

-We know that's where... Is that what happened?

Yeah, that's what you get with a free bar.

THEY LAUGH

How much are we actually seeing of the real Charlotte?

Because it's very difficult for us to know, having not met her before.

Quite a bit, I think.

I mean, even from the start, she's still been there to us.

She's still been the same personality. That is her.

She's always that sunny disposition.

A huge responsibility for Rob to take on -

thinking that he was going into hospital

and coming back with a wife and two children

and to come back and be a carer.

It's just crazy and I don't think a lot of people would have pushed

as much as he pushed in the early days.

When I was visiting her in the rehab centre when she was in hospital,

it was him that was pushing for the next step that she could make

and it was him that really did push the whole way through

and I think it's a lot down to that she got out of hospital

as quickly as she did,

given the severity of what she was going through.

Kind of more important now to build a place

where she can be reintroduced to her twins.

She was robbed of that maternal instinct

because of not actually remembering being pregnant,

not recognising the twins.

So, what, as a mother, is just instinctive,

Charlotte has had to learn that

and she has an amazing bond with her children and they with her.

You can see it. She's just amazing with them.

So, this house will make a real difference.

It will make the world of difference to them.

They can be just a normal family, which is all she ever wanted.

And that's what we all want for Charlotte.

One of the biggest issues for Charlotte since the stroke

is how it's affected her speech and communication.

Gabby wants to make sure her voice is heard,

so she's popping round to sister Angie's, for a chat with Charlotte.

-If I just get some colours out.

-Yeah.

-I just want this to be right.

It's your home and I want you to feel it's right for you.

-You don't have to choose particular colours.

-Yeah.

Are there some that you really love or some you really don't like?

-Yes, yeah.

-Mm-hmm.

No. Yes.

-This sort of soft...

-Yeah.

-..natural spectrum, you like.

-Yeah.

Practically speaking, what's the hardest thing?

Oof, um, the leg.

-Mm-hmm.

-Um, arm.

Speech.

-What is that stopping you from doing at home?

-Shower, bath, no, no.

Sad.

When was the last time you were able to have a bath at home?

-Oh, I can't remember.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-A long time ago.

-Yes, long time.

-Yeah.

From looking around, you've got a lot of equipment that you need,

-a lot of physio stuff.

-Yeah.

-How hard work is that?

-Are you having to do exercises every day?

-Extra day, yeah, extra day.

Yeah.

Up and down and walk the miles.

-Yeah.

-Going up and down the stairs is good for you, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Are you OK on the stairs?

-Yes, fine, yes.

-That's good.

-Up and down, the banisters.

-Mm-hmm.

-Yeah.

And Fox and Teddy - is there something really special

that you would love to give to the boys?

-Yeah, together.

-Just to be together?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Oh, darling, we can sort that out.

I think that was a great chat with Gabby and shows that,

even with limited speech capability,

Charlotte can be part of the decision-making.

-Don't pick the lime green!

-Still trying to get her way.

Back onsite, we're bidding farewell to our firefighters,

who've given the build a much-needed lift.

That was nice, wasn't it? They just turned up.

They had an hour and a half off, popped in,

fiddled around with the steels, helped clear out the garden

and off they went to save somebody else's lives.

-We are like an emergency service.

-No, we're not.

-Yeah.

We're like the fifth emergency service.

No, we aren't. We really aren't.

SIREN WAILS

No time for dad dancing. We've got a chimney to shore up. Get on with it!

Chris, make some sense, please.

We want to release this here, so we have to catch the top of the chimney

by spreading the load over a steel, just to sustain the chimney.

-It's just like kind of threading a needle.

-Nice and steady.

A big needle.

Looks like it's going to fit.

Now we can safely smash that chimney down.

I love it when a plan comes together.

It's only day two,

but we've already got loads of trades onsite,

all doing their bit for Charlotte, Rob and the boys,

and it surprises even seasoned builders

who've been doing it for years.

-It's amazing what a lot of people doing a little...

-Yeah.

It can make a big difference, can't it?

Now, it may look chaotic

but these trades have a good eye for detail - not only with their work.

What's going on with your eyebrows? THEY LAUGH

Caught out.

Seriously, cos all young dudes are doing all this stuff, aren't they,

with their eyebrows? My son does it. So, what's going on?

-You have them trimmed up?

-Yeah.

-Is that the look now, is it?

I'll do mine tonight!

THEY LAUGH

'For an old dog like me,

'I'd like to see less man-scaping and more landscaping.

'But there's much going on in the garden.

'Mike's idea for a stone-topped deck is a nonstarter,

'so we're back to composite. Or are we?'

I thought we had that nailed down yesterday.

No, it's changed four times since then.

Is there something you need to talk to me directly about?

-Why are you still messing about?

-I'm not messing about.

Apparently, we're still discussing this deck.

-We've sorted it now, haven't we, Jules?

-Only within the last hour.

Is it anything like the thing we decided

at about two o'clock yesterday afternoon?

Probably about ten o'clock yesterday morning, we decided it

and we've gone full circle, back to where we were.

-No, we didn't decide it.

-That's what I said

is the most practical solution and what's going to work.

But it also needs to look fabulous.

So now we are, 36 hours later, back at the exact spot

where we started off yesterday,

much to the disgust of our esteemed designer.

I may just as well have been standing at that wall

-head-butting it for two days. That's what I feel like.

-Mm.

-Not that wall. It would have fell down.

-It would have fell down.

THEY LAUGH

Yes, years ago, before health and safety,

we got him to run at a wall to knock it over.

It worked very well, I have to tell you.

With the main structural work out of the way,

the trades inside are charging ahead.

The last three days, we've been really working so hard

and now we've got a production line doing all the down lighters.

It looks good, doesn't it?

I'm just going to go and make a cup of tea, boys. Are you all right?

Lovely. No sugars in mine, thanks, Billy. My body is a temple.

We may have an embarrassment of sparks,

but we're short of bodies in other areas.

We've only got two plasterers and we should have 14.

-IN MARK'S IRISH ACCENT:

-We've already lost an hour.

That's 14 hours' labour. I'm just hoping the numbers will build.

For everybody else, "ars" are "hours".

We need to plasterboard the whole house today,

so Chris has come up with a novel way to speed things up.

Stairwell too small to take the plasterboards upstairs,

so we've cut a letterbox in and fire them up through the floor.

Remind me never to let him anywhere near...let him near...let him...

Remind me to invite him over for dinner.

I just noticed him behind me. Things are looking up on the garden front.

The new fence is going in and we've just had a delivery

of railway sleepers, which we're using to build raised beds.

I've been on a health and safety course recently

and I discovered that if you don't warm up properly,

you can get into all kinds of trouble.

MUSIC: Waltz No 6 In D Flat, Op 6, No 1 by Chopin

You're just trying to hold out your warm-up routine

until we've finished, are you?

That's an outrageous suggestion!

-Phew!

-I think you're more tired out after the warm-up

than actually lifting THE piece of wood.

Time for a cup of tea, I think.

'But in fact, there's no time for a brew,

'because we've got some important earth-moving going on

'in the back garden.

'We need to take advantage of that amazing view out the back,

'and the thing about a garden is, if you get it right,

'you can increase your living space by up to 50%.

'This is a place where Charlotte can come and work on her rehabilitation,

'spend time with the kids,

'spend time as a family, out in the open air.

'And on a day like this, why wouldn't you?'

Since the stroke,

Auntie Angie's house has become a haven for Charlotte and the boys.

Even with six children and three grandchildren of her own,

Angie has been a rock to the family.

How soon was it apparent

-that Charlotte's stroke was a very severe one?

-Very soon.

They said, "We've got to move her to Cardiff.

"We've got to operate on her brain straightaway

"to relieve the pressure."

So, Mum actually said goodbye to her.

She said, "Charlotte, if you need to go, we'll look after the boys."

So, um...

Luckily, she fought on. I couldn't help Charlotte get better.

The only thing I could do for Charlotte was look after the boys,

so I wanted to do that the best I could.

And how is it being a sort of surrogate mum of twins?

It, well, just shock, really, all round.

And not really like being a mum

-because we were constantly conscious of Charlotte.

-Of course.

I wouldn't let anyone near those twins

because Charlotte had to do everything first,

so if anyone knocked on the door, I'd say, "You can't come in.

"You're not seeing the twins before Charlotte.

"You're not holding the twins before Charlotte."

It was all about keeping them for Charlotte and that was it.

We photo'ed them and filmed them daily, everything,

so that Charlotte now has a record of every day she missed.

And how's that relationship developing

between her and her boys now?

It's really coming on now, since Charlotte was able to...

Well, Charlotte came out of hospital after nine months,

so it's all picked up.

Unfortunately, Char has to do loads of therapies and things,

so she still can't be with the boys as much as she'd like to,

but the bond's really there now, which is lovely.

When you're sat here with the twins

and your little sister next to you on the sofa, is it the same?

-No, she's a different person now.

-Is she?

She is a different person now, yeah. But we all change.

She's still my little sister

and I'll always love her and look after her.

I want to talk about Rob a little, because Rob's thinking,

"Great, a baby's going to come along," and this whole new life...

-Yeah.

-..ceases to exist, pretty much, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Yeah, it's horrendous. I'm not surprised he struggled to cope.

I don't think anyone wouldn't struggle to cope.

Charlotte was the one that did everything.

She was organised, she looked after Rob.

So, for him to be left in the position he's in and is still in,

to a degree, it's horrendous, and I think he's still struggling with it.

He's still struggling to come to terms with what's happened.

It's not how it was meant to be.

Back on site, our plasterers have already boarded out the extension,

ready for the concrete screed.

We want the whole ground floor to be level, so there are no steps

or trip hazards for Charlotte or two lively toddlers.

-Have you seen the new swimming pool?

-Let's have a look. Look at that.

Isn't that beautiful? It's a bit dark though.

It's a bit dark for telly.

We're supposed to be making this look glamorous, mate.

What would you be using in the film game to light all this?

He was a film electrician. That's why he's rubbish at house electrics.

I'm a bloody good house electrician, I'll tell you, I'll sort you out.

-Not so good on sentences.

-No, still haven't sorted THAT out!

'Bless him. You can always rely on Billy.'

After a slow start today, the pace has really, really picked up.

The upstairs rooms are beginning to take shape.

Putting in the guest bedroom is crucial

to the family being together.

It will give them the space for someone to stay over

to help out and that's everything.

Standing up here, looking out, one of the things you really notice

is the amazing views off the back of this house.

And they say that if you can see nature,

your chances of recovery improve by anything up to 30%.

That's got to be good news for Charlotte, hasn't it?

Beautiful. Look at it.

The call to arms went out and we've now got an army of plasterers,

which is good news, especially for Chris,

as there are lots of walls and ceilings for them to do battle with.

-It's good to go. All right, bud?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

Yeah, look at him. He's happy.

Now, the bifold doors have arrived, which is good,

because it'll open out onto that beautiful vista from the kitchen.

Great. Trouble is, there's something in the way.

That will fly in there.

No way. No way.

LAUGHTER

Yes, the old measuring up first, Mark.

Remember we talked about that earlier on?

OK, back on the van, lads.

One of the things I love most about The Big Build

is the people who turn up to lend a hand.

-There's a rumour onsite you're a champion bricklayer.

-That's right.

-Was in 2003, yeah.

-Champion of where?

-Wales. Welsh champion.

-Welsh champion?

-Yeah.

-So we've got a champion bricklayer of Wales in,

-and we've got you doing what?

-I'm cutting some leadwork...

THEY LAUGH

..to fix this lintel, so hopefully,

we don't get any damp in the front of the house.

-We're honoured to have you on board.

-I'm honoured to be here, guys.

Isn't that lovely?

And we get it all the time - people who really enjoy joining in.

Unbelievably, the new extension is already plastered

and the team are steaming through the upstairs rooms.

Everyone's just here to help and when you have a bit of bad luck,

there's nothing more pleasing than people coming together

to help someone for a cause like it is, ain't it?

He's right, but it's lovely to hear, don't you think?

It's take two on the bifold doors.

The scaffold has been shifted back to make room for them to fit -

we hope. And they're now...

slotting in like a dream. There we go.

-Happy days!

-Happy days.

-Does it all fit?

-They don't fit!

Couple of minor technical adjustments.

-What, like the scaffold was in the way...

-Minor adjustments.

-But they look beautiful, absolutely gorgeous.

-Yeah.

So, let's take stock.

We're more than halfway through our Big Build

and the garden's finally taking shape.

The first flight of stone steps are in.

These will be great for Charlotte's rehab

and we're building raised planters either side.

For Charlotte, these are fantastic

because it means you're not bending down to ground level.

Much more pleasing on the eye

and it adds height and texture to the garden as well.

It doubles up. It could become a sandpit as well.

I think he's joking, but we are all about options.

Inside, the kitchen cabinets are going in.

The new open-plan kitchen will give Charlotte plenty of room

to move around, which should make life that little bit easier.

Ah, what have we got here then? A bevy of beauties painting.

Oh, and another beauty in the corner.

Thank you very much for giving up your weekend. I hope you enjoy it.

We can only pay you with food.

-Can we get the odd peck on the cheek, Billy?

-Yes, course you can.

I'm happy with that. Mwah. Thank you.

Come on, son! Do you want a peck on the cheek? There you are, see.

No favouritism here, is there?

Well, I hope they're all up-to-date on their inoculations.

It finally had to happen, I suppose,

but rain rarely stops play on a Big Build,

especially when there's so much at stake for the family.

My daughter's got twin girls as well,

about the same age as the twins here,

and I know what hard work it is. Gosh, unbelievable.

When one runs one way, one runs the other way, what do you do?

So, I can imagine how hard it is for these people.

He's right, of course.

Twins are a wonderful gift but they're a lot of hard work,

and it has been hard for the whole family,

so when Charlotte had her stroke, the impact was felt by everyone,

but no-one more so than Rob.

You went into hospital with your wife,

expecting to come home with twins.

-Yeah.

-You came home the father of twins, but also then a carer.

-Yeah.

How do you begin to get your head round that?

It was horrific and then you're just sort of riding a storm.

-Are you still riding a storm? You are a bit, aren't you?

-I haven't...

I don't feel I've, um... I'm not sure if I've come to terms with it.

I haven't really... I haven't had a conversation with Char

since the boys, so for a year and five months.

-You miss her?

-Hugely.

I miss our little chats.

I miss her coming home or into a room, smiling,

and I still expect her, maybe, to come in one day

and to be as she was.

But I don't like to say it too much cos I don't want her to feel

like she's not there either, cos she is, underneath.

She just can't express who she is.

-It's a different relationship, isn't it?

-It is, very much so.

And we've had that for quite a long time now.

All I want is for us to get back to being a couple

and that's something that no-one really sees, apart from me.

Do you think the house being finished,

with Char and the boys being able to stay there

and Angie being able to come over and stay

will give you enough confidence that it might be a new start?

Completely. What you guys are doing might be sort of the only,

the only way we can start as a family.

It's a hell of a good reason to go and build a house, isn't it?

Phew, it's the best reason I can think of.

When all this happened, even when Charlotte came back to the house,

and the boys... that hope just vanished.

-It disappeared.

-And now?

It feels like it could be a whole new start -

an environment that Char can grow and definitely get better,

with her own motivation, which is huge, and the boys.

Oh, it would just be... It's a dream. It's a dream now.

Getting back to our own dream makers.

Just a couple of days to go and Mark's gone all Braveheart.

The garden's got to be finished by Wednesday night.

We didn't realise how big this was going to be,

so you have got a bit of a challenge on.

The trades have been going hell for leather on this build,

but there's still loads to do.

Now, normally, Jules is never happier than when he's in a digger,

but I think the stress of the garden build

may have got to him a little bit.

The powers that be have decided that this hedge is coming out.

It would have been a lot easier to take it out four days ago,

but there you go. Who am I to reason why?

I've got the wrong bucket on but I'm too angry to change it.

That's embarrassing! Digger drivers all over the country

-will be going, "Look at that fool!"

-I know!

You are what digger drivers look up to.

MARK LAUGHS

-He's a digger man!

-I'm the digger man!

I'm not sure, actually, that Mark laughing at Julian's helping,

but there you go.

Inside, the kitchen floor's going down,

ready for the bespoke worktops, which have just turned up.

-Have you used the concrete in your kitchens before?

-Never.

-No?

-No, this is the first time. Looks nice.

-It's amazing, isn't it?

-Whereabouts in Wales are you from?

-Glasgow!

-I thought so.

THEY LAUGH

Yep, they come from all over.

With the scaffolding down,

the foundation for the decking is finally going in.

Now, there's just the matter of 25 tonnes of topsoil

and 40 tonnes of aggregate to shift.

But I do feel we're getting closer

to putting some colour in the garden.

Look at that, look. Look at the blossom over there.

-That's not blossom, that's a...

-Cherry tree.

-No, what's that? A...

-That's a, um...

-Flower.

-I had one of those in my garden.

It's a big thingy tree. It's a... I'm a member of the RHS as well.

-That's a, um...

-You're right, now.

-That's a, um...

-Chestnut.

It's not a chestnut! It's plainly not a chestnut is it?

-They're not conkers, are they?

-Magnolia.

Magnolia - thank you very much!

That's what it is! I might be a bit rusty on my horticulture,

but one thing I do know - if you spend enough time in Wales,

sooner or later, you're going to find a leak.

-NICK LAUGHS

-That's mains, that is.

That's coming out hard, isn't it?

Try one of the stopcocks at the front.

-How's that?

-That's it. What was that you turned off?

-The stopcock under the hedge.

-The old mains?

-The old mains.

Well found, mate.

Luckily, we've got the local water board on tap

and they've turned up with some very high-tech gear.

He wants to have a look at it with his listening stick.

-Look with your listening stick?

-Yeah, that's a listening stick.

Have you seen one of those before?

Yeah, last time we had a broken main. Let me see if it works.

-Anything going on?

-Rubbish.

No, I think you've got about four days left in you.

Want to have a look? Go and have a listen?

Let's find out which one is back live

and then we can probably get it disconnected.

Ain't it lovely to see a bit of old-fashioned business

going on there? Upstairs, our trades are really cracking on.

Mind out, there's tools everywhere. Look in there.

The bathroom's got some tiles on in there. It's starting to take shape.

That's the babies' room. Poke yourself through there,

you can see there's some paper on.

The garden has been a lot more work than we first thought,

but we are getting there.

Which means it must be the perfect time for Gabby to decide

to paint all the fences a different colour, which goes down a storm.

Can you not see the amount of other work that's got to be done?

All the fences have got to be finished, all the turfing,

-all the planting.

-We've got loads...

You've just put another half a day on it by painting the fence

-that didn't need to be done.

-I'm not taking away your landscapers.

We've got decorators here, specifically to do this.

We've got the correct paint with the proper spec and they're doing it.

This is what puts the job over, is stuff like this.

He's very emotional, isn't he?

I think everyone needs to cool off a bit

so, while gabby's team plough on with the fence...

Black, really? Black?

..the boys are meeting up with Rob.

Since becoming a full-time carer and dad to twins,

Rob has had precious little time to himself,

so we've organised a boys' treat out.

-Boo!

-His wife gets that every morning!

Well, I say treat - kayaking on the River Wye.

-How do you feel? Confident?

-No, not really, no.

It looks like Jules has drawn the short straw - Billy.

JULES MOUTHS

-Whoa, whoa!

-Hey-hey!

-Whoa!

-Hold on, boys.

-He saved it, mate, he saved it.

Here we go - the point of no return.

LAUGHTER

-Oh, my God!

-It was planned.

-You all right?

-We went right through the middle there.

-I know, we saw you.

If you wanted to wake up very quickly, go canoeing.

-Enjoy yourself?

-This is lovely, yeah. It's been lovely.

I feel guilty though. I feel a bit guilty.

That's all back there when you get back there.

This is now, just a little bit for you, do you know what I mean?

-MARK:

-You've got put positive stuff in to get positive stuff out.

You need that in life, just to be able to bounce back and hit hard.

-Yeah, you've earnt it.

-Thanks, man, thank you.

Billy and Jules have got to come down next.

Here they come, here they come!

Whoa-oa! Yay! Ha-ha!

-Whoo!

-Come on, boy!

We're getting out here. Swim!

-Over this way, Bill. Come here!

-Swim, Jules!

We'll see you back at Monmouth!

Right, it's the final push.

The decking's going down, the turf's arrived,

so it's full steam ahead to get the garden finished.

But the jury's out on Gabby's fence.

-They've painted the fence black!

-I know.

-Dear me.

-You don't like it?

-But it's the colour of death.

-THEY LAUGH

-It's awful.

-Do you not like it?

-No, no, not at all.

-Maybe you should have an interview with our designers.

-I'm off!

THEY LAUGH

Third person has just come up to me and gone,

-"Why did you paint the fence black?"

-Cos it's going to look amazing.

They think it looks horrible.

Hands up how many people don't like the black fence.

-No, come on!

-Everyone.

-Nobody likes it, Gabby.

-Darling, it's magnificent.

It makes green look incredible.

It's an eyeliner for the garden, darling. It'll look magnificent.

Imagine me with no eyeliner on, how horrific that would look.

-Trust me, it's not good.

-I think you're being very harsh on yourself.

-No, I'm not, really.

-No, you are.

It's not just eyeliner, it's all the other things -

the base, lipstick and everything. It's, er...

'Come on, everybody! What brother hasn't been strangled

'by his little sister at some stage?

'We're all just one big happy family really.

'I never thought I'd say this, but the garden's almost done.

'We put in a special little feature for Charlotte -

'a central rail to the stone steps.'

It works either way, having this rail in the middle.

If it's the left side, she can come down with her strong side

and because we put it in the middle, she can actually go up

on her strong side and that works the other way round as well,

if her right side's the strong side.

So, this stairwell in and out of the garden

becomes part of her physiotherapy, which is kind of cool.

That's beautiful. This has been made for us

by a local artisan. Fantastic, isn't it?

And to be honest, I've just seen the fence

and look how the blossom colour pink is kicking more

because of the black fence that's in front of it.

And I was arguing about the black fence.

That kind of works, doesn't it? I like it very much, actually.

It's a mad dash to the finish line.

It's been a tough one, to be honest,

but we're almost there and it feels good.

-How's it been working with everyone here then?

-Wonderful.

-Yeah, really good.

-Why?

-Why?

-You've got to tell people why

cos people don't know what it's like, so...

It's just such an eye-opener.

It's great that everybody's pulled together, all the tradespeople,

and everybody's hearts are in the right places

and it's just an important cause, isn't it?

-We came on our own and have gone away as a team.

-Yeah.

-That's nice.

-Really good.

I like that. Come on your own, go away as a team.

'I think I might have that printed on a T-shirt.'

We arrived in Monmouth to help a family torn apart

when mum Charlotte suffered a massive stroke

after giving birth to twins.

It was horrific and then you're just riding a storm.

Against the odds, she's making remarkable progress

but their cramped little house had nowhere for help to stay,

and they couldn't cope with the boys full-time without it.

Is there something special you would love to give to the boys?

-Yeah, together.

-Just to be together.

-Yeah.

They were desperate to be a family again,

so the local trades of Monmouth and way beyond came together

to make that dream come true.

And this is what they achieved.

They've taken a pokey, cluttered semi and completely transformed it.

The new extension has doubled the ground floor,

giving the family a beautiful open-plan living-dining space,

with doors out to the garden.

The cramped kitchen is no more.

It's been replaced by modern cabinets

and bespoke concrete worktops.

There's now plenty of space for Charlotte to move around safely

and even a special little spot for Teddy and Fox.

The old living area is now a fabulous playroom for the twins

and also gives Charlotte the space she needs for her physio...

..with her exercise gear hidden behind sliding doors,

beautifully decorated by a local artist.

Upstairs, we've created a guest bedroom,

so that now Angie or a carer can stay overnight.

The existing bedrooms have had such a makeover.

The twins now have a proper little boys' room.

The old family bathroom has been transformed

into a beautiful en suite, complete with a moveable seat in the bath,

so Charlotte can once again enjoy a soak.

And we've added a separate wet room,

which will make showering much easier for her.

Finally, the old, inaccessible, sloping garden has gone.

In its place, a new turf lawn, split into levels

with a deck terrace that's just perfect for family time together.

The stone steps are flanked by giant raised planters,

ideal for Charlotte to do a spot of gardening. Very therapeutic.

Yes, the mighty Monmouth trades have given the Fairlies a home

where they can finally start their family life together.

We needed to give you space, we needed to give you a home

where you could actually spend time with your babies.

Everybody's really loved doing this for you. Open your eyes.

-Ooh!

-Oh, my God!

-Whoa!

-Oh, my goodness!

-That is just incredible.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

-It's incredible.

-It's incredible.

-Yeah!

Gabby was keen that when she came to you with a mood board,

-that there were things you'd like in colours and shapes and things.

-Yeah.

It's just unbelievable.

Everything that you do, you like to go to your left.

-It's the right side that's difficult?

-Yeah.

-The left, you know...

-That side.

So, the idea is everything that you do is thought through

-to make it beneficial for you.

-Oh, goodness.

-Oh, my goodness.

-That is just, er, wow!

-Oh!

Yeah, a little breakfast bar at the end here. You pull out the chairs.

-Ah!

-That is absolutely lovely.

-Ah!

So, in this corner here,

a little place for Fox and Teddy to hang their coats.

-Ah!

-That's brilliant.

-Clock. Clock.

-Yeah, it's a clock with the time on it.

-Yeah.

Just a little reminder.

So, let's bring you through into your new living room area.

-Oh, it's like a real home!

-Yeah.

Lots of room for the kids to run around in.

-Ah, that's gorgeous.

-Yeah.

-Can you see the photos? Gorgeous.

-Oh, my God!

-Goodness.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Yeah, this is lovely.

I'm speechless. It's not... It's...

It's not the same place, in a good way. It's just unbelievable.

I don't know how you've done it. It's beautiful, it really is.

-I know it's always tough for you to form sentences.

-Yeah.

-And you get frustrated with it - I know that.

-Yeah.

But I would like to know,

-can you see this making a difference for you?

-Yes.

I guess a big difference.

-It's a new start, isn't it?

-Yeah, home.

-Home.

-Yeah.

Welcome to your new physio space.

CHARLOTTE GASPS

-In behind here...

-Oh, my goodness.

-Oh, my goodness!

-That is just, er...

That's perfect!

CHARLOTTE LAUGHS

-So, what do you think?

-Oh, amazing!

-Speechless.

Speechless, yeah.

-Is this a space in which you can improve?

-Yeah.

-Cos you can do speech and language here.

-Yeah.

-Got the exercises.

It's just amazing.

Did you want to follow me to see the upstairs?

Your new room.

-Oh! Wow, that is absolutely brilliant!

-Yes.

-What do you think, my love?

-Yeah!

-Yeah.

But probably more important is going to be this room for you.

THEY GASP

-Oh, my goodness!

-It is... Wow!

-Down to your right, in the bath, is a self-raising chair.

-Yeah.

It will raise up and swing round

so you can get yourself in and out of the bath, Char.

-Thank you!

-That is brilliant.

-Want to see your boys' bedroom?

-Yes.

Oh, my God.

-Oh, "Fox" and "Teddy".

-Ah!

-So, obviously named for you, so you don't get mixed up.

-Yeah.

-Teddy and Fox, yeah.

-Ah!

-Proper little boys' room, isn't it?

-I know!

-Yeah. It's a proper little nursery. It's lovely.

Because of the situation that you're in, it was really important -

this was why we did the two-storey extension -

-to actually get another bedroom in somewhere.

-Yeah.

-Do you want to come and see that?

-Yes.

-Oh, that is incredible.

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

So, from today, you can move in,

you can have the boys stay in the same house as you.

Yeah, it's, um, it's above and beyond anything I could have,

or WE could have probably thought or imagined.

-It is perfect, for want of a better word.

-Perfect.

-Really?

-It's a home, it's a real home, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Well, why don't we get the family in then, shall we?

Wow!

-Hey.

-Poppet.

-There.

Poppet. Look, this is your new home.

-It's absolutely fantastic.

-I know.

-Tissue.

-Thank you, Char. You're looking after ME now.

-Yeah.

Isn't this lovely? Auntie Angie's silly, eh?

Is she silly? Yes.

-It's amazing.

-I know.

-Wow!

I have got another surprise for you downstairs.

THEY GASP

-Oh!

-Oh, my God!

It's kind of cool, isn't it? Look at that!

Come on, poppet.

-Darling.

-Goodness me!

-Are you sure this is the right address, my love?

-I know!

Did you know you had such an amazing view?

-And now it's framed with a beautiful garden.

-Yeah.

-If you come round this side, Char.

-OK.

-You can then use the rail.

-Ah.

Brilliant!

This is your new physio, Char.

-Oh!

-CHARLOTTE LAUGHS

-Up, down, up, down the steps.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Up, down, up, down.

I don't know how on earth they've done this.

During the summer, this is where you come to recuperate.

There's a lot of evidence that shows

that if you can see the countryside, greenery, trees,

-it will help with your rehabilitation.

-Yeah.

Walking up and down the garden, using the railings, should all help.

-Yeah. Thank you.

-I

-didn't do it.

-Isn't that lovely, though, to see your boys out in the garden?

-Yeah.

-Look, he's running about.

-I know!

-He's doing his little ducky walk.

-Does it feel like a home?

-Home, yes, definitely.

-Yeah. It's, yeah...

-It's...

-Big changes?

-Yeah.

-Massive.

-Yeah.

-Bit of weight off you?

-Yeah, it feels like home.

-Yeah.

It feels like the space is incredible and the space of...

-And knowing that you'll be safe with the boys here...

-Yeah.

That'll be a huge weight.

OK, listen, we'd like you to meet the twins, but one of them's asleep.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

-A new beginning?

-Yes, um, beginning, yeah.

And a chance for you now, finally, to spend proper time with your boys.

-With boys, yes.

-How do things change?

Well, when Char came back to the house, um, it just wasn't...

We couldn't be a family.

You haven't made a house, you've made us a home,

and for the first time, we can be a family together.

And that wouldn't be possible without you guys - there's no way.

And I've no idea what to say to all of you. There's so many.

And so, from the bottom of our hearts,

I want to thank each and every one of you individually

for giving us a family back, which we haven't had yet.

Does this take some of the pressure off?

Yeah, it feels like a huge weight cos this is our base,

this is our home, so it feels manageable now.

-So, starting afresh from today - when we get the keys...

-Yeah.

LAUGHTER

To be honest, the way it's been, they might be in one of the skips.

-LAUGHTER

-Thank you so much.

APPLAUSE

Thank you.

How are you?

-What an amazing community.

-I know!

As long as we don't have to sit on our knees for half an hour.

Mwah, thank you.

People often ask me,

"Why would people come and give so much and not get paid?"

It's because they're part of a community.

They're doing something special.

And what greater payment is there than creating a home

where a mother and her twins can create that bond

that they should have had when they were born

and through circumstance, they couldn't?

Somebody said to me in the week,

"We come here alone and leave as a team."

And of course, you're part of a team, you just don't know it.

Your community has amazing power.

Maybe you know somebody who needs your help.

INDISTINGUISHABLE CHATTER

Thank you. Mwah.

INDISTINGUISHABLE CHATTER