Episode 11 Getting the Builders In

For us Brits, our home is our castle.

-Wow!

-I know.

-Oh, my goodness!

Amazing.

Amazing!

But keeping it how we want it...

We've got the complete DIY manual.

..takes a lot of work.

-Have you been up that chimney?

-Human sweep, I am.

And getting the builders in...

What time do you call this?

..can be a daunting task.

To be fair, John, I think they built the Great Wall of China quicker.

It's a work of art, that. Look. We've got a Banksy.

Ugh!

So we've asked tradesmen from all over the country...

Still alive, I feel like a doctor.

..to go up against each other.

If you get it, you can give it to us, all right?

Yeah, we'll sub it out, cos I want it painted.

Each homeowner hears three quotes...

£1,650.

-Yeah...

-Need a stiff drink yet?

-Get in!

-Get in.

..before picking the best one for the job.

Told you.

But there's a sting in the tail for the winning builders,

as their rivals get to watch them at work.

-We haven't got a key.

-Uh-huh!

Oh, I don't like the idea of this at all, no.

-When the boys jump?

-Yeah...

-No.

We're kicking off in the Victorian market town that sits on the foot

of rolling hills.

In an area that is just half an hour from London, where house prices

are more than 1.5 times the national average.

Where are we?

We are down south in Redhill, Surrey.

Who's on the hunt for builders there?

This five-bed semi is home to Heidi and Ollie and their four girls.

They moved in three years ago.

We love the space and the sort of open plan

of the back half of the house.

We can sort of be in the den, kitchen and, you know,

all the kids are about, which is lovely.

Sounds great. So why on earth do Heidi and Ollie need builders?

So, we've currently got two bathrooms -

a small one in the loft, just been installed, which really leaves

the five of us all in and out constantly of the main bathroom.

It's a bit of a bun fight as to who gets in where first.

It's a great-sized bathroom, and so we see the potential to put

a partition wall up and carve out an en suite to our bedroom.

It really would just be the final thing in this house that makes

everything work. It would tick all of the boxes.

So, how much cash have they got to splash on not one bathroom, but two?

I think we said the budget was between...

Six and seven would be ideal.

Eight would be our sort of...

-Upper tier.

-Upper tier.

An extra bathroom can add value to your home.

So, builders, how do we get it right?

If you're looking at getting your bathroom done, make a note

of where the existing pipes, the boiler, electrical wiring are,

obviously before they move them or box them in.

Relocating any of these afterwards would only add a significant amount

to your costs of your build.

If there isn't a window in the bathroom,

it's probably a good idea to consider installing an extractor fan

or condensation will quickly cause mould and damp problems.

Today's rivals are all as keen as mustard to win the job.

You're looking fresh this morning.

-Thanks, mate. I had a little trim up.

-Shaved up.

-Shave up.

Lovely, lovely.

And they're full of the joys of spring.

A bit of sun in the face. Is it vitamin D?

-Vitamin D!

-Vitamin D!

-That's what we need.

They all know they're bidding on not one, but two bathrooms.

But it's their fresh ideas that'll set them apart.

First to pitch, a clean-cut Wayne and Steph.

Hello! Hello, hello.

They'll need to dive right in to win this job.

-Ah.

-Right, OK. It's not a small bathroom,

-but to make this into two rooms...

-Yeah.

..is going to be a challenge.

Building buddies for two years,

these two are quietly confident when it comes to home improvements.

I'm a carpenter by trade.

I do a little bit of everything.

-Your local handy woman.

-Ha.

Ooh, look at my pipe. Isn't it shiny?

-We are more like siblings.

-Yeah.

-You know what I mean?

That silly kind of banter that you have with your brother or sister.

Do you think my drillbit is sharper than your drillbit, Wayne?

-Maybe.

-Ooh.

-Maybe.

Banter aside, they'll need watertight ideas

to create two bathrooms.

Customised bathroom dressing area.

-Yes.

-For girls.

-Done.

-Girl...girl station.

Girl station.

You sort that out. I ain't got a clue what a girl station is!

So, Wayne and Steph have a plan to win the girls over.

But it's Heidi and Ollie who hold the purse strings.

I think the layout is not great.

So we've drawn up a new plan for you.

In your main bathroom, bring that bath here,

so you got a full-length bathroom.

-And creating a really nice, sumptuous bath.

-Yes.

Then this becomes a little sanctuary for the girls to get ready.

So it would be a large basin

that two of them could be at at the same time,

with nice dressing room lights.

-Yup.

-Make it quite glamorous.

The girls would love this.

That's it. Yeah, that would work.

Let's not forget, they're keeping that sink in their bedroom.

So actually, you've got a sink here and then a wall and then your

en suite. Yeah.

Sort of doesn't say en suite to me.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It says...en suite round a corner.

En suite with limited access.

En suite with an assault course.

Because you're accessing the en suite from the end,

it creates, like, a long corridor.

-Yeah.

-So, we thought, let's remove the shower,

cos what makes an en suite is having the toilet.

I'd say probably first and foremost, the new en suite,

if it was probably going to have anything in it,

it probably would need to be the shower rather than the toilet.

OK. We wondered that.

Let's say we swap the toilet for a shower.

-How does that change your...?

-Labour price is still the same.

So Wayne and Steph want to create a girl station for Heidi and Ollie's

daughters in the main bathroom,

complete with a bath,

with an overhead shower across the new back wall, and a loo.

Next-door, there will be a separate shower,

but no sink or toilet.

Heidi and Ollie only have £8,000,

so what's this going to cost?

It would be 6,100 for the labour.

-OK.

-Now, that only leaves 1,900 for materials.

But, obviously, until you get to the finer detail,

that's really as specific as we can be at this stage.

In theory, that comes in on budget.

But Heidi and Ollie will need to buy two bathroom suites and tiles

for less than £2,000.

But there's still two more pitches to go.

Next against Wayne and Steph, is diamond geezer Elliott.

And today, he's flying solo.

Yeah, so bring it on. Here comes the lone wolf.

The Lone Ranger.

Elliott might be a man down,

but he thinks he can beat his rivals hands-down.

I've got some good ideas.

I've got a lot I can bring to the drawing table.

I just love doing bathrooms, you know, it's just that quirkiness.

It's the tiling, bringing the wet rooms together, the sanitary ware,

the planning, the overall job and just seeing it come together,

great for the customer.

So let's see if lone wolf Elliott can make more of a splash

than Wayne and Steph.

So, we are going to open this up. It's going to be the new door.

Is only going to be a small en suite.

We're actually going to give them a wet room. It's a nice job.

But will it wet Heidi and Ollie's appetite?

OK, so I've had a chance to look at your bathroom.

The en suite, I've got a proposed shower, toilet.

That is going to be incorporated as a wet room.

-Yeah.

-So it'll be fully tanked out.

Bath here, it can be done, but I think it's going to be...

it's going to be a little bit of jiggery-pokery.

So the master bathroom, we're going to have a square, deep bath,

side fill, shower over.

-Yeah.

-OK, tile.

In grey, but they have a wave through them and actually does that,

but it also projects as a 3-D pattern as well.

So that would be, that would be as a main feature...

-Yes.

-..somewhere in the shower.

-OK?

-OK.

-That sounds good.

-Yeah, OK.

Elliott's plan is to create a walk-in wet room complete with

shower and toilet for the en suite.

Next-door, he'll squeeze in a bath,

overhead shower in the narrow gap,

move the toilet, and put in

a double sink and vanity unit.

Sounds impressive, but what's it

going to cost?

So, for that, I know it's a little bit over budget. It's 8,700.

The work will take two to three weeks.

That's £700 over the maximum spend.

But it's not over yet.

Burly bears Simon and John are still to quote.

Here it is.

This pair claim to be multi-skilled masters of any building site.

My main skills are making a cup of tea.

-Yeah.

-Cup of tea!

I do all of the brick work, I do plastering.

-Yeah.

-You'll lend your hand for most things.

Yeah, I take plumbing and chippy work.

-So the door here...

-That would be your shower.

..that'll be your shower.

Maybe a bit of mosaics, like they've got in here, to tie it in.

I figured, you've got to make it part of the same room, haven't you?

Simon and John want to build a shower straight off the bedroom,

but will that wash with Heidi and Ollie?

So, we've looked at your bathroom.

In the shower en suite area, we think if you go for a mosaic

in the shower, it makes the shower a feature.

Yeah.

-And you're not drawn to the toilet, even though it's there.

-OK.

You'd be able to get a bath this way.

They're wanting to get rid of the shower, they're not...

She's all about putting a bath in there, but you can't

-really have a bath in there.

-Yes.

-Toilet where the shower is.

-At the far end. That's the easiest solution, isn't it?

-Mm-hm.

We'd put the toilet into this recess

rather than putting the bath in here.

We were thinking, what about putting a bath on this side?

-Along the new wall?

-Yeah, along the new wall.

I think it's easier if you've got children,

and it's just easier access into the bath.

For us, a labour price is always better then you can supply whatever,

within a region of what you want to supply, really.

Simon and John want to build a shower and toilet straight off

the bedroom to create a compact en suite.

Next-door in the bathroom,

they'll put the bath on the right,

the loo on the left, and just like

Elliott, put a sink in the middle.

But their quote won't include

all the fixtures and fittings, and

Heidi and Ollie only have £8,000.

Which works out, I think it was...

-Was it 7,500? In labour.

-Labour.

-Right.

-And then, obviously, the material price...

-For construction.

-For construction. 1,250.

So that together, was 8,750.

Crikey. And that doesn't include the bath, two showers, two toilets,

two sinks or tiles.

Eight-seven is probably a little bit more

than what we thought it would be.

But because we're doing sort of two bathrooms,

it is quite labour intensive.

That's it. They've all pitched. Now they have to wait.

-One, two, three, four... Who's missing?

-Yeah.

Well, but, yeah, no.

-You're only mate has let you down.

-That's it.

That's all right.

It's Heidi and Ollie's call.

After a lot of umming and ahhing,

-I think we've probably come up with who and what we want.

-Mm-hm.

Will it be Wayne and Steph's girl station,

under budget but with no fixtures and fittings?

Elliott's all-in bathroom and wet room, just over budget?

Or Simon and John's, the most expensive, with the shower

straight off the bedroom?

PHONE RINGS

Only the winner's phone will ring.

PHONE CONTINUES RINGING

Oh.

-Hello?

-Hello, it's Heidi and Ollie.

We would like to go with your quote.

OK, that's fantastic, thank you.

-Great.

-Thank you very much for the opportunity.

I'll give you a call and we'll confirm some dates,

and we'll get the ball rolling.

-Perfect, thank you very much.

-Thanks, Elliott.

There we go! In the bag like a pro.

Can't wait to start now.

Let's... Let's crack on and get the work done.

Elliott is in business. But his rivals are a job down.

-Fair play to him. Good price.

-Good price.

Pleased for him, that the loner actually got a job.

-He won't be Billy No-Mates totally.

-What's he going to do, then?

-He's got to go out and find...

-Find a friend.

-..some builder mates.

-Phone a friend.

Harsh. Goodness know what they'll have to say later.

With so many products on the market,

choosing a bathroom suite can be quite daunting.

So, builders, what do we need to think about?

Freestanding baths can make a real impact in a bathroom. But fitted

baths are a lot more practical if you have a smaller space.

When it comes to picking a sink, think practically

about what will fit with your bathroom, and remember that the taps

you choose will also have a big effect on the overall look.

There are now wide varieties of toilets available for your bathroom

in all sorts of different shapes, sizes, design.

Check that your toilet comes with a seat, though,

because you'd be surprised - not all of them do.

It's day one on Heidi and Ollie's bathroom re-fix.

-Hi, Heidi.

-Hello.

-How are you? OK?

-Yeah, good.

-Hi, this is Mark.

-Hi Mark.

-Hi, nice to meet you.

And Elliott's rivals will be pleased to see he's found

a building buddy.

-Ahh!

-Aww, Elliott.

Aw, not alone.

-He's not a Billy No-Mates any more.

-No.

Oh, I love it. Can't wait.

Wrecking someone's house.

You're one of the Goodfellas, surely.

-Oh, it's Robert De Niro.

-It's Robert De Niro, isn't it?

Their task is to rip out one bathroom and rebuild two.

Not much of a challenge.

On this job, Elliott's in command.

I'm his little labourer, I think.

-Little?

-HE CHUCKLES

I don't think so, Mark.

First, it's everything out.

-Ooh, easy, tiger!

-That'll wake him up.

-It was going well until you broke the mirror.

-Yeah.

-Oh, well.

-Someone jinxed me on that one.

-Oh, yeah.

Well, I'm glad you broke it and not me.

-That's why you got me to do it.

-I've had enough bad luck.

-How many years bad luck?

-Oh, I'm not superstitious.

Keen to avoid further disaster,

Elliott wants to protect the carpet - his way.

You swimming now?

Lying down on the job?

Oh, he weren't any good at break dancing, was he?

The swimming technique.

Well, that was, that was from my days in the Olympics, mate.

Double forward somersault, half twist, dismount.

And, yeah, belly flop.

HE LAUGHS

While Elliott makes fast progress ripping out the suite,

Mark's got a nifty trick to minimise mess when tearing down tiles.

What I do, is put a big bucket

down under where you're taking the tiles off.

Knock downwards.

Less mess on the floor and it goes in the bucket.

We like that. Yes, Mark, you can stay.

It takes just a morning to rip out the whole bathroom.

Next job is to put up the framework for the new stud wall.

This is where the wall is going to go.

This will divide the family bathroom and en suite.

And right on cue, the new suites arrive.

It's Christmas come at once!

To me, to you!

The wall is going up, the pipes are in,

and Elliott has built the framework for the en suite.

You're in there, in the shower, it's going to be tight,

but we've got 900, which is...

It's better than having a 700, 700 shower tray

and you're washing yourself like that.

-He's a good model. He works it.

-Yeah, yeah.

Next, the door for the new en suite.

Hope you've got a steady hand, Elliot.

So, there's no margin for error either here.

We're very tight on space, this has to be right.

As you say, measure twice, cut once.

-I'm nervous. I actually feel nervous.

-Yup.

Bang!

Oops, gone wrong already?

Obviously, we've got a light switch here.

I have already checked to see where the cables go.

-I'm glad to hear it.

-Yeah.

-Anybody home?

-Hello?

Hello!

Right, that's the bottom.

-Let's see what...

-This door was giving me nightmares as well.

-Yeah.

-You got it?

-Yeah.

-Can you crowbar the bottom off?

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...

OK, there we have it.

Are we going to show the others how it's done? Yeah.

He's always stirring it up, old Elliott, mate.

Oh, he's a bit of a stirrer, isn't he, old Elliott?

The finished article is going to be better than I think than

everybody anticipated.

-He has set the bar high.

-Yes.

We'll find out just how good it looks later.

Next job today takes us to a bustling market town

on the edge of rolling countryside,

to an area that can be accessed by road, rail or river.

The average family house here costs around 20% less than the national

average. Where are we?

We're up north in Bury, Greater Manchester.

So, who's looking to get the builders in?

This four-bed detached is home to Simon and Caroline.

They bought the house just two months before their son William

was born and began a major revamp.

We didn't buy the house, do it up and then have a family.

We got the house as the family arrived.

A bit of a roller-coaster, the last few years.

The house is far from finished, though, and their family's

-about to expand.

-This one's due in a couple of months.

So, yeah, be back to sleepless nights.

So, with a definite deadline,

it's the hall and stairs that are top of the hit list.

Well, the obvious thing is we need banisters.

Finally, for safety, but also, you know,

for the house and the aesthetics.

We're down to bare walls,

there's an uneven floor in the hall which we somehow need to level.

It's a big job upstairs and down,

so what's in the pot to pay for the hallway?

Our budget is about £3,000 to £5,000.

If there's a great idea, really good idea,

something which is completely left-field

which we've not thought of, we've budgeted for that as well.

The hallway is the first room in your house anyone sees, so

if you're planning a revamp, you'll want to get it right.

Your hallway sees a lot of footfall, so it's worth going for flooring

that's durable and easy to clean.

Wood and laminate are very popular choices.

Walls and hallways can get marked and scuffed,

so it's always a good idea to buy a durable paint.

If you want extra lights, switches or plug sockets,

plan their location before the work starts, as changes

during the build can be costly.

Today's trio are ready to pitch, and they've all done their homework.

-Nice place, Bury.

-"Berry."

Mate, I keep telling about this, it's got a U in it, not an E.

Home of the world-famous market.

World-famous? Who named it that?

It says so itself at the market.

They all know they're here for a hallway revamp.

You know what Bury's known for?

What?

-Black puddings.

-I'm not a big fan of black puddings. I like puddings.

And their minds are firmly on the job.

If you're lucky later, I'll take you to the market and buy you

one of the world-famous, massive chocolate eclairs.

When they're not thinking about their stomachs, that is.

-Hello.

-Hi, there.

First to arrive are Sian and John.

They've battled through rush-hour traffic to get here.

Time for them to come up with a rescue plan for the rundown hallway.

It's very beige...

at the moment. Needs a bit of work.

Needs something exciting doing.

It's all, like, the same colour, isn't it?

I feel like I'm in a big vat of buttermilk.

Are you thinking design already?

I'm thinking about skimming the walls.

Yeah, well, yeah.

-Getting the dirty work done.

-Are we ready?

-Aye.

-I've heard that before.

Friends for over 20 years, these two know who's in charge.

-I think we are a good team.

-I'll say, "Do it this way,"

but Sian will quite adamantly say that she wants to do it this way.

She's getting bossy!

Let's see if they can find harmony in the hallway.

-The floor goes like that, ooh!

-Floor needs levelling.

Prime the walls.

Skim. The skirtings are bit of a mess.

Ah, whip them off, John.

-Whip them off.

-Engineered wood flooring?

Yeah, because it's a solid floor, you're going to have

some fluctuations in temperature, so probably better off

using an engineered board rather than a solid.

-Stable.

-Yeah, a bit more stable,

you're not going to get any sort of movement.

Sian and John have made a solid start.

Time to pitch their ideas to Simon and Caroline.

What we need to do is maybe address the mess of what's...

-Address the mess!

-I want to address the mess.

-That's an amazing phrase.

-It's an amazing phrase, I use it a lot -

we need to address the mess.

-We do.

-What we've included for is an engineered board,

because it's a solid floor. A herringbone pattern,

which is quite on trend at the minute, but it's also a classic.

It'll just make the hallway a little bit funkier.

A classic example of why building regs,

building control insist on hand rails.

Because, otherwise, you fall off the stairs, which is very dangerous.

Now, whatever we put down here,

we've got to tie it in with this or it's going to look daft.

Or completely take that out and put something new in and a bit funkier.

Let's have a wobble of that newel post and see if it's...

Let's have a wobble? I don't wobble.

There's no wobbling here!

Get a hold of that post.

Oh, hello.

I think it might need a bit of work.

I think it's going to look a lot better

-if you go for something a bit more modern.

-Yeah.

Metal and timber, and then put the same up here.

Obviously it's dangerous at the minute, walking up those stairs.

So, we have quoted for something quite glamorous, actually -

for oak to match the flooring and then a chrome spindle.

-Right.

-So it'll look quite contemporary

-but it'll look, you know...

-Yeah.

-It'll give the hallway

-the wow factor when you walk in.

-Yeah.

-It'll all tie in.

So, Sian and John have come up with a classic contemporary design

throughout. They'll skim all the walls

and redecorate upstairs and down.

Then they'll level the floor and put down an engineered board

in herringbone oak.

They'll add an oak banister to match,

but use chrome spindles to make it more modern.

Sounds smart, but what's the damage?

Simon and Caroline have a top budget of £5,000.

For labour and materials it's £5,080.

Right. OK.

And roughly how long do you think the work will take?

Probably looking for at least two to three weeks.

-Yeah.

-All right.

-OK.

That's £80 over their top budget, but it's still anyone's job.

-I'm looking forward to this.

-Next to pitch

-are grafters Alex and Chris.

-Caroline.

They're always keen to make a good first impression.

Even though it's quite big, it feels quite dingy.

-Look at it all. I hate gloss.

-That's stringy, that stairs.

Top tip - don't paint gloss.

These two have been joined at the hip for the last six years,

and they claim they can turn their hands to anything.

We complement each other very well.

Chris's organisational skills are fantastic.

I'm older. You know, not that you could tell.

A lot. Didn't you do paint the Titanic?

Time to get their thoughts on transforming the hallway.

Plaster doesn't look in the greatest of condition, quite a lot of cracks.

-That just wants overskimming. Traditional on there.

-Traditional.

-Nice newel.

-So, Alex and Chris think traditional is the way forward.

Will that appeal to Simon and Caroline?

After looking at your hall and everything that you wanted us

-to have a look at...

-Just a small job.

Just a small... Yeah, really!

-Yeah.

-We priced for solid oak floor.

-Yep.

-To keep the cost down, pine stair components.

-Right.

-Have we got any cupboard access round the side?

-Yeah, there's a cupboard door here...

-OK.

-Which they obviously put

the hoover and brushes in and stuff like that.

-Yeah, cool.

-So, what if we maybe do the cupboards to, say,

here so they've got access?

They've still got storage on that side,

and we open all that up and then you do your magic on there.

Underneath the stairs, I mean, that is just dead space, really.

There's countless options what we can actually do with that.

-Yeah.

-So whether it be pull-out drawers for shoes, or anything.

Especially when you've got kids,

you need as much storage and space as you can.

The bottom of the stairs ends up as a dumping ground with wellies and

-shoes.

-Yeah.

-Alex and Chris have come up with a traditional look

for the hallway. They'll skim all the walls and redecorate,

fit a simple, square-style banister

made out of pine and fit a solid oak floor.

But their big idea is to rip out the wall under the stairs and build

drawers for storage. Sounds pricey.

So, what's it going to cost?

We've priced for absolutely everything.

-OK.

-Yeah. And that comes a total price of 4,400.

Hmm, that's £600 under their top budget.

How long do you think it's going to take?

-Probably looking over the space of a couple of weeks.

-OK.

Simon and Caroline are giving nothing away,

and there's still one more pitch to go.

Last up are no-nonsense lads Mark and Chris.

-Let's have a ganders.

-Already stripped.

Yeah, which is a great bonus.

Workmates for three years,

these two claim to have the perfect partnership.

I spend more time with you than I do with the kids, the missus,

anyone else in my family.

Does he prefer working on his own?

When I'm fitting one of these doors, yeah!

Unfriended by the end of the day.

Now, now, no falling out on site, boys,

we need your ideas for the hallway.

I mean, I'm pushing majorly towards drawer stairs.

So the drawers are actually in the stairs for storage

in each step coming up. We're talking big budget, though.

-Mhm.

-So, it's innovative staircase storage from this duo,

but will it be a step too far for Simon and Caroline?

You know, our big idea in this part hopefully makes us stand out

from the others, and that's to put the drawers internal

-of the stairs going up.

-Yeah.

-It does mean that, you know,

we are going to have to absolutely dissect your stairs

to be able to allow this to happen.

But the storage ability to be able to get that area in there.

I'm intrigued by the drawers in the stairs.

They're going to want some engineered timber

-on the floors downstairs.

-Yep.

New carpet on the landing and the stairs itself.

Obviously, the problem we're going to find here is this banister.

-Yep.

-So that might be the answer on being able to put glass up here.

We'd like to start a glass balustrade going up

the entire length of the stairs and the return at the top.

-Right.

-Using a brushed nickel format for the actual handrail.

We'd decorate the full area...

-Yep.

-..top to bottom, but when it comes to the colours,

that's where you need to come in and give us some advice.

I've already got ideas on that.

I'm sure you have!

Mike and Chris have gone to town and pushed the brief with

state-of-the-art stair drawers, a glass balustrade, nickel hand rail,

wood floor and full redecoration.

Sounds fancy, but what's it all going to cost?

With the glass balustrade, we're looking around £5,600 completed.

That's £600 over budget and the highest quote of the day.

And the total time you think it's going to take to do the work?

The total time will be around eight days.

-OK.

-Eight working days.

-Eight working days, OK!

-Thank you very much.

-That's it,

they've all pitched their designs and priced the job.

-Now they wait.

-I think we've made a bit of a boo-boo,

actually, because we've done lots of fancy balustrading

-in chrome and oak.

-We decided to keep the cost down,

-we're going to do that in pine.

-Boring!

We're running for the drawers, you know, in the risers.

Oh, check it out!

You know how it is, lads.

It's Simon and Caroline's call.

Will it be Alex and Chris's under-stairs storage solution,

which came in under budget?

Sian and John's fancy flooring and smart new banister just over budget?

Or Chris and Mark's staircase drawers,

which was the most expensive of the three?

Only one pair can win the job.

PHONE RINGS OUT

Oh.

Good afternoon, Chris speaking.

Chris, it's Simon and Caroline.

We loved some of the ideas and we'd like you to come and do the work.

-Oh, that's great.

-Oh, that's fantastic.

Thank you very much. Was it the smile?

It was definitely the smile.

We'll be in touch with you later.

-Thanks very much.

-Thanks, guys.

-Thank you.

-Cheers.

-Thank you.

Yeah, baby!

-Looking forward to it.

-Can't wait.

Alex and Chris have nailed it.

I think the price certainly helped.

-Yeah.

-And we want to win every one, but, yeah, we like this.

-We like this a lot.

-And the losers walk away empty-handed.

I'm a little gutted about that, to be fair, because I wanted

to showcase those drawers coming out of the risers.

-The drawers...

-I look forward to seeing those pine spindles,

cos no way are they going to look as good as the stuff

that we'd specified. No way.

You'll be able to judge for yourself when you're watching

Alex and Chris work shortly.

Hallways can be tricky to design due to their layout,

and there are many things to think about.

One of the most important is lighting.

If you have a long, narrow hall, it might be better to go

for two or three smaller ceiling lights rather than a single pendant,

as this may leave some areas of the hallway unlit.

If you have high ceilings in the hallway, try using

bigger pendant lights. But if the ceilings are low,

it's better to fix a pendant that's flush fitted

so the space doesn't feel cluttered.

In a hallway, it's always a good idea to use LED lighting.

They're durable, cheaper to run and environmentally friendly.

It's day one of the hallway revamp in Bury, but Chris is a man down,

and the losing builders are all eyes.

-Oh, this is the hallway, isn't it?

-Let's have it.

-Yep, let's see it.

Let's see what they're up to.

I thought I'd come in and show willing.

Show willing!

This build is happening in three stages -

repair and fit the banister and floor, build under-stair storage,

then redecorate top to bottom.

The first job is to tear down the wall under the stairs,

ready for the new storage.

This part of the wall's staying because that's part

of the cupboard behind. So we're going to box that in,

take all this out, and then this is where we're going to

-have the shelving.

-You know what would've been better?

Pull-out drawers, man. It's not hard. Do you know what I mean?

It's pull-out. It pulls out.

-It's a drawer in the stairs.

-A secret drawer.

It's destruction time!

And Chris is taking no prisoners.

Here's Johnny!

Before long, half the wall is out.

Yeah, I think now we've taken that bit of wall down,

it actually does show you how it can widen the hall up.

-Fair play, there's a fair bit of storage there.

-Yeah.

I mean, that's one of the reasons why we really don't want to put

a door on, just to give them

that little feel of it's open space, you know?

Put a door on it, lad, for God's sake!

And, with that, the rip-out is complete.

We'll be back later to see them rebuild the hall.

Back in Redhill, Surrey.

Elliott and Mark are making great progress on Heidi and Ollie's

bathroom and en suite. You might remember Elliott

was super-confident, but there's been a design change -

they're having one large sink instead of two.

Yeah, it's kind of put us back a little bit.

The main thing is that it's right and when it's finished,

-everybody's happy.

-But just as they solve one problem...

We fixed the legs and everything onto the bath yesterday.

We've put it in situ and noticed there was a very small crack.

Unfortunately, we can't install it.

Is that where you used a hammer to get it in, Elliott?

We've had a string of bad luck, actually. So I think, actually,

it might be something to do with

Mark breaking the mirror on the first day.

Always got to blame others, eh?!

-Big shoulders.

-That's cos I'm carrying you every day.

Oh, you're going to get in trouble.

-He can't turn it around.

-Make it a planter.

Next job, prep for a waterproof seal around the shower.

In my other job, I make a damn good cake.

Whisk it up, just like cream.

There he goes, look, stirring it up, as usual.

Going in, doctor.

This stuff is actually quite messy.

Insert this onto here.

They're getting back on track.

The wall is sealed and boards are laid to level the floor.

This is when the customer shouts up,

"I've got water coming through the ceiling!"

And home owner Heidi knows how to keep them sweet.

-Look at that!

-Look at that, one happy customer.

There you go, Simon, that is what you get, mate, for a good job.

-Oh, look!

-That's all right, John.

-That's your favourite.

-Look at that.

A sandwich and crisps - that's a dream.

Love it, love it.

Tiles are going up.

Am I the best tiler in this competition?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Don't speak too soon.

I've cut the corner off it.

Another 20 quid.

Oh, another 20 quid!

That bath is in, as is the loo.

-Fantastic.

-It's all systems go, as they race to the finish.

Running around.

He looks like Frosty the Snowman.

He's absolutely colossal.

-He told me he was going back to the gym.

-He's looking well.

A few final touches and they're done.

For the last three years, Heidi,

Ollie and their four daughters have shared one main bathroom,

making it a very crowded space on any given morning.

Shared a bathroom with five girls, mate! He's a brave man, isn't he?

-He's very brave.

-Good man, Ollie.

It took Elliott and Mark a week of hard graft to rip out,

divide up and rebuild the bathroom.

-That looks really slick, actually.

-It looks beautiful, yeah.

They've made use of every inch,

even slotting in a bath and shower in a very compact space.

-Very nice.

-That is lovely.

That is beautiful.

They've tiled floor to ceiling and they've fitted a large floating sink

for Heidi and Ollie's girls.

-Those lucky girls.

-Yeah.

-But it doesn't stop there.

Next-door they built an en suite

from scratch - perfect for Mum and Dad.

-Marks out of ten?

-Marks out of ten for me,

I'm going to have to give him a ten and a half, I think, John.

Oh, a ten and a half!

There's a walk-in shower, separate loo and light-up mirror.

And it's all tiled in a cool grey.

-Eight and a half.

-Oh, OK, that's definitely

the highest we've given anybody.

-It was a tricky job, though.

-Yeah.

-They made it work.

-Absolutely.

-And they made it look great.

-Yeah.

But it's the client that counts.

Come on, then.

-Let's see how we got on.

-Will Heidi and Ollie approve?

First, they check out the bathroom.

Come on.

We're really pleased with it.

I particularly love this sink.

There's enough space probably for three of them

-to get side by side and do their teeth, which is good.

-Yeah.

Yes!

There we go.

And then into the shower end, that just looks really nice.

It works really well. It's quite deceptive how far back it goes.

And, really, there's a full bath tucked in there.

And they've delivered on everything they've said, and then some.

-Cheers, Ollie.

-But will they be just as impressed with the en suite?

Nice. Really nice.

Stunning.

Absolutely stunning. I'm delighted with it.

-That's very nice.

-Yeah.

The mosaic on the floor is so much nicer than a plastic shower tray.

-Putting these wet room floor trays in...

-It's so much nicer.

It is so much nicer.

I wasn't expecting them to have done...such a good job.

That's sounds like a terrible thing to say.

Wow. I don't know what you envisaged, but...

I didn't imagine it would look this wide, I know it's still

a small room, but I thought it would be smaller than this.

I reckon it's about a metre wide.

Yeah.

For a tiny room, it's much bigger than I thought

-we were going to get out of it. What do you reckon?

-Very true.

They've been really, really good with the way they've created

the space, actually, and it gives us just what we need,

which is enough space to get in and have a shower.

The shower's actually quite big.

It's sort of more than I thought we would have.

It's really stylish.

Yeah. It's odd that things surpass your expectations,

but this is one of those occasions when it's happened.

I want to hear that on repeat.

Really happy. We definitely made the right choice, didn't we?

To get two bathrooms out of the size of what was the existing family

bathroom is pretty clever.

-Well done, boys.

-Yeah.

That's what we like, happy customers, mate.

Well done. Good job.

Nice work, lads.

Back in Bury, Simon and Caroline's hallway revamp is well underway.

Transformation, lights in.

It's a nice sage green, isn't it?

Chris is cracking on with the decorating.

And he's got a money-saving tip up his sleeve.

If you find a really expensive paint, sometimes you can pay

£40-50 for a two and a half litre tin of paint.

Get yourself a little tester, put it onto a card,

take it into one of the big DIY stores,

and they'll colour match it for you and, you know,

you can get ten litres for £38.

Good tip, good tip.

Next, building buddy Alex has finally arrived to lend a hand.

Here he is, look, he's late.

And his first job is to build those all-important new banisters.

Oh, a bit of bottom. I like a bit of bottom.

Builder's bottom.

We've got the newels and the handrail and the base rail in.

So now we're starting to put the spindles in.

-All pine.

-So we've cut down what's called pieces of fillet,

and these obviously go in between the spindles to keep everything

in place and give it a nice finish.

Alex glues the fillets and spindles into place.

I do like doing spindles.

I'd have painted them before.

They're a nightmare to paint when they're in situ.

That's his world, isn't it?

And in no time, the staircase has the banister it needs

to make it safe.

It costs £250, and Chris is using an oak stain to match with the floor.

Not painting them. Da-da-da!

It's the home straight.

The ground floor has been levelled, and Alex is laying the oak effect

floor, which cost £40 a square metre all in.

Unfortunately, it's not a straightforward job

because we've got three doorways at the top of the hall,

and we've also got a bit of a dog leg in it

as well where the actual lounge door is set forward.

-Nice.

-Yeah!

-Lots of cutting...

-Not too simple.

-And head working.

But that's not stopping Alex.

The stairs get new carpet and all that's left to do is the storage.

Cross handed sawing.

He's built shelving into the newly open space under the stairs

and made new doors, which he paints to match the walls.

Oh, OK.

And, with that, the hallway refurb is complete.

-Another good job done.

-Happy days.

Yeah, it's been a good job.

A couple of challenges in there, but...

-I'm glad it's finished, though.

-Yeah!

There was a lot of different things to do.

-It was a real mishmash of a job, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

Before, Simon and Caroline's hallway wasn't fit for family life with bare

plaster, an uneven floor and no banister.

-Yeah, it was very drab.

-Yeah.

-Loads of things needed doing.

What will the rival builders think of Alex and Chris' efforts?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, let's see.

After ten days of hard graft,

they've completely ripped out and rebuilt the hallway.

It looks good.

There's a new oak banister and an engineered oak floor.

-It looks great.

-Yeah.

-It looks great, you know,

they done exactly what they needed to do.

The walls are freshly plastered,

it's been decorated, and there's even a new stair carpet.

Well done, guys. Good job.

And a new set of cupboards under the stairs.

-A massive improvement.

-Yeah, the drawers don't pull out

of the stairs, though, do they? Do you know what I mean?

They don't pull out of the stairs, though, bruv.

The losers are impressed,

but will it be a winner for Simon and Caroline?

Alex and Chris are just about to find out.

-Moment of truth.

-Moment of truth.

-Oh, wow.

-Oh, yeah, we like a wow.

-We like a wow.

-They've worked really hard, haven't they?

That's really... I really like that.

Excellent.

That cupboard, that's cool.

I know. We can get rid of all the clutter that you hate.

Yeah. Do you like it? Is it good?

I like the colours. The colours, I think they work really well.

It makes it look very fresher,

brighter with the ceiling, definitely.

Simon and Caroline's hallway is finally ready

for the family's new arrival, and came in on-budget at £4,400.

It's better than what we actually had in our heads. I think

if we'd done it ourselves, we wouldn't have anything as good

-as this, would we?

-Yeah.

-And it would've definitely taken

-a lot longer.

-It would have definitely taken a lot longer.

Happy days.

Boom!

So, that's another set of satisfied customers.