Episode 12 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.

-You been up that chimney?

-Yeah.

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.

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. 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-uh!

-I don't like the idea of this at all. No.

-Do you feel sorry for the boys, John?

-Yeah.

-No!

First job today takes us to a picturesque village just a 30-minute

commute to central London where house prices are almost double the

national average. We're down south in Carshalton, Sutton.

This three-bed '30s semi is home to Samantha Dalziel and her family.

I've lived in this property for just over four years.

It's got everything we need, nice, open-plan living,

which is good when you've got young children,

because you can be cooking and they can be playing.

Sounds ideal. So why's Sam in need of builders?

We want to get fitted cupboards in our alcoves in our lounge,

maximise storage space.

We've got two young children, they have a lot of toys,

and we would just like to tidy them away at the end of the day so that

we feel we've got a lounge.

Extra storage -

every parent's dream.

So how much has Sam got to ditch the clutter in her lounge?

The budget for this job will be maximum £1,000.

Having bespoke storage made especially for your home can be

eye-wateringly expensive. So what can you do to keep the costs down?

Sounds obvious, but think about what the storage will be built out of.

Solid oak is obviously a lot more expensive than pallet wood

or reclaimed barn cladding.

You could take a ready-made unit and add some extra

shelving, or cupboard doors, and hey-presto,

a bespoke unit for a fraction of the cost.

Let's find out which builders are up for the challenge today.

Lovely British weather.

Oh, it's another day in paradise.

This elegant bunch have travelled far and wide to pitch for the job.

That was a long old journey, Mick.

Don't want to be doing that too often.

But which of them will be right for this revamp?

What do you think of this one? Cos it looks extremely tight on budget to me.

Yeah, I don't think we'll come under but we'll have to wait and see.

First to quote are smooth operators Martin and Mick,

who've travelled two hours to get here.

Martin and Mick have worked together for 15 years and are very clear

on their priorities.

Logistics is the most important thing to us, isn't it, Mick?

Yeah, location.

If you're having to travel two hours to get to work,

you have to factor that in.

Let's concentrate on the positives, shall we?

We look at a storage unit,

we're always going to try and think a little bit outside the box,

-excuse the pun.

-That's better.

Lovely fireplace.

So, someone's got a mirror exactly the same size as the fireplace and,

look, someone's actually levelled it up.

So attention to detail is important here,

even if they do forget to rub out their pencil lines afterwards.

She's already got the storage boxes, we can re-use them

in a bespoke cupboard that fits the space a bit better.

Toys at the bottom, book shelf at the top. Simple.

But is simple the look Samantha will go for?

So this left-hand side is all sort of pretty much storage.

We're going to put the one door at the bottom, OK?

-OK.

-We've got to work in the television, haven't we?

But if we can get a bracket, we could pull out the TV there

on a pull-out mount, like that, so it would actually angle out,

would pull right out into the room, so everyone can see it in the room.

Cos at the moment it's all right the way in the corner.

-I like that idea.

-Yeah. And then you can push it.

Push it back in and it all looks neat and nice.

So Martin and Mick have come up with two storage solutions.

On the left, they'll build open shelves of various sizes to store

everything from books to baskets to hide the toys.

On the right, there will be a closed cabinet

below a TV on a pull-out bracket with shelves above.

Do you want to say it?

-1,360.

-1,360, yeah.

That's £360 over budget.

And would that include painting of everything?

-Yes.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Fully everything painted.

Sam's playing it cool but she doesn't need to decide yet,

because next to pitch are clean-cut Wayne and Steph...

Crunchy drive...

..who are hoping their neat storage idea will beat rivals

Martin and Mick.

-Well, this is nice.

-Yeah.

She said that she wants to go for a smaller TV, which is...

-That's unusual, isn't it?

-Very unusual.

-We're not going cinema.

No. Has she spoken to her other half about that?

DIY doers Wayne and Steph have got to know each other pretty well

in the two years they've been working together.

Wayne is an all-rounder.

He will just come up with the goods, no matter what you throw at him.

I'll take that. I really want to win the jobs.

Especially over certain individuals, but that is, you know...

The competition is clearly on.

-That's a centimetre difference.

-Yeah. 34.5.

-It's on the wonk.

-That's why we always do the shelf set back

about 2cm or 3cm, never do them in line.

So what have Wayne and Steph got in store for Samantha?

We'd do you like floating shelves,

so we'd utilise as much of the alcove as possible.

So you've got three on this side.

We haven't gone too high, cos you've got a nice cornice.

-Door styles in here...

-Yeah.

..can either be plain, shaker or with beading, and interestingly,

-she's got shaker there.

-Yeah.

-And she's got beaded there.

-Yeah.

-So let's open the door to the door options

and see what she says.

Let's open the door! Open the door to the door options.

So what we've brought is an example of the type of door.

What you can do is very cleverly...

..add that, and it gives you your shaker look.

-Which is what you have on the dresser.

-Which is what you've got there.

-I like that.

But the next stage is to go perhaps a bit more traditional,

cos what that does is gives you perhaps something that's more

in keeping with your fireplace.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, a bit more interest.

I really like that. I think that definitely gives it a little bit of edge.

Well, you've decided on your door already, then.

-Yeah, I like that.

-Doors are sorted.

Wayne and Steph have come up with a matching design for either side

of the chimney breast, floating shelves that are slightly recessed

in the alcoves and bespoke cabinets underneath

with added detail to the doors.

Sounds fancy, so will that come in under the £1,000 budget?

To make this, including all materials, it would be £1,200.

-Right, yeah.

-It would take around three days.

It doesn't include the painting, because it would take us another two days just to paint it.

Ouch! £200 over budget and Samantha would have to get

the paintbrush out herself.

Finally, bidding against the other two builders are upcycling pair

-Charis and Chris.

-What is this little device?

It's a listener, isn't it?

That's what she's doing - listening in. Caught her out!

When they're not detecting bugging devices,

old mates Charis and Chris blend their very different skills

to make a successful partnership.

-Charis.

-Are you coming to actually do some work, then, or what?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Shall I actually solder a bit?

-No wonder plumbers take so long to do anything.

But I've never used a bit of solder this thin.

We've definitely got a lot of ideas for alcoves.

We've worked on alcoves before, haven't we, babe?

This one's probably right up our street.

Not a lot for you to do, though, apart from drilling holes but you do like that.

-And sanding, maybe sanding again.

-Oh, he loves a bit of sanding.

As well as the distinct lack of plumbing required for this job,

Charis has another concern.

So their budget is not going to do fitted cabinets at all.

-Nowhere near it.

-So what are we looking at, just shelving?

What if you had shelves that kind of went diagonally?

That would give some more space, wouldn't it? So they're kind of triangular shaped?

Yeah, that could be a selling point.

So shelves that get wider in line with the back wall of the alcove.

We'd like to make a feature out of some triangular-shaped shelves

which is going to give you more room.

Right, OK. What's the material you're using?

The shelves would probably be reclaimed wood but you want them...

You want them white, don't you?

-Or cream.

-I'm noticing a lot of toys.

Maybe a trunk on wheels, that you can literally pull out, open up,

the kids can get their stuff out and when you're finished, ram it in there and just wheel it back again.

So where would that go, the trunk?

Well, we were thinking the trunk on this side.

So as opposed to having a fitted cupboard at the bottom...

-Yeah.

-And the other side, you'd have the shelves again,

and then underneath that,

a media unit, but we would make that out of pallets,

and paint it white and then sand it,

so it would have this kind of rustic effect to it.

Charis and Chris wants to create a rustic look with a media unit made

of pallets on the right, and a trunk on wheels for toys on the left.

They'll maximise storage space by cutting the shelves at an angle

in line with the alcove, but what's it all going to cost?

Obviously, when you're pricing for a job, you need to allow

a slight bit of movement for contingency, so...

We basically thought between 12 to 14.

-OK.

-And then if Charis needs to do more,

it may go up or it may go slightly down.

-But...

-All right, thank you.

So it could be £400 over budget or even more,

depending on timescale and materials.

All three pitches are in but the choice is Samantha's and she might

not go for any of their ideas.

What do you think of that budget?

-Tight.

-Yeah, very tight.

We sort of stuck to the brief, I guess, us two.

You've thought outside the box as you usually do,

with the old tat and whatever.

-Good luck.

-But if you get it, you can give it to us, all right?

Yeah, we'll sub you out for you

But I want it painted.

The builders have tried their best.

Now they just have to wait.

Will it be Wayne and Steph's cheapest of the three spruce up?

Martin and Mick's expensive sleek and simple look?

Or Charis and Chris's possibly pricy distressed look?

I've been stuck really thinking about two of them,

just because they're more in keeping with what I'm looking for.

They were all amazing.

Only the winners' phone will ring.

PHONE RINGS

PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

-Hello.

It's Sam and I just wanted to say that I've decided to choose you guys,

cos I loved what you have to offer me.

Brilliant, OK, that's great.

-Thanks very much.

-And it's victory for Martin and Mick.

Right, well, well we'll come in and we'll talk through the job and see

-when we can start.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Sam.

-Cheers, bye.

That's brilliant.

Well, another one in the bag, mate.

Another one in the bag.

It just goes to show you, it doesn't matter what the job is,

-we'll clean up.

-It's great news for Martin and Mick but let's not forget

our disappointed losers.

Ours was better, but if they don't want to go with it, they don't want to go with it.

-Ours was better!

-We'll look forward to seeing them do the swivelling-out TV then, won't we?

-Yeah.

They felt a bit like, "Oh, we might have under-quoted here."

Because they'd given it the full finish, so listen,

let's see how they get on.

And you will, when you're watching their every move later on.

Before they get cracking, come on, builders,

let's hear your tips for lounge storage.

Check the style fits in with the rest of your decor. You wouldn't,

for example, want some antique moulded doors

if you've got a super contemporary interior.

If open shelves are your thing, then make sure you think about how the

wall behind them will be decorated before the shelves go up.

Check there's room to open your unit doors as you don't want to bash into

the coffee table every time you want to get a DVD out.

Let's go and have a look.

Martin and Mick have arrived on site for day one of the build.

They do say, "Dance like there's nobody watching,"

but unfortunately for Martin,

there are four rival builders watching his every move.

-BOTH:

-Seven!

Mick's prebuilt the shelves for the alcoves using MDF.

-It's getting it in the house, sometimes the hardest bit.

-Yeah.

This is the first time I'm getting to see this.

Mick's been busy making this at home in his garage.

I think the expression is, it will fit, or it won't fit.

Building anything off site is a risk and I hope you measured twice, Mick.

Yeah, well, let's just try it for size, eh.

Oh, dear. That doesn't look like it's going to fit, does it?

Oh, God, I can't bear it!

A bit snug...

-Oh, Wayne.

-Ooh.

-Are you feeling twitchy?

-Yes!

Right, let's go.

I feel like it was brave making it off-site.

-Yeah.

-But they're not quite out of the woods yet.

I wasn't too worried about this one. That's the one I'm worried about.

Let's hope the second and larger unit fits as snugly as the first.

Two of us here today. I put this in on my own last night.

Are they going to get that through the door?

-Are you ready?

-They've got to get it through as well.

You didn't think of that, did you, mate, eh?

Ooh, ooh, ooh!

Just in, mate. That's it.

-Is it not going in?

-No, it doesn't look like it.

No chance.

-They didn't measure it.

-Right, let's have it out.

We'll pop that off. We'll get it in.

Other than that, take it apart.

While Mick removes Samantha's architrave in an attempt to rectify

this embarrassing situation, Martin turns his attention to the TV.

You tell me where you think middle of the screen wants to be.

Or the alternative is I try and hold the telly in here.

-Do you want me to try and do that? I knew you was going to say that.

-Do you mind?

Make him work!

Yes, hold the TV in there. Why has he got a pencil?

Just imagine it's a TV, babe.

OK. Don't forget,

we've got to be able to pull this right out there anyway.

Yeah. Two shelves above, yeah?

Yeah. Is that too low or is it going a bit higher?

-About there.

-Yeah.

-That's a good height.

-That's the height?

-Yeah.

-I'll go for about 12 inches.

When you say it comes up, does it come this way, then?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness.

Oh, I thought you'd just be turning it.

No, no, no. It'll come right out.

You'll probably even be able to get it there towards the kitchen.

-It's an all-singing and dancing...

-Yeah.

Brilliant. Oh, I'm so pleased I picked you guys.

-Wow! Let's see if she is at the end, eh?

-Yeah.

So roughly, the bottom of my bracket,

which I've got a lovely template for here,

is going to sit around there somewhere.

Meanwhile, Mick is still waging war on Samantha's architrave.

So will the unit fit now?

-Fingers crossed.

-I bet it don't fit.

It's actually worse, I think.

Ah, no!

The line in the wall does that at the back.

Once it's in there, it should push over to one side a bit more.

Yes, once it's in there.

I'm going to have to reduce this end panel

which sits behind the architrave.

Oh, dear.

-Oh, no!

-I mean...

So this is why you don't make it like this.

It's an old house.

There's not going to be anything straight.

Unfortunately, it is what it is and we've got to...

We've got to make it work.

We'll be back to find out if he actually gets the shelves

into the alcove later.

Oh, I feel really bad for him.

I feel like he needs a cuddle.

Next, our builders are just outside a major city on the edge of rolling

countryside in an area where the house prices are just over the

national average. We're up north in Heaton Mersey, Greater Manchester.

-Come on.

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

Come on, Daisy. Come on.

This three-bed terrace has been home to Zoe,

her two kids and two dogs for just 18 months.

I absolutely just fell in love with it immediately.

It feels safe, secure, the children love it.

It's just everything you'd want in a home.

I think I've made quite good progress, really, excellent progress.

I've managed to do the bathroom, my daughter's bedroom.

Starting upstairs, working my way down.

So where is next on the hit list?

So, yeah, the entrance - some beautiful original features.

Beautiful coving and let down by a white PVC door.

I really hate the front door.

I think it really lets the house down.

It looks dirty - probably traffic fumes, living on a main road.

I'd like a more traditional looking...

Maybe a hardwood or a composite door would be amazing.

So how much has Zoe got to try and transform the entrance of the house

she loves so much?

I'm looking at roughly £1,200.

Excited to see what ideas the builders come up with.

If you've got a period house but it's lacking character,

you can easily add it back.

So let's find out from those in the know how to get it right.

Double-check the age of your property.

If you want to install period features,

make sure that they're from the right era - you don't want

to install a Victorian front door in a '30s house.

Allow yourself plenty of time to source what you want.

Hunting through hundreds of doors in a reclamation yard can take hours.

And you don't want to rush and get it wrong.

It's pitch day in Heaton Mersey.

It's right down my street, this one, mate.

And today's trio have been working up porch ideas,

hoping to grab Zoe's attention.

-We're going to win this one.

-I hope so.

They're armed, but not exactly dangerous.

I can't believe you brought your cup of tea out with you, mate.

Come on, mate. You know I love my tea.

First to quote are grafters Alex and Chris.

It's taken an entire brew to get here.

Do you think it might look a bit odd, you going in with a cup of tea before we've even met her?

Well, I'm empty now, so I can ask for a refill!

Come on, then. After you.

These all-rounders aren't just here to make up the numbers.

I've got a big head, so I'll probably get it stuck.

Winning's always important.

All this taking part is absolute nonsense.

Anyone who says otherwise, you know, they're talking rubbish.

Participation doesn't pay the bills. Money pays the bills and the only

way you get money is if you win the jobs.

They're all fired up to beat their rivals.

I'll tell you what, I wish I could draw straight lines.

You've got to be able to draw rectangles, surely.

Let's hope your idea's better than your drawing.

-OK, well...

-Get rid of this horrible plastic.

Put something more in keeping with the age of the property.

-Wooden door, yeah.

-Yeah. Definitely wood.

It's a shame they've taken all the detail out that they've got next door, all that's been ripped out.

See if we can get it back to its former glory.

-Do you think we could carve something like that for her?

-With a penknife?

So they think if they can mirror next door, they'll win the job.

Just don't forget your cup on the way out, Alex.

Basically, what we've done, we've gone for a traditional hardwood.

Excellent. Yeah.

Either side of the door, some wooden corbels,

similar to next door.

-Like next door.

-Just to give the frame some character.

-Yeah, more how it originally would have been.

-Yeah.

I know what's going to make it stand out, mate.

A big etched number right on top of the door.

You know what it's like, when we turn up for jobs and we're trying

-to find the house number.

-Well, you can't see anyway.

-I can't see anything!

Double-glazed unit at the top and we're going to get the number,

your house number etched into that.

-Brilliant, that sounds good.

-So, yeah. It would have been what a lot

of older houses would have had originally.

-Yeah.

-Just restoring it to how it should have been.

So Chris and Alex are suggesting a traditional hardwood door,

Victorian style carved corbels and a frosted glass panel above to let

light into the hallway.

Sounds inviting.

But Zoe's only got £1,200.

-That all comes in at £1,530.

-OK.

Steady on - that's more than 20% over budget.

But it's not in the bag yet.

Next, then, against Alex and Chris and their fancy ideas

are trendy twosome Sian and Jon.

-What did you have for breakfast, then?

-My usual flapjack.

-I had a bit of crumpet.

-Let's hope that's set them up for the day,

because they're going to have to come up with an impressive idea

to out-pitch their rivals.

Noise is a real issue here.

-What?

-Noise is a real issue!

They're all different.

Of course they are and they've all got to be done exactly like this.

A team for over 20 years, these two claim it's their

complementary skills that win clients over.

Nice bit of joinery work.

That's just exactly what Jon likes to do, and some design work as well.

That would be great.

Are we ready? Clients really like him.

-Especially the women.

-WHISPERS:

-Women really like him.

I don't know why. Look at him. Look at that ugly mug!

You're going to need more than good looks to win this job.

What about my idea, go for a very practical composite door,

for sound, noise and security.

How is that your idea? When was that your idea?

I'm sure I was the one that mentioned composite doors when we were in the van driving out here.

I really like traditional timber doors

but I think in this scenario,

a composite door is going to really reduce the noise issue.

But can they get a foot in the door to convince Zoe their idea's better

than Alex and Chris's?

So we've had a look outside at both what Jon and I think could be a

really beautiful porch area.

For practical reasons,

we're going to give you a quote for a composite door.

-OK.

-A few years ago, people used to think, "Ugh, composite."

But actually, some of them are pretty incredible now.

And then, why don't we add something, do some tiling?

Yeah, definitely. Let's lose those quarry tiles.

-Let's put some nice tiles there.

-Look at you, look at you,

wanting to do a little bit extra,

a little bit of va-va-voom on the step!

So your door would be quite simple, quite stylish,

quite plain but then you'd have the pattern as a decorative feature,

something like that. We're also going to repaint the ceiling and the

walls just to tidy it all up so that's included as well.

Yeah, it's looking really tired, isn't it?

-Get rid of those cobwebs.

-Traffic fumes, you get cobwebs, yeah.

-Yeah.

Sian and Jon have thought about the whole porch with a composite

soundproofed door, a lick of paint on the porch and fancy tiles to

frame the door. But there is only £1,200 in the purse.

So our total price will be £2,100.

It breaks down at £600 for the tiles,

but that's something you could do later.

And then £1,500 for the door, which is slightly over your budget.

That's an understatement.

£900 over budget.

-See you again.

-Yeah, thank you.

But it's all still to play for.

-This is our job.

-Last to pitch are no-nonsense lads Mark and Chris.

-We're here.

-Have they got a winning idea?

Kids love playing rugby out here, so maybe put in a goal over there.

Workmates for three years,

these multi-taskers like to get stuck in.

I mean, if there's graft to get done, it just gets done, right?

-It's got to get done.

-Bang on.

-What makes us a good team is the fact that we're like a married couple, isn't it?

-Yes.

Absolutely made up with you, lad.

But it's Zoe's eye they'll need to catch on this job.

What I'm suggesting is, we replace these fence panels.

Let's just put a little bit extra, we know we can get these cheap.

You can see there's a little hanging basket bracket there.

We'll get two new ones of them.

Some green pots down here, you know what I mean?

With them nice little topiary bushes.

-I think that's the way forward. Do you agree?

-I agree, mate.

-Sweet. Let's get some measurements.

-Go.

So the boys aren't just planning a new front door -

they want to spruce up the whole garden.

What will Zoe we think about that?

What we'd suggest is that we weed the full path...

..renew two fence panels, paint the fence posts,

add topiary plants and hanging baskets.

-OK.

-Just making that whole access point to your brand-new door look

-a lot better.

-Yeah. The entrance as well needs to be nice, yeah.

Security is paramount, as you well know, right?

So it's a composite door all day long.

Yeah, revamp all this up as well with a nice lick of paint.

Yeah. Absolutely.

As you can see there on this, er, sketch...

Oh, it's very good, actually. You did well there, yeah, yeah!

He does the drawings. I do the writing.

The actual top of the door has got two small squares of glass,

so it's more of a traditional look.

So those are windows?

Yes, that way allowing the maximum amount of light into that area.

Amazing.

So a composite door, complete with windows, a replacement fence,

fresh paint, a tidied pathway,

and even some hanging baskets and plants to frame the porch.

Sounds a lot, so what's it going to cost?

We've basically come in at a total of £1,350.

-OK.

-They are the cheapest, but it's still £150 over budget.

-Thanks for that.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks, great.

They've all pitched.

While Zoe makes her mind up, they wait.

Right, then.

Who went timber and who went composite?

-Hands up.

-Composite.

-Composite.

-Composite.

-Timber.

Give your reasons on your benefits of the timber.

-Traditional.

-That's what she wanted!

Until you two came up.

But Zoe doesn't have to hire any of them.

They've all come up with good ideas, all slightly over budget,

unfortunately, but it's such a dilemma, who do we pick?

Will it be Alex and Chris's mid-price traditional door,

complete with corbel carvings?

Sian and Jon's soundproof composite door frame and fancy tiles,

the most expensive of the three?

Or Mark and Chris's composite door and complete front garden makeover,

the cheapest of the three?

Only the winners' phone will ring.

The answer is in.

Oh, we don't recognise the number.

-Hello.

-Hi, it's Zoe.

Oh, hi, Zoe. You OK?

Yeah, thanks for doing your pitch regarding the front door.

I'm pleased to say you've got the job.

Ah! Made up.

Thank you very much, Zoe. We really appreciate it.

We'll make it absolutely amazing.

Fantastic. Thanks, Mark.

-I'll see you soon.

-All right, thank you. Cheers, Zoe.

I felt that they took into consideration the whole of the

front of the house.

You know, the hanging baskets, the pretty little trees,

it's going to give an overall amazing look to the house.

-Over the moon, mate.

-See you guys tomorrow, then.

He don't even smile!

This will be a good lesson for the others on perfection!

Let's have it, lad. Get in.

Mark and Chris are in business, but the losers' noses are clearly

-out of joint.

-We went one way, she went the other.

She might just not have liked us, mate.

-There is always that.

-You, you mean!

-Yeah.

-Your showroom to the world, isn't it, your front door, so...

we'll see whether they do a good job.

Goodness knows what they'll say when they're watching later.

If you want to spruce up the front of your house,

you don't have to spend a fortune.

Isn't that right, builders?

Simply painting a front door can be a quick, affordable and effective

way to make a really big change to the front of a property.

Lighting can be a fantastic way to give an instant lift to the outside

of a property. If you aren't able to install lights that require wiring,

then you can always consider using solar lights instead.

It's day one of the build.

Mark and Chris are ready for action.

Mark will be concentrating on the garden.

My job's the door today.

I'm looking forward to getting started now.

Getting all my gear out ready.

And the losers are watching their every move.

-It's the cheeky cockney show.

-Yeah.

The plan is to transform Zoe's entrance by replacing the front door,

painting the wall, putting in a new fence and tidying up the garden.

And they're hoping to do it all in a day.

When in doubt, get the scraper out.

Easy weeding.

Easy weeding. Look at that.

That's not weeding. You have to get it out at the roots.

He's taken all the plants up.

Get to it, and do the door!

And he's already paid a visit to the neighbours.

A good tip at this point would be to always knock on with the next-door,

just to allow, you know, let them know what's going on.

Good to keep on with the neighbours.

Absolutely, it's a good idea to have a chat with the neighbours.

Next job on the list is to remove the old front door.

Chris is on a one-man band.

As you can see, you can't fit two people in that space,

not without becoming unfriended by the end of the day!

Look at him with his sunglasses on, doing the gardening!

Does he prefer working on his own?

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

-You just end up getting in each other's way, don't you?

-Yeah.

But Mark isn't totally sold on the division of labour.

He's all up against it, look.

-Look at him there.

-He's such a cheeky Cockney.

I'd half want to just rather do that...

..than be on my hands and knees with this,

scrubbing like a right old scrubber.

-Does he ever shut up?

-Chris just cracking on with it, yeah.

-Yeah.

So now the old door is ready to be removed.

-That's the hard bit, getting it free without damaging anything.

-Yeah.

All the silicone's being stripped back.

Now it's time to take it out.

Chris has loosened the entire frame.

Going to help me pull it out now?

And he just stands around.

But it's got to come up and over,

because the skirting's in the way on this side, on the outside.

-Ooh!

-Two days later...

And Mark finally lends a hand.

We'll be back to see them finish the job later.

-It's always easier getting it in than it is getting it out, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Things haven't been going too swimmingly in Carshalton.

Mick's measuring skills have let him down and he's working on getting his

large storage unit to size.

I don't think he would have been so calm

if it had been me that did that mistake.

Do you feel like Martin's enjoying Mick's mistake a little bit?

He will get over it, I'm sure of that.

It's not what you can do, it's what you can get over!

That's a new one.

Hopefully Samantha won't have to get over her storage unit not fitting,

as here comes attempt number three.

Ah, this is cutting into their budget now.

Come on. I really want it to go in now.

Come on!

Are we in?

This is high.

-Is it going in?

-It looks like it.

As my old brother would say...

-"Schoolboy."

-Oh!

Oh, no! Not again.

So it wasn't third time lucky for Mick and it's back outside

for more planing.

There's going to be nothing left.

-He's filed it down that much.

-So don't touch the side of the cabinet,

cos you might put your finger through it!

Let's hope Martin has better luck with the TV.

How about that?

Comes out, spins, pulls out like that as well.

Flips up, flips down.

With time running out,

the pressure is on Mick to make sure the unit fits this time.

Come on!

Lift it and push it in.

-Lift...

-To me, to you, to me...

-..and slide!

Well, plans A, B, C, or D haven't worked,

so it's time to try some good old-fashioned brute force.

Oh, now they are banging it in.

Where's your rubber mallet, mate?

-Yeah.

-That's a tough day at work, isn't it?

-Yeah. We've all been there, though. We've all been there.

-That's it.

-Push it right to the back.

-Right.

-It's in.

-It's in!

-Yay!

We always have that saying, "Measure twice, cut once."

I measured twice, and then added...

..for my sins. And it's probably cost me a couple of hours...

..trying to make the thing work.

Well, at least they'll have no unsightly gaps, eh?

-No, true.

-And you'll never get it out of there.

No. No-one wants an unsightly gap, do they?

With the troublesome unit finally in place,

Martin can fit the shelves on the other side of the alcove.

And it's time for the finishing touches.

Do these actually fit, Mick?

Yeah, I've already tried.

Yay! Lovely job.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-That's what she wanted, wasn't it?

It was touch and go for a while there, but they've finished the job.

-Long day, wasn't it?

-It was a long day.

I can't believe you messed that measurement up on that unit!

Having to plane all that off.

Listen...

I respect the fact you tried to make it nice and tight and snug.

The measurement was spot on but the wall moved while we were away.

-Is that what it was?

-Oh, dear!

He looks shell-shocked.

-Hopefully, Sam will be happy.

-Yeah.

For four years, Samantha has been tripping over toys.

But that's all changed.

That looks nice, that's nice.

-That does look nice.

-Well, fair enough.

They've done quite well.

Mick built a bespoke unit off-site then battled to fit it all day long.

I mean, it looks built in, doesn't it?

Martin's put up a bracket for the TV,

so they can pull it out and watch at all kinds of angles.

They've put new shelves up above and a built-in cupboard below.

I do like that TV bracket.

I like the idea of the TV following you around the room.

-That's groovy.

-What are we going to give them out of ten?

-Seven.

-Seven.

The losers have passed the work,

but it's the customer that really counts.

Martin and Mick are watching on.

Time to find out if Sam and her family are happy.

I've got a nasty feeling that she really liked it.

-I think they did, too. Shall we have a look?

-Yes.

Looks good, Mick.

She's got to be happy with this.

-What do you think?

-Wow, that's great, yeah.

-Yeah?

-Really well planned.

-Yeah, it's brilliant, isn't it?

-Loads of storage, TV looks great.

Just so happy. Yeah, look at the unit. The colour.

-The colour of the furniture.

-Spot on.

-Yeah, it's brilliant.

-Good choice.

-Yeah, I knew they'd be happy.

The whole thing comes together nicely, doesn't it?

We had to dismantle the house to get the unit in, but...

The job that Mick and Martin have done is absolutely superb.

I'm so happy I picked them,

because everything they've done is just exactly what I had in my mind.

They've just gone above and beyond and Rich is happy too.

We're just thrilled. Thank you so much.

That's nice to hear, isn't it?

A happy customer.

-The cupboards are good.

-Aw!

-Bless.

-Great work, chaps.

Here's to a good one there, Mick.

Back in Heaton Mersey, Greater Manchester,

Mark and Chris are hard at work sprucing up Zoe's entrance.

Is that snail supposed to indicate how quickly he is painting?

Chris is prepping the new front door

and Mark has graduated from gardening to painting.

Just a first coat, so get as much coverage as you can.

Cos no doubt I'm going to have to go back over it.

Not surprised he's smiling, he's got a paintbrush in his hand.

But it's not all plain sailing.

Where's my glasses gone? On my head.

The new door is bigger than the old one so Chris has got to grind out

a channel for the frame.

Now the wind is going to blow it all into the house.

Well, what's a bit of dust in pursuit of perfection?

He's obsessive with the way it looks and it's finished.

Which is right, because it means he's got a certain eye for the job.

Chris is doing all the hard work at the back, yeah.

I'm having to grind this channel out so that the door fits into it.

The door's 70mm wide and it's going to sit inside these cavities,

so I'll go and get the door out of the van ready for fitting.

-Happy days.

-Happy days! All you're doing is sitting

in the garden painting. Of course it's happy days!

So with Chris's walls perfectly prepped,

it's time to bring out the door.

Oh, it's a lovely green.

-I like it.

-Green seems to be the theme.

They might approve of the colour, but it's got to fit the gap.

Yeah, let's just have a quick check here.

So it goes there.

It will be a fiddle, this, now, but...

The gap isn't wide enough at the bottom,

but Chris is a man with a plan and it is out with the skirting.

There we go.

Yeah, that was a bit rotten, wasn't it?

-Yeah!

-It's going to be tight, this.

-It will be tight.

-So now it's the moment of truth as they heave the

-door into position.

-We've got to slide it past.

It's going to have to to get that corner in.

-Yeah.

-I've got every faith in them.

Oh, she's tight.

-This is awkward.

-To me, to you, to me, to you.

Can we not actually get it in here?

No, not just yet.

-Who measured that?

-Who measured up?

Classic. Blame the other guy.

Hang on, just hang on.

My fingers!

He's got his hand caught.

BANGING

If all else fails, use the hammer.

BANGING

-Mark will talk it in!

-Stop there.

Yeah, but the only thing is, I'm in here.

You can open it.

We haven't got a key.

Once Mark makes it back outside, he's playing it cool on the sizing.

We measured that one to perfection, really.

Oh, now, "we". Now it's "we". Not, "who measured this?"

We!

Everything's looking great to me.

-I do like that colour.

-Looks good.

And he's confident Zoe will be impressed.

Yeah, no, I'm in no doubt whatsoever that she's going to absolutely fall

-in love with this door.

-Women do that all the time,

fall in love with doors. I mean, it's a regular occurrence.

We'll get it wrapped up and see what she thinks when she gets home.

Just one day ago, Zoe's porch and garden let the whole house down.

It does need work, doesn't it, that?

The plastic white door was too modern for the house and Zoe always

-felt it looked dirty.

-Traffic.

Oh, the traffic was horrendous, wasn't it?

What will the rivals think of it now?

-Right, well, let's see how the boys got on.

-Yeah.

-Wow! That looks good.

-Yeah, nice.

-It's a huge amount better than it was before.

-Yeah.

In one day, Mark and Chris have ripped out that dirty front door

and replaced it with a modern replica to suit the house.

-I like the knocker on it.

-Yeah, I like the green, actually.

I do like the green.

Mark has weeded the path and painted the window sills and wall.

-Different house.

-Great job.

There's a new fence, hanging baskets

and even trees either side of the porch.

-It looks nice and neat.

-It does look neat.

They've completely transformed the entrance to Zoe's house.

-Top quality.

-Just little details, isn't it?

-They've done well.

-Yeah.

-I think the boys have done a good job.

Well, I say the boys have done a good job.

I think one of them, one of them...

The losers have given it the thumbs up,

but it's the customer that counts.

Mark and Chris are in position.

-Shall we have a look?

-Let's have a look, mate.

-Bang!

Will Zoe and her children give it their seal of approval?

Come and have a good look, kids.

-What do you think?

-Love it.

-Wow!

-Really love it.

Go on, lad.

What do you think of the colour of the door?

I really like it, cos it's like different to every other door.

Chartwell green.

It looks really nice. I like the postbox.

-Bang on.

-Get in.

Yeah. Really good, isn't it?

I like the hanging balls.

I like the trees.

-Plastic plants.

-And the fence panels, look.

-New fence panels.

-Yeah, they're nice.

Amazing. It's all been painted.

It all looks really nice and tidy.

Mint job.

It's a hit with Zoe and her kids

and it all came in on budget at £1,350.

-Good job.

-We can go and knock on the door and it's our house.

Yeah, it's lovely. Right, shall we go back in, guys?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Come on.

-Good teamwork.

-Good job, well done, mate. Job well done.

-Let's get back to work.

That's the spirit, lads.