Episode 13 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...

I've got the complete DIY manual.

..takes a lot of work.

-You've been up that chimney.

-Human sweep, I am.

LAUGHTER

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.

LAUGHTER

It's a work of art, that, look.

We've got a Banksy.

SHE GRUNTS

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, but I want it painted.

-THEY LAUGH

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.

-Ya-hey!

-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.

SHE MIMICS A DONKEY BRAYING

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

-Do you feel sorry for the boys, John?

-Yeah.

-No!

THEY LAUGH

For our first job today,

we're heading to a town just six miles south-west of Manchester.

100 years ago, it was a place where city workers could escape

the smog and dirt to live in a rural setting,

but anyone looking to make that move today will need around £230,000

to pick up a typical semi.

We're up north, in Urmston.

This 1930s three-bedroom detached belongs to Carl Rhodes.

He moved in back in 1997 with his late wife, Pam,

and their two small children.

It has a large garden at the back that was Pam's pride and joy.

Pam loved being in the garden.

She was the gardener, along with my mum.

She knew every plant and absolutely adored it.

Everything out there is all down to her doing it.

Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2013,

just shortly after her birthday.

Unfortunately, she died in April 2016.

Since Pam passed away,

Carl hasn't had the know-how to take care of this garden and it's been neglected.

I've got no idea what I'm doing.

It's too big for me. I just want to simplify it,

make it a little bit more manageable.

The extent of my gardening is mowing the lawn,

drinking beer and barbecuing.

Carl may not have green fingers, but he still wants to enjoy the garden

with his two grown-up children and other family and friends.

Pam loved entertaining and we still want to do that,

so I'm after having a covered pergola so we can sit out there in the evenings

and still be fine, warm and dry.

Bringing the garden back to life is clearly an important job for Carl,

but pergolas don't come cheap, so how much has he set aside?

The budget for the job is £12,000,

but I am prepared to stretch a little bit further if needed.

Carl's garden is a big job with a big budget,

so which three teams are in with a chance of winning it?

You had a nice little sneeze on the way in, didn't you, Tom?

I've got my tape measure.

Ready for action.

They've all got to come up with a plan for

a weatherproof garden structure and low-maintenance upkeep,

but there's plenty of room for creativity within this brief.

-A bit nippy.

-It is a bit nippy.

First to arrive are trendy twosome Sian and John.

Sian hopes being a designer will give her the edge over her rivals.

Do you know, it didn't look like this in the picture.

-Isn't that weird?

-No, it's funny, isn't it, you've got to see these things.

-I know, I like it.

Sian and John have worked together for over 20 years -

she the designer and he the builder.

I wouldn't say I have a particular style,

although when I've finished a house, people often say my stamp's on it.

DRILL BUZZES

It tends to be something a little bit quirky or a little bit different.

Quite a lot of attention to detail.

What do you think of your boxes?

In terms of winning the pitches,

-if John just lets me do a lot of the talking, everything will be happy days.

-Yeah!

THEY LAUGH

Cheeky.

So, the idea is to have a really beautiful pergola somewhere...

I presume near the bottom.

And then lots of decking.

It can get very slippy and slimy in the wet Manchester months,

so I think what we discussed about using a modern composite decking,

but a really good quality one,

and maybe break it up by using two different colours,

run it in different directions.

-Yeah.

-Just try and lift it a little bit so it doesn't just look like

one big mass of boring decking, which it really could do.

Having surveyed the scene, Sian and John are ready to pitch.

Are you ready for our ideas?

I am. Yeah.

We would advise you to use a composite decking.

That's what I'm after, composite.

Excellent. We're going to go for a dark charcoal or black.

-My thoughts exactly.

-Perfect.

-I was going for the grey.

-On the same wavelength.

Carl's wife passed away last year and I think it was really special

to her, it was her space,

so I think when we think about the pergola and the design,

-we just have to be quite sensitive.

-Yeah.

We're going to actually paint the pergola structure in soft cream,

so the top of it,

-you'd want the top of it covered so you can sit there if the weather is not great.

-Yeah.

John is going to use a grey tile to pick up the grey of the decking,

but then the underside and the timbers underneath will be

in the cream, so it will be very elegant,

it will be very stylish looking and quite unusual as well,

cos a lot of people just have the pergola and leave it in the bare timber.

-Yeah.

-And it can start looking a bit kind of rustic.

Sounds different.

Sian and John's modern design incorporates a large pergola

in shades of cream and grey,

with a cobbled sandstone path and composite decking.

There's a brick-built barbecue and raised beds.

Carl's budget is healthy, but this is a lot of work.

-John will do the pricing now.

-Yeah.

-I'll leave the difficult bit to him.

That comes to £14,640 inclusive of VAT.

-Yeah.

-OK.

Wow, that's more than £2,500 over budget.

Could this be an opportunity for their rivals to swoop in with a lower quote?

Next up...

You all right, Tom, ready for this one, lad?

Battling the elements as well as their rivals...

-It's a bit windy today. You feel that one?

-Yeah.

Glad it's not a roof job.

..are young guns Tom and Faiz.

I think the main problem we're going to get is getting the rubble out.

We could possibly have a scaffolding built so we can go straight over there.

-Are you being serious?

-Well, how else are you walking round this house?

Are you actually being serious?

These two are confident going for any building job.

We're both good at the grafting.

And we're both good at the sales side.

We want to make a bespoke wall out of slate.

It should be really good.

That's why we take on everything, from full house refurbs to small jobs.

I know I'll make it look good,

it's just whether people like a roof in the bathroom.

-Does that look like a roof?

-It's got similarities.

THEY LAUGH

-We'll go the oriental theme on this garden.

-Yeah, yeah.

I think we'll strip everything out.

Nice pagoda, which is the more curved spars, to give the oriental feel.

Nice traditional solid timber structure,

handcrafted slates to put a nice feature on the roof.

This is the one, this is the one with our names written all over it.

I think that's up to Carl, Tom.

We've had a few ideas.

You do want a pergola, you did mention,

so we're thinking of adding a special touch and making it a pagoda.

So a Japanese-style oriental.

Basically what this means is the spars are going to have a curve at the bottom rather than the straight.

-OK.

-So, what we have here is some different kinds of slate.

We intend to...

..handcraft some shapes into a couple of courses on the roof.

-OK.

-It's just to give you that extra traditional look.

We'll go for a nice big three-section barbecue and obviously we can't

forget a bit of garden lighting, always does the trick.

-Standard.

-Yeah, standard procedure, mate.

We'd incorporate a three-section stone barbecue.

We'd put in an outdoor heating system.

Press a button and the heating comes on for you,

so, you know what the weather is like round here, don't you?

That's fine, cos I was thinking of putting a fire pit.

Faiz and Tom's oriental design features a tiered pagoda with a built-in heating system.

There's a three-section stone barbecue and lighting incorporated throughout.

But what's the quote?

What we have got for costing for the whole project from start to finish is £14,000.

OK. Sounds good. Off the top of your head,

have you any idea how long it will take?

-Three weeks.

-Yes.

-Three weeks.

-Sounds good.

-Yeah.

That's less than Sian and John's quote,

but still £2,000 over budget.

Time for the last pitch.

Can no-nonsense lads Mark and Chris grab the job from under their rivals' noses?

Is it pergola or pergolia?

I have always been under the impression it's pergolia.

-We could have this argument all day, though, cos you talk funny, anyway.

-You know that.

Ah, you say tomato, I say pergola.

Careful not to scratch...

This pair have known each other for eight years and they're very close.

Yeah, what makes us a good team is the fact

that we are like a married couple, isn't it?

What time do you call this?

THEY LAUGH

Better late than never!

-We've laid a lot of gardens now.

-A lot of stone.

-A lot of stone, a lot of driveways.

You know, some tricky ones as well.

-So, we're going to build a pergola.

-HE LAUGHS

Traditional roof. Either slate or we'll go for shingle.

-Yeah.

-I think we should promote composite decking,

the brick barbecue and we're going to do our best to try and get a fire pit involved in it,

depending on the safety involved in the composite decking and being so close, etc, etc.

Carl's already mentioned the idea of a fire pit,

so this pitch should go down well.

The main object here would definitely be the fire pit.

Yeah, I have contemplated a fire pit.

Yeah. In the same construction as the border wall,

so it's rendered with a circle.

It's quite difficult to do.

The only problem with this is obviously the access.

Access, yeah, with no...

-There is no way of getting out of this garden that I can see.

-No, no.

You've got very, very little access on this job.

-Yeah.

-Are you friendly with your neighbours?

-Absolutely. They're great.

-OK.

Mark and Chris want to go for a traditional pergola with a slate roof.

Like Sian and John, they're planning composite decking,

but the stand-out design feature is a rendered fire pit.

So far their rivals have both come in over budget,

so what will their price be?

We'd be happy to complete the job completely for £13,900.

Sure. And what's your estimate timescale for the build?

I'd be aiming at 12.

-OK.

-But we just need three days at the end of that just to make sure that everything's perfect.

-Sure.

That's it. The builders have sold their ideas as best they can.

Now it's down to Carl to pick the best man or woman for the job.

What was your big idea?

-Fire pit.

-We didn't come up with that idea. Well, I think you've won it. There you go.

-A fire pit. Everybody wants a fire pit, don't they?

-Well done, mate.

-Yeah. Well done.

-LAUGHTER

See you later!

I don't know.

I think I've come to a decision.

And I think it might be the right one.

Will it be Sian and John's top-price contemporary design?

Faiz and Tom's mid-price oriental theme?

Or, cheapest of the three by just £100, Mark and Chris's fire pit plan?

DIALLING TONE

Only the winning builders' phone will ring.

DIALLING TONE

PHONE RINGS

Hello. John speaking.

-Hi, John, it's Carl.

-Hi, Carl.

I really liked your pitch. You're on the same wavelength as me.

And...

And I'd like you and Sian to do the job if you'd like, please.

Wow!

HE LAUGHS

Oh, fantastic news.

Wow! Yeah.

-I'm actually really surprised.

-Good.

It'll be a lovely job.

I hope that we will help you realise your dreams for it, actually.

So, yeah, that's really nice. Thanks for choosing us.

No problem.

It's a big job for Sian and John to win.

I am actually... I'm actually gobsmacked.

And the losers are sore to have missed out.

I'm wounded about this one, cos it was a nice job.

A little bit gutted, really.

I would have liked that one.

But we've got to try and stay positive

and we'll hopefully bag the next few ones.

-On to the next one.

-You win some, you lose some.

That's the spirit, lads.

Is this the, erm, "You've not won a job yet..."

HE LAUGHS

..with the violins in the background?

Sian and John have set aside three weeks to complete Carl's garden,

and as they get started on day one, the losing builders are all eyes.

Well, most of them, anyway.

OK, so as you can see, Chris isn't here. We can pretend, though.

But he's with his son today, so it will just be me.

But getting access to the garden is proving awkward, to say the least.

Just pull that round there.

Matt is moaning a lot, because we've got a gap about that big to get into this garden.

SHE LAUGHS

Scaffolding. That was the way, remember taking the rubbish over the top?

Wasn't a bad idea, though.

Very small gap. We always knew that was going to be problem.

Carl wants to keep as many of the existing plants as possible,

so to make way for the pergola, John is very carefully digging.

A little bit of gardening.

I think John's putting a bit of timber on.

Put your back into it, John.

SHOVEL SNAPS

And snap.

Whoops.

Oh, there we go.

Shovel's gone.

Inside, Sian's making some final adjustments to the design.

When we pitched to the client,

I pitched a sort of cobble affect on the path,

which is fairly traditional.

But having spoken to Carl,

he's gone for a really cool Italian tile in a hexagon shape

and also we've added in a design feature on the edge of the deck,

somewhere to put a brazier, like a fire pit,

which I've nicked off Chris, the other builder,

cos he suggested a fire pit.

I thought it was a really good idea, so I nicked it.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Sorry, Chris.

-Mark.

-HE LAUGHS

Oh, a little sly one there.

Oh, yeah, cos they were going to do a big fire pit into the ground, weren't they?

Could I have a willing assistant, please?

Plans drawn up, Sian and her glamorous assistants can measure it out.

Right, on the floor, on the floor.

Oh, oh, oh.

This is an outdoor kitchen.

This is where Carl is going to be flipping his burgers,

so I'm marking up so the guys can get it dug out a little bit,

get a solid base so the brickie can start putting the blocks on tomorrow

to build up for, like, an outdoor brick kitchen with a surface and a barbecue.

Excellent.

Outdoor cuisine.

But, as the retaining wall for the raised bed goes up and the barbecue

starts to be built, some changes from Carl.

We are now going for a gas barbecue,

so Brian is here to do the bricking for the brick barbecue

and then we had a little bit of a wild card from Carl this morning.

This gas barbecue is bigger, so Brian might shout at me in a minute,

because I might have to get him to knock one of his little walls down.

HE LAUGHS

Goalposts moved.

One of the main features of Carl's garden design is the pergola.

How's my outside room looking, Bri?

Is that a pergola or a bus shelter, Tom?

THEY LAUGH

This is all going to be the outside room,

so this area will have a roof on it,

lower at the back and higher at the front.

So, it's going to be a big space for sofas and wine drinking.

-So, yeah, we might move in.

-SHE LAUGHS

So far, so good, and the build seems to be running smoothly,

but then again, it needs to,

as Carl has a very special garden party planned in a few days' time.

Sian and the team know that the garden has to be finished by the back end of April

for Pam's first anniversary of her passing,

cos we've got a big party arranged for it.

We hope!

Yeah, yeah, we hope it's going to be ready.

No pressure, then.

For our next job, we're heading to a place world famous

as the location of the Royal Military Academy,

a small town where house prices are over one and a half times the national average.

We are down south in Sandhurst in Berkshire.

So, who's getting the builders in here?

This four-bed detached is home to Donna Hunt,

who lives here with her husband and two teenage children.

We've lived here 20 years.

We are a very, very busy family, so we haven't done masses to the house.

And there's one room in particular that's taken the brunt of 20 years of clutter.

My study has always been left as my space, which is chaotic.

I'm a personal travel advisor working from home,

so I like to have maps on the walls,

I like to have holiday brochures where I can look for things.

Oh, I've got 50 Shades there.

You don't want that seeing in there, do you?

It's an office which has been made from a bedroom,

it's got lots of furniture from other places within the house.

I'd just like it to be a nice, tidy, calm space.

I don't have a massive great imagination of these things,

so I'd love someone to come in and say,

"This would look fantastic and this would work really well."

Donna might not have the job spec completely worked out,

but she does know what the budget is.

I would like to spend less than £2,000.

My husband would say he'd like to spend as little as he can get away with.

Converting your spare room into a home office can be a practical space solution.

So, what do you need to consider in advance?

You need to bear in mind things like are you going to want to soundproof

the room, are you going to need more power points

than what you've already got?

Storage is key, you know.

Thinking about how you're going to set a room out

and how you're going to make use

of every tiny corner is definitely paramount.

So, let's see which builders are bidding for this job.

I think she wants a new desk and a new office area all painted up.

-No sinks though, Chris.

-No sinks.

I'll just carry on with whatever you do.

They've all got ideas for Donna's boxroom, but only one home office design

will be kept on file.

First to quote are smooth operators Martin and Mick.

Well, this is an office job, Martin.

I've always fancied myself as a bit of a pen pusher.

-Hi, Donna.

-Hi there.

-Hello.

-I'm Martin.

But will their small space solution be the one that Donna goes for?

-Ooh.

-Right.

-Lots of...

-Green and purple going on at the moment.

An office in need of storage should be right up this pair's street.

We both have carpentry backgrounds.

We are passionate, you know, about wood and about creating things.

DRILL BUZZES

We hate each other. We put up with each other.

Just making a bit of plinth up.

As I can't get in there, cos Martin's in the way,

moaning about doing a little bit of grouting.

I like Mick's positivity that he brings.

HE LAUGHS

First and foremost,

figure out how we're going to best lay this out for this storage.

A wraparound desk round the corner.

Storage, not much different position than it is now.

I think this could be the feature wall.

Yeah. She's a travel agent,

so I'm thinking of involving a map of the world, a photo mural in,

something even with a magnetic background where she can throw magnets on.

It's a theme that fits in with Donna's job, but can Martin and Mick make it stick?

What we were thinking of doing

was to actually bring in an L-shaped worktop

that we'll actually make to go along the back here.

So we're going to redecorate the whole room,

really brighten it up with some sort of pastel colours with a dark floor.

But on the back wall, it's going to be a full photo mural wall,

so it'd be a world map.

It will literally cover the whole width of the wall.

Yeah, fabulous.

Martin and Mick plan to build a wraparound desk

along two walls with built-in cupboards and shelves above.

They'll lay a new floor and redecorate the whole room in pastel shades,

finishing it off with a wall-sized map of the world.

So, now the fun bit. Price.

With everything we've put in, we're basically at £2,250.

OK.

How long do you think the job will take, guys?

Three days max.

That's £250 over budget, but will Donna think it's worth the extra?

No need to decide yet, as next to pitch are clean-cut Wayne and Steph.

Mmm.

I don't know why you'd want a different colour.

They know they'll need more than just a new colour scheme to beat Martin and Mick.

We've got the complete DIY manual.

WAYNE LAUGHS

We can't go wrong in this house!

That's handy.

Wayne and Steph met two years ago and think they are the perfect team.

Steph's got an amazing design eye and working with copper,

you're an expert at that.

I do a lot of carpentry stuff, so anything to do with wood.

When we combine our skills, you get the best of everything, really.

We can bring much more to the table.

And we're a complete package.

We can make the table.

And hopefully the shelves and cabinets needed in here, too.

We've got a minty skirting board and a minty radiator and a minty windowsill.

Yeah, they'll have to change.

And it is a dark room, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-So you want to get as much light in here as you can.

I'm almost sort of thinking...

-Scandi it, maybe brighten it up a little bit?

-Yeah.

A Scandi-style office.

Will it appeal to Donna?

The style we thought we'd come up with, which is quite calming,

is Scandinavian style.

So using birch ply, just so it's quite light,

cos it's quite a dark room up there at the moment.

We'd like to do a pale grey wall and keep the skirting

and all the woodwork the same so it sort of just opens up the space, it'll make it feel light.

OK, well, you've got a good wall to put a desk or units or something, and shelving across there.

So, this is a quick sketch of the desk.

This is freestanding with a double shelf inside,

so you can put your printer in there if you wanted.

It's quite simple and sleek, cos you've got so much stuff to put away and put on shelves.

Fabulous, yeah.

Wayne and Steph's Scandi-style design features a plywood freestanding desk,

with plywood shelves above as well as a display cabinet for Donna's travel brochures.

All set off with a grey colour scheme.

It's a simple design, but can they do it within Donna's £2,000 budget?

So, we anticipate about three days.

And we came in at £2,000 all-in.

-OK.

-For that theme.

That's bang on-budget and £250 less than Martin and Mick's quote.

But it's not over yet.

-It's this one, I think, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Bidding against the other two pairs are upcycling duo Charis and Chris.

Nice to meet you.

They know they are last in and up against stiff competition.

This room's going to be cleared out before we start work, isn't it,

cos if we clear this out, it's going to add about half a day on.

-Yeah, I can't be doing with that, my back.

-No, "With my back," he goes.

Always has a back problem.

Over the last two decades,

it's fair to say that these two have got to know each other pretty well.

My strengths are designing with wood and metal

and Chris's strengths are plumbing.

Anything to do with pipes.

Chris's weaknesses...

Um, he's old and decrepit, mainly.

-THEY LAUGH

-His back, he's got bad knees.

Have you got knee joints?

I know, I can't bend, my knees are not working properly.

-Yeah, that's me. Thanks for that, Charis.

-CHARIS LAUGHS

I'd like to put an old desk in here and maybe upcycle it.

Couldn't you put, like, a storage thing up the side there, and with a desk off of it?

Oh, you've come up with an idea, Chris.

I know. Up here for thinking.

Ah, so you're not just a pretty face, Chris.

Let's see what Donna thinks.

What we'd like to do is make it nice and bright in there

and bring in some natural wood as well.

-Yep.

-So what I would hope to do is get you a nice reclaimed natural wood desk in there.

I think we need to come up with lots of little ideas to get

all these bits and bobs in their own little places so this is tidy.

I've been thinking about lots of different little storage solutions,

so maybe putting, like, a metal grate up on the wall that you can clip things to.

Maybe jars on the underside of some of the shelves.

Fabulous.

Charis and Chris are brimming with upcycling creativity,

with plans for a reclaimed natural wood desk next to a tall storage unit.

Other storage solutions include jars under the shelves and a metal grate

with clips on the wall.

Sounds practical and stylish, but what's the cost?

Well, I think we can bring it in at about £1,950,

but depending on what Charis sources with her special design unique ideas,

it may go up or it may go down.

So that's possibly £50 under budget,

if Charis can sources reasonably priced materials, but if not,

the price could skyrocket.

All three pitches are in.

But it's up to Donna to decide if she wants to choose any of them.

Right, guys.

-How do you reckon it went?

-Medium.

So-so. I like the job.

Do you know what, I felt like she played it quite close to her chest.

Yeah, she definitely kept her powder dry, didn't she, on what she wanted?

My money's on us two.

LAUGHTER

-Oh, we've smashed it, so...

-I think we've given her everything she wanted.

Wayne and Steph had a bang-on-budget Scandi idea.

Martin and Mick came up with a more expensive travel-themed space.

And Charis and Chris proposed an upcycling look which could be under budget.

Only the winner's phone will ring.

DIALLING TONE

Hello.

-Martin speaking.

-It's Donna.

I just wanted to let you know I'd love you to come and do this job for me.

-Oh, brilliant news.

-Wonderful.

We'd need to arrange some dates and definitely come and see you again.

-That sounds great.

-All right, Martin, that's super.

-Speak soon, then.

-Cheers, Donna.

-Bye.

Oh, exciting.

It's a job in the bag for Martin and Mick.

Are the other builders going to be good losers?

Ah.

Martin and Mick.

I can't remember what they said.

-What was it?

-There's nothing you can do about it. I don't take it personally.

He does a little bit. I think he's going to cry in a minute.

Ah, someone pass him a hankie.

Before Martin and Mick get cracking, come on, builders,

let's hear your tips for the job.

It's always good to prepare the area first, make sure there no clutter

or mess or anything in the room, it's a blank canvas.

As builders, we can't guarantee that were not going to drop that plate

or drop that, you know.

If you've got prized possessions,

the best thing to do is get them out of the way first.

It's day one of the build and the losing builders are ready to see how it goes.

Right, I'm looking forward to this.

Yeah, this should be good.

The box room has been cleared of all furniture

and clutter and Mick is working hard to make sure those old purple walls

are a distant memory.

We've put a first coat on, give it a good rub down,

cos it's probably going to take at least another two coats.

Good job it's a small room, then.

Then we're going to put the floor down, then we'll cover the floor up.

Rub down and do our skirtings.

And knock this horrible green radiator and window wall down.

We've only got two days, it's including today,

so we need to what we call...

Yeah, take the back out of it, basically.

Just get on with something and uncross your arms, mate.

-He's going to say, "I'm going to go, and I'll leave you to it, Mick."

-Yeah!

-Two days is tight, isn't it?

-Yeah.

And that time constraint means Martin and Mick need a quick-fix floor.

Laminate flooring is pretty much as easy as you can get.

You know, you don't need a lot of tools for it.

For us, it's an hour tops, really.

Well, that's good news.

I haven't really got a favourite bit about laying floors,

because it means getting on my old hands and knees.

And these are quite old knees, you see.

Where's your knee pads, mate?

-Kneepads.

-Get some kneepads for those old knees.

THEY LAUGH

To finish laying the floor, the door will have to be taken off its hinges.

But there's a small problem.

Hinges filled with paint.

-Oh, nightmare.

-Oh, no.

Before you do any painting...

..of your doors, masking tape your hinges.

Don't try and go at it with a drill.

This is a real tip now.

Flathead screwdriver, clean it out first.

Then go manual on it.

Old school. Old school.

-Old school.

-Old school.

Well, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?

I mean, everybody knows that. He's just teaching someone to suck eggs.

Going to be really silly and take the top hinge out first so the door falls down.

I'm just going to loosen them all up first, Mick.

-Then I'm going to go down to the bottom hinge.

-Don't you worry, I've done one before.

-Lovers' tiff.

-THEY LAUGH

It's just paint holding it now, Mick, it's just paint.

-Hooray.

-Yay!

Once they've finished winding each other up,

they can actually get on and finish the floor.

Next, it's the turn of those mint-green skirting boards to feel the wrath

of Martin and Mick's paintbrushes.

It's all in the preparation.

And not forgetting the minty radiator.

But watch your new floor!

I just hope I'm not getting any drips.

But something underneath it.

-He's going to have to have a lot of paint for that.

-I would have painted them first, surely?

Yeah, before you put the floor down.

-I think I might have taken it off and sprayed it.

-Mmm...

Who walked in here and went, "I know what this room needs, purple walls and green radiators"?

THEY LAUGH

Yeah, I tend to agree with you there.

Well, a few finishing brushstrokes later

and nobody would believe it was ever any other colour.

It's the final week of Carl's garden build in Urmston, Greater Manchester.

It's an ambitious project with a fast approaching deadline,

and it hasn't all been plain sailing.

The barbecue was finished, and then, because the client is always right,

the client wanted it moving.

So we've dismantled it,

and moved it forward by about two feet,

which obviously went down an absolute treat with the boys.

-Good move.

-HE LAUGHS

Have to get Brian back today to rebuild it.

It's good practice, cos every time he builds one he just gets better.

-Cos obviously he's at that age where he needs to keep learning.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Hey.

-Hey what?

And with a to-do list as long as Carl's garden,

it's a good job the decking fitters have turned up.

Right, slide that frame over there so I can get this next one in. Please.

He's very bossy for a little one.

Nearly as bossy as me.

No-one's as bossy as you, Sian.

-Anyway, you. Come on. Chop, chop, this has got to be done for Friday.

-SHE LAUGHS

It's quite high pressured.

Carl's got a big family barbecue, which is a really important occasion for them this weekend.

So, we're under pressure to get the job finished and the garden looking really nice for them.

Starting to come together, though, Sian.

-That's the last one, that one.

-Good.

Sometimes you just need brute force, don't you?

Manic.

Things are moving on at a pace.

The barbecue's been rendered,

the pergola is up and painted, and Sian is putting up decorative shingle tiles.

I'm putting two layers of the shingle and alternating them.

If water falls on them, a bit like a roof tile,

the water won't go down the edges and get into the structure below.

They're quite random as well.

They're not supposed to look uniform.

I suppose the beauty is in their irregularity.

We need to rough that end so it runs tighter.

Come on, chop, chop.

More, Martin.

More. Oh, my God.

-Third time.

-It's like Oliver Twist.

Third!

LAUGHTER

Homeowner Carl has asked for a hexagonal tiled pathway.

About a week and a half ago, we laid the concrete foundations.

The moisture content in those now is below 8%.

So it means we can tile onto the concrete.

John first lays a stabilising membrane...

Just making sure that this side close to the wall is going to be the highest point,

so that the water runs off.

..before moving onto the tiles.

Not a job he's looking forward to.

Tilers generally like rectagonal and square tiles.

Hexagonal tiles are a bit of a pain in the posterior.

You're so good at hexagonal tiles, though, John,

and that's why I'm getting you to do them again.

Well, let's see. The proof's in the pudding.

-I've seen your pudding already and I know you're good at them.

-Hey!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, hey!

-WHISTLING

Several hours later...

-They look all right, them.

-They do, don't they?

-They're nice.

-I think John hates me right now.

-SHE LAUGHS

-It's not funny.

-I'm not laughing.

I'm going to be here all night.

John looks very stressed out right now, doesn't he?

He looks like he's at breaking point.

-He's in the zone.

-He's in the zone?

-Leave him alone. He's in the zone.

-He doesn't want to put hexagonal tiles down.

Get me some more adhesive on here.

Quickly.

Stressed or not, John's a professional.

Right, let's get these down.

I like. Of course I like.

I designed.

HE LAUGHS

And even he's got to admit...

I think they look very good.

But that doesn't mean that I would choose them.

LAUGHTER

With the deadline of Carl's party looming...

..it's all hands on deck for the final push.

It's absolute chaos here today.

Absolute chaos.

There's about a million people in the garden.

The last bits of decking are laid.

-That will do.

-That it?

The tiles are grouted.

And the job is done.

Friday night and I haven't got a gin and my hand, which is not good.

But the garden's looking fantastic.

Where's John? In the pub!

Three sets of builders pitched on Carl's garden.

But only one pair got the job.

Now it's time to see what the losing builders think of Sian and John's work.

Let's see what the finish looks like.

It's certainly a transformation.

It took Sian and John, and an army of helpers,

three weeks to complete the job.

Get in. Well done, Sian, well done, John.

-It's come together well, hasn't it?

-Yeah, nice little chill area.

-Yeah.

There's a fully decked and furnished outside room.

-Decent.

-Yeah, it is.

And a Scandinavian fire pit sitting on designer Italian tiles,

which match in with the tiled pathway.

The existing plants have been kept in raised beds.

And the barbecue area is big enough for the large family party Carl has planned.

Great job. Absolutely great job, the pair of you.

-Even if you did steal our fire pit.

-HE LAUGHS

It looks neat and tidy, they've done a great job, as always.

Fair play to youse.

It's unanimous.

The builders like it.

But what about the really important opinion - Carl's?

-Mmm.

-Come on, Carl.

-Will Carl like it?

Sian and John are about to find out what he thinks.

Ooh, that face. He did that face a lot, you know.

He came out and sort of looked.

And you weren't quite sure what he thought.

It's brilliant.

Oh, brilliant! Brilliant.

That's good.

Pam would have loved it as well.

Nice and easy garden for her.

Or would have been.

Yeah. We've done this in her memory, because she loved the garden.

Aw.

We've got a little sign up there, still saying, "Mum's garden".

She's still here, she's still part of her garden.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Absolutely love it, it's great.

She'd have been in her element.

I think Carl is going to spend a lot of time in that room.

Carl's garden is now a very fitting place to hold Pam's commemorative party.

So, I wanted some nice coloured room,

a new barbecue area with great decking.

And they've absolutely delivered.

The twins, they love it.

Families love it. My friends love it.

I love it. I think the cat loves it.

It's ace.

Another happy customer.

-Yeah!

-Whey.

Let's go and do it.

Back down south in Sandhurst,

Martin and Mick have been working to give Donna a clutter-free office space.

Just squeeze this.

It's the final day of the build and they're making good progress.

Martin is fitting some flatpack cupboards for storage.

See, we offered everything bespoke made.

-Yeah.

-That's where we went wrong. Should have done flatpack.

While Mick's fitted some floating shelves.

The whole point is you can't see any fixings, basically.

It looks like it's just floating on the wall.

All it is is a metal bracket,

fix that to the wall and then there's two screws.

Depending on what you're fixing to, obviously,

bit limited of how much weight you can put onto them,

but it is still capable of carrying everything that we need to put on it.

Well, I just hope he told the homeowner that.

You'd get the kids climbing up that in my house.

I'd be like, "Aah!"

And today, Mick has one eye on the schedule and the other on Martin.

I've just cleaned that. Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch the end of that on there.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, dear!

He just carries on, he doesn't even listen to him.

As part of their pitch,

Martin and Mick offered Donna a full wall map mural,

but she's decided to ditch the idea and save some money.

Brought in some accessories like the map.

It's all about functionality for an office, but if it looks nice, too, it's a bonus.

For Donna's desk,

Martin and Mick have spent £150 on a wraparound worktop which Mick is oiling.

Purely this is just to seal the surface and it just protects the top of the wood.

Mmm.

That's kitchen worktop, I reckon.

I like that. It's a good idea.

-That looks nice.

-Yeah.

-I like the wood.

-That's quite a good way of doing it, I guess, as well, to get a bit more for your money.

With everything else done,

the last job is shaving a little off the door to accommodate the new floor height.

Oh, he's putting in that nice bit of edging, but he's taken a bit of paint off,

I saw that!

Before refitting it.

Job done.

And the finished job has surpassed even Martin's expectations.

I think it's great. I mean, I wasn't sure about all the colours to start with.

We went grey, black, beech, white, you know, but it's all come together, hasn't it?

It's really nice.

I think this is a place that you'd actually look forward to doing a bit of work in.

I don't think you could get a digger in here.

-Well, not us!

-MICK LAUGHS

Right, Mick, better go on to the next one.

All right, the next one.

"Oh, we've got so many jobs to do!"

THEY LAUGH

All the work in Donna's office has taken place over just two short days.

It was like being inside a unicorn, like, one that was ill.

-Yeah.

-Yup. Pur-r-rple.

But what will the losing builders make of Martin and Mick's work?

Here goes.

I mean, it's a million times better than what it was.

Oh, of course it is.

Now, the room looks professional.

There's a smart new wooden desk with handy floating shelves above.

It does look professional.

-The finish is great, they've done it and executed it well.

-Yeah.

There's much-needed storage, a new grey floor,

and the white walls have brightened up the space.

Really like the desk.

She got exactly what she wanted.

Sounds like a seal of approval from the losing builders,

but now Martin and Mick are about to find out whether Donna agrees.

I enjoyed doing this one. It's going to be interesting to see what she thinks.

-She's taking a long time to make a decision.

-Mmm.

I'm really pleased with the outcome.

It's obviously much lighter, much less cluttered.

The furniture is fantastic.

Ah, I'm glad she's happy, Donna.

I've got the fantastic shelves, loads and loads of storage, so it's perfect.

Just what I needed.

All works well, doesn't it, in there?

The desk is fantastic.

It's given me a lot more work space.

I love the beech block wood top.

I'll look after that carefully.

No coffee mugs on this desk, no.

At least now if she brings a client up, she's got anyone coming over,

it's a professional office now.

Donna's office is now a pleasure to work in and, even better,

the final cost came in at £1,850,

that's 400 less than Martin and Mick's original quote.

It was one of my favourites.

We went in there, we did the job.

Two days, bish, bash, bosh, knock it out, she loved it.