Andrew and Claire The House That £100k Built


Andrew and Claire

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We're in the midst of a low-cost, self-build revolution.

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-Huh!

-We're building walls!

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It's harder than ever to get onto the housing ladder, so a few brave,

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ordinary people are resorting to the seemingly impossible...

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This gets the adrenaline going.

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..building their own home from scratch for less than £100K.

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If we try to buy a house with that space, we couldn't afford it.

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Architect Piers Taylor and me, Kieran Long, are back,

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and coming to the aid of six families attempting

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this toughest of challenges.

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It's difficult looking at the budget

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-and your bank account just literally going down.

-Yeah.

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We'll try to help them with design dilemmas.

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You arrive at a blank wall. I mean, is this what you want?

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Challenge them to think bigger.

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It just inspires me to want to go home and crack on with it.

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And search out innovative solutions that make

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the most of their meagre budgets.

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Whoa, look at that.

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We'll all be pushed to the limit...

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Oh, no!

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..as we attempt to turn these ordinary self builds

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into outstanding homes.

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If anyone thinks it's easy, they're an idiot!

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This time...

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Andrew and Claire dream of building a modern farmhouse...

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Look at that! 40 minutes to this stage.

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..but will they end up with a glorified mobile home...

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It's really important that we all realise what we're building.

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..and in financial ruin?

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We've got over £10,000 of credit cards now.

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It's something I feel very, very uncomfortable about.

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Andrew and Claire have ditched their jobs

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and gambled everything they have on a brave new start, but

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they still don't have the one thing they really need - a family home.

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Pretty much everything that we had has been spent

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in establishing the farm.

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I was in the garden centre industry.

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It was very frantic, very busy, very stressful.

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This has its moments, but it's a very relaxed, very informal,

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very calming way of making a living.

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Come on, let's go and feed those animals.

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In life, if you don't take a chance, nothing's ever going to happen.

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We could be two people living in a normal street with normal jobs,

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but I don't think that would make either of us happy.

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There's a goose egg!

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Andrew inherited eight acres of Berkshire farmland from his

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mother, and three years ago, their huge dream began to take shape.

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When we first had the first batch of 2,000 hens delivered,

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I'd literally never held a chicken before in my life.

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So it was all new to me.

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Andrew has been married with kids before...

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Right. Who's hungry?

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..but found a new start with Claire.

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She was a single mum to Tallulah and a townie -

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working in the business world.

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My idea of going back to nature was to stay in a budget hotel.

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Together, they had their son, Edward, and have spent every waking

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minute striving to make their fledgling business a success.

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Morning, girls.

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But with 5,000 chickens laying a million and a half eggs a year,

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it's hard work.

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It's seven days a week, 365 days a year. Early mornings,

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late nights, locking the birds up and things like that.

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So living on the site is a must.

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With no existing farmhouse, the only option is to live in a caravan.

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This is the dining room, office and kitchen.

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We're all very on top of each other.

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You can't really escape.

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Tallulah's bedroom.

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We can't open wardrobes. That's the washing facilities for all of us.

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When we're really cold or if we want a bath,

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Andy and I do actually sit in there. Cross-legged.

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Trying to pretend that we're in a bath.

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Andrew and Claire have risked all their money on building

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the life they dreamt of.

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They have the plot but very little cash left, so they've staked

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the farm against a mortgage to finance the entire build.

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One... One, eight, nine, ten.

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So much has been invested, both financially and emotionally.

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There is no turning back.

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The only plan we have is to build a house here

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and, you know, spend the rest of our lives here.

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To comply with planning laws, Andrew and Claire's house must be

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easily removable from the site if their farm business fails.

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In just one evening, they sketched a design for an incredibly

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basic single-storey home.

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The frame sits on 15 concrete pads instead of conventional foundations.

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The outside will be chalet-like,

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clad in treated wood with metal tiles on the roof.

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Inside, one half will be a large, open-plan kitchen/diner

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with one structural support post in the middle.

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The other rooms will be down a long, windowless corridor -

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including a small office, bathroom, two kids' rooms,

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and at the very end, Andrew and Claire's bedroom.

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I'm worried they haven't designed a house -

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just a bigger version of the caravan they've already got.

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-Hi.

-Hi there.

-How you doing?

-Good.

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Their plot is an exposed site in the middle of their farm.

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They are financing the build entirely via a loan,

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so how much are they expecting it to cost?

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What's going to be the budget of this?

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The builder has said, for 60 grand, he will build it.

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We've allowed ten to do a bit of ground work.

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That brings us up to 70.

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And what kind of contingency have you got in the budget for mishaps?

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-There won't be any.

-Really?

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You really can't afford for a single thing to go wrong on this build.

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How far away are you from moving into this building, do you think?

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-From moving in or starting?

-From moving in. When's the end?

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I think the end of the summer, I would like to be in.

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I think that is achievable with a fair wind.

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Yeah, I mean, the end of the summer is clearly October.

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-Yes.

-Clearly not. Clearly not.

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With late summer just a few months away, this build is going to

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move fast - the frame could go up in a matter of days.

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Piers and I urgently need to help them make a family farmhouse,

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not just an upmarket mobile home in a field.

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Andrew and Claire have a real job on to deliver a good building, I think.

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They have a building that has to be semi-temporary.

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How do you make this building feel permanent

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and not feel like a caravan?

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Enjoy it for what it is, and what it is is a beautiful shed.

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And we need to really explode this myth that agricultural sheds

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aren't beautiful. The big lofty spaces,

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the simple use of materials that are fixed together economically.

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They need to make a virtue out of economy and really look at

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materials that are cheap. So sheet material,

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profile metal, those sorts of things.

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The danger is they'll clad this in an expensive material

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because they think it'll make it better.

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To me, this building is not designed at all

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and they desperately need help.

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What separates this from a good building

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is actually quite a fine line.

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Spaces like corridors need a certain amount of generosity

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where people linger and gather and move into spaces,

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so this is the most lazy form of long corridor here.

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One of the most bizarre features is this structural column

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in the middle of the living space which seems completely redundant.

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Completely redundant.

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But then focus on how you can make this building a beautiful

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agricultural building in landscape and don't try

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and make it into a bungalow.

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The frame will go up in just a few days, so we need to act now

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and challenge every element of the home they are creating.

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-This is it?

-This is it.

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What would be great, in fact, is just to mock up what you've

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designed at the moment so I can just understand

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the implications of - what does it mean to have a front

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door on the side of the prevailing wind, what do you look at,

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how do you know when people are arriving, all those sorts of things.

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Where does the kitchen sink go?

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Those sorts of things would be really, really useful.

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Where's that mallet gone?

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The best way to get Andrew and Claire to experience the home

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they've designed is to get them to build it.

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Against the front door.

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OK, let's go in the front door then, yeah.

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So there is this slightly odd thing for me

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walking past everyone's bedrooms to get in.

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The interesting thing for me is that Andrew and Claire haven't had

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this conversation, whereas I would expect everybody to

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get to the stage where they're about to build a house, a house

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that they're spending significant amounts of money on, I would

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expect them to unpick all of it and work out where does the prevailing

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wind come from, how do I get in and what about the look and the feel.

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We're going to have the kitchen there.

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It's a big journey of discovery

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realising that small changes to buildings

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and houses make a huge difference.

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And this is your study in here, isn't it?

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Generally, one tries to minimise the amount of corridor.

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Here you're spending five grand to make that

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and you can only use it to get from A to B.

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There are other ways of dividing up rooms.

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Andrew and Claire's planning permission is for a long,

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narrow building - 20 metres by 6.4 metres.

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That can't change, so it's crucial to plan the interior spaces well.

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The simple move of re-thinking this wall would be a really good one,

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so that was perhaps a more generous arrival into this area.

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Just that one move makes this corridor seem much less long.

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Simply changing the angle of the study wall

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simultaneously opens up the corridor and the living area.

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It's a kind of gateway into the rest of the house.

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-And it's interesting.

-I think it's a great idea.

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-Was that my idea?

-Yep, that was your idea!

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LAUGHTER

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Should you move your bedroom door, in fact, to there, you know,

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so you enter straight into your bedroom?

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That creates more space, yeah.

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A small adjustment to the position of the master bedroom door

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also reduces the length of the corridor.

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And, for me, going up and down this corridor

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would then be a pleasure.

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I think, for me, it's critical that you start to look at these

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things now because your building is going to be

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unfolding at a rate of knots in front of your eyes.

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Piers's ideas have several advantages.

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Angling the wall between the living room

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and study will shorten the corridor,

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increase the sense of space in the main living area and save money.

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Changing the position of the door at the other end of the corridor

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will add interest and make the master bedroom feel more generous.

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By carefully interrogating the construction now,

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they should also make every effort to remove the structural column

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which dominates the open-plan space.

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Yeah, I love that idea. Absolutely love it.

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It's been nice to re-assess what we're actually building.

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It's actually made it come to life a bit more

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looking at it and making those final changes.

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It actually feels like we're doing it. We're going to have a house!

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With some of Piers's major alterations included,

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construction begins.

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The simple timber frame means rapid progress.

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40 minutes to this stage

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Half a house in 40 minutes!

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And again.

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-That's it.

-Use me arse instead.

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Andrew and Claire are saving around £90 per day on labour

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by helping Kevin, the builder, whenever possible.

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Ah, look at that!

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We're about 2mm out over 20 meters.

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Cor, that moved a bit.

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At 128 square meters,

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the house will be nearly 70% larger than the average new build home.

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Just look how tiny the caravan looks.

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Which means when we move in there, it's going to feel...

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-You could probably fit that caravan in there.

-Twice.

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-No, four times.

-Four, times, yeah.

-Easily four times.

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Let's have a cup of tea.

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But the build could soon grind to a halt.

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There's been a complication with the paperwork that defines

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the boundaries of the land, so the mortgage funds Andrew

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and Claire desperately need have not been released.

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The risk that we've taken is that we've started

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the project before having the money in place.

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But we just couldn't sit back any longer.

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I was going absolutely mad.

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I've applied for a few credit cards

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and we've got over £10,000 of credit cards now.

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It's something I feel very, very uncomfortable about.

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In order to keep Kevin on site, we need to keep him fed with

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materials. I think we need about £15,000 in the next fortnight really,

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otherwise it will grind to a halt.

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I'm getting more and more agitated

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and anxious about the money situation.

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With their finances on such a knife edge, they could easily blow this

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chance to get the beautiful, modern farmhouse they are desperate for.

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I want to help them keep that vision uppermost in their minds

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as they make design decisions in the weeks ahead.

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So I've brought you to Suffolk

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because we're going to see a building I love.

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I think it can teach lots of lessons about how to keep a consistent

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vision internally and externally. So let's go and take a look.

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Excellent.

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Set in the rural landscape of Suffolk, Long Farm is the

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award-winning home of architect Lucy Marston,

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completed just three years ago.

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I think the most important thing is this is a modern farmhouse,

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which is what you're trying to create, really.

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What do you think when you see this?

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It looks stunning. It really looks beautiful.

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I can see it's a grander version of what we're trying to achieve.

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The build cost £560,000, so it is on much grander scale,

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but as a long, narrow, unfussy building, I think

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it holds vital lessons for Andrew and Claire in creating

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a beautiful, modern, rural home connected to its surroundings.

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I think the most obvious thing that makes this building feel it's

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part of its context is just the simple form of this box,

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one-room-deep, with a pitched roof,

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which just echoes all of the barns

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and other pitched-roof buildings around it.

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But also, materially, this beautiful brick wall and English garden

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wall bond and then oak, they're the only two materials really

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you've got going on here.

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And the oak is weathering to a beautiful silver.

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Even a house like this has to be built to a budget.

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To help stick to it, the architect has chosen ordinary materials,

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such as the bricks and timber frame that any house-builder might use.

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But she's then focused on putting them

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together in a bespoke way - to amazing effect.

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-So come in.

-Wow.

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'Inside, there's a lesson in tackling the design challenges of

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'long, thin houses like Andrew and Claire's.'

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It's really interesting that this is a double-loaded corridor,

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a corridor with no windows, rooms in both directions.

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You normally desperately try to avoid that as a designer,

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but actually, it doesn't feel murky here.

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I think combining this joinery in that dark green with the white above

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it and the view out to the distance means that even a

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double-loaded corridor here just has so much quality.

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It's quite a difficult thing to do, but they've really solved that here.

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The polished concrete is fantastic.

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You get the shine off the light of the far window.

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You could have lino or resin or ceramics or any

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number of materials of wide variety of prices that could give

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some of the qualities of light and reflection that this has.

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I thought of the hallway as just a means to get to the bedrooms.

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I hadn't even thought of it as a, you know, a room.

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The balustrade separates the stairs from the hallway.

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I mean, it's so chunky.

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That's probably four inches by two. It's really, really nice.

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And adds a sense of depth and space to the hall.

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Vertical timbers inside and out give a consistency.

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It looks a similar size to ours, actually.

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Large glazing panels frame the views

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and muted colours echo the landscape.

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One of the things that makes it so homely here is this hearth.

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And it is lovely.

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I think the really special thing is down here,

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where you see that the brickwork of this extends out,

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beyond the glazing. So when you're stood where you are,

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you can see this brick piece is one thing.

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It's almost extending that brick from the exterior inside.

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That's something you guys could really think about.

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Every detail has been carefully considered

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to create a warm family home.

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I think today has been a real inspiration

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to get an idea of what our house can actually feel like.

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That it's that whole modern farmhouse but giving you

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that warm hug as you walk in.

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It really makes you just open up your eyes.

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And sometimes it's about the detail, which

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we're so busy, we haven't had an opportunity to do.

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As the house continues to grow, so too does the credit card debt,

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and it's starting to affect progress.

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-Hi, Andrew. Hi, Claire.

-Hello, Piers.

-How are you doing?

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Good to see you. So how's it all going?

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Things are tough at the moment, aren't they?

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Actually, we are having to sort of...

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It would be quite nice to get the windows in.

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But that's 10% of the budget. So we are holding off on that.

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We are buying and we are doing jobs

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that are relatively cheap to do, really.

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I can't wait to see what you've been doing.

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Wow, this is great.

0:19:500:19:52

There are also design issues to confront.

0:19:520:19:55

Space in the main living area will be freed up by replacing

0:19:550:19:58

the pillar with a truss.

0:19:580:20:00

But it has had an impact on Piers's idea for the study wall.

0:20:000:20:04

Give me my bearings. This?

0:20:040:20:06

This is the wall that was going to curve round.

0:20:060:20:09

But we need it to support the joist.

0:20:090:20:12

Andrew and Claire have a big design challenge ahead

0:20:130:20:16

to partition the study and living area,

0:20:160:20:19

without losing the sense of space.

0:20:190:20:22

Every decision made on site now will determine whether this becomes

0:20:220:20:25

a unique, contemporary farmhouse or a mobile home lookalike.

0:20:250:20:30

Very nice. Hi there.

0:20:300:20:32

Hello there.

0:20:320:20:33

-How are you doing?

-Very well.

0:20:340:20:36

It's Piers's first chance to talk to Kevin, the builder.

0:20:360:20:39

This is looking good.

0:20:390:20:41

And he's curious to hear Kevin's take on creating a sense

0:20:410:20:45

of permanence in a home that's technically removable.

0:20:450:20:47

It's still built on a scheme of a mobile home,

0:20:470:20:52

so it can be split in the middle.

0:20:520:20:55

Remember though, this isn't a mobile home,

0:20:550:20:57

this is a house that just has to be able to be removed.

0:20:570:21:00

It's a subtly different thing. And I think it wants to

0:21:000:21:03

be as different from a mobile home as it can possibly be.

0:21:030:21:06

-Absolutely!

-Completely.

0:21:060:21:08

That's all right by me. As long as we're allowed to do that,

0:21:080:21:12

we've got the plans and everything,

0:21:120:21:14

and I just build it from what's been passed on the plans.

0:21:140:21:17

Absolutely. What's the next phase for you?

0:21:170:21:20

Well, I was hoping to get all these purlins across by the end

0:21:200:21:23

of today and the back gable ends up.

0:21:230:21:25

Then we can put the soffits and the fascia boards on the outside.

0:21:250:21:28

I think the word fascia and soffit fills me with horror.

0:21:280:21:32

-Does it?

-And makes me come out in hives

0:21:320:21:36

because that is the language of a mobile home.

0:21:360:21:39

Whereas rural buildings don't have fascias or soffits.

0:21:390:21:42

They have very neat clipped eaves.

0:21:420:21:44

It's really important that we all realise what we're building

0:21:440:21:49

and just make sure every detail is considered perfectly.

0:21:490:21:53

You don't want to build a building with a fascia board

0:21:530:21:56

and an eaves because if you do, it'll look like a mobile home.

0:21:560:21:59

Whereas I think if you don't, if you build a really clever eaves

0:21:590:22:02

with a clipped gutter, it'll look like the most beautiful timber barn.

0:22:020:22:06

Mmmm.

0:22:060:22:07

Well, we can...

0:22:090:22:11

-Cancel that order!

-LAUGHTER

0:22:110:22:15

The detail that may bring Piers out in hives is an important one.

0:22:160:22:20

Mobile homes, chalets and temporary buildings are built

0:22:200:22:24

in the most conventional ways.

0:22:240:22:27

An inexpensive roof material sits on top of supporting walls

0:22:270:22:30

with a boxed in soffit

0:22:300:22:32

and fascia board to fill the gap.

0:22:320:22:34

But Piers wants Andrew and Claire to expose the rafters.

0:22:350:22:39

He also suggests using a hardwearing yet delicate material

0:22:390:22:43

such as corrugated metal for the roof.

0:22:430:22:46

These ideas will help make their home feel designed

0:22:460:22:49

and unique rather than off-the-peg.

0:22:490:22:51

It sounds like a tiny point.

0:22:530:22:55

And it's so tiny in some ways that you can't even visualise it.

0:22:550:23:00

But in a way, it's such a huge point for how a building looks,

0:23:000:23:05

how it reads, all the subliminal messages it gives out about

0:23:050:23:08

where it belongs and what it is.

0:23:080:23:10

Is it a bungalow or a mobile home or a beautiful, considered,

0:23:100:23:15

contemporary piece of rural architecture?

0:23:150:23:18

But the bigger question for me is

0:23:180:23:20

every single one of these relationships

0:23:200:23:22

that exists all around the building -

0:23:220:23:23

who is driving them, controlling them, considering them,

0:23:230:23:26

drawing them, weighing up the pros and cons?

0:23:260:23:29

HE GIGGLES

0:23:290:23:32

Everyone's looking around for that person!

0:23:320:23:36

In your hands, is the potential to make a really good building here.

0:23:390:23:43

Details seem inconsequential, but actually,

0:23:430:23:46

they're part of really how you read and understand a building.

0:23:460:23:50

Even if you can't articulate why.

0:23:500:23:52

I'm pleased that you've raised it because you can get really busy

0:23:520:23:56

doing the stuff without worrying about the detail.

0:23:560:24:00

It's more the details.

0:24:000:24:01

I didn't know what soffits and everything were.

0:24:010:24:04

I was just like, "Oh, yeah, whatever."

0:24:040:24:06

For me, the buildings that you've put up at the moment, so far,

0:24:060:24:09

are fine. But they, in a way, feel slightly too temporary.

0:24:090:24:13

Whereas now there is a real opportunity to speak of permanence.

0:24:130:24:16

This building will be here for a long time.

0:24:160:24:18

Your children will have this building.

0:24:180:24:20

I think that's a important thing to hang on to.

0:24:200:24:23

Invest in the future, not for just three years.

0:24:230:24:25

Despite all the pressures on them,

0:24:280:24:30

Andrew and Claire are very open to learning more.

0:24:300:24:33

So this is it.

0:24:340:24:36

With big decisions to make on exterior materials,

0:24:360:24:38

Andrew is intrigued by a building he's spotted in a local vineyard,

0:24:380:24:42

and he's asked Claire and Piers to take a look.

0:24:420:24:45

When I saw this a few weeks ago, I really liked the silvery feel to it.

0:24:480:24:53

The colour is really nice. I like it a lot.

0:24:530:24:56

The storehouse at Wolf Oak Vineyard was designed by the owner,

0:24:560:25:00

together with his joiner, and cost £45,000.

0:25:000:25:04

You need to get away from anything that looks like a garden shed

0:25:040:25:08

and garden sheds are very thin timber.

0:25:080:25:10

I think if you used the same timber but you actually beef it up

0:25:100:25:13

so that it's inch boarding or something.

0:25:130:25:16

This is a really good simple building that isn't over designed.

0:25:160:25:20

It sits well in the landscape. I think this is beautiful.

0:25:200:25:22

But is this going to fit nicely?

0:25:220:25:26

I guess I can't see it at the moment, how it's...

0:25:260:25:29

I too struggle with how it will fit in,

0:25:290:25:33

but I'm looking at the rural setting, and it doesn't look dreadful.

0:25:330:25:39

To me, it looks really nice.

0:25:390:25:41

I fully agree with the chunkiness of it,

0:25:410:25:43

I think it needs beefing up slightly.

0:25:430:25:45

I would get your own tree and mill it.

0:25:450:25:48

The raw tree is very cheap, getting a sawmill in to do it on site

0:25:480:25:51

is pretty cheap and you'll save a lot of money

0:25:510:25:54

if you just milled your own timber. A huge amount of money.

0:25:540:25:57

-Literally on site?

-On site.

0:25:570:25:59

You can do anything you like,

0:25:590:26:00

you could do all the floors and everything internally in timber.

0:26:000:26:04

For the roofing, Andrew and Claire are thinking of metal tiles

0:26:040:26:07

like the ones used on mobile homes.

0:26:070:26:10

Piers wants them to reconsider.

0:26:100:26:12

I want to stand back here and I'm itching to see the metal roof.

0:26:120:26:15

Yes, so that's the roof

0:26:170:26:18

and it's just the bog-standard agricultural profiled metal.

0:26:180:26:22

I actually quite like it.

0:26:220:26:23

That sample that you brought up,

0:26:230:26:25

I've been trying not to look at actually,

0:26:250:26:27

is corrugated steel designed to look like a tile.

0:26:270:26:31

So it's masquerading as something else.

0:26:310:26:33

And one thing that farm buildings need to exude is honesty

0:26:330:26:37

and directness, and the one rule is that your material can't

0:26:370:26:41

pretend to be anything else.

0:26:410:26:42

So the beauty of that is it's corrugated metal.

0:26:420:26:45

And it is what farm buildings are made of.

0:26:450:26:47

And I think it sits beautifully in this landscape.

0:26:470:26:50

If you had said to me about having a corrugated roof...

0:26:500:26:54

On paper, I wouldn't have liked it at all.

0:26:540:26:57

But actually, I really like it because it doesn't look too metal-y.

0:26:570:27:02

I think your other thing belongs on a caravan park,

0:27:020:27:04

-not a beautiful farm.

-I totally agree, it's more of a mobile home.

0:27:040:27:07

Exactly. Yeah.

0:27:070:27:09

Good. You're sold. We can go now.

0:27:090:27:11

I am sold on the roof.

0:27:110:27:13

Fired up by what he saw in the vineyard,

0:27:170:27:19

Andrew is off to buy timber.

0:27:190:27:21

We're talking about plucking out that one. What happens to these....

0:27:270:27:31

In the hope of making big savings,

0:27:310:27:33

he's sourcing it direct from the head forester on a local estate.

0:27:330:27:37

Here we have the dominant tree and the one next to it. Here we have...

0:27:370:27:40

-These are larch, are they?

-These are larch.

0:27:400:27:42

They're beautifully straight, aren't they?

0:27:420:27:44

-Yeah.

-That's the first thing that strikes me.

0:27:440:27:46

And not that many branches coming off them, so...

0:27:460:27:48

This is what we're aiming for.

0:27:480:27:50

We're aiming for this quality of timber.

0:27:500:27:52

We're aiming for straight, clean and we do that

0:27:520:27:54

A - by selecting the right seed to start with.

0:27:540:27:57

And then managing the crops. But to get here has been a lot of work.

0:27:570:28:01

These trees are about 60 years old.

0:28:010:28:03

The trees will be cut to order,

0:28:030:28:05

but estimating how much timber each one will yield

0:28:050:28:08

needs careful calculation.

0:28:080:28:10

Off these trees, you'd get probably three 16ft logs

0:28:100:28:14

and you might get a 10ft off the top.

0:28:140:28:17

-We're going to need 16 cubic meters of timber.

-OK.

0:28:170:28:20

And just to be safe, we're going to need about 20 trees, I think.

0:28:200:28:24

-OK.

-20-odd trees, something like that.

0:28:240:28:26

The logs are delivered within two weeks of confirming the order,

0:28:290:28:32

and with the saw mill on site, work on the cladding gets underway.

0:28:320:28:36

With each tree costing £15

0:28:450:28:47

and the miser saw and operator at around £300 per day,

0:28:470:28:51

Andrew's made a saving of around one third

0:28:510:28:54

compared to buying ready-sawn timber.

0:28:540:28:56

We've worked out we need 390 boards at 2.4 metres.

0:28:580:29:03

So it'll be certainly two days' worth of cutting, I should imagine.

0:29:030:29:07

The nice thing about larch is you don't have to treat it,

0:29:110:29:13

so it can go straight up.

0:29:130:29:15

Just tack it straight up and away we go.

0:29:150:29:18

Natural resin in the larch makes it rot resistant.

0:29:180:29:21

It'll last at least 30 years,

0:29:210:29:23

and potentially double that, whilst weathering nicely.

0:29:230:29:26

Having seen the corrugated roof,

0:29:340:29:36

Claire has ditched her previous choice of domestic tiles.

0:29:360:29:39

We are on a farm, so to have a nod towards an agricultural

0:29:410:29:45

building, even though it is a home, I think is really important

0:29:450:29:48

to help us blend in and look like the house has always been here

0:29:480:29:52

rather than some new monstrosity

0:29:520:29:54

that's just, you know, shoved down in the field somewhere.

0:29:540:29:57

This company that we've found with the coated corrugated steel

0:29:590:30:04

is a lot cheaper than the pressed tile that we looked at.

0:30:040:30:08

So I think we've saved about £1,000 going on this.

0:30:080:30:11

It's a much-needed saving because the financial pressures are extreme.

0:30:140:30:18

As a part of the cycle of egg production,

0:30:180:30:21

Andrew's had to replenish most of the hen flock.

0:30:210:30:24

We've just had to buy 3,000 chickens

0:30:260:30:30

that cost a little bit under £4.50.

0:30:300:30:33

So that's about £13,500.

0:30:330:30:37

And at the moment, we'd have quite liked to have that to help

0:30:380:30:43

with the house build, really,

0:30:430:30:45

but we've got to keep the business going.

0:30:450:30:47

Three months into the build,

0:30:490:30:51

the paperwork needed for the mortgage still isn't ready.

0:30:510:30:55

With his credit cards maxed out at ten grand,

0:30:580:31:01

Andrew has been forced to borrow a further £42,000 from friends

0:31:010:31:05

and family just to get the house watertight and keep building.

0:31:050:31:09

Fortunately, a very good friend and a family member has stepped in

0:31:100:31:15

and given me a bridging loan.

0:31:150:31:17

Which is fantastic because it means we can keep the windows coming on

0:31:180:31:24

and Kevin on site.

0:31:240:31:26

The build was in danger of just grinding to a halt,

0:31:270:31:30

so it's really nice.

0:31:300:31:31

It's quite humbling that someone was prepared to lend me

0:31:310:31:34

the money, quite honestly.

0:31:340:31:36

With no idea when they'll be able to pay back their friends,

0:31:370:31:40

the couple focus on sourcing materials as cheaply as possible.

0:31:400:31:44

Finding seconds of insulation saves them nearly £7,000.

0:31:460:31:50

Come on then. Let's go and see what they are up to.

0:31:550:31:58

The money nightmare continues to take its toll.

0:32:000:32:03

Just keeping the funds coming in to keep the supplies

0:32:050:32:08

coming in for Kevin has been...it's a juggling act.

0:32:080:32:13

It's a big juggling act and I've been pretty stressed and waking

0:32:130:32:17

early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep but...

0:32:170:32:21

The fabulous news that I literally heard about an hour ago

0:32:220:32:26

is that the bank have released the money.

0:32:260:32:28

So, as of tomorrow, we can actually draw on our mortgage,

0:32:280:32:33

which is a huge relief because everything has been up in the air.

0:32:330:32:38

-Looking good.

-Yeah, it is, isn't it?

0:32:380:32:40

Yeah, I can start paying off the cards

0:32:400:32:43

and breathing a little bit easier and sleeping easier.

0:32:430:32:46

Friends and family can be paid back too,

0:32:480:32:50

but finishing a three-bedroom house to a high standard

0:32:500:32:54

for less than £100K is still an enormous challenge.

0:32:540:32:57

Planning rules mean the house had to be built above ground on pillars

0:33:020:33:06

rather than sitting on conventional foundations,

0:33:060:33:09

but Andrew is unhappy with the result.

0:33:090:33:12

From this angle, you can see that

0:33:120:33:14

it's at least half a metre high there,

0:33:140:33:16

so we've got quite a lot of landscaping to do there, really.

0:33:160:33:20

It's the hard landscaping that

0:33:200:33:22

I'm struggling with at the moment, really.

0:33:220:33:24

How we landscape it

0:33:240:33:25

so it doesn't look like it's just been plonked there.

0:33:250:33:28

Andrew's attempted solution aimed to minimise expense

0:33:300:33:33

by scrimping on the quantity and cost of materials.

0:33:330:33:38

I initially bought a few pallets of these block pavers.

0:33:380:33:41

Claire and I sat and looked at it for a while

0:33:410:33:44

and just thought it wasn't in keeping with what we were trying to achieve.

0:33:440:33:48

So it's about finding the right material at the right price

0:33:480:33:52

that also fits nicely in the environment, really.

0:33:520:33:55

Andrew and Claire are at a crucial point in their build.

0:34:090:34:12

They're desperate that their house doesn't just become

0:34:120:34:15

a kind of mobile home sat on top of the landscape.

0:34:150:34:17

Today, I'm going to show them a building that I think relates

0:34:170:34:20

really well to its site

0:34:200:34:22

and uses a range of architectural strategies to achieve that.

0:34:220:34:25

I'm hoping there are lots of lessons here for Andrew and Claire

0:34:280:34:31

that they can take back and apply on their own house.

0:34:310:34:34

We've managed to get access to a private home in Bedfordshire

0:34:360:34:39

designed by Platform 5 architects.

0:34:390:34:42

So I'm really excited to bring you to this building today.

0:34:440:34:47

It's a beautiful, simple, modernist house.

0:34:470:34:50

I think it fits really, really well in this landscape.

0:34:500:34:53

And you can just see from here, the way this timber

0:34:530:34:55

box on the upper storey kind of looks out over the meadow.

0:34:550:34:58

It's still an issue for you guys, isn't it, how you

0:34:580:35:00

connect your building to the lovely landscape and garden around it?

0:35:000:35:04

Is that still something you are thinking over?

0:35:040:35:07

That's the main focus now.

0:35:070:35:08

The big trick is to try and make it not look

0:35:080:35:10

like it's been plonked in the middle of a field,

0:35:100:35:13

which it looks at the moment.

0:35:130:35:15

So it is about making it fit within the landscape.

0:35:150:35:18

Cos that was the whole point of the design of the building,

0:35:180:35:21

that it would blend in with the farm.

0:35:210:35:22

I think this is a building that does some of those things really well.

0:35:220:35:26

It's not a farmhouse, but it is a house that's on a large site,

0:35:260:35:29

that had to find a way to, in a way, root itself in that landscape.

0:35:290:35:32

So I'm excited to show you how they've done that.

0:35:320:35:34

-Great.

-Brilliant.

0:35:340:35:36

This creates a very beautiful atmosphere, doesn't it, this grass?

0:35:440:35:47

Yeah, it's lovely.

0:35:470:35:48

What I really wanted to show you about this building is,

0:35:480:35:51

I think, an elegant and very straightforward solution to

0:35:510:35:54

a problem you've got, which is the question of a building

0:35:540:35:57

sitting proud of the ground. And this single slate-covered plinth

0:35:570:36:00

is the ground inside, it's the terrace out here,

0:36:000:36:03

it's even the front doorstep, all on one single level.

0:36:030:36:06

Which, of course, is super accessible and useful, but gives you

0:36:060:36:09

lots of usable perimeter, lots of places to put a table

0:36:090:36:12

and chairs, lots of places for life to spill into the outdoors.

0:36:120:36:15

And I think that's something you guys really need.

0:36:150:36:18

I think it's absolutely stunning, absolutely stunning.

0:36:180:36:21

My first feeling really is that a single surface all the way round

0:36:210:36:24

is probably unachievable

0:36:240:36:26

because there is such a lot of drop in some areas.

0:36:260:36:29

I quite like the idea of some of the paths raising up slightly

0:36:290:36:33

and not all on one level actually.

0:36:330:36:35

I think it's such an interesting thing,

0:36:350:36:36

sometimes you think it's landscaping, it must be organic

0:36:360:36:39

and therefore, it should be wavy and curvy rather than hard.

0:36:390:36:42

I don't think that's the choice.

0:36:420:36:43

I think what you see here is actually just a platform

0:36:430:36:46

that allows you to enjoy the garden.

0:36:460:36:48

There's a real utility to this that surprisingly you might not

0:36:480:36:51

get with the more kind of landscaped, curvy profiles.

0:36:510:36:55

Let's go and take a look around this side.

0:36:550:36:57

The garden has distinct zones and this area cleverly uses gabions -

0:37:050:37:10

metal cages filled with stone.

0:37:100:37:12

I think it's really nice how these gabion walls

0:37:120:37:15

and this walled garden are actually right next to the front door.

0:37:150:37:18

Why don't we got and take a look at how the front door access works?

0:37:180:37:21

Cos I think it's really clever.

0:37:210:37:23

Andrew and Claire have front and back doors

0:37:240:37:26

on opposite sides of the house, so their landscaping needs

0:37:260:37:30

to signal to visitors which way they should go.

0:37:300:37:32

Meadowview does this in a very simple way.

0:37:320:37:35

I think this little planter is quite an interesting detail.

0:37:390:37:42

It sort of just directs you a bit towards the front door.

0:37:420:37:45

Gives a bit of structure to this

0:37:450:37:46

little bit of space in front of the house.

0:37:460:37:49

The inside reveals how brilliantly the use of one flooring material

0:37:560:38:00

seamlessly links the interior and exterior,

0:38:000:38:03

adding to the spacious feel.

0:38:030:38:05

It's just so beautiful how the view is immediately presented to you

0:38:060:38:10

when you come in, isn't it? It's really wonderful.

0:38:100:38:12

It's so light and airy and beautiful. Really lovely view.

0:38:120:38:16

And the grasses, Claire, we loved them outside,

0:38:160:38:18

-but they're almost better inside.

-Especially on a day like today.

0:38:180:38:22

-Yeah.

-For me, today's been fantastic.

0:38:220:38:24

To see how this building sits

0:38:240:38:26

in the landscaped gardens that they've created

0:38:260:38:29

just inspires me to want to go home and crack on with it, really.

0:38:290:38:34

I've really enjoyed this building today.

0:38:340:38:35

I think it really elegantly and simply relates to what is

0:38:350:38:38

a beautiful landscape and a lovely garden around it.

0:38:380:38:41

I think Andrew and Claire have also got a lot out of it.

0:38:410:38:45

If there was one concern I still have though, it's

0:38:450:38:47

when they talk about just how complex some of their ideas are.

0:38:470:38:51

Andrew's undulating paths.

0:38:510:38:53

They need to take a lesson from the clarity of purpose that

0:38:530:38:56

this building shows and make a very simple, elegant solution

0:38:560:38:59

to usable exterior space around the building.

0:38:590:39:02

I think when people think about the outsides of their building,

0:39:140:39:17

they think about the elevations, they think about

0:39:170:39:19

the composition of the windows and how it looks.

0:39:190:39:22

But actually, how a building sits in landscape is actually

0:39:220:39:25

much more important than that.

0:39:250:39:27

Andrew and Claire's house, at the moment, has been slightly

0:39:280:39:32

plonked down on this ground. And how it sits in this landscape,

0:39:320:39:35

and how then the new landscape allows you to experience both

0:39:350:39:39

the house and their own territory of their farm,

0:39:390:39:42

those things really need to be considered now.

0:39:420:39:44

Andrew and Claire know they want their living room to open

0:39:490:39:52

onto a patio, but beyond that, they have few fixed ideas.

0:39:520:39:56

They need to be clear how each space will function.

0:39:560:39:59

Talk to me a little bit about how

0:40:000:40:02

you see yourselves using these spaces.

0:40:020:40:04

I think the main bit for me is the patio, the raised deck.

0:40:040:40:08

The doors open right out. I'd like to have them wide open

0:40:080:40:12

and a space outside for the dining room table.

0:40:120:40:15

But I want it quite high so I can hide the kids' toys down the side.

0:40:150:40:19

Really, it's an extension of that space in there, isn't it?

0:40:190:40:22

But it also is the thing that connects

0:40:220:40:25

-the house with the garden, isn't it?

-Absolutely.

0:40:250:40:28

I think, for me, what I'd like to do is mock this up

0:40:280:40:31

so we can actually feel the shape and scale of it.

0:40:310:40:33

40 bales of straw will help visualise plans for the patio area.

0:40:400:40:44

Won't be going down to the gym tonight, Claire!

0:40:440:40:46

Tell me how far you thought of going in each direction, actually.

0:40:510:40:56

-We'd always thought the width of house...

-Yeah.

0:40:560:40:58

..seemed fairly straightforward, I guess.

0:40:580:41:01

-And then perhaps up to where Claire is standing there.

-Yeah.

0:41:010:41:04

But I don't know.

0:41:040:41:05

-Maybe it's not big enough.

-Actually, as you stand here...

0:41:050:41:08

-It isn't that big.

-Yeah. Maybe it should be bigger.

0:41:080:41:10

What about also going that way

0:41:100:41:13

so this is wrapped around and connected up with that?

0:41:130:41:18

If you imagine people arriving and that is your front door,

0:41:180:41:20

which it is, they'll walk up there and if you're not in there

0:41:200:41:23

and they see people round here, they'll carry on walking.

0:41:230:41:26

-And it'll be a lovely place to arrive straight into.

-Mm.

0:41:260:41:29

We never thought of it from this side.

0:41:290:41:31

We were always going to wrap it around from the other side.

0:41:310:41:33

-Right.

-I don't know why.

0:41:330:41:35

-Maybe this is a more practical side.

-That's where the sun is.

-Yeah.

0:41:350:41:39

Moving the bales around is a quick and easy way to see just how

0:41:420:41:45

much the house could be transformed by the landscaping.

0:41:450:41:49

For me, I think this thing wants to come this way.

0:41:500:41:52

I think that it definitely should come to maybe five bales along.

0:41:520:41:57

That's looking more like it.

0:41:570:41:59

Nearly doubling the size of the patio

0:42:010:42:03

and creating a continuous sweep around to the front door will

0:42:030:42:07

immediately make the house feel more embedded in its surroundings.

0:42:070:42:10

Remember this whole notion of a chalet

0:42:100:42:12

that you're trying to get away from.

0:42:120:42:14

If this was a chalet on a holiday park, it would have a little,

0:42:140:42:17

you know, terrace probably two bales' width at the front.

0:42:170:42:21

This one move, I think, transforms the building.

0:42:210:42:24

Doing this makes it into something completely different.

0:42:240:42:27

And will soften it down because, at the moment, it is a box in a field.

0:42:270:42:30

Totally.

0:42:300:42:31

Andrew and Claire hope to sell the caravan and use the funds to

0:42:360:42:39

pay for the landscaping, but inside, there's a problem with the partition

0:42:390:42:43

that will be the key feature, dividing the living area and study.

0:42:430:42:48

Claire envisages a bookcase.

0:42:480:42:50

Here is going to be the bookcase.

0:42:500:42:52

So you'll be able to see through it.

0:42:520:42:54

It'll be floor to ceiling with books, ornaments.

0:42:540:42:58

With money tight, bespoke joinery is out of the question,

0:42:580:43:02

and Claire's stumped for alternatives.

0:43:020:43:04

We don't want to put something up for the sake of putting it up,

0:43:040:43:07

we want to really think about it and get it right.

0:43:070:43:10

And I think it's going to be the biggest focus.

0:43:100:43:13

Piers has brought Andrew and Claire to a plumbers' merchant

0:43:170:43:20

to look for cost-effective materials to create their own

0:43:200:43:23

architectural solution.

0:43:230:43:25

Yes. They're not the most glamorous of locations, but these places

0:43:260:43:30

have interesting things inside them.

0:43:300:43:32

So this is a place that distributes

0:43:350:43:37

all sorts of different pipes and tubes, and really I want to try

0:43:370:43:41

-and find a material we can use to make your shelves out of.

-OK.

0:43:410:43:44

Maybe not just a material - a system of building.

0:43:440:43:47

Something that's quite quick and quite improvised.

0:43:470:43:50

And actually, I hope quite cost effective.

0:43:500:43:53

-Like scaffolding.

-Yeah. But probably better.

-Right.

0:43:530:43:56

-Let's go and see.

-I'm liking.

0:43:560:43:58

This is galvanised. This stuff is all useful.

0:44:040:44:07

This is the sort of thing that I want to show you.

0:44:070:44:10

The principle of this is that you buy the tubing in three or

0:44:100:44:13

six metres, either in galvanised or powder coated.

0:44:130:44:18

Then you buy any number of different fittings.

0:44:180:44:21

That is how you join two tubes together.

0:44:210:44:25

90 degree bend. Yep.

0:44:250:44:26

-That would be a floor fitting.

-Right.

-So, screw that to the floor.

0:44:260:44:30

Obviously, you then wind it up with an Allen key,

0:44:300:44:34

to secure it to the clamp.

0:44:340:44:35

-It just gives us hundreds of different options.

-It does.

0:44:350:44:39

-The fact that we've got a sloping ceiling.

-Absolutely.

0:44:390:44:42

It just makes life a whole lot easier.

0:44:420:44:44

If you had two pieces,

0:44:440:44:46

and it obviously doesn't have to necessarily be this thickness,

0:44:460:44:49

and then the scaffold board or a board straight on top of that.

0:44:490:44:52

-Absolutely, yeah.

-Yeah.

-And you can make up boxes if you want to.

0:44:520:44:55

-Pull things in and out.

-I really like it.

-Let's get a few.

0:44:550:44:59

-And go and have a play.

-Wiggly ones.

-What's that then?

-Wiggly one.

-Yeah.

0:44:590:45:04

-You're in your element.

-I am. I'm having a great time.

0:45:050:45:08

-It's fairly straightforward, basic and simple.

-It is. Yeah.

0:45:080:45:11

These fittings really are cost-effective.

0:45:110:45:14

From a trade outlet, the fittings are about four quid each.

0:45:140:45:18

And the pipe, ungalvanised, is about four pounds a linear metre.

0:45:180:45:22

-OK.

-I think it's more, about 50% more if you have it powder coated.

0:45:220:45:27

The galvanised option is cheaper. It's probably 300 quid a fitting.

0:45:270:45:30

Or something, off the top of my head.

0:45:300:45:33

If we had something bespokely made, it would cost thousands.

0:45:330:45:36

Thousands, yeah, absolutely.

0:45:360:45:37

But think of the fun you'll have with this.

0:45:370:45:40

I think it's a boys' toys number. I think I'll go out shopping that day.

0:45:400:45:44

We are going to need a whole raft of different pieces.

0:45:450:45:48

We've really struggled with how we can construct this bookshelf, but

0:45:480:45:52

today I feel that we've now got the solutions to the problem, really.

0:45:520:45:57

Yeah, we need those.

0:45:570:45:58

I think what's great about this system is that it forces them

0:45:580:46:01

to design. You know, you can

0:46:010:46:03

really have fun and let that sense of exploration take over.

0:46:030:46:07

Andrew and Claire are now battling to finish the job that will

0:46:160:46:19

make or break the success of their house build.

0:46:190:46:23

They need to make it sit in its landscape,

0:46:230:46:25

so there are 140 tonnes of soil to be moved to level the site.

0:46:250:46:31

Andrew's using free soil donated by a neighbour, saving at least £1,400.

0:46:310:46:37

The sale of the caravan has helped pay for a far more expansive

0:46:380:46:42

area of patio and path than originally planned.

0:46:420:46:46

Upgrading to sandstone slabs throughout should unify the look.

0:46:470:46:51

We've actually faced the step with larch

0:46:510:46:56

so it brings a little bit of the house onto the patio, if you like.

0:46:560:46:59

Using timber left over from the cladding

0:47:000:47:03

also helps stretch the budget a bit further.

0:47:030:47:06

Piers has had a significant input into some areas of the house.

0:47:060:47:11

I only wish he could come and help!

0:47:110:47:13

Brilliant. And that one.

0:47:170:47:19

Inside, the shelves dividing the study

0:47:200:47:23

and living area are critical to the end result.

0:47:230:47:26

It seems straightforward and fairly easy.

0:47:260:47:29

However, it will be very much trial and error today.

0:47:290:47:32

We'll just see how it goes, really.

0:47:320:47:35

OK, now.

0:47:350:47:36

Push it in a bit more.

0:47:370:47:39

OK, that's it.

0:47:390:47:40

A statement piece, if it looks good, is amazing.

0:47:400:47:43

A statement piece, if it looks rubbish,

0:47:430:47:45

is going to make the whole thing look unfinished.

0:47:450:47:50

Andrew and Claire have been incredibly willing to adopt

0:47:500:47:53

bold design ideas, but have they managed to bring them

0:47:530:47:56

together to transform what was going to be a basic chalet

0:47:560:48:00

into a unique, contemporary family home?

0:48:000:48:03

Andrew and Claire began this process trying to build almost

0:48:080:48:11

the impossible - a modern three-bed farmhouse for just £70,000.

0:48:110:48:16

They've spent the last year living in a tiny caravan with their entire

0:48:160:48:20

family, sometimes bank-rolling the build on credit cards.

0:48:200:48:23

At the end, though, have they been able to meet the toughest challenge

0:48:230:48:27

of all - to build a home that feels rooted in its site here on the farm?

0:48:270:48:30

Ten months after they started building,

0:48:320:48:35

Piers and I are back to see how successful they've been.

0:48:350:48:38

-Hi there.

-Nice to see you both.

-Hi, Kieran.

-It's so nice to see you.

0:49:010:49:05

-Amazing.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-It's done.

0:49:050:49:08

It looks incredibly finished. I must congratulate you.

0:49:080:49:11

And it does feel like it sort of belongs here somehow.

0:49:110:49:15

-That was one of the big challenges for you.

-It was.

0:49:150:49:17

It was always how it would fit in on top of a hill in the middle

0:49:170:49:21

of a field, really.

0:49:210:49:22

Andrew's decision to cut timber on site and take control

0:49:250:49:28

of his own building has had a big impact on the look of the house.

0:49:280:49:32

It's great to see the timber up and looking really chunky.

0:49:340:49:37

I'm sure it's going to get even better in the colour over time.

0:49:370:49:40

But how do you feel about it? Does it have that

0:49:400:49:42

sense of permanence that you were looking for?

0:49:420:49:44

I really like it.

0:49:440:49:45

We were struggling to know exactly how to clad it.

0:49:450:49:48

And obviously Piers keep up with this idea of sawing our own timber.

0:49:480:49:51

And that whole experience has been fantastic.

0:49:510:49:54

I absolutely love it.

0:49:550:49:56

The fact that it's even changing colour already.

0:49:560:49:59

One of the bits of a building I think is most important

0:50:010:50:05

is how the roof meets the wall and I remember coming here

0:50:050:50:08

and suggesting that you lose this big boxy fascia.

0:50:080:50:12

We decided not to have the soffit.

0:50:120:50:14

There was a fair old discussion about it, I think.

0:50:140:50:16

There was a big discussion.

0:50:160:50:18

I tried to persuade you to cut it off altogether, I think,

0:50:180:50:21

and have this very clipped singular building.

0:50:210:50:23

-We met halfway, Piers.

-With a concealed gutter. Yes.

0:50:230:50:26

THEY LAUGH

0:50:260:50:29

You've chosen a metal chunky gutter

0:50:310:50:34

and then just using a very straightforward, wriggly

0:50:340:50:37

tin on the roof instead of the fake tiles you were going to use,

0:50:370:50:41

y'know those things speak of farms, they speak of permanence.

0:50:410:50:44

Well, we absolutely love it.

0:50:440:50:46

And the fact that it's going to get better with age...

0:50:460:50:49

-Does it feel like a temporary building inside?

-BOTH: No.

0:50:490:50:52

-Not at all.

-I hope not. Have a look.

-Shall we go and see?

-Yeah, come on.

0:50:520:50:55

Wow, this is fantastic.

0:51:070:51:08

What a huge space!

0:51:090:51:11

It's amazing. And coming right into this space is great, isn't it?

0:51:110:51:14

We absolutely love it, that feeling of openness.

0:51:150:51:18

By reviewing the building's structure

0:51:200:51:23

and how they want to live, they've created a huge open-plan area.

0:51:230:51:26

And I love the fact that you haven't got that central column.

0:51:270:51:30

That was always going to be a central...

0:51:300:51:32

The central column would have played havoc with this space.

0:51:320:51:36

And it's great how simple it is.

0:51:360:51:38

I mean, it has a south-facing terrace with good windows.

0:51:380:51:42

The kitchen is very simple and acts as a place to linger.

0:51:420:51:45

Which is what you're doing now.

0:51:450:51:46

First thing people do is come in and lean on here.

0:51:460:51:49

And actually, a lovely big space to arrive into.

0:51:490:51:51

Everything in here feels solid, robust and well made.

0:51:510:51:54

Looking around,

0:51:540:51:56

I can also see that these window reveals are non-standard.

0:51:560:51:59

And, you know, just that kind of two-inch thick bit of timber

0:51:590:52:03

there instead of a mean, bull-nosed bit of MDF feels great.

0:52:030:52:07

I really like the window reveals.

0:52:070:52:09

It's sort of brings a little bit of wood inside.

0:52:090:52:11

Originally, I don't know if you remember,

0:52:110:52:14

we were going to plasterboard this. Just following what was normal.

0:52:140:52:17

Building houses is often just a process of doing what

0:52:170:52:19

people normally do. And to step outside that is pretty hard

0:52:190:52:22

because you've got to unpick everything.

0:52:220:52:24

The partition has defined two spaces

0:52:280:52:30

and become a stunning piece of furniture.

0:52:300:52:33

This is one of my favourite bits in this room.

0:52:350:52:37

In the whole kind of living area.

0:52:370:52:40

It has worked so beautifully. I really love it.

0:52:400:52:42

I'm really pleased that we've got the separate study

0:52:420:52:45

but it is one big area.

0:52:450:52:47

Tell me how much it actually cost to do this?

0:52:470:52:50

Um, scaffold boards are about five pounds reclaimed.

0:52:500:52:54

£300 for the whole lot, probably.

0:52:540:52:57

And it's much cheaper than it would be to build a tedious white wall.

0:52:570:53:01

What it does is reduce the effective length of this corridor.

0:53:010:53:05

The corridor has also been shortened by moving the master bedroom door.

0:53:060:53:11

For Claire, getting out of the caravan has been a real milestone.

0:53:110:53:15

It was a huge relief to be able to get in and out of bed

0:53:150:53:19

without bashing a damp wall.

0:53:190:53:22

-And this is the bedroom.

-Welcome to my boudoir!

0:53:220:53:25

That is fantastic!

0:53:250:53:26

The focus in the master bedroom is a bespoke wardrobe.

0:53:280:53:32

Claire designed it using architectural salvage wood panels

0:53:320:53:35

that cost just £250.

0:53:350:53:37

What does it mean to you, and the family,

0:53:390:53:41

to have finished your first home together?

0:53:410:53:43

It's been absolutely amazing.

0:53:430:53:45

The fact that we're in our first home together,

0:53:450:53:47

but it's one that we've all created, I think that means the most to me.

0:53:470:53:51

I think it's made us even closer.

0:53:520:53:54

After life cooped up in the caravan,

0:53:570:54:00

Edward now has plenty of space for his toys

0:54:000:54:02

and Tallulah has her own sanctuary.

0:54:020:54:05

The cramped shower has been exchanged for a practical

0:54:070:54:10

and inviting family bathroom.

0:54:100:54:12

Outside, the house that once appeared plonked down on the

0:54:140:54:18

site is transformed by a near doubling of the size of the patio.

0:54:180:54:22

-So, the patio.

-Amazing.

0:54:220:54:24

This really kind of flows out into the garden, doesn't it?

0:54:260:54:29

It does. It's quite nice, yeah.

0:54:290:54:31

Did it ever feel really indulgent doing this when money was so tight?

0:54:350:54:39

No!

0:54:390:54:41

Because for me it was more about how it sat in its environment.

0:54:410:54:45

It's amazing for me how this house

0:54:480:54:51

and this patio feels completely embedded in this landscape.

0:54:510:54:55

Yeah. It was always our biggest challenge.

0:54:550:54:57

The reality is, there have been many challenges.

0:55:010:55:04

And it was never going to be easy to deliver

0:55:040:55:06

a quality home on their tight budget.

0:55:060:55:08

So how have they done?

0:55:080:55:10

Tell me how much money you had for this project

0:55:100:55:13

and how much you ended up spending.

0:55:130:55:15

Originally we thought it was going to be £70,000.

0:55:150:55:17

That's probably not really very realistic.

0:55:170:55:19

We came in at about £89,000 for the house

0:55:190:55:23

and then we spent a further £8,000 on landscaping.

0:55:230:55:30

I must say, £89,000 for what you've got here is astonishing.

0:55:300:55:34

It works out at £700 per square metre.

0:55:340:55:37

£700 per square metre is extremely cheap.

0:55:370:55:40

Especially for an environment of this quality.

0:55:400:55:43

Going along, having no money, I think has actually made this

0:55:430:55:47

building better because we've had to consider every last little screw,

0:55:470:55:52

handle, wall panel, everything has been really carefully considered,

0:55:520:55:56

and researched and researched.

0:55:560:55:58

But it is just lovely that we have got our own eight acres of paradise.

0:55:580:56:04

To have built your own house on your own farm,

0:56:040:56:08

there's something really beautiful about that,

0:56:080:56:11

and I love every minute of it.

0:56:110:56:13

I think what I like about the building is it feels very natural,

0:56:190:56:22

very inevitable. It doesn't really try too hard.

0:56:220:56:25

It's made out of really good quality materials

0:56:260:56:29

that will age really well. It's full of light, full of space.

0:56:290:56:32

I think they've achieved a great deal.

0:56:320:56:34

Andrew and Claire are thrilled with their new home,

0:56:380:56:40

and at last it's ready to receive the friends

0:56:400:56:42

and family who supported them throughout.

0:56:420:56:45

What will they make of it?

0:56:450:56:46

The ideas that she's come up with have been amazing.

0:56:460:56:49

-So, yeah, really good.

-I wouldn't be that creative if it was left to me.

0:56:490:56:53

-That...fencing?

-Shelving.

-Shelving. We love that.

0:56:530:56:56

We think that's really, really good.

0:56:560:56:58

We are so proud of what we've achieved

0:57:000:57:02

and the fact that we are in.

0:57:020:57:04

This still doesn't feel 100% real, even though we live here.

0:57:040:57:08

It has been an amazing process, hasn't it?

0:57:080:57:11

I couldn't have done it without you. HE LAUGHS

0:57:110:57:13

Andrew and Claire have just made a brilliant job of this build.

0:57:180:57:21

I'm so happy for them and so proud of them, really,

0:57:210:57:23

that they've made such a high-quality result out of a

0:57:230:57:26

process that, let's face it, could have stopped at certain points.

0:57:260:57:29

They were really on the rocks, they were running out of money

0:57:290:57:32

and this could have ground to a halt and perhaps never started again.

0:57:320:57:36

They started out, really, with quite low aspirations.

0:57:360:57:39

No more than a glorified Portakabin was supposed to come

0:57:390:57:42

out of this process.

0:57:420:57:43

But by looking at design and taking buildings seriously,

0:57:430:57:46

they have ended up with a place that's perfect for them and one

0:57:460:57:50

that's emerged naturally from the way they live and what they like.

0:57:500:57:53

Next time...

0:58:000:58:02

Jo and Andy are trying to create an energy efficient eco-home.

0:58:020:58:06

It's hard when you are not designers. Will that work? Will it not work?

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There are things here that you can learn from.

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It's a waste of space.

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But will their no-frills approach mean they end up living in a bunker?

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It could be really harshly cold if you're not careful.

0:58:200:58:23

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