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If you have ever built your own home
then you will know you have to
marshal

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some really powerful human
energies to do it.

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Your dreams, your aspirations,

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your concerns over whether or not
you can afford the whole thing,

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and your ambitions aren't
just restricted

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to what you feel and think
but to also those around you,

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to your loved ones, your family

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because this is
a journey you go on together

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to create something in which you
will all

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hopefully thrive and flourish.

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And so it is crucial you find
the right site,

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that you find the right place

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into which you can
pour all your hopes.

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Is this it? Yeah, that's it.

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You're joking. Really?!

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Near Hackney Downs in
north-east London,

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lives this seemingly
archetypal family,

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Graeme and Mel along
with their girls Isla and Indi.

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Yet this family has suffered more
than its fair share of tragedy.

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Both girls have lost a parent,

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so we are creating a brand-new
family from two families.

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It's an ongoing process that Graeme
and I are going through

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and the girls.

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It's the hardest thing
I've ever done

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and it is totally unique
to witness and to be a part of.

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They are two families in one house.

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Graeme's daughter, Isla, who's 15,

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lost her mum within weeks

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of Mel's 13-year-old daughter,
Indi, losing her dad.

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We try to address
the past of course.

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You can't just bury it
and not address it.

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Like all the different traditions in
each family,

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we're trying to keep them alive.

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Mel's a graphic designer
from Germany

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who has lived in
London since 1996.

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She met Graeme, an architect,
at a wedding a few years ago.

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I was standing there asking my
friend who this

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woman was in the red dress.

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I made the move

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so I guess, you know, we wouldn't be
here without that.

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Yeah, love at first sight.

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Now exciting times beckon
for this blended family.

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Not only are Graeme and Mel tying
the knot in July 2022,

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Graeme's designed
an entirely new home for them all.

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I mean,
I guess the house is symbolic.

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It represents an opportunity
for us to make

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a statement about who we are as
a family,

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that we love each other,

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that we're not going anywhere

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and I'm doing this to create
a safe place

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to land as a family

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and to build a future.

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A new home is just perfect,

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neutral ground for everyone
to buy into.

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For Isla and Indi,

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the draw of a new home is
a tad more pragmatic.

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They currently share a small bedroom
in the family's rental.

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Having our own rooms means that we
now have privacy and it's great.

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At the moment we have
a curtain about this wide,

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it's a little bit see-through

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so we'll have a wall now
which is great.

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So where are the family pinning
their hopes for the future?

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On this very tiny twin-garage plot.

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Shall we see what's inside?

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Oh, my God.

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With an area of just six by
seven metres,

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the garages are less than half

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the footprint of
the average UK home.

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It's hugely exciting,

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um, nerve-racking.

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It's something that,

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you know,
we've put all our savings into.

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It is a total adventure.

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I can't envisage it totally in
my head.

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I know Graeme can
and I trust him that he can do it.

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Well, I can't wait

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to find out how Graeme can magic
space from almost nowhere

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and build a vibrant family home
from this.

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Hello. Hello.

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How are you? Good.

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So what have you bought?
Two garages?

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Yeah, two garages.
It doesn't look much.

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How big is the land altogether?

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The land is about 66 square metres.

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How much was two garages?

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It was 275,000.

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Whiz, yeah.

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A few years ago you could buy a
house for that. Yeah, exactly.

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So tell me what you're
going to build.

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It's going to be
a sculptural form really.

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We wanted it to look amazing from
all sides.

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And we're going to
build a red house,

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which is crazy.

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It's quite a statement, I guess.

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This is a very polite London street.

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There's greenery and even white
bunting

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and you're building a red house?

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Yeah. Yeah.

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In terms of accommodation what are
you going to get?

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An easy description is it's
an upside-down house.

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For example, you have living space
on the top floor where all

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the light is and the connection
to view,

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so the bedrooms are in the basement.

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So it's kind of upside down.

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Um, but we're a modern family if
you like

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and it's a very modern house,
a shamelessly modern house.

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And it works really hard to give us

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the kind of spaces that we will need
as a family of four.

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So why do this now?

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We met five years ago,

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um, through fairly tragic
circumstances,

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um, and from that base

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we have kind of cemented
our relationship

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and it's been a kind of objective
of ours

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to try to make a physical
manifestation of that,

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of that love, um, together.

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It will be a building for
the future

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and shows our commitment
to invest into this family,

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that new patchwork family.

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Graeme's devised an ingenious design

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to maximise every inch
of this garage plot,

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hemmed in on all four sides by
a neighbouring garage,

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neighbours' gardens,
a private road and a pavement.

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The first step will be
to demolish the garages.

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Then the entire plot,
right up to the four boundaries

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will be excavated down four metres
in stages,

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strengthened as they go

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with steel reinforced
concrete walls,

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half a metre thick,

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to magic 63 square metres
of underground space.

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Above, they'll add a two-storey,

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stick-built timber
and steel frame,

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with two roofs.

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The ground floor will wear
a defensive skin of red bricks.

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All the other walls and roof will be
clad in red composite panels,

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making an arresting statement

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on this old-fashioned
Victorian street.

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Large, carefully sited windows

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will bring light right in

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and light wells will ensure
the basement below is bright.

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Inside, they'll find a generous
hallway off which will be

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Graeme and Mel's bedroom and
bathroom.

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She's designing some geometric
floor tiles

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to be handmade specially
for this entire floor.

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A one-off steel staircase
will lead down to

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the basement where
the all-important bedrooms

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for both girls will be,

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alongside a utility room.

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Up on the first floor,

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under a spacious double
vaulted ceiling,

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Graeme's laid out
a sitting room that'll lead to

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a larger kitchen and dining room.

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The big windows carefully organise
green views

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in three different directions.

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There's no room for a garden

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but Graeme has cleverly integrated
a private,

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outdoor terrace to
the rear instead.

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His design squeezes
the absolute max

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from a tiny footprint,

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proper grown-up architecture
on a pint-sized plot,

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which will likely add to
the complexity and budget.

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How much is it going to cost
to build?

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The project cost should be
roundabout four, 450.

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We're hopeful that it's not going to
be that much over 700

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for the overall build plus land.

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So your savings have bought
the site basically

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and have you got a mortgage
for this?

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Yeah, the mortgage is for 450,000.

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OK, so that'll cover the project.

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Any contingency?

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There is contingency in that.
About 30,000 of contingency.

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OK. So, sounds to me like you've got
to be really, really,

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really focused and really tight on
the spend, haven't you?

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We have to because we don't have,
you know,

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wealthy family and friends
or backgrounds,

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um, and we have to bring this in
on target.

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Providing that there aren't
any delays

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and when the delays happen that's
when the costs rise.

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Yes. You're not building it
yourselves, as it were?

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No, we have a main contractor
to carry

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the heavy loads of building
the basement.

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Yes. That's the most expensive part
of the build... Yeah. ..going into
the ground,

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and they're managing that part of
the job.

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How long is it going to take?

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We hope 12 months.

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And then moving in
in the summer next year.

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That's the plan, yeah.

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I do totally trust him.

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I have to. We all do.

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He'll manage.

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Well, the pressure's
well and truly on.

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450 grand is not a lot for a project
this ambitious in London,

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with a stonking great basement dig.

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The one word that springs to mind
about this project is excitement.

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And I say that because this tiny
house is going to represent

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so many big ideas condensed into one
small space.

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So many poignant histories

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of this family who have come
together

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in the middle of London on this
miniature plot.

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I mean, in order to create this
perfectly-formed- beautiful house

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they're going to have to set off
a sort of

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tiny, controlled explosion.

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Come the autumn,

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the main contractor sets about
demolishing the garages by hand.

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We want to see the site flat,

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and everything gone

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so we can finally see where we're
building our future home.

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Seeing it gone is
going to give us a really,

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a much better understanding
of what kind of size

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of house we're actually
going to get.

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Within a matter of hours
the garages are down.

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And within weeks there's yet more
good news.

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Whoa, its big.

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Yeah, it gives it
so much more space, doesn't it?

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We have a garden.

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Thanks to having bought a
neighbouring garage for £15,000

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Graeme and Mel have a little bit
more space to play with.

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How much more do we have now?

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About 30 square metres more for
the garden.

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It's such a huge impact.

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Just even light coming into this
side of the house.

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We were literally going to look
against a wall.

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So, lucky.

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Yeah, I know.

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All in all the land plus associated
design changes

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will cost 35 grand more,

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Graeme and Mel's entire contingency
and some,

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so nothing can go wrong now.

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I'm worried about it.

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Yeah.

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But it soon emerges there's
a problem.

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The main contractor has pulled the
plug on building the basement

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for the 150 grand Graeme
and Mel budgeted.

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We've had a main contractor who
doesn't want to do
the basement now

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because of fluctuating
costs globally

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and we've got a finite amount
of money that we need to spend

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and that's what it
needs to cost.

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The delay is nerve-racking
for sure.

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It's just worrying

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because we are already paying
the mortgage.

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The nervousness in the house is
increasing the tension.

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Come spring they have their new
contractor for the basement.

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Shall we get the breaker on these
bits of concrete first?

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Only now it's costing 170,000,

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20 grand more than budgeted,

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which will have to be funded by
borrowing even more from the bank.

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And to avoid costs
spiralling further,

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Graeme and Mel are going to have
to project manage

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the build instead of using
a main contractor.

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Now we're on site

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and we've got a team that we're
really pleased with.

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00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,600
They've got a 12-week programme

253
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,240
and it's going to fly by, which is
really super exciting.

254
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,760
The important thing is we don't find
anything grisly under there...
Yeah.

255
00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:01,720
..like pipework.

256
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,920
But it seems they're cracking
through it.

257
00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,840
Graeme really shouldn't have
said that.

258
00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:14,440
Hmm.

259
00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:17,720
Well, that's not on the drawings.

260
00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:19,760
Drain which isn't supposed to be
there.

261
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,680
It's coming from that property.

262
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:25,080
If this is a live sewage pipe,

263
00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,000
it could take months of red tape
and delays to move it.

264
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:30,520
Oh, shit.

265
00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:44,040
In Hackney,

266
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,080
the basement excavation has
stopped

267
00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,840
thanks to that unexpected soil pipe
that's been unearthed.

268
00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:52,320
What we do,

269
00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,160
we cut just a little bit here.

270
00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,040
The mighty angle grinder

271
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,240
will determine whether it's
still in use.

272
00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:04,880
Oh, it's full of concrete.

273
00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,360
Look at that.

274
00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:07,960
Mercifully, it's not

275
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:09,640
so it's back to work.

276
00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:16,360
Two weeks into the 12-week
basement dig,

277
00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:18,040
right on schedule,

278
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,080
sheets of plywood bulwark are
installed in anticipation

279
00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,400
of the first concrete pour.

280
00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,400
Hey, Kevin, how are you?

281
00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,720
Very good, how are you?
Yeah, yeah, very well, thank you.

282
00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,400
So it's a big square hole with
a big square lump in it.

283
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,000
Yes, it is.

284
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,160
With the intention, presumably to
excavate this eventually.

285
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:37,320
Yeah.

286
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:38,640
Nine months ago, when we met,

287
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:40,400
you were expecting
to spend how much?

288
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,720
Between 400 and 450.

289
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,680
OK, and in your darkest moments now?

290
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,440
If we can get it in under 500,

291
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,640
we would probably be succeeding.

292
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:52,280
It's a bit of a jump.

293
00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,200
Yeah, and if it were north of that?

294
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,560
We'd have to really think about how
to complete the project.

295
00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,080
So it doesn't leave us much
variability

296
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,720
in the second phase of
the project, if any.

297
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:05,200
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

298
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,480
Focuses the mind. Mm.

299
00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,480
But come the first week in July,

300
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,840
by which time all the basement
should have been formed,

301
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,600
only about half has been excavated.

302
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,400
My expectations were
that we would be

303
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:24,960
further along than what we are.

304
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:26,400
I'm somewhat disappointed.

305
00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,720
Supply chain issues,

306
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:31,520
most of all conditions of the site.

307
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,640
We've used up every piece
of space we have up there.

308
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:36,640
We don't have a facility for a skip.

309
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,440
We have muck away from
this excavation.

310
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,480
This is a major challenge for us

311
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,680
because we just can't get rid
of it quick enough.

312
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,560
Yes, so, there's just no space
whatsoever.

313
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,160
Yeah, I do sympathise with the guys

314
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,840
because it's not
a nice environment to work in.

315
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,040
And they're going to cost us.

316
00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,600
They're eight months into this
12-month project

317
00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,000
and the basement should be done
by now.

318
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:03,800
Instead, Graeme and Mel

319
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,640
face the stresses of delay while
they also gear up for a huge

320
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,240
and usually joyful life event.

321
00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,040
The flowers I'll get from
the local people.

322
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:15,120
Keep it simple.

323
00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,560
Their wedding in France in
a few weeks' time.

324
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,720
We've got the celebrant sorted.

325
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:22,440
She's finished.

326
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,360
We have to write our vows.
Our vows and everything.

327
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,800
They're going to be doing ground
floor slab right when we're away.

328
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,760
The basement box will be done.

329
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,000
And on reflection that's not
great planning.

330
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,600
But we put our wedding off
for two years

331
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:42,040
because of Covid and we just
thought, "Let's just do it,"

332
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,480
and that creates its own heightened
stress environment in the house.

333
00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,960
It's just a bit mad

334
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,400
and we're kind of regretting it
a little bit.

335
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:53,760
The worry of course is that

336
00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,960
the fun time will be infringed by
the build worries

337
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,240
and the stresses that we just simply
can't stop.

338
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,000
But within days,

339
00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,760
the strains and stresses
of home feel far away.

340
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,600
The unification of this patchwork
family

341
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,680
celebrated through Graeme
and Mel's union.

342
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,160
When they get back, they discover

343
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,840
the basement is still nowhere
near complete,

344
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,200
It's now five months since
excavations began.

345
00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:39,920
The repercussions for us are huge.

346
00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:41,800
We're paying rent on our property.

347
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,880
We're also paying the mortgage on

348
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,560
the amount we've drawn down
to pay for the build.

349
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,040
The interest rates on that are
going up,

350
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:50,360
it's not a fixed rate,

351
00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,000
and that's causing us a
lot of worry.

352
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,400
We are just really quite stunned

353
00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:03,880
about the lack of progress, totally.

354
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,040
It's just so grinding us down.

355
00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,920
I'm worried about Graeme.

356
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,840
I'm worried about his wellbeing.

357
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,040
He's working way too hard.

358
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,480
We are definitely running
out of steam.

359
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,000
And this whole thing could just...

360
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:19,440
..collapse really.

361
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,400
Mel's nervousness
is understandable.

362
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,120
Cautionary tales
of domestic digging are common.

363
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:29,560
Yet few are more dramatic

364
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,160
than the story of this Hackney home,

365
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,360
a stone's throw from Graeme
and Mel's.

366
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,600
Over a 40-year span,
it's then owner,

367
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,080
William Lyttle, an engineer,

368
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:43,600
inexplicably dug a warren

369
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,600
of enormous tunnels
underneath it.

370
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,600
He became known simply as
the Mole Man.

371
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,800
By the early 2000s,
it was at risk of collapse,

372
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,920
so Hackney Council pumped industrial
quantities of aerated concrete

373
00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,200
into the tunnels,
to try and keep the house standing.

374
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,000
These days, however,

375
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,200
it is blessed with
a remarkable new life

376
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,560
thanks to architects Adjaye
Associates and its current owner,

377
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,360
Sue Webster, the renowned artist.

378
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,920
Here's the house.
Here's the living room.

379
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:14,880
It's very beautiful.

380
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,120
It was in a state
of probate when I found it. Right.

381
00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:19,920
Nobody knew how to take it on.

382
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,080
My builders said it was cheaper
to demolish it and build it again.

383
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,040
And I was like,
"No, you're missing the point."

384
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,200
Sue's inspired approach was
to preserve

385
00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,600
and celebrate the Mole Man's
extraordinary story.

386
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,680
But by far the most ambitious
challenge was turning

387
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,840
the warren of the Mole Man's
tunnels into a basement

388
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:41,720
to house Sue's studio.

389
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:46,880
We had to remove 2,000 tonnes
of aerated concrete,

390
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,600
which took up between
250 and 300 skip loads.

391
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,080
So, if you think about how much
money one of them giant skips is

392
00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:55,840
and we were just replacing one
every day.

393
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,720
We went through about,
yeah, 300 skips.

394
00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,880
Constructing the basement alone
took around a year.

395
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,440
But, by golly, was it worth it.

396
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,200
Ooh!

397
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,080
Yeah, wow!

398
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,120
At the time, how often did you find
yourself staring into the hole

399
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,520
in the ground thinking how you were
going to. That pit of despair.

400
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:24,720
I was lucky in the sense that I
didn't really worry about money.

401
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:26,200
I just didn't.

402
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,240
And it's the thing of also possibly
being born without fear

403
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:31,840
because I just go, "Yeah,

404
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,520
just throw yourself towards danger
and see what happens."

405
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,440
Yeah, weigh up the odds and then do
it anyway. That's living.

406
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,720
Going down with a building

407
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,600
offers such exciting
opportunities, doesn't it?

408
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:48,080
You know, the potential to rewrite
the language,

409
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:50,280
to mix architecture and archaeology,

410
00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,760
to create a brand-new,
private space.

411
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,160
It's exactly what Mel
and Graeme want to do.

412
00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:01,880
You just need deep pockets
to dig a deep hole.

413
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:03,800
You need cojones,

414
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,120
you need to be born without fear.

415
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:14,320
I'm not sure Graeme
and Mel feel fearless right now.

416
00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:18,000
The concrete shell of the basement
may finally be complete.

417
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:20,280
Let's have a look.

418
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,720
But what are Isla and Indi going to
make of their basement bedrooms?

419
00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,600
Agh.
Do you feel it's really deep? Yeah.

420
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:30,240
Yeah. It is very deep.

421
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,280
It looks like
a hole in the ground basically.

422
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,640
Yeah, it's a hole in
the ground where we will be living

423
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:37,280
and that's about it.

424
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,720
GRAEME: Who wants to go first?
Come down into the hole.

425
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,400
It's taking a while.

426
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,720
About four or five months to dig a
hole in the ground.

427
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,960
We will never see daylight again.

428
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,320
Come on, guys.

429
00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:52,320
So, it looks bigger or smaller when
you're down here?

430
00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:54,040
It looks smaller when you're
down here.

431
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,320
Making daylight work really well
down here is going to be the
biggest challenge.

432
00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:01,600
We're thinking of having
windows above

433
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:03,600
to get the daylight into your rooms.

434
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,360
So, you can look down from above.

435
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,800
What, so, like, windows out on
the street?

436
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:10,840
No, no, no, no.

437
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:12,720
We've waited so long for this.

438
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,440
I mean we always joked about how,
like, once we move in,

439
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,000
I'll be moving out.

440
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,080
But, like, I don't think it's
a joke any more.

441
00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,600
It's been pushed back so many times
that we have, like, literally no
idea when it will be finished,

442
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,160
but, yeah.

443
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:26,960
I think we're finished.

444
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,080
Three weeks later,

445
00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:34,960
the pouring of the ground floor slab
marks the end

446
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,640
to the groundworks phase.

447
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,280
Today's pretty momentous.

448
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,360
We started work on the basement

449
00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:45,320
on 21st March this year.

450
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:49,160
It's now 24th November.

451
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,600
That's a huge amount of time

452
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,320
to be messing around in the ground.

453
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:54,680
But, yeah, I'm so,

454
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,720
so happy that this stage
has reached.

455
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,240
And now we know its
going to all happen really fast.

456
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,360
As indeed it does.

457
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,200
At the start of December,

458
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,960
the team who'll assemble
the timber frame arrive on site.

459
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,880
The timber, along with a steel
structure that'll help brace

460
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,080
the house's open-plan layout,

461
00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,200
will cost £30,000.

462
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,400
And after just two days,

463
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,040
the entire ground floor timber
structure's installed,

464
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,760
followed shortly after

465
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,560
by the six steels supporting
the first floor.

466
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,320
Where I really hope to be
by Christmas

467
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:33,440
is full timber frame in,

468
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,840
membrane on the outside,
so it's a watertight shell.

469
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,400
But come the New Year,

470
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:44,240
work grinds to a halt.

471
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,640
There's a problem with the welding
on the installed steel beams.

472
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:55,280
The absolute worst-case scenario is
that one or two of the steels

473
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,160
need to be replaced
which, given where we are

474
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,720
and where everything's loaded up to,

475
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:02,600
is difficult.

476
00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:11,240
But it turns out more than two
need to be removed

477
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,280
and replaced, by a team who weren't
responsible for the problem.

478
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,000
We are changing this.

479
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,800
One, two, three, four.

480
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,960
I mean, as you can see,

481
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,680
the job is quite hard and difficult.

482
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,200
Big job.

483
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,240
But it's hard for us to try to lift
these heavy steels, as you can see.

484
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,800
This project should have been
finished two months ago.

485
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,760
This really is the last thing
Graeme and Mel need.

486
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,320
You can get so stressed about delay.

487
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,240
And you can get so stressed about
the impact, you know.

488
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,280
We've got a scaffolder we're paying
by the week,

489
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,680
we've got a site facilities hut
we're paying by the week,

490
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,640
we've got a rental property
we're paying by the month.

491
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,040
Everything that pushes
the end date back costs us money.

492
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,400
And that's,
if you think about that every day,

493
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,680
you just would never do this kind
of thing.

494
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,000
I do not envy Graeme
and Mel right now.

495
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,400
In Hackney,

496
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,800
they've replaced
the ground-floor steel beams

497
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,120
and the timber installers can
crack on

498
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,600
and get the two-storey structure
and the roof

499
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:28,480
of Graeme and Mel's home built,

500
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:30,880
two months after they started.

501
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,280
In the grand scheme of things,
we planned seven days.

502
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,600
I was hoping we'd be finished
a long time ago.

503
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:39,080
So, I just want to get it done.

504
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:40,680
We're near the end now.

505
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:45,840
Positivity at last,

506
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,920
even if they are three months
over schedule.

507
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:53,160
The tying it around of course. And
time for a topping-out ceremony,

508
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,760
or as the Germans call it,
a Richtfest.

509
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,320
Vielen dank und frohes Richtfest.

510
00:25:58,360 --> 00:25:59,520
Cheers. Cheers.

511
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,480
Cheers, guys.

512
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:02,800
To the carpenters. Thank you.

513
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,040
Not a bad drop.

514
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:08,480
Lovely, delicious.

515
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,280
There is an actual structure
to enter now...

516
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:18,640
Come in through the window.

517
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,520
..which has led Graeme
and Mel to completely rethink

518
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,120
the layout of their living space.

519
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,080
Of course it has.

520
00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:27,880
So, the original plan was to have

521
00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,320
the living room here as you come up
from the stairs

522
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,600
and you have this beautiful view out

523
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,520
and we realised this can't
be the living room,
this has to be the kitchen.

524
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,600
So you're swapping?
Yeah. Just like that?

525
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:40,880
Just like that.

526
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:42,160
Any other changes?

527
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:43,640
Well, yes.

528
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,560
The kids have been lobbying for
a mezzanine space.

529
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:48,400
The fact that they're in
the basement

530
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,600
has raised a few eyebrows from
their perspective.

531
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,920
I think the trade-off is that
they're going to have

532
00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,200
a little deck that they can hang in

533
00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,760
and maybe a roof light on top.

534
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,760
Nice. We have them always in our
minds when we make those changes.

535
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,680
The design would be totally
different if we weren't
a blended family, I think.

536
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,600
Yeah. Yeah.

537
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,920
Every detail of this house is being
scrutinised by Graeme and Mel,

538
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,240
to ensure it works for
the whole family.

539
00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,800
Including the size
and shape of all the windows,

540
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:23,960
which arrive within days.

541
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,680
Graeme can't quite believe
the sudden progress.

542
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:30,560
I just had this like frisson of
excitement

543
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,800
just go through me
which is really nice.

544
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,680
By mid-morning the
slim-framed windows,

545
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,840
all £32,000 worth,

546
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:40,960
are ready to be installed.

547
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,280
It's the first one and it's in.

548
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,000
I can't believe it.

549
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:48,200
It really makes such
a difference to have glass there.

550
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:51,720
It feels so good.

551
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:56,040
Graeme's considered the exact size

552
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,520
and position of every window.

553
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:04,360
And by the end of the day,

554
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,160
their planning and focus
has clearly paid off.

555
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,000
We really deserve now that things
are going well for a change.

556
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,880
There's a good energy behind
the project now.

557
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,920
It's long overdue that we've got
some good luck.

558
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,680
But their luck seems short-lived.

559
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,520
Because their overall schedule has
snowballed

560
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,440
from 12 to 18 months,

561
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:31,200
their neighbours have given Graeme
and Mel a four-week deadline

562
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,520
to remove their scaffolding from
the surrounding gardens.

563
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,800
They have a month
to fit all their cladding.

564
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:39,720
We're being put under
a bit of pressure through

565
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,320
the use of license agreements.

566
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:43,440
And we're feeling the need

567
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,640
and the urgency
to get our project accelerating.

568
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,480
If they miss the deadline,
it'll cost them £1,000 a week,

569
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,280
so they reluctantly abandon
the planned brick facade

570
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:57,200
on the ground floor in favour of
a plaster-coloured render.

571
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,080
Which will help with our budget
which we're also having to watch.

572
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,040
But it's a difficult decision
and it is pressure

573
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:04,920
because money is involved.

574
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:08,560
But the rest of the walls
and the roof

575
00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:10,120
have to be clad in red-tinted,

576
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,120
exterior grade, cement
particle boards,

577
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,600
sustainable but painstaking
to machine and fit.

578
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,920
First, Graeme and Mel have to sand

579
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,040
and then seal every panel
to enrich the colour.

580
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,160
Then the installation team have
to trim each piece

581
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:33,840
down to size,

582
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,520
drill holes for the mounting,

583
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:41,040
paint each aluminium mounting rail
so it won't be seen,

584
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,920
space each panel exactly
ten millimetres

585
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:45,520
from the adjacent ones... Yep.

586
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,000
..and secure.

587
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,800
They need over 500
individually-prepared panels

588
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,080
to clad this building.

589
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,960
Inevitably, with only three days
until the scaffolding

590
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,360
needs to come down,

591
00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,240
there are still large areas left
to clad.

592
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,400
On the roof.

593
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,080
And the all-important
street-facing elevation.

594
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,720
You have to be precise,
you have to look at the gaps,

595
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:12,640
you have to look at the lines,
at the levels,

596
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,480
you have to check all
the alignments and everything,

597
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:17,840
make sure everything lines up
and looks pretty.

598
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,200
Yeah?

599
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,040
The pressure is getting to Mel.

600
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,360
They need to be done too,
there's three there.

601
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:26,160
It's back-breaking work, actually,

602
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,920
I always have a bad back now.

603
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,480
We really had never considered being
this hands-on.

604
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:34,080
Going up. Now going up.

605
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,080
Every weekend we've been here now
for three weeks

606
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,360
and every day after work.

607
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,960
It just feels like...

608
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:44,840
..still, like you open a box

609
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,200
and ten more boxes are there.

610
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:47,520
So that doesn't stop.

611
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,160
Yet miraculously, come
the deadline at the end of May,

612
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:52,440
they're finished.

613
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:53,960
The scaffolding is gone,

614
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:55,960
and the result is quite
a statement.

615
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,240
By mid-summer the interior fit-out
is properly under way.

616
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,800
Mineral wool insulation
and plasterboard are going in.

617
00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:11,520
Electrical cables are being routed.

618
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,720
And at a metal workshop
four miles away,

619
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,160
steel stairs designed by Graeme

620
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:18,360
are being fabricated.

621
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,360
But Graeme and Mel

622
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,280
are 2,000 miles away

623
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:26,880
in Marrakech.

624
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,560
We got engaged here in January 2020.

625
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:37,080
So that's what binds us forever
to Marrakech.

626
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,680
And the feeling comes back.
We're feeling really happy.

627
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,520
Their engagement in Morocco
inspired Mel

628
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,200
to design a series of tiles
for the ground floor,

629
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:51,160
which are now being
fabricated here.

630
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,480
So they're starting

631
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,400
and we're hoping to see
the whole process.

632
00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,120
Melanie's interest in pattern
and colour

633
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,160
was really something we wanted
to introduce

634
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,920
or infuse into
the design of the house.

635
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,720
I think we'll walk across
the tiles all the time

636
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,600
thinking of Marrakech,
which is nice.

637
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:13,440
Here it is.

638
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,040
Hello. Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.

639
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,000
Ahmed's family have been producing
cement tiles

640
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:24,400
here for 35 years.

641
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,160
This is our factory. Yeah.
Our workshop.

642
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,080
Nice and cool here.

643
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:30,600
Bonjour.

644
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:38,960
This is incredible.

645
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,600
It's like magic. Magique.

646
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,800
Mel's geometric designs

647
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:49,600
have been replicated in
these metal tile moulds,

648
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,120
which are filled
with mixtures of ground marble,

649
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,360
cement and coloured pigment...

650
00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,640
..covered and then pressed.

651
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,000
They are left to dry
for several days.

652
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:18,160
This is it. I mean, the colour is
just absolutely gorgeous.

653
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,400
With four separate designs
to play with,

654
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,880
the tiles can be arranged
to form different patterns.

655
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:30,920
It is like a jigsaw.

656
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:33,960
It's perfect.

657
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,080
I know we are now in Morocco...
Yeah.

658
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,440
..but it will be working in
Hackney.

659
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:39,560
I'm totally positive.

660
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,000
Their cost, including shipping,

661
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,760
is comparable to buying
off-the-shelf tiles in the UK.

662
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:48,720
Not that getting them from here
to Hackney

663
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,240
will be straightforward,
not by any means.

664
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:56,120
They get shipped
to Casablanca by road,

665
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,160
and then in Casablanca they have
to wait until there's

666
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,520
a container load full to ship
to Felixstowe

667
00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,040
and that can take up
to four to six weeks.

668
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,360
The lengths Graeme
and Mel will go to create a special,

669
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,160
autobiographical home
are astonishing

670
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,760
But, in London,

671
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,600
tests on the basement have revealed
issues about

672
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:22,160
the quantity of cement

673
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:25,920
in the concrete that could affect
its longevity.

674
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:29,400
I'm just trying not
to be too down about it,

675
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,400
but I'm really distraught over this.

676
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,440
Melanie and I are
really distraught.

677
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:38,240
The ceiling obviously didn't plan
out to be so pretty

678
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,400
so we cannot leave
the concrete exposed.

679
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,600
No, we'd originally thought we were
going to expose the concrete.

680
00:34:43,640 --> 00:34:46,120
I am hugely disappointed.

681
00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:49,000
I am worried

682
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,760
and also quite annoyed

683
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,240
that this is happening to us.

684
00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:59,240
When Graeme, Mel and the girls will
move into their new home

685
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:01,120
I have no idea.

686
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:30,160
There is a deal of uncertainty about
the basement of Graeme

687
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,040
and Mel's new home near
Hackney Downs,

688
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,920
so I don't quite know what
to expect.

689
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,240
It's been over two years since
I first met them.

690
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:42,960
And yet...

691
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,960
Well. You see,
in a street which is so polite,

692
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,680
full of white painted brick houses,

693
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,760
classically arranged here,

694
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:56,600
and decorated with Norman,
early English details, you know?

695
00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,040
There is a building...

696
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,720
..which is actually medieval in
inspiration

697
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,400
and yet classically organised.

698
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,640
It is...exquisite.

699
00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:16,920
Just great. Such energy.

700
00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,400
Well, they said right at the
beginning they wanted to make a

701
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:25,720
statement in this street and they've
made one. A big pink one.

702
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,520
It's a good pink though, isn't it?

703
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,240
It is beautifully finished.

704
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:34,840
So, all these gaps have been spaced,

705
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:38,960
all the rivets have been
match-painted in to

706
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,120
the colour of the boards.

707
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,000
Why do anything that's easy when you
can make it hard for yourself?

708
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:46,920
Definition of craftmanship.

709
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,080
Hey. Hey. How are you?

710
00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:58,160
I'm admiring a building.

711
00:36:58,200 --> 00:36:59,680
Very good to see you. Hello!

712
00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:02,040
How are you after all this time?

713
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,440
How are you? Yeah, good to see you,
Graeme. How's it going?

714
00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:06,600
Congratulations.
The house looks terrific.

715
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:08,320
Thanks very much.
It does, thank you.

716
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:10,640
You know you see some houses which
are squeezed into gaps,

717
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,680
particularly in London, you know,
and you think,

718
00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:13,920
"Oh, that looks so painful."

719
00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,360
You know? it looks like it's
really been squashed in.

720
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,320
But this, this breathes.

721
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,280
It feels far more generous
than the garages looked.

722
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:23,640
I know we stood in the garages
and thought,

723
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:25,600
"What the hell have we just done?"

724
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:27,560
"How can we build a house?"
For sure.

725
00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,320
But we maxed it out completely.

726
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,080
The cladding above, it sort
of carries the character of

727
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:35,600
a slightly distressed
ancient structure.

728
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,120
It's like looking at a palazzo wall
from, you know,

729
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:41,200
from an Italian city that's been
sliced up and brought here

730
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:43,360
and kind of rearranged. Yeah.

731
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:45,560
You could have been much simpler
about this,

732
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:47,840
you could have just made a box.

733
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,800
Might have been a bit quicker
but there were challenges

734
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,640
and, you know, I think what we've
come out with is quite

735
00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,920
an experimental form.
It's recognisable,

736
00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,800
it's definitely domestic in
its... The language it uses.

737
00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:04,040
Yeah. I'd love to see inside.

738
00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,360
Come and have a look.
Let's go and see it.

739
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,880
What an exquisite,
romantic building this is.

740
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,080
Goodness me!

741
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:14,080
It's ready to receive furniture,
almost.

742
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,880
But inside it's not quite ready
to move into yet.

743
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,360
The interior is not as advanced as
the outside.

744
00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:23,960
However, the elephant in
the house is hidden beneath

745
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,600
a temporary lid.
It is the basement.

746
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,680
The plywood floor covering
the void below.

747
00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:32,640
The void! Do we talk about the void?

748
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:34,760
You can talk about the void.
What's the deal?

749
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:36,760
Well, we're hopeful
there's a solution.

750
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,840
It does create a slightly smaller
footprint down there

751
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,240
because we're having to add
an additional layer on

752
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,480
the inside of the concrete walls.
OK.

753
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:47,840
Effectively to form
a tanking system.

754
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:49,120
Yeah. Yeah. A tanking system.

755
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:51,920
So we've essentially got a two
storey house now, ostensibly,

756
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,120
and we will expand into
the third floor

757
00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:56,920
as and when that space
becomes available.

758
00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:00,280
But can you live in this building
and work on that?

759
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,400
We can live in this building
and work on that.

760
00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,000
We've a bedroom down here.

761
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,880
We've created a mezzanine platform

762
00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:09,400
on the first floor that allows
one of our daughters

763
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,760
to sleep there, and the other one
will probably camp

764
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,440
in the living room for the time
being. OK.

765
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:17,600
Not ideal living arrangements
for now,

766
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,360
but what a breathtaking home this is
going to be.

767
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:24,240
Even without the balustrade -
the steel stairs.

768
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:28,080
The staircase looks like it's
floating. That's just so elegant.

769
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:32,640
And some of Mel's tiles have already
been laid in the bedroom.

770
00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:35,560
Oh, here it is, on the floor!
Love that.

771
00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:36,920
Do you like it?

772
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,360
I mean, I really like that.
That's, that's...

773
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:41,000
It's like Sonia Delaunay. Yes.

774
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,800
You know, it's beautiful.

775
00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:44,560
I just cannot get over the fact,

776
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,360
however, that you've had these made
in Morocco,

777
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:50,680
you've gone there,
you've designed it,

778
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:55,040
because there aren't enough tiles
in the UK?

779
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:56,280
I mean, what's that about?

780
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:58,480
There are eight million different
patterns available

781
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,520
and you've had to go
and do your own.

782
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:02,960
We realised we really wanted
to link it

783
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,920
to our family history,
which is Morocco.

784
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:10,520
It was a gamble, but we pulled it
off and it's just magic.

785
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,320
Of course, there are weeks and
months of graft ahead to complete

786
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:18,280
the autobiography of this blended
family home and its garden.

787
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,840
So what are the living quarters
upstairs like?

788
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,000
Up the steel hill. It's good.

789
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,320
Up we go. It's just wide enough,
isn't it? It's perfect.

790
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,480
Beautiful. Oh, this is good.

791
00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:30,360
Beautiful.

792
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:31,600
The kitchen.

793
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:33,600
Really good.
The stainless is lovely.

794
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:36,600
And there's red!
Of course there's red! Yeah.

795
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:37,840
It's all very, very sleek.

796
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:39,120
Yeah, I think so.

797
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:41,360
I think the addition of
the mezzanine as well,

798
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,920
because the space is
so voluminous up here,

799
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,720
having this lowered area
over the kitchen brings

800
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:48,040
a certain cosiness to it.

801
00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,240
Oh, nice, yeah.

802
00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:54,480
Wow. Exquisite.

803
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,600
By contrast, the adjoining dining

804
00:40:56,640 --> 00:41:00,120
and living space stretches right up
to the vaulted ceiling.

805
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:01,840
It's spacious.

806
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:06,160
I mean, it's generous
but, of course, hugely tall as well.

807
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:08,400
Like being in a little chapel.

808
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:11,120
Yeah, I think the size of
the plot meant that we needed

809
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:12,880
to go a little bit higher
in the space,

810
00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:14,680
because it just gives us...

811
00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:17,480
It's a bit more forgiving to
a tighter room size. Mm.

812
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,280
I really like it when buildings have

813
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,360
windows that don't tell you what's
happening behind it.

814
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:25,080
Well, presumably very few people can
even see that window

815
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:26,760
because it's facing down
the gardens.

816
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:29,000
No-one can see in through it,
which is amazing.

817
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:31,520
This on other hand,
this is a completely candid window.

818
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:33,800
This looks right down the street
so that you can wave

819
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:37,200
to everybody walking by. Yeah.
In your pyjamas.

820
00:41:37,240 --> 00:41:39,760
And this one, again,

821
00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,480
I mean, essentially what you see
is sky. Yeah.

822
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,080
Must be very satisfying.

823
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:47,120
It must be lovely to kind of,
you know, get this far and...

824
00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,600
Yeah, it's beautiful.
It's really overwhelming,

825
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,920
We've come a long way.
A long, long way.

826
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,600
But how are the girls
going to be living here for

827
00:41:56,640 --> 00:42:00,480
the time being without bedrooms in
the basement ready to move into?

828
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:01,960
Indi's going to be sleeping up here.

829
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,560
Well, I was going to say who's
bagged it? You've bagged it?

830
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:06,080
Indi's pretty much bagged it.

831
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:07,400
On what grounds? How come?

832
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,120
No grounds.
No grounds.

833
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:12,320
No seniority, no kind of... No.

834
00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:14,160
That's OK.
So, what's the plan for you, then?

835
00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:16,200
Are you going to be allowed to live
here, as well?

836
00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:18,600
I go where the wind takes me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know?

837
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,320
I think I'm going
to be sleeping in the living room.

838
00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,320
I actually don't know,
like, we'll see what happens.

839
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,080
Graeme and Mel between them have
kind of fixated,

840
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:30,360
it's fair to say, on this house.
Is all this worth it?

841
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,040
Yeah. Definitely. For sure.

842
00:42:32,080 --> 00:42:33,680
I love this house.

843
00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:37,360
I didn't think it would look like
this. It's very cosy.

844
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:39,520
Tell me, has it put you off,
would you ever do such a thing?

845
00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:40,960
Would you ever?

846
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,320
No, you wouldn't.

847
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:46,600
It's just so draining,
even just watching it happen.

848
00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:49,120
Like, so many conversations.

849
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,640
Like, I don't think we've ever
talked about anything

850
00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:53,880
that wasn't the house.

851
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:57,240
Yeah, it is actually going to be one
weird thing about it is

852
00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,080
the fact that there's not this thing
going on anymore.

853
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,240
But there remains the basement
to sort out.

854
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,400
Graeme believes he has a solution
but negotiations with

855
00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:15,080
the basement contractor are
still ongoing.

856
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,080
At the moment, we can afford
to finish our project,

857
00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:24,080
but not to pay for
the remedial costs of the basement.

858
00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:26,160
It's a question mark as
to how we fund that right now.

859
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,400
We don't honestly have
the answer to that.

860
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:29,760
And what is the worst case?

861
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:33,920
I mean, the worst case for us is
going to be...

862
00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:38,040
..not being able to afford to fund
the remediation

863
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:40,680
and the net affect of that will be
we'll have to sell it.

864
00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:44,040
So there's a question mark hanging
over you.

865
00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:49,600
Starting out, you thought
you'd spend 450 grand, say.

866
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:51,760
So, where did you land,
do you think?

867
00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:55,760
I think we're going to land
realistically around 550

868
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,800
in terms of our borrowing,

869
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,120
um, and we've had to ask family

870
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,760
and friends for contributions, as
well. But it's so close.

871
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:07,160
And your relationship with
the building as a result is?

872
00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:12,320
Weaker, stronger, more tetchy,
more complex?

873
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:14,320
I'm totally in love
with this building

874
00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:16,640
and we are one with
this building now.

875
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:20,080
What happens if you have to sell,
will you be heartbroken?

876
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:24,440
Yes. Absolutely. Yeah.

877
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:29,120
I really want to see this space
inhabited by us as a family.

878
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:33,360
Leaving our marks in here and making
history in here together, for sure.

879
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:34,880
For the project to be complete.

880
00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:42,640
Graeme wanted this house to be a
manifestation of love,

881
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:45,640
and it is all heart so let us hope

882
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:47,640
this family overcome
this next hurdle.

883
00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:54,640
Well, no pain, no gain,

884
00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:56,240
is the motto of this project.

885
00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:58,920
But then, you see, if you're
thinking that they've had

886
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:00,720
a difficult time building it, well,

887
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:02,760
goodness me, it is as nothing
compared to

888
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:05,320
the pain that this entire household
have suffered

889
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:11,120
on the way getting here through
bereavement and loss.

890
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:13,400
Somewhat puts the difficulties of

891
00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:16,320
building a house in proportion,
doesn't it?

892
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:19,080
Oh, and if you're also wondering
whether or not this building

893
00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:21,920
delivers against the objectives
they set for it,

894
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:26,720
whether or not it's helping this
family thrive and flourish,

895
00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:30,160
whether it can make them happier,

896
00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:32,080
then let me tell you -

897
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:33,960
yes, it can.

898
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:35,600
It's already started.

899
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:49,880
What a delightful
little woodland world.

900
00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:52,840
I'm trying to build something
modest but also exquisite.

901
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:54,520
Yeah, a jewel.

902
00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:58,200
Oh, shit. It might all explode while
you're down there. It's going.

903
00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:00,360
Oh, yes.

904
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:04,200
I declare the South Herefordshire
railway open.

905
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:05,880
They're going to snap, Rob.

906
00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:08,840
Timescale has slipped by
a year or two, I'd say.

907
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:11,200
That's quite significant, isn't it?
Yes.

908
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,080
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