Introduction
I’d not been to Banbury before and to be honest the tight timescale for this build means that I still don’t feel like I’ve actually been to Banbury despite my many journeys up to the town on the train.
We have got just over 5 weeks to deliver the first of the ‘Love Your Home and Garden’ builds which is not a lot of time but we are confident that everything is going to be perfect for the big reveal, and I can’t wait to get started.
The home we are working on belongs to a lovely family, Donna has had a difficult few years and after a heart attack suffers from tunnel vision which is debilitating and has meant that her daughters Claudia (12) and Leoni (9) act as her carers. They are lovely girls and I hope we can make a real difference to their lives.
The footprint of the house is on the small side and we have hardly any time but architect Helen has cleverly managed to re design the property so that it will give the family a house that not only improves their lives but also looks fantastic. My challenge (and my teams) is to realise this design in this short space of time, we would normally expect to have at least 10 weeks for a job like this, so it’s game on!
5 weeks to reveal –
With plasterboard walls, it is going to be a breeze to convert the downstairs into an open plan living space. It takes Jason (the rhino as he is affectionately called) less than a morning to demolish most of the ground floor walls. The transformation is immediate and we already begin to see how the new open plan layout will look.
4 weeks to reveal –
The ground floor of the house has a solid concrete floor so I have to break out the Kango (pneumatic) drill to break several holes in the floor. It has been a while since I used one of these and I immediately get the drill head stuck in the concrete. After being rescued by Jason, I’m able to make 5 holes in the floor so that we can re route the water and gas pipes to the other side of the property. We decide to run all of the plumbing and electrical services through the ceiling and although there are few steel beams in inconvenient positions we simply adjust the lighting design and all is well.
Lee and the boys come up from London for a day’s demo work and make short work of removing the back of the house and are back in London for tea time. The steel beam is delivered the next day and it’s surprisingly easy to move into position. The build is in great shape.
3 weeks to reveal –
After 2 weeks we are ready to start plastering and our first big filming day has arrived. It’s a crazy day with plumbers, plasterers, decorators, bricklayers, 3 camera crews, soundmen, runners and a full production staff; oh, and of course, Alan Titchmarsh. As a co-presenter I have several segments to deliver to camera with Alan, one of which involves me cutting a hole through the ceiling and popping my head through to say ‘hello’ and then explaining why I’ve made the hole.
I’ve been given a script but at the last minute decide to depart from my given lines and instead of just saying “hello’ blurt out ‘Here’s Kunle’, in a homage to The Shining. The line goes down well and so my first piece of TV improvisation is a success.
2 weeks till reveal –
With just 2 weeks left until reveal, I’m a little concerned about the bi-folding doors fitting into the hole we have made. Normally we would make the structural opening (or hole) in the back of the house and then the door manufacturer would attend to measure the opening and make the doors accordingly.
We don’t have time for this so I’ve decided to start the manufacturing of the doors based on design measurements, then measure the opening and supply the manufacturer with the exact measurements towards the end of the manufacturing process. This means we have about 5mm of tolerance and I’m feeling the pressure. If the doors don’t fit, guess who gets the blame. I work closely with the manufacturers and the doors fit like a glove and go in first time. Phew!
1.5 weeks till reveal –
With just 1.5 weeks to go, Jason is tasked with building the bespoke bunk beds, which Helen our architect has designed to form part of the bedroom wall. It’s a clever design but presents quite a few construction challenges but we quickly overcome these and it’s full steam ahead.
1 week till reveal –
With less than 1 week to go we are ahead of schedule. The floor is being laid, which to me looks exactly like parquet flooring but I’m assured is not real wood. I’m breathing easy and as the reveal day approaches, the kitchen is fitted along with the worktops and the garden is starting to take shape. It’s all looking good and going to plan so I’m touching every piece of wood I can find, for good luck.
The good luck doesn’t last, it never does in construction, we have a problem, and it’s a big one! I’m not happy with the bricks that have been delivered which are to be installed in the area about the new door; luckily, Jason spots the problem and flags it up before any bricks are laid – one of the many benefits of having good staff onsite – so it’s not a complete disaster. The problem is that the bricks we have bought don’t really match the original bricks of the house, so Jason and I frantically ring around all of our contacts to try and find the exact brick stock that was used to build the house 17 years ago. I’m drawing a blank, but Jason has found an exact match and we can pick them up from Leicester; of course, when I say ‘we’ I mean Jason. Problem solved! It’s now going to be smooth sailing, I hope.
48 Hours till reveal –
We are now finishing up the painting of the house, the sun tunnel is in and flooding the hall with light, tomorrow the plumbers will finish the second fix as will the electricians.
I‘ve had a few more filming days, which are much easier for me as I’m feeling a little bit more relaxed in front of the camera. Although still struggling not to sound too serious, I’m improving (or a least that’s what the director is telling me).
Just as we are about to get into the home straight another problem surfaces. It’s those bloody bricks again; although they have been laid and match perfectly, I’m now not happy with the mortar colour (the cement between the bricks) as it doesn’t match the existing colour which has had 17 years of weathering so the difference between the two sticks out like a sore thumb.
Jason to the rescue again and he finds a bricklayer who can dye the mortar to match the original, problem is it’s a special order dye so we won’t get it until tomorrow and I won’t know if it has worked until the reveal day which is a risk. I take the risk, as I don’t really see another option. Fingers, toes, legs and anything crossable is crossed.
24 hours to reveal –
So we have just realised that the hand-made screens that Helen has design and we have manufactured offsite won’t fit up the stairs in one piece so we have to take them back to the workshop, disassemble them, bring them back tomorrow (reveal day) and assemble them onsite.
Fred our Carpenter assures me that it won’t take too long, but I know from bitter experience that on tight deadlines nothing is ever as it should be, I don’t sleep well at all the night before the reveal.
Reveal day –
We are finishing up plumbing, brickwork, painting, plastering, wallpapering carpentry installation, and cleaning. Plus the gardeners are finishing up and there are 3 film crews, plus all the production staff. It’s mayhem. When I’ve watched these shows before I always thought the mayhem of the final few hours was manufactured for TV, well I can tell you, in this case it most certainly was not.
I had planned for the reveal day to be a simple case of finishing a few cosmetic ‘bits and pieces’ then to spend the rest of the day delivering my segments to camera and congratulating ourselves on what a great job we have done. Instead, I’m fitting screens, fixing radiator leaks, cleaning floors, and Helen has even got me hanging curtains.
In the end, it all works perfectly and I’m surprised at how perfectly wonderful the home looks by the time we come to take some press shots with Alan at around 6 pm. It’s breathtaking and nothing short of a miracle. The work we have all done is going to make a real difference to the lives of Donna, Claudia, and Leoni. I can’t wait to see their reaction.
We made it!
The reveal is wonderful and all of the family, their friends, and the crew can’t believe what we have managed to accomplish in such a short time. Jason and I are exhausted (as are the rest of the team) but find time for a glass of Prosecco and go in to join the celebration with Donna and her family in their wonderful new house. 1 down 2 to go – Yikes!
If you missed the episode
https://youtu.be/Q6EwMEeRU30