1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,920 {\an2}Treehouses are for little people, aren't they? 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:10,200 {\an2}They're places of sanctuary and excitement, 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,040 {\an2}imagination, fun, escape. 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:17,080 {\an2}A place where you can leave the grown-up world down there. 5 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:20,200 {\an2}But imagine 6 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:22,760 {\an2}if you could make a place like this your home, 7 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,240 {\an2}complete with electricity and running water. 8 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,680 {\an2}That's exactly what one couple, 9 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,480 {\an2}who I met in 2013, had in mind. 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,360 {\an2}Jon and Noreen's romantic plan 11 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,200 {\an2}was to build their own wooden house up in the trees. 12 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,720 {\an2}It gives you that sort of peaceful woodland glade feeling. 13 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,920 {\an2}To live amongst this, this is a real privilege. 14 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:47,040 {\an2}Such a remarkable setting called for a remarkable construction method, 15 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,600 {\an2}one where no tree roots would be harmed in the process, 16 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,200 {\an2}made more complicated by the house's anti-gravity design. 17 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,960 {\an2}It's a series of three stepped boxes, 18 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,200 {\an2}every box is slipped. Yes. 19 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,320 {\an2}The structural engineer is struggling with it at the moment. 20 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,040 {\an2}They ran over schedule before they'd even broken ground. 21 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,520 {\an2}This is not where we wanted to be, in any shape or form. 22 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,360 {\an2}But there was no going back - 23 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,080 {\an2}their life savings were invested in this dream. 24 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,280 {\an2}We do not have any room for manoeuvre financially. 25 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:18,280 {\an2}We cannot get that money from anywhere else. 26 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,800 {\an2}It tested them to physical and emotional extremes. 27 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,480 {\an2}Yeah, it's not good and I do worry. 28 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,600 {\an2}Progress was slow, 29 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,960 {\an2}and rooms just remained unfinished. 30 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,360 {\an2}Sometimes I think I've taken on too much. I could do with a break now. 31 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,200 {\an2}Of course, construction in the canopy 32 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:39,960 {\an2}was never going to be that easy, 33 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,160 {\an2}because, for all of nature's wonder and awe, 34 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,560 {\an2}comes also unpredictability, 35 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,360 {\an2}so I am very excited to go back after seven years 36 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,040 {\an2}and see how their house is fairing. 37 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,840 {\an2}But first, here's their story. 38 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,080 {\an2}Once upon a time, the earth was covered in trees. 39 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,080 {\an2}But we're losing our trees at the rate of one football pitch 40 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,000 {\an2}of natural forest every two seconds. 41 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,040 {\an2}We shouldn't be cutting down trees - 42 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,760 {\an2}we should be learning to live among them. 43 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,280 {\an2}That's amazing! 44 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:54,880 {\an2}What a setting. 45 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:57,280 {\an2}It is, isn't it? It's absolutely beautiful. 46 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,960 {\an2}I'm with plumber Jon and ceramic artist Noreen, 47 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,040 {\an2}a couple who want more than anything else 48 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,200 {\an2}to live up in the tree canopy. 49 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,280 {\an2}Before they start to build their own treehouse, 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,240 {\an2}we've come to Belgium to see a treehouse 51 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,200 {\an2}that might help me understand what's so special about woodland living. 52 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:17,960 {\an2}Go on, go on touch it. 53 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,160 {\an2}No, I can't touch it! No, you can almost touch it. 54 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,120 {\an2}Look at that fantastic bark. Look at that bark. 55 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,440 {\an2}And you've got the shadows dancing on the roof 56 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,080 {\an2}and that branch just goes over the corner. It's really pretty. 57 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:29,560 {\an2}It is. It's absolutely gorgeous. 58 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,040 {\an2}It's that relationship - that's what we've got to try and achieve. 59 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,680 {\an2}Here, you're up inside under the foliage, 60 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:36,840 {\an2}in the canopy, amongst the birds and the squirrels. 61 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,000 {\an2}Yes, I think there is that connection, 62 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,160 {\an2}when you touch the bark, even at this distance... 63 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,160 {\an2}What do you see when you touch the bark? 64 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,760 {\an2}What do you see when you look a bit further? 65 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,320 {\an2}And what do you see right in the distance? 66 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,520 {\an2}I think on our plot we've got those three things, 67 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,600 {\an2}but we have to make it work. Yep, yep. 68 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:52,920 {\an2}If you're going to build a treehouse, 69 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,560 {\an2}the rules of engagement completely change. 70 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,680 {\an2}What this simply is about is lifting you onto a platform in the trees. 71 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,360 {\an2}And getting close to the trees. Yeah. 72 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,320 {\an2}And getting close to them, yeah. 73 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:10,040 {\an2}Jon and Noreen dream of a treehouse for themselves just like this. 74 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:11,600 {\an2}And they're going to build one, 75 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,000 {\an2}but in a very different kind of location. 76 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,480 {\an2}Jon knew of a little patch of woodland in his home town 77 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,440 {\an2}of Dursley in Gloucestershire, 78 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,400 {\an2}which is hemmed in by a supermarket car park 79 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,040 {\an2}and a Methodist chapel. 80 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,760 {\an2}When it came up for sale, he and Noreen were smitten. 81 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,560 {\an2}You looked at it as a kid and loved it 82 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,280 {\an2}and peeped through a hole and thought, "That looks amazing!", 83 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,320 {\an2}and it was completely overgrown. 84 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,560 {\an2}It was unloved. And the trees... We wanted to just take care of it. 85 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:58,240 {\an2}This tiny, abandoned half acre of urban woodland was once a garden. 86 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,360 {\an2}It's in a conservation area 87 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,760 {\an2}and it has nearly 30 protected trees - 88 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,040 {\an2}some lovely ash and lime trees, and a majestic Scots pine. 89 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,360 {\an2}What is it for you that kind of connects you to trees? 90 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,560 {\an2}What is it that matters about being in amongst them? 91 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,000 {\an2}I think it's just the whole thing - 92 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,520 {\an2}it gives you that sort of peaceful woodland glade feeling. 93 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,080 {\an2}You step off the high street and you walk down here. 94 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:22,960 {\an2}What, sort of damp, you mean? 95 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,840 {\an2}LAUGHTER Yes, damp. 96 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,240 {\an2}Shaded when it's 30 degrees in a good British summer, 97 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:31,680 {\an2}but sitting on a balcony looking at the raindrops drop off the leaves, 98 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:33,080 {\an2}there's something special about that. 99 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:34,720 {\an2}They were here before we were here, 100 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:36,200 {\an2}they're going to be here when we go, 101 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,560 {\an2}and you know, that's brilliant to be part of that. 102 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,120 {\an2}I mean, you can buy a new house, you can plant a tree 103 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,640 {\an2}and it may get to a reasonable size by the time you move on, 104 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,840 {\an2}but I mean to live amongst this, this is a real privilege. 105 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,000 {\an2}How much did you pay for it? 106 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,000 {\an2}Er, at the end of the day, it was £85,000. 107 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,480 {\an2}That's all right though, isn't it? It is. But with no consent? 108 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,000 {\an2}With no consent. No. 109 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:58,600 {\an2}It's either a very expensive garden, 110 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,440 {\an2}or a very well-priced building plot. 111 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,960 {\an2}But it had been up for sale for at least 18 months before we bought it. 112 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,880 {\an2}So, did you sound out the District Council? 113 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,800 {\an2}Did you sound out the planning department and ask what the feasibility? Oh, yes. 114 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:15,400 {\an2}You know what they said? What did they say? Absolutely no way. 115 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,080 {\an2}And yet you still went ahead and bought it. We did. 116 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:23,000 {\an2}Our sense was if we could make something that was truly different, 117 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:24,600 {\an2}which added to the local community 118 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:26,200 {\an2}that there'd be a good chance, 119 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,840 {\an2}so it was basically on that basis that we pushed forward. 120 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:31,920 {\an2}Jon and Noreen were proved right. 121 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,400 {\an2}They eventually got their planning permission, 122 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,800 {\an2}but the conditions are harsh. 123 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,320 {\an2}They must not disturb any of the trees or their roots, 124 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,640 {\an2}so fixing the house into the ground is going to be quite a challenge - 125 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:48,320 {\an2}one that local architects Millar Howard Workshop enthusiastically took on. 126 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,200 {\an2}To avoid the tangle of roots, 127 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,920 {\an2}they came up with the ingenious solution of anchoring the house 128 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,720 {\an2}with slender screw piles. 129 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,040 {\an2}To protect the trees, they won't be using any concrete. 130 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:01,880 {\an2}Instead of foundations, 131 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,160 {\an2}there'll be a steel frame above ground connected to the piles. 132 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,600 {\an2}The lowest and smallest of the three wooden boxes 133 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,520 {\an2}that make up the house will be Noreen's studio. 134 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,480 {\an2}The middle floor box will be the living space. 135 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,000 {\an2}It has verandas on three sides. 136 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,200 {\an2}And the top floor will contain the bedrooms, 137 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,800 {\an2}40 feet up among the branches. 138 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,000 {\an2}It'll sit under a flat roof. 139 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,960 {\an2}The top two floors will be clad in native larch, 140 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,760 {\an2}and the basement will get a skin of reflective, 141 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,720 {\an2}polished steel that should mirror the surroundings 142 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,600 {\an2}and help the house appear to float. 143 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,080 {\an2}On the top floor, there'll be three en-suite guest bedrooms 144 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:45,040 {\an2}and the master suite. 145 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:48,840 {\an2}And, in the spirit of a treehouse, 146 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,000 {\an2}a 12-foot high narrow walkway through the trees 147 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:53,640 {\an2}will bring you to the front door 148 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,160 {\an2}and into the large L-shaped living space. 149 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,960 {\an2}Every window will be carefully placed 150 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,960 {\an2}to capture a favourite view, 151 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,200 {\an2}and the verandas will take Jon and Noreen within touching distance 152 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:08,720 {\an2}of the higher branches. 153 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,280 {\an2}Landscaping will be by Mother Nature herself, 154 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,240 {\an2}the point of this building being 155 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,840 {\an2}to place you in intimate contact with the rawness 156 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,920 {\an2}and energy of the natural world. 157 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,080 {\an2}Jon and Noreen met 24 years ago. 158 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,760 {\an2}They recently sold their big, old, draughty five-bedroomed house, 159 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,600 {\an2}bought this plot, and moved into an onsite cabin. 160 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,360 {\an2}Whiling away evenings in the cabin, 161 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,440 {\an2}Jon has lovingly built his own model of their house-to-be. 162 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:40,960 {\an2}I love your trees. 163 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:42,480 {\an2}Yeah, they're all to scale. 164 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:44,480 {\an2}It's a series of three stepped boxes, 165 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,840 {\an2}and each layer doesn't conform - 166 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,920 {\an2}there's no contiguous walls all the way up, are there? 167 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,800 {\an2}No. Every box is slipped. Yep. 168 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,240 {\an2}So they appear separate. 169 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,720 {\an2}That's what the structural engineer is struggling with at the moment. 170 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,560 {\an2}And who does this? Who builds this? 171 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:02,840 {\an2}Well, I'll be helping doing a lot of it - 172 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,240 {\an2}I'll be project managing it, or we'll be project managing it. Yeah. 173 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,080 {\an2}And how much is that then? 174 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,040 {\an2}At this stage with the piling, 175 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:14,560 {\an2}if there aren't any unforeseen instances depth wise, 176 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,200 {\an2}268. 177 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,440 {\an1}LAUGHTER 178 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:19,800 {\an2}At the moment! 179 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:21,480 {\an2}I mean, that has gone up from 250. 180 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,080 {\an2}What, is that for everything? Yeah. 181 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,920 {\an2}Yeah. 268, £268,000, all in, done. 182 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,880 {\an2}Yes. We have already been making cuts to hold it at that. 183 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:32,200 {\an2}Can you afford that? 184 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,240 {\an2}Yes. We have... That was part of our contingency in the budget, 185 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,080 {\an2}it's just that we are... 186 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,600 {\an2}You know, we really do not want a mortgage at the end of this. 187 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,280 {\an2}How long will it take you to do? 188 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,760 {\an2}I'm hoping about nine months. 189 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,680 {\an2}That's what the target is. 190 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,360 {\an2}So, as soon as the piles go in the ground, then we'll know. 191 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,120 {\an2}Nine months from the piles. 192 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,000 {\an2}When's that scheduled for, then? 193 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,360 {\an2}Either side of this Christmas. OK. It was going to be before, 194 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,840 {\an2}but like all things I think we're looking at just after now. OK. 195 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,160 {\an2}So, just nine months to build the home they want 196 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:04,840 {\an2}in the town they love. 197 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:07,920 {\an2}Jon was brought up here 198 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,880 {\an2}and is as deeply rooted as his trees. 199 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,200 {\an2}Is this your school? Yep. This a Church of England school? 200 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,280 {\an2}It is. When I was five, six, seven, 201 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:20,440 {\an2}that sort of age, I used to go to that school. 202 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,840 {\an2}I can understand by circumstance that you'd be born here 203 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:24,560 {\an2}and go to school here, but why stay? 204 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,240 {\an2}Contentment or happiness is an internal thing, 205 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,200 {\an2}I think you can sort of wander round looking for it, 206 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,440 {\an2}but I think you can make that where you live 207 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,080 {\an2}and I think trying to create a slightly better environment 208 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,640 {\an2}and improve where you live, and do a bit for where you live, 209 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,680 {\an2}I think that gives you a certain sense of satisfaction, 210 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,680 {\an2}and it is beautiful. 211 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:51,560 {\an2}This little patch of land has a lot to live up to. 212 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,120 {\an2}Invested here are the dreams of two passionate people. 213 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,480 {\an2}In buying this site for £85,000, 214 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:05,080 {\an2}Jon and Noreen were making a decision purely 215 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:06,920 {\an2}from the heart. 216 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,120 {\an2}They'd been told they wouldn't get planning permission, 217 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:11,840 {\an2}and yet they carried on. 218 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,200 {\an2}They were determined that this would, should... 219 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,040 {\an2}was going to work. 220 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:18,920 {\an2}Amazing, isn't it? 221 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,520 {\an2}Jon grew up with this site. 222 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,000 {\an2}He knew that he was going to be able to live here. 223 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:29,600 {\an2}In a way, it was always his, this place. 224 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:38,040 {\an2}Right from the start, however, Jon and Noreen meet trouble. 225 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,480 {\an2}They were hoping to sink their pile foundations around Christmas. 226 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:42,880 {\an2}They didn't. 227 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,080 {\an2}They can't do any construction until they have 228 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,560 {\an2}the structural engineering drawings for the whole house. 229 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,920 {\an2}All Jon and his old friend Stewart can do, 230 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,960 {\an2}is prepare the ground by laying down a mat to protect the tree roots. 231 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,800 {\an2}As you can see from this diagram 232 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,600 {\an2}done by the arboriculturist, 233 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:01,760 {\an2}the Scots Pine, for instance, 234 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:03,800 {\an2}closest to the cabin where we're living, 235 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,440 {\an2}the crown is that wide, but the tree roots area that you have 236 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,640 {\an2}to protect is sort of one and a half, twice as wide. 237 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:14,240 {\an2}So, as the pathway which is at the top of the picture here 238 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,600 {\an2}comes across, that entire area 239 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,520 {\an2}that will have vehicles going across it, 240 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:21,400 {\an2}has to be protected so we don't damage the roots. 241 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,840 {\an2}The difficulties of building on this plot shouldn't be underestimated. 242 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,720 {\an2}First of all, they can't use any concrete to form foundations. 243 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,720 {\an2}They have to avoid all the tree roots, 244 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,560 {\an2}and then there's the anti-gravity design of the house itself. 245 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,280 {\an2}So, since time immemorial really, 246 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,400 {\an2}people have built tall structures, 247 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,640 {\an2}by doing this with bits of building. 248 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,720 {\an2}Ziggurats and pyramids. It's very, very solid, 249 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,880 {\an8}it centres the building 250 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,560 {\an8}it works with gravity. 251 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,960 {\an8}Whereas of course Jon and Noreen are doing something entirely different. 252 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,280 {\an8}They're doing the opposite of this. 253 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,480 {\an8}What they're doing is they are starting 254 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,600 {\an8}with Noreen's workshop at the bottom, 255 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,640 {\an2}and then there's an overhanging bit, like that, 256 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,440 {\an2}and then there's a top floor, which does that. 257 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:10,640 {\an2}I mean, 258 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,680 {\an2}they've got to try and keep this structure up, 259 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,440 {\an2}in amongst the trees, on pile foundations. 260 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:22,040 {\an2}It is a real caramel shortbread conundrum. 261 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,040 {\an2}How on earth do you make sure 262 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,120 {\an2}the top floors are properly supported 263 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,960 {\an2}and connected to the piles below? 264 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:32,560 {\an2}Months go by, 265 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,600 {\an2}and Jon and Noreen still haven't got their structural drawings. 266 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,920 {\an2}The timber company who hired their structural engineer has pulled out 267 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,760 {\an2}and now they are waiting for a second structural engineer 268 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:43,440 {\an2}to deliver. 269 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,800 {\an2}Well, we've been waiting for these calculations over eight months now. 270 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,600 {\an2}We've been promised them for over two months. 271 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:51,440 {\an2}And they have never arrived, so... 272 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:53,080 {\an2}It's really frustrating, 273 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,720 {\an2}because you're just so keen to get on, 274 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,120 {\an2}and you're so keen, you know, we desperately want to start. 275 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,080 {\an2}It's not just the waiting. The costs are going up. 276 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,160 {\an2}Jon and Noreen's new structural engineer thinks 277 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,920 {\an2}they need to double the amount of steel to anchor the house 278 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:09,280 {\an2}into the ground. 279 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,920 {\an2}It did get to the point two or three weeks ago 280 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:13,960 {\an2}where we actually thought "Can we continue?" 281 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,160 {\an2}If this is actually the costs that are coming in now, 282 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:18,600 {\an2}we actually thought, "Can we continue?" Mm. 283 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,720 {\an2}They may love them, but their trees seem to be biting back. 284 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,040 {\an2}To look at, you wouldn't know 285 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,160 {\an2}that Jon and Noreen's plot is bang in the centre of a town. 286 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,680 {\an2}Even so, they want to be as self-sufficient as possible. 287 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,920 {\an2}While waiting for their structural drawings to materialise, 288 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,240 {\an2}Jon has found his own water supply, 289 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:53,760 {\an2}in the non-orthodox way. 290 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,360 {\an2}You got this source of yours, your borehole, 291 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,120 {\an2}you've got that to the right depth and the right place? 292 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,240 {\an2}Yep, I dowsed it but I had another top water dowser 293 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:06,640 {\an2}to check it just before I paid for the rig to come in 294 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,600 {\an2}and it was spot on. You do this quite a lot, don't you? 295 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,480 {\an2}You're an official dowser, as it were? 296 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:14,000 {\an2}It's like playing basketball. 297 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,720 {\an2}You might not get every ball through the hoop, 298 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,200 {\an2}but you get better at it the more you practice, 299 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:20,880 {\an2}the more you're in tune. 300 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,080 {\an2}I want to have a go at finding the underground spring. 301 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,560 {\an2}First, purge your demons. 302 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,800 {\an2}What we want to get you to do is programming the brain, 303 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,640 {\an2}connecting with the body because it's the body's response. 304 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:36,400 {\an2}The whole point about dowsing is that it's not this that's doing anything at all... It's your body. 305 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,080 {\an2}It's your body and your head which is detecting something. Yup. 306 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:40,520 {\an2}This is just an amplifier. 307 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,880 {\an2}Perhaps a little bit more upright. That's it, that's good. 308 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,680 {\an2}So, just thinking about that underground stream. 309 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,000 {\an2}Thinking about that underground stream. Yeah. 310 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,000 {\an2}Oh, I'm going to have to... Oh! 311 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,920 {\an2}If it's anywhere, it's right here. 312 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,200 {\an2}I think that's about it, yeah. Is it? 313 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,880 {\an2}Yes, it's curving round gently down towards there. 314 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,200 {\an2}Seriously? Exactly, yeah. Spot on. You're a natural! 315 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,600 {\an2}Two bits of wire. Look! 316 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,320 {\an2}In the height of summer comes a breakthrough. 317 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:19,760 {\an2}It's taken eight months to get here, 318 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,800 {\an2}but today they can sink the 16 screw piles 319 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,200 {\an2}that'll anchor their treehouse into the ground. 320 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,240 {\an2}It's been a long old haul to get to this stage 321 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:32,960 {\an2}so it's nice something's starting. 322 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,240 {\an2}The way these screw piles work is surprisingly simple. 323 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,760 {\an2}They rely on a thread, 324 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,560 {\an2}just like these rely on a tiny, tiny thread 325 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,680 {\an2}in order to hold the house in place. 326 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,960 {\an2}Now, it's best demonstrated if I screw this 327 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,320 {\an2}into the wood, 328 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,240 {\an2}and if I then... 329 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:57,840 {\an2}represent the forces of nature... 330 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:03,000 {\an2}..by tying a sling to that. OK. 331 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:06,760 {\an2}Right Jon, when you're ready? 332 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:08,240 {\an2}OK? Yeah! 333 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,600 {\an2}Great, I'm flying. Hey, Hang on! 334 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:17,680 {\an2}Hey! 335 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,280 {\an2}Today was great. 336 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:29,160 {\an2}It's more than the foundations going in. 337 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,440 {\an2}It's like literally putting your mark in the ground, 338 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:32,800 {\an2}connecting with it. 339 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,560 {\an2}I think we're on our way now. 340 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,800 {\an2}But Jon's optimism is misplaced. 341 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,160 {\an2}A full eight months since the piling, 342 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,120 {\an2}there is still little to see. 343 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,520 {\an2}Jon and Noreen have just endured their second winter here 344 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,280 {\an2}waiting for the detailed structural drawings. 345 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,600 {\an2}This is not where we wanted to be. In any shape or form. 346 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,080 {\an2}They've never had a generous budget - 347 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:09,760 {\an2}a carefully balanced 268,000, 348 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,040 {\an2}so every estimate and every bill is a worry. 349 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,680 {\an2}It's that continual haggling, 350 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,040 {\an2}that continual hassle, and not just haggling for the sake of it - 351 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,600 {\an2}just to stay exactly where you are, 352 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:22,640 {\an2}otherwise you're slipping backwards all the time. Mm. 353 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,360 {\an2}That's the real challenge, 354 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,480 {\an2}it's that continual unrelenting pressure 355 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,680 {\an2}and trying to earn a living at the same time. 356 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:36,440 {\an2}Just a few weeks later, at last, 357 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,280 {\an2}the steel frame is springing into life. 358 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,520 {\an2}Their third, and hopefully last, structural engineer 359 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:46,560 {\an2}has devised his own clever solution for keeping this top-heavy building 360 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,240 {\an2}stable and rooted. 361 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,640 {\an2}So, that's where we've introduced the diagonal bracing. 362 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,840 {\an2}And then the same on the other side, like that, 363 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,520 {\an2}so that gives you... That stops the whole thing from swaying. 364 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:01,840 {\an2}And he's saving money. 365 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,560 {\an2}This design has ten tons of steel, 366 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,120 {\an2}compared with the previous design that had 18 tons of steel. 367 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:13,720 {\an2}It will save I think around about £2,000 a ton, 368 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,440 {\an2}so that's, you know, £16,000. 369 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,560 {\an2}And the steel frame is on its way to site, 370 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,200 {\an2}on a friend's tractor and trailer. 371 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,760 {\an2}The treehouse is, at last, growing. 372 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,280 {\an2}And the frame, thank goodness. 373 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:54,840 {\an2}At last, we're above the ground. 374 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,640 {\an2}You're right up against the tree too. 375 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,400 {\an2}Yes. There's a small steel to come out yet on that side. 376 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,480 {\an2}Good heavens. That is impressive. 377 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,640 {\an2}To be able to work within the trees, as you have done, 378 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,520 {\an2}and there's more yet to come. 379 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,640 {\an2}There's quite a big pile of steel over there... 380 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,480 {\an2}Yeah, we're coming right out to that pile there. 381 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,480 {\an2}Oh, what, this one here? Yeah! 382 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,280 {\an2}Even with the protective mat, 383 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,480 {\an2}a conventional crane would crush the tree roots. 384 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,000 {\an2}But an old school friend is helping Jon 385 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,400 {\an2}with his own state-of-the-art mini tele-handler 386 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,240 {\an2}that he's designed himself, 387 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,880 {\an2}with intriguing triangular tracked wheels. 388 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,760 {\an2}Everything that you see here has been lifted into place 389 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,400 {\an2}with this, and we've been working on this uneven slope. 390 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,720 {\an2}You know, you have to be careful, but it's... 391 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,040 {\an2}In terms of getting your centre of balance? 392 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,480 {\an2}Yeah. It's surprised us as to how stable 393 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:50,760 {\an2}and how little damage it's done to the ground. 394 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:52,400 {\an2}So, is this a prototype, this? 395 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,520 {\an2}It's the second one in the country. 396 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,400 {\an2}There are two very, very, important technical tools used 397 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,360 {\an2}to manoeuvre steel on site. 398 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,680 {\an2}One is a crane like this, 399 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,400 {\an2}and the other is a five-metre length of string. 400 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,840 {\an2}They're both really important as each other. 401 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,800 {\an2}This steel frame is doing what it should - 402 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,240 {\an2}bolting together as designed. 403 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,600 {\an2}Until we get to a plate that has had to be offset 404 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:25,440 {\an2}to avoid a tree root, 405 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,640 {\an2}which means trying to fit a bent leg. 406 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,800 {\an2}It very slowly wants to be tapped over. 407 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,160 {\an2}All right, tap this corner where it's touching... 408 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,560 {\an2}You could almost grind a couple of mil off this join here. 409 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,920 {\an2}But with a bit of elbow grease, power tools 410 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,520 {\an2}and careful manipulation, 411 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:50,720 {\an2}the cranked leg gets sorted. 412 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,280 {\an2}The steel frame, at £15,000, 413 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,920 {\an2}is their biggest ticket item so far. 414 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,320 {\an2}Its complexity and delicacy 415 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:07,960 {\an2}has cost Jon and Noreen £14,000 in engineering fees alone. 416 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:11,280 {\an2}So far, with all the bills in, 417 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:15,640 {\an2}they've spent one third of their modest £268,000 budget. 418 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,840 {\an2}The next challenge for their wallet will be the timber frame. 419 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,520 {\an2}So, when it comes to the timber frame, are you outsourcing that? 420 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,080 {\an2}Well, after going here, there and everywhere 421 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:32,880 {\an2}and the convoluted design journey we've been on with it, 422 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,880 {\an2}it's designed to be made on site, 423 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,040 {\an2}so that's what we're going to do, 424 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,840 {\an2}so I'm going to probably step into the breach. 425 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,360 {\an2}You. We do not have any room for manoeuvre financially, 426 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,600 {\an2}we cannot get that money from anywhere else. 427 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,520 {\an2}For various reasons, that is it - it has to be built for that, 428 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,400 {\an2}we're not going to magic some money from somewhere. That is it. 429 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,520 {\an2}This is a dangerous decision. 430 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,000 {\an2}The timber frame will be complicated, 431 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,280 {\an2}it's going to be over 12 metres up in the air 432 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:04,680 {\an2}and Jon's a plumber, not a carpenter. 433 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:10,120 {\an2}But there is one secret weapon local boy Jon has up his sleeve. 434 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,800 {\an2}If Jon hadn't been able to find his bespoke mini tele-handler, 435 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:16,960 {\an2}of which there are only two in the country, 436 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,880 {\an2}then he'd have had to instead hired a much larger six-wheeled crane 437 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,120 {\an2}that he'd have parked just there... Oh, no, he couldn't have done that 438 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,440 {\an2}because they couldn't have got onto site - there's no access. 439 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,800 {\an2}He'd have had to park an even bigger crane than that 440 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,560 {\an2}behind the Methodist chapel over there, 441 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,440 {\an2}or even in the supermarket car park. 442 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,880 {\an2}And that's the point. All the problems to do with this site 443 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,240 {\an2}are to do with access, slope and the trees. 444 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,520 {\an2}And all the solutions are thanks to Jon having grown up in this area 445 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,360 {\an2}and knowing anybody who's anybody. 446 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,560 {\an2}Thank God for school mates. 447 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,320 {\an2}20 months in, Jon has turned into Tarzan 448 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,720 {\an2}and with yet one more old school friend, Julian, 449 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,360 {\an2}he's building his frame from slices of tree up in the trees. 450 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,160 {\an2}They're now ready for the glulam beams, 451 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,640 {\an2}which will support the cantilevered top floor. 452 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,320 {\an2}One, two, three. But there is no crane here to help them. 453 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,920 {\an2}They cannot damage the tree roots. 454 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,840 {\an2}25 kilos a man for lifting. 455 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,120 {\an2}This is 225 kilos, 456 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,400 {\an2}and there's...a couple of us lifting it. 457 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:40,480 {\an2}I had Weetabix this morning! 458 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,040 {\an2}Jon's been lucky to add another willing volunteer 459 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:46,640 {\an2}to his team for this heavy lifting. 460 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,360 {\an2}Another old friend, who is a yacht engineer, 461 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,760 {\an2}is taking his holiday here. 462 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:53,040 {\an2}No, it's been very interesting, 463 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,760 {\an2}It's actually one of the better holidays I've ever had, I think. 464 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,800 {\an2}OK... Ready? One, two three. 465 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,240 {\an2}40 feet high up in the canopy, 466 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,400 {\an2}Jon and friends are turning into heroes of the forest. 467 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,760 {\an2}It's on my shoulder. I've got it as well. 468 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:08,000 {\an2}I've got it, it's easy. 469 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,080 {\an2}Only use a British Standard milk crate. 470 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:13,840 {\an2}Needs about another 20 mil to get it in line here. 471 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,240 {\an2}20 mil. Down. Perfect! 472 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:36,000 {\an2}Timber by timber, 473 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,080 {\an2}floor by floor, 474 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:42,200 {\an2}Jon, Julian, Noreen and friends put the house together. 475 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:43,960 {\an2}Summer turns to autumn, 476 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,600 {\an2}the weather takes a turn, 477 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:47,920 {\an2}and the strain begins to show. 478 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,640 {\an2}It's taken nearly two years to get this far. 479 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,160 {\an2}Sometimes I think I've taken on too much, 480 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:55,760 {\an2}I could do with a break now, 481 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:57,680 {\an2}but we've got to get it watertight, 482 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,160 {\an2}so those extra hours make the difference now. 483 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,680 {\an2}Jon's dedication is amazing. 484 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,560 {\an2}He just keeps going. He, er, he just keeps going. 485 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,760 {\an2}I don't know how he does it sometimes. 486 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:10,400 {\an2}Neither do I. 487 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:12,480 {\an2}This building is turning into a monster 488 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,360 {\an2}that threatens to devour them. 489 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,360 {\an2}And the consequences are plain to see. 490 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,000 {\an2}It's almost shocking 491 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,720 {\an2}to hear Noreen talking about how this project 492 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,440 {\an2}has depleted them physically and emotionally. 493 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:26,640 {\an2}Buildings do that. 494 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,520 {\an2}They have a habit of draining every ounce of reserve out of you. 495 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,560 {\an2}And at the same time, they play this game. 496 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,480 {\an2}They also... They can also inspire you. 497 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,240 {\an2}At this stage, this building is leading them on, 498 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:38,720 {\an2}it's giving them some hope, 499 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,400 {\an2}it's suggesting that actually things are 500 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:41,840 {\an2}going to be all right in the end. 501 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,680 {\an2}But they are absolutely on the knife edge here. 502 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,640 {\an2}You know? It's like playing with the building, a game of daredevil. 503 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:00,120 {\an2}With heroic persistence, working seven day weeks, 504 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,920 {\an2}Jon hits a key target, 505 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,080 {\an2}and the house is ready for the windows before the end of the year. 506 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:08,120 {\an2}I've got it. OK? Yeah. 507 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:12,480 {\an2}And with the windows in, 508 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,880 {\an2}Jon and Noreen now have a weatherproof shell 509 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,080 {\an2}to work in over the winter. 510 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,480 {\an2}For the first time, there are proper rooms to see. 511 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,080 {\an2}So you'll walk in - there's an entrance hall, 512 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:28,160 {\an2}stairs up to the first floor. 513 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:29,280 {\an2}Yeah, yeah. 514 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,160 {\an2}And then a door into the living area. 515 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:36,760 {\an2}So one big, sort of L-shaped living room/kitchen/diner. Yeah. 516 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,120 {\an2}And the whole point of this house, 517 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,680 {\an2}being up in the trees, is at last revealed. 518 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,680 {\an2}Great view, great view. 519 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,960 {\an2}And this balcony is genius. 520 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,280 {\an2}Thank you. 521 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:54,240 {\an2}OK, well, it's...moderately good genius. 522 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,200 {\an2}But the point about the balcony for me is that it's... 523 00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,720 {\an2}it's the moment at which the building stops being a house 524 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,000 {\an2}and becomes a treehouse, 525 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,240 {\an2}where all those childhood stories that involve trees 526 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:05,840 {\an2}suddenly come true. Yup. 527 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,920 {\an2}And when you have either the early morning 528 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,560 {\an2}or the evening sun in particular, it lights up that hill, 529 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,160 {\an2}and you get layers of the view, 530 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,560 {\an2}and that's a rare thing to get those. 531 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,280 {\an2}It's almost like in one of those fake 3D pictures, 532 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,800 {\an2}where you...dum dum dum. It's lovely, yeah. 533 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,360 {\an2}This is brilliant. This is proper architecture, isn't it? 534 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,400 {\an2}You know? Joy. 535 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,120 {\an2}Proper architecture doesn't come cheap. 536 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,000 {\an2}So, how are the finances? 537 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,240 {\an2}They're not bad. 538 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,120 {\an2}I mean, only because I'm doing it myself with one other guy, 539 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,240 {\an2}we're about, just gone over 540 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,640 {\an2}the £200,000 mark to get to where we are, so... 541 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:49,320 {\an2}We're being very careful but we are just about on track. 542 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:54,200 {\an2}So, to finish the house and keep within the £268,000 budget, 543 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,320 {\an2}Jon has been out on the scavenge. 544 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,440 {\an2}My other great find - I was looking for this for ages - 545 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,760 {\an2}I wanted a sort of green to add to the greenery that's around it. 546 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,920 {\an2}This is green, honed Cumbrian slate. 547 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:08,440 {\an2}Oh, it's beautiful! 548 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:10,560 {\an2}It's magnificent. This was a real find. 549 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,040 {\an2}It looks like it's been laid somewhere before. 550 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,080 {\an2}It has. It came from a Rolls-Royce garage. 551 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:15,320 {\an2}Seriously? It did. 552 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,240 {\an2}I tell you what, if it's good enough for Rolls-Royce... 553 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:18,640 {\an2}It's good enough for my treehouse! 554 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:20,760 {\an2}Is this going in your sitting room...? 555 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,080 {\an2}Yeah, this is going in the basement 556 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,000 {\an2}and across the whole middle floor - 557 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:27,320 {\an2}everywhere's covered in this. OK. 558 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,800 {\an2}Jon seems at home on a building site. 559 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:34,800 {\an2}He is, after all, a plumber. 560 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,000 {\an2}But he has hidden depths. 561 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,880 {\an2}I'm going to drag him away from the site for a quick break. 562 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,800 {\an2}His aim is to do less plumbing 563 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,120 {\an2}and more painting in the future. 564 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:48,480 {\an2}I also paint, so I see a chance for a bit of a sketch-off. 565 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,560 {\an2}I think of you as a sort of polymath really. 566 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,920 {\an2}You're a plumber, heating engineer, builder engineer, 567 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,360 {\an2}artist - all these things. 568 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,360 {\an2}Which of them are you looking forward to enjoying, 569 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,760 {\an2}as it were, when you, when you... 570 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,360 {\an2}Even I think, building a house is a desire to create something. 571 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,120 {\an2}I think most people, 572 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,920 {\an2}whether it's decorating a room, or painting a picture, 573 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:14,400 {\an2}there's a desire to create, 574 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,720 {\an2}and I just think, that's why I'm building the house, 575 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,920 {\an2}and that's why I paint, but it would be nice to not have the stress 576 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,200 {\an2}that goes with the building the house part. 577 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:29,880 {\an2}During this drawn-out, two-year construction period, 578 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,680 {\an2}Noreen's been keeping the family finances afloat 579 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,600 {\an2}with her ceramics business. 580 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,400 {\an2}But she has found time 581 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,160 {\an2}to design tiles for their kitchen and bathroom. 582 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,440 {\an2}I was standing washing up in the caravan 583 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,360 {\an2}and I was surrounded by all these gorgeous native birds, 584 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:46,680 {\an2}just two feet in front of me. 585 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,320 {\an2}They were all over the place just eating and flying about, 586 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:51,160 {\an2}and I thought, that's what I need to do. 587 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,360 {\an2}So, I've started to go for the more native angle 588 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,240 {\an2}and as soon as I did them, 589 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,600 {\an2}they started coming out of the kiln fine, 590 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,160 {\an2}so I think the kiln god spoke to me, 591 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,360 {\an2}and said, "This is what you need to do." 592 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,080 {\an2}It's just as well Noreen is happy in her work. 593 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:10,240 {\an2}She's facing her third winter working in the garage. 594 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,600 {\an2}February is devoted to cladding the building. 595 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:21,040 {\an2}The top two floors are being done in native larch, 596 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,040 {\an2}but they want to camouflage the lowest floor. 597 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,880 {\an2}They're sampling some mirror-like stainless steel 598 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,720 {\an2}that they hope will suggest that the rest of the building is floating. 599 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,520 {\an2}From back here the one that is least brushed is that one. That one, yeah. 600 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,720 {\an2}But you still get the reflection - 601 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:44,360 {\an2}a sort of milky reflection of the trees and bushes 602 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:45,840 {\an2}and the branches. 603 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:49,640 {\an2}Maybe that's just milky enough to tell a bird, that it's... 604 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,760 {\an2}Yeah, don't fly into it, Mr Bird. A line of dead blackbirds. 605 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:54,440 {\an2}I know, yeah. 606 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:56,040 {\an2}Whereas this is much softer. 607 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,680 {\an2}That's beautiful - it's a lovely milky coating. 608 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,040 {\an2}I think that's it. 609 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:01,680 {\an2}It's very beautiful. 610 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,720 {\an2}If Jon and Noreen want to avoid another winter 611 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,160 {\an2}in the caravan, 612 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,840 {\an2}they'll have to enlist the help of woodland sprites. 613 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,560 {\an2}So, when do you think you're going to get this all ready 614 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:17,360 {\an2}for final inspection? 615 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,640 {\an2}I've got various friends that'll come and help. 616 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,520 {\an2}I've got the guy that I normally work with, 617 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,720 {\an2}and I've got another guy, so that's four of us on, plus a tiler. 618 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,000 {\an2}Leading on to the answer that it will be ready for inspection... 619 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,640 {\an2}Summer time. Summer time. 620 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,120 {\an2}Sometime?! No, summer time! 621 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,480 {\an2}Summer time. 622 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,440 {\an2}Even with Jon devoting every sinew of his being 623 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:38,280 {\an2}to this project, inside and out, 624 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:40,520 {\an2}I still suspected that finishing within 625 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,320 {\an2}the next few months was going to be a close call. 626 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,320 {\an2}When I last visited, in the summer of 2016, 627 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:51,000 {\an2}the thick foliage was hiding Jon and Noreen's house 628 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,800 {\an2}from the prying eyes of downtown shoppers, 629 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:56,960 {\an2}and from me - I had little idea what to expect. 630 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,120 {\an2}This is like the ramp from ET's spaceship! 631 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:03,800 {\an2}Getting closer though, I couldn't miss 632 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,400 {\an2}the strikingly bright larch cladding, 633 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:09,040 {\an2}which seemed a bit unsettled in its environment. 634 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,800 {\an2}What's inside? 635 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,400 {\an2}Come in and have a look! 636 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,840 {\an2}Last time I was here, they had managed to complete 637 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,280 {\an2}the basics, but had barely moved in. 638 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:22,200 {\an2}The big open plan space for everyday living seemed quite sparse. 639 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,680 {\an2}However, there were some bits that caught my eye. 640 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:28,720 {\an2}I do like this. This is what, is it recycled? 641 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,640 {\an2}This is iroko, out of an old science lab. 642 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,640 {\an2}What from a chemistry lab? Yeah! 643 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,160 {\an2}I recognise these. Yeah! What a lovely thing, to be able 644 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:38,480 {\an2}to bring into a home your own work. 645 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,480 {\an2}The view from the kitchen window was superb. 646 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:45,160 {\an2}That does not look like Gloucestershire, that does look like Belize! 647 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:46,600 {\an2}It does a bit, doesn't it? 648 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:49,680 {\an2}I expect to see a Macaque monkey running up that tree. 649 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:51,720 {\an2}Or a grey squirrel. Yeah! 650 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:56,000 {\an2}Downstairs, the mirror sheen of the stainless steel 651 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,040 {\an2}really did conjure the illusion of a floating building. 652 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:00,800 {\an2}And this is your workshop? 653 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:02,080 {\an2}Yes, that's going to be 654 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:04,880 {\an2}my lovely workshop and studio and kiln room, yeah. 655 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:07,680 {\an2}But inside, they still had so much to do. 656 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:12,160 {\an2}Not as finished. Not as finished. No. 657 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:18,760 {\an2}Upstairs, they'd saved money by using old school gymnasium flooring. 658 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,200 {\an2}You can't fake the finish 659 00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:23,560 {\an2}because this has been polished by generations of plimsolls 660 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,160 {\an2}and adolescent knees. 661 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:26,280 {\an2}Yeah. 662 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:27,560 {\an2}Hello, cat. 663 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,640 {\an2}And you've taken it through the bedroom. 664 00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:32,480 {\an2}Jon and Noreen at last had their bedroom, 665 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:34,760 {\an2}and they could move out of the caravan. 666 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,000 {\an2}But there was still work to be done across all the floors. 667 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:40,200 {\an2}So, when we met for the first time three years ago, 668 00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:43,960 {\an2}you said you wanted to spend £268,000 building this, 669 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:45,600 {\an2}and that was it - there was no more. 670 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,040 {\an2}That was it. That's right. Yes. 671 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,600 {\an2}So how much? Have you added it up yet? 672 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,160 {\an2}Yes. Oh, yeah. 673 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,880 {\an2}And it is? We've spent just over that - about 270. 674 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,440 {\an2}That's shocking! 675 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:57,880 {\an2}But we haven't finished. 676 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,320 {\an2}It has been tough. It has been tough. Really, really tough. 677 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,000 {\an2}You just have to keep going. 678 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,480 {\an2}All well and good, 679 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:06,440 {\an2}but they'd run out of money, 680 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,440 {\an2}so how on earth were they going to get the project finished? 681 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,280 {\an2}Quite some time has passed since my last visit, 682 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:23,000 {\an2}and I want to know if they managed to make it all work. 683 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,120 {\an2}This project, I felt, was always one that was 684 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,040 {\an2}running the gauntlet, you know? 685 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:30,200 {\an2}It was right out there, 686 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:32,400 {\an2}and that was despite Jon and Noreen's ambition, 687 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:34,120 {\an2}and their clear talents, 688 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,160 {\an2}and despite all that help they had from within the community. 689 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:41,680 {\an2}And I say this, because for me it was a project of paradoxes - 690 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:44,160 {\an2}of high-tech and low impact, 691 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,520 {\an2}of high vision and, at the same time low budget, 692 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:51,320 {\an2}of high rise living and high ambition. 693 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,280 {\an2}The question is, after seven years, 694 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,920 {\an2}have they managed to realise fully their dream 695 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:02,400 {\an2}of romantic sylvan tree top life? 696 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,480 {\an2}When I last visited Jon and Noreen in 2016, 697 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:24,680 {\an2}they'd moved into the treehouse 698 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:26,800 {\an2}despite it being far from complete. 699 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:28,520 {\an2}I had to come back. 700 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:32,880 {\an2}Well, seven years is a long time to wait, isn't it? 701 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:34,560 {\an2}Goodness me. 702 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,880 {\an2}I think the trees seem to be looking really well. 703 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,360 {\an2}I don't know about Jon and Noreen, or even their house. 704 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:42,760 {\an2}You can't see it! 705 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,160 {\an2}Last time I was here, it didn't quite seem to fit. 706 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:50,920 {\an2}The new larch cladding shouted "Look at me! 707 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,120 {\an2}"I'm a big orange box on stilts!" 708 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:59,120 {\an2}It's very different, to how it was when I last saw it. 709 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:02,600 {\an2}It's silvered up. It's beautiful! 710 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:08,920 {\an2}The larch now perfectly matches the bark 711 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:11,680 {\an2}and branches of the trees that prosper around it. 712 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:14,480 {\an2}Finally, the house seems at peace, 713 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,200 {\an2}floating serenely, 714 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:17,680 {\an2}almost unnoticed. 715 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:20,560 {\an2}Hello, you two. Hi, Kevin! Nice to see you! Come on up! 716 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,520 {\an2}I'll come up the spirally bit. 717 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:24,520 {\an2}I'll follow the cat. Come on, then. 718 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,920 {\an2}Hello! Hello, Kevin! Lovely to see you! 719 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:30,520 {\an2}After all this time! How are you? Good to see you, Jon. 720 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:34,200 {\an2}I'm good. Good, good! You look both unchanged. 721 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:35,560 {\an2}Well, thank you! 722 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,480 {\an2}After the trauma of building, you know, 723 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:43,240 {\an2}and the house looks better for having silvered up... 724 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:44,600 {\an2}It does, yep. 725 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,640 {\an2}..and disappeared - it's hard to tell sometimes whether you're 726 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:49,200 {\an2}looking at building cladding, 727 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:50,720 {\an2}or looking at tree trunk, do you know what I mean? 728 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:52,480 {\an2}Yes, it's settled in nicely - 729 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:54,960 {\an2}it's shimmied into the landscape. 730 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,400 {\an2}Absolutely. Yeah. And this is... What is this? 731 00:37:57,440 --> 00:37:59,440 {\an2}This is larch again. Oh, this is larch! 732 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:01,160 {\an2}This is all larch, the same timber. 733 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,840 {\an2}The same timber horizontally, vertically... 734 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:08,320 {\an2}The deck looks really inhabited now. There was nothing here before! 735 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,600 {\an2}Yeah, that's actually sheep fencing. 736 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,800 {\an2}It does the job and was a cost effective way of stopping us dying. 737 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,160 {\an2}It's really nice, I like it. There's planting, there's... 738 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,400 {\an2}You've also done the garden beautifully too. 739 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,440 {\an2}Yes. And the trees themselves, how are they doing? 740 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,640 {\an2}Fabulous. Yep. They've really, really held up well. 741 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:27,960 {\an2}They're looking magnificent. 742 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,560 {\an2}We spend most of our summer out here when it's good weather. 743 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:33,000 {\an2}It's sort of the way to live. 744 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,840 {\an2}Yeah. Breakfast on the balcony, lunch on the balcony, 745 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,240 {\an2}dinner on the balcony. 746 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:40,600 {\an2}Great, how's the inside? Looking good, come on in. 747 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:42,520 {\an2}I would love to see it, I really would. 748 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:44,600 {\an2}Ah! 749 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,360 {\an2}It's glorious. 750 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,360 {\an2}The main living space is looking more inviting, 751 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:57,200 {\an2}finally fully finished and beautifully detailed. 752 00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:59,040 {\an2}It's worked really well. 753 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,760 {\an2}I think...we're really pleased, aren't we? 754 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:03,600 {\an2}And it's beautiful. 755 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:07,280 {\an2}I'm guessing that some of these things are from your previous home? 756 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:08,560 {\an2}Yes, yes! 757 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:11,520 {\an2}We kept the things that fitted and worked the best, 758 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,320 {\an2}and we've just gradually built it up over the years. 759 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,000 {\an2}This is, this is reclaimed? Cumbrian green slate. 760 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:18,680 {\an2}It was from a Rolls-Royce garage. 761 00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:20,880 {\an2}Rolls-Royce taste, yeah? 762 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:23,400 {\an2}But not the cost! Reliant Robin budget! 763 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:26,800 {\an2}Yeah, exactly! Our budget was always tight, 764 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,160 {\an2}so you just have to use your ingenuity and, you know, 765 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:31,480 {\an2}come up with ideas. 766 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,440 {\an2}It's cool, and it's cool. It's lovely inside. 767 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:37,040 {\an2}You've got, of course, all that greenery to keep the sun out 768 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,560 {\an2}and keep it variegated. In winter, of course, 769 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:41,800 {\an2}leaves fall off the trees and you get direct sunshine in. 770 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,840 {\an2}Exactly, yeah. Sheds leaves, so the trees are benefitting us 771 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:46,000 {\an2}summer and winter. 772 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:48,000 {\an2}And the overhangs make such a difference 773 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:49,400 {\an2}because, as you can see, 774 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:52,000 {\an2}the sun isn't actually entering the room at this time of year. 775 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,560 {\an2}And the kitchen is as beautiful as I remember it. 776 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:55,800 {\an2}We added the island. 777 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,240 {\an2}Yeah, that was a few offcuts we had left over. 778 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:02,680 {\an2}Yeah. And you have the added benefit of this beautiful slot window - 779 00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:05,720 {\an2}the view's slightly changed. 780 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:06,920 {\an2}Just a little bit! 781 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:10,080 {\an2}In fairness, we did know... Well, the planning was in 782 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,400 {\an2}when we bought this section of land. It is progress. 783 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,680 {\an2}Oh, I like the fact you come up into the light from the darker hallway. 784 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:20,720 {\an2}Upstairs, the views are unspoiled. 785 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,280 {\an2}All three bedrooms are now finished and have bathrooms, 786 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:26,840 {\an2}decorated with Noreen's tiles. 787 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:29,880 {\an2}Very nice! 788 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,880 {\an2}There's a dedicated space for Jon's art. 789 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,760 {\an2}To be able to look at that view and paint, doesn't get much better. 790 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:38,160 {\an2}Yeah. Beautiful. 791 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,800 {\an2}And I think having a dedicated space really does help, doesn't it? 792 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,480 {\an2}It does. You're so much more productive. 793 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,720 {\an2}The building has enabled us to continue and hopefully improve. 794 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,880 {\an2}In the silver box at the bottom of the house, 795 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:51,640 {\an2}the studio and kiln room are also finished. 796 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:55,280 {\an2}Noreen has a whole floor dedicated to her ceramic work. 797 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,520 {\an2}Wow, this is lovely! 798 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,080 {\an2}It's like a watercolour almost, you know? Thank you. 799 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:04,960 {\an2}The previous space wasn't quite conducive to creative inspiration. 800 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,400 {\an2}To my surprise, out in the garden, 801 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,960 {\an2}there's yet more living space. 802 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,200 {\an2}They've turned their old basic accommodation 803 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:13,400 {\an2}into a guest annex - 804 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,880 {\an2}somewhere complimentary to the main house, 805 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:17,960 {\an2}that can generate some rental income. 806 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:22,160 {\an2}Do you know what? I mean, the timber's silvered, 807 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:24,640 {\an2}but the actual metal work is still as pristine. 808 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,160 {\an2}I do like that stainless steel. 809 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:28,480 {\an2}It has held up well. 810 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,040 {\an2}I think it's great because it does contribute to the sense of 811 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:32,960 {\an2}the building floating, doesn't it? 812 00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:35,080 {\an2}And picks up the reflection of the trees, 813 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:36,640 {\an2}which is what it was designed to do. 814 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,720 {\an2}There was always that concern about how well these trees would respond 815 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:41,880 {\an2}to the intervention of putting a house here. Yeah. 816 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:45,440 {\an2}All the greenery appears to be fresh and lively. Yes. 817 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,200 {\an2}Yep. The trees around it are thriving, 818 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,400 {\an2}unlike a lot of the ash trees, which are doing the opposite. 819 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:53,720 {\an2}We have had a little bit of ash dieback. 820 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,480 {\an2}This one here, you can see is dying back - 821 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:58,440 {\an2}we've had to take a little bit off that. 822 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,520 {\an2}This was another example which we just pollarded, 823 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:01,800 {\an2}and it's coming back to life. 824 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:04,560 {\an2}We bought some special medicine for the trees to put on their roots. 825 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,000 {\an2}This is important because what you're doing is treating your 826 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:09,360 {\an2}population as a sort of an experiment. 827 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:11,640 {\an2}We're in the lucky position where we can give it a go - 828 00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:15,200 {\an2}we can try different approaches that might work. 829 00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:16,720 {\an2}So, what have you planted here? 830 00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:19,320 {\an2}Lots of ferns. We've got some azaleas. 831 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:22,120 {\an2}Oh, nearly 100 yews, I think, and all the fruit trees. 832 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:23,720 {\an2}All the fruit trees. Yeah. 833 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:26,560 {\an2}Well, it's fair to say your approach is one of sort of 834 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,160 {\an2}woodland management, rather than gardening. 835 00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:30,800 {\an2}Some people might say it's messy, 836 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,520 {\an2}but I think it's a case of a light touch. 837 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:34,760 {\an2}Yeah, exactly. 838 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,400 {\an2}If you want to encourage biodiversity, 839 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:39,480 {\an2}you have to let everything find their balance. 840 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,000 {\an2}We were both really passionate right from the start 841 00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:44,440 {\an2}that we wanted to prove that we could build a house 842 00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,800 {\an2}and actually increase the wildlife, and I'm pretty sure we've done that. 843 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:49,640 {\an2}I'm pretty confident we've done that. 844 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:52,600 {\an2}There's more wildlife here than when we came, 845 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:56,680 {\an2}and I think surely that can only be a good thing. 846 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,680 {\an2}And all this transformation within 847 00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:04,200 {\an2}half an acre of woodland, but at what financial cost? 848 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:07,680 {\an2}So, how much did you spend on it in the end then? 849 00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:10,600 {\an2}I think we started off with 268, 850 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,080 {\an2}and we'd got to 270 when we saw you last, 851 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:16,160 {\an2}but we hadn't finished. Yeah. 852 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:18,160 {\an2}So what are you in for now? We're just over 300. 853 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:20,720 {\an2}Literally just over. £300,000. 854 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,320 {\an2}For how many square metres? 220. 855 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:24,640 {\an2}Yeah! Wow. 856 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,840 {\an2}So that's about £1,300 a square metre or something? 857 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,160 {\an2}Yes. Which is extremely good. 858 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:31,120 {\an2}And do you have a mortgage? 859 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:33,800 {\an2}No, luckily we don't. That was the plan. You're very lucky. 860 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:35,280 {\an2}And that's why we kept cutting back. 861 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,680 {\an2}If something overran, we cut back on something else. 862 00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:40,720 {\an2}Firm criteria, that we had to come out mortgage-free. Yeah. 863 00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:43,800 {\an2}So, I mean the combination of your expediency, 864 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,040 {\an2}the desire to recycle and reinvent, 865 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,560 {\an2}and doing so much yourselves and with friends 866 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:51,160 {\an2}in the community where you had grown up, therefore that was possible, 867 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:53,640 {\an2}all these things point to massive savings. 868 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:58,080 {\an2}Congratulations. It's beautifully, seamlessly kind of integrated. 869 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,400 {\an2}You know, there's a sense that it's just... It's all meant to be here. 870 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:04,040 {\an2}I mean, we're incredibly grateful 871 00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:05,720 {\an2}probably every day. 872 00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:11,440 {\an2}And full of love for the area, the house, 873 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:14,200 {\an2}what it's given us, what we've hopefully given back. 874 00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:15,960 {\an2}We are unbelievably lucky. Yeah. 875 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,920 {\an2}The timing was key, and seizing opportunity. 876 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:21,000 {\an2}I think, I am glad we took the risk. 877 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:25,480 {\an2}It was a bit nerve-racking but, yeah, it was a good risk. 878 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:31,320 {\an2}And with the greatest risks come the greatest rewards. 879 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:34,160 {\an2}If they had not been willing to take chances 880 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:38,000 {\an2}on the unusual, they would be settling for the ordinary. 881 00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:41,280 {\an2}This house is so far from that. 882 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,680 {\an2}Well, I think we can agree 883 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:45,960 {\an2}this was an experimental project. 884 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,560 {\an2}I mean, would you go out and buy a piece of land 885 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:50,040 {\an2}without planning permission? 886 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:52,400 {\an2}Would you invest in experimental ground anchors 887 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:53,560 {\an2}with no concrete? 888 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,000 {\an2}No. I didn't think so either! 889 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:59,880 {\an2}And yet for Jon and Noreen, it was their bread and butter, 890 00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:03,360 {\an2}to make these changes, to take these leaps of faith. 891 00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:05,640 {\an2}And do you know, the biggest experiment of all 892 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,200 {\an2}that's taken place over these last seven years, 893 00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:09,960 {\an2}has happened out here. 894 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000 {\an2}It's the experiment where they took the site, 895 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,960 {\an2}developed it, built on it, and in so doing, 896 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:17,400 {\an2}did not trash the place, 897 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:20,680 {\an2}but instead enhanced the biodiversity. 898 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:25,600 {\an2}They built a dwelling for human species to live in, 899 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:28,640 {\an2}and in so doing, created an environment 900 00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,720 {\an2}for many, many other species to thrive out here. 901 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:33,360 {\an2}How amazing is that? 902 00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:36,160 {\an2}You know, when we build treehouses for children, 903 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:39,600 {\an2}we hope they're somehow going to engage with nature, 904 00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:44,000 {\an2}that they're going to become closer to their natural environment, 905 00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:47,480 {\an2}look what happens when grown-ups do that. 906 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,200 {\an2}So, what have you bought? Two garages? 907 00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:06,640 {\an2}Yep. Two garages and a little bit of land around it. 908 00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:08,600 {\an2}I do totally trust him. 909 00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:09,720 {\an2}I have to. 910 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:12,520 {\an2}The important thing is that we don't find anything grizzly under there. 911 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:14,720 {\an2}So, it's a big square hole, with a big lump in it? 912 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,280 {\an2}Yes. It's a hole in the ground where we will be living. 913 00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:20,680 {\an2}Everything that pushes the end date back costs us money. 914 00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:24,320 {\an2}If we don't believe in it, this whole thing could just collapse. 915 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:25,640 {\an2}Tell me, has it put you off? 916 00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:27,160 {\an2}Would you ever do such a thing?