Converting a Victorian Water Tower - Build A New Life in the Country - S01 EP10 - Real Estate

David Foster is a refrigeration  engineer on 24-hour call in the   family business he runs with his wife Jenny   [Music] they live for their two teenage sons  in a semi on one of Lowestoft busiest roads David is also a fantastically ingenious inventor   his homemade car is one of  many imaginative creations now at the age of 47 he's about to embark  on his biggest challenge yet an 85 foot   water tower lost in the woods of  Norfolk he's got to convert this   huge industrial building into a fairytale  family home and he's got a project manager   himself despite continuing to work 16-hour  days but as this a dream to fall [Music] every now and then a very special project comes  along and this is one of them the tower is a   hidden gem the setting is magnificent and the  atmosphere magical this disused Victorian water   tower cost eighty five thousand pounds but it  was never intended to be lived in and has little   plumbing and electrics or even a staircase  yet David Caesar is a dream family home and   the perfect escape Hill is the quietness of it  the fact that you've got wildlife it's amazing   to see these deer with the antlers and they  just stand there looking at you and they just   move on through the through the wood quite  extraordinary quite extraordinary this is   gonna be heaven isn't it waking up here in the  morning fine I have to say I'm not saying it's   everybody's dream but it's certainly the mind  to get away from the rat race and there it is it is amazing and I sometimes when I come up  here like a very stressful day I can sit at   the base of that tower there and it's just  wonderful you can just hear the bees and the   birds and the squirrels come up I mean where  would you get home it is fantastic it's such   an exciting I can actually visualize my wife  at the top there on the balcony calling to me   Rapunzel yeah I know right here we go are you  ready yeah I think then get the door there we   are there we go it's this lovely smell but if  you could smell it at all it's the smell the   old paraffin engine that used to pump the water  up through there this is hot there it is amazing   the tower is 85 feet tall you can only get up  at by climbing a ladder and the windows are   just tiny slits it was built over a hundred years  ago to provide running water for a grand house   nearby at the top is a magnificent room with 360  degree views across the Norfolk countryside it has   beautiful windows so that the estate gamekeepers  could keep a lookout for porches david bought the   tower with an 85 thousand pound loan from his  mother he hopes to do the conversion for thirty   thousand pounds which he's taken from savings and  from the family business david has very ambitious   plans for solar or money the roof will be stripped  insulated and retiled new Velux windows added and   solar power rods fitted to provide green energy  underneath the roof in the light in every top   room the stunning beam ceiling and breathtaking  panoramic views will be preserved this will be   the sitting room further down the tower the two  existing floors will be converted into bedrooms   with bathrooms David will add two new floors to  create a third bedroom in the kitchen on every   floor he will have to punch in new windows to let  in more light the whole building will be joined by   a handmade spiral staircase measuring 60 feet at  its base David wants a glass table above the 40   foot deep world shaft to make a stunning feature  in the entrance hall [Music] it's beautifully   built we've got to clear it all out as a hundred  years worth of rubbish down there we're gonna   light them well up put the lights actually into  the water okay so you get this beautiful effect   down below I've got it all up here I'll cut it  down just keep clicking on those harnesses on oh look at that home above the trees you've  got solutions in the trees I mean them   this is where the squirrels they all come  up and jump you know between each of these   branches I mean it is unique you can touch  the trees you can get a pine cone there if   you now if you rub it can you smell the  pine from that it's a big project yes I   realize that but no no worse than building  a big house you know the structure is order   here it's just a matter of putting the  floors in putting decent windows in and   the plumbing and the electrics in your there  the structures there it's laughs of all that are you confident you can do this that's  interesting there's been one or two members   of the family who said Oh blow that forces fall  you'll never do it whoo-hoo absolutely incensed   finished all the believers all right can come  straight in here when it's finished we can have   a nice glass of chilled wine all right in the  middle chat okay all the non-believers can go   over than the middle that feel there for the  tomato juice and they can sit there in the mud renovating the tower is a tall order but if David  can make at work it's gone to being back [Music] fifteen months ago David Forester bought a  fairytale disused water tower hidden in a   wood he wants to convert it into a family home  and escape from his busy working life David's   an engineer and runs a refrigeration business  with his wife Jenny he sees the tower as their   magical new family home but Jenny knows this is  very much her invent their husband's project I   saw it twice before he said I'm going to buy the  first my saw is far more of a wreck and I've never   been led to believe I could see it didn't matter  what I said or you know whether I didn't approve   he was still gonna go for it but do you think  if David's working that hard he deserves this   escape yes you know I think he does I think he  does and I mean David goes for things and you   know he does achieve where are the people don't  because he gives his hundred percent work begins   in October David and Jenny have agreed that he  can initially spend 30 thousand pounds on the   project it's a tiny budget that means David will  have to do a lot of the work on the tower himself   but for some of the big structural jobs he's had  to employ a local builder he needs to have the   tower waterproof before major work can begin  inside and so they're starting with the roof   this is an awkward and dangerous job they'll have  to haul supplies 85 feet up the outside of the   tower on pulleys and clamber up ladders huge jobs  ahead all the wiring and plumbing for starters   but instead he decides to begin by removing  the old weather vane so it can be restored [Music] he balances 85 feet up with no safety  harness this is a bad idea I was very dangerous [Music] luckily David and his  weathervane survived [Music] the builders get on with their first job stripping  off the old roof tiles so they can insulate the   roof we tile it and put on a solar heating system  David gets on with restoring his weather vane it   bears the initials of the wealthy American  stockbroker George Corsten who had the water   tower broker is properly over 100 years ago look  at that that's lovely 100 years worth of grime   coming off there that's been on top that water  tower all those years it's seen two world wars   it's seen rain sleet hail bright sunshine I feel  quite honored to be portioning it really I'd love   to meet the guy who made this over a quarter  of David's budget is being spent on the roof   the builders aim to insulate it and get the tiles  back on before the winter Claus is in but working   so high up means they're exposed to strong winds  and progress is slow you can't work comfortably   up there to die because you're slip-sliding about  and that's not very good that's a fairly good fall   down there but the fall will never hurt you that's  a certain stock that do all the damage meanwhile   david has turned his attention from the very top  of the tower to the very bottom clearing out the   40 foot deep fresh water well first his son Steven  has been brought in to help David has brought out   of retirement an oxygen tank he last used in the  1970s it's so long since I've used it I can see   David is not one to take an Orthodox approach  yeah cuz I've got me gauge here you're really   gonna inhale 30 year old oxygen yes God put  me glasses off Gerry it's even oxygen but I've   got to have it on I can't breathe that stuff down  there's bloody awful I still gotta get my goggles   over the top of it and like the torch up and cut  the bloody pipe through and on the way well yeah [Music] [Music] all right by the end of November worsening weather  conditions mean that the builders can no   longer work on the roof they go off to  other jobs leaving the tower to david   he's responsible for plumbing the building  from scratch and completely rewiring it he's   also taken on all the interior work from the  handmade kitchen to the painting and decorating   on top of that he's commissioned a 60-foot  spiral staircase one of the most complicated   design features of the entire Belle's it's  a massive project but two months in with   the huge list of jobs yet to start there's  still only one thing on his mind clearing   out as well so he's got no one else helping  you out no I haven't I'm gonna grab you and   I'm gonna get you absolutely filthy grab  and grind down it is horrible so Rosanna you feel the heat he asks me to help him  clear out the rubbish down there but it   takes us two hours just to cook one all  Val free from the other pipe work you're   alright what's that tank it's was going  to hit me just just take that bit George   wheeler right that's the one you want to  pull down this okay yeah very slowly keep   pulling it slowly now we rigged up  a pulley system to get the valve out there's 250 kilos and takes another hour to   live without being rude if I reach  through your legs okay down you go what's your credentials it's hard to imagine him  doing all this by himself I'm happy to help out   personally I'd leave it down there it's a piece  of history wonderful I love this building it's so   romantic and I love the well inside I'm it's so  rare to have a big whale inside a building isn't   it I mean you do get them but only little ones  but I mean that's a magnificent beast in there   how many it's a centerpiece isn't it you come  into a room and you naturally when you're walking   normally what look where you're walking and you'll  just see this big glass sheet and you're standing   over the top of it and I'll have a table that  or something and I can have my scrambled eggs   and bacon over the well seriously I mean this is  a big job you've taken on a lot you're trying to   run a business no I could do it with somebody to  give me a hand I'd love it in many ways but end   of the day I've got to just have to do it I'll  have to do it on my own [Music] despite having   a whole tower to convert david dedicate every  spare hour any spare pair of hands to clearing   out the well for another three weeks and does  nothing else on the tower at all we needed a fire   Busan definitely I didn't fancy getting my socks  filled er well there we are no bodies luckily I'm curious to find out just what makes David  tick open his wife Jenny can help they've been   married for 20 years I'm running their business  together for as the engineer David is out and   about installing and maintain and refrigeration  systems Jenny runs the office and finances she's   lived through a few of David's building projects  before a few years ago he converted the loft in   their house himself so this is Stephens bedroom  yes which is one of David's infamous DIY project   isn't it one of his many yes we had discussed and  you know some of David's ideas count fruition and   some don't I had no idea is actually going to  start it that day I mean I literally came home   and there was a hole in the ceiling and they were  bricks going all down the stairs there was dust   over everything cause he uncovered anything up  laughing about it at the time it's the roof that   point I didn't pack my bags and went back to my  mother I think realizing I've made some almighty   great blunder when David started work on their new  dining room there was worse to come the biggest   fright she ever gave me is when they were doing  the extension downstairs you suddenly decided he   wanted to see the cellar okay and he literally  just dug a hole in the ground the same the same   weekend it really poured and poured the rain and  the hole in the ground filled up with water now   my father who is the bricklayer was helping  him build the extension was really seriously   worried about this you know the whole house was  gonna be sliding into this Oh so the rest of us   they aren't sort of go anywhere near it and lived  in the front of the house in case we've all slid   in there [Music] David may be impulsive but he's  an able and very talented engineer he completely   designed and built his car and although  it took him four years it's totally unique he was also involved in the conversion of  this tiny unusual cinema in southwards it   was designed by his friend John Bennett a  professional architect who also helped him   drop his plans for the tower david's contribution  to the design was this hidden underground tunnel   that he'd dug to run the entire length of the  cinema the organist can sneak along and climb   up to a hydraulic lift which allows him to  miraculously appear on stage to surprise the   audience fantastic I mean what the building  brought back about six months saying to dig   this thing out it was well worth it and I'm  very glad we did because if we couldn't have   done it people would have tweaked what was  going on so there's this typical of David   to come up with an idea that takes six months  longer than it's supposed to yeah I think I do   spring these things on John I mean I do have  a slightly eccentric imagination I think John   does as well and I think that's probably  why we it's succeeding very very badly you David can obviously produce results  but the watertower is by far the   biggest project he has ever undertaken  and it's his biggest dream to create a   new life for himself and his family  out here in the midst of the country Christmas is approaching and allured the woods may   be magical in the snow the tower  has had to be completely abandoned   [Music] there's been no progress on the bills  come the new year David will have a huge list   of jobs to tackle now I'm wondering if he even  has a schedule have you got a plan of work so   this happens Wow oh yes I've got a little list  at home which I know exactly the order they've   got to be done and I've said before it's got to  start from the top and work downwards because   that's the logical way of doing it so why have  you been working on the wealth well I'm that's   the bill the builders are working from the top  downwards I'm working from the well I'm working I don't think it'll be long they'll be fine  George you've got to be positive you must   be negative you're you know it's gonna be fine  it'd be excellent it'll be done you'll see when   it's all done all the non-believers can sit  in the field over there I can have an orange   juice all the believers can come down have nice  it in the last one you know I want to stay here   and then I've got some wine well which stand  is getting a bit worried some being drawn to   the field that non-believers over there  he's more confident than I am I think a   proper schedule of works is essential if this  bill is to get finished but what I love about   David is he still fine an eccentric ways  to spend this precious time like making a   time capsule my name is David Ronnie Foster  and I've restored the copper George Causton   weather vane when this is red I shall be  long gone having been born on the 20th of   February 1957 in Lowestoft Suffolk educated at  Causton College in 1969 275 my best wishes to   you all kind regards David G Forster this is  going to go into this copper he said this is   actually the yorkshire fitting from a central  heating system which I've adapted and that's   going to go on top Abdi on top of the weather  bank two months ago he took down this weather   vane now just before Christmas with his son  Freddie he's putting it back up stabilizing   inform it so it can't slide back yes this is  the only job that David has completed so far David's optimism is endearing but he's putting a   finishing touch on a conversion  that's barely started [Music] brilliant that's me boy the sun's come out just as I put  in it's almost a symbolic really pleased its   up and now I'm moving down we've got solar  panels going on next all the cars are gonna   be done go through it'll be great god bless  ya he'd better get crackin in January or his   beautiful dream of living in a tower in the  woods isn't gonna happen for a long long time [Music] David Foster work 16-hour days running  a refrigeration business with his wife Jenny   he's on call 24 hours a day David's got a dream  of a retreat in a fairytale home hidden in an   enchanted wood by a leg the dream is a Victorian  water tower that needs a massive amount of work   to turn it into a home but David's got a budget  of only 30 thousand pounds to transform it he's   taken on over half the work himself to make  his tiny budget stretch and paying builders   to do the rest but the first three months of the  project saw very little progress David can only   come to the tower after work and on weekends  and he's been ignoring crucial jobs and favor   of clearing the well which he's fascinated now  it's January and the weather is appalling work   on the roof is out of the question but the  builders have returned to site and there is   masses for them to do inside all the new floors  have yet to be laid and the rooms partitioned   before they can get anywhere near plastering  or decorating ladders are their only means of   getting around so it's a slaw difficult job David  still has a huge to-do list himself including all   the electrics and plumbing but he's down the  well again it does spend a lot of time where   you shouldn't be doing things that are not very  it tends to be mostly done that will he'll take   that we've got a cut piece of wood over top  with that well so he can't get down anymore   got a lot Donna but nothing can stop David he's so  passionate never stops talking about it okay and   we never said so shut up dad you know we know  I think he's sort of missed out at the middle   part of how he's gonna get there I can imagine  he's got the picture in his head of what it's   gonna look like at the end but I don't think he  quite grasps what a mammoth task is gonna be to   get there I think that's what it is it's crucial  they get the spiral staircase in place as well   as providing essential access for the builders  it will boost motivation and at last turn the   tower from industrial workspace to family home  the staircase is to be handmade and will cost   over a third of the tour budget it's a huge  technical challenge to make it spiral up 60   feet and work for six different floor levels and  the complications don't stop there the stunning   top room originally housed the water tank and  the floor had to support its enormous ways for   the staircase to break through it will mean  cutting a hole through the reinforced concrete   and cast-iron this is a job for specialists yet  David thinks he can cut this hole himself [Music] this is a tenth scale model of the actual  staircase that's going from the ground floor   right throughout to the tank room here so the big  question David is when's the staircase gonna be   in he's supposed to be building the first section  yeah I'm in about three weeks time it's really not   the whole thing because it's gonna take him quite  some time to do and each one has to be built from   the bottom upwards so three weeks is fine that's  yeah I think it bigger once you've chopped it so   that Martin is made a lot bigger so the minute  you've got no idea you know a snake we know   it's the tenth scale model but until we actually  get the real thing yeah this is easier to build   compared oh yeah absolutely yeah so we have to  take it in pieces the next one after this the   first full one will come in pieces and we have to  take it up through the hatchways and then assemble   the next one that slots in top of it it's just  like a basically it's like a building blocks right   way top this this could take months couldn't it  um hopefully not hopefully my biggest headache is   cutting through this concrete steel floor here  no they've got concrete does this feel beams   underneath the steel beam so I've got to take out  each one of those must weigh at least 3/4 of a ton   and I've got Marx acetylene I'll stripe out a big  circle here and then I'll blast blast it through   with a fire blanket underneath to catch any molten  metal and then we'll we'll have to lower it down   Wednesday it could do positive George we've got to  keep going you know there's lots of things we all   want to unencrypt me but I think this should be  like a fine wine you should gradually uncork it   look I've got my teeth Internet it's like a bull  dogs got a teeth into a lump of meat I'm not gonna   release it his dedication and drive really are  phenomenal and as if he hasn't got enough work   David has come up with yet another job to add to  the list inserting two skylights in the roof and   a viewing platform below that's gonna be two  tiny little beds up there for adults beds yeah   I'm gonna have Italia to the floor Tania Lafleur  there you can put a floor up there tiny floor in   there and they are just you can have the windows  open on a summer's evening and the stars are out   and you can actually lie on your bed I can look  up when you're sleeping start this floor that   you're going to put in yeah if it takes up too  much of that area right now I think it's gonna   ruin the roof now as the roof looks fantastic  because now I have thought about that and I'm   going to come up with an idea I'm not sure you but  I'm gonna I'm not you're right well I may actually   it's a possibility that I might actually put some  form or glass in sitting there some thick glass   in the same oh it sounds lovely sounds fantastic  when I'm in bed seeing the stops but rather than   doing that and spoiling the space you could just  have a little perimeter deck around the edge of   that beam climb up the ladder and it's like  the viewing point yeah otherwise it becomes   another floor which is another room which then  you start on that with beds and furniture yeah   I think you have got a very valid point  and then perhaps you're swaying me now it's February and the weather has finally taken  a turn for the better at long last the builders   can finish the roof they're fitting high-tech  solar tubes the latest ecological method of   providing hot water David is very keen to make  this tower environmentally friendly but they   are very expensive all in the roof has cost a  quarter of David's 30,000 pound budget in the   top room the skylights are going in so David can  do his stargazing the builders are speeding up   but it means the pressure is on for David to put  in his hours at the tower to keep the build on   track good afternoon full star company hello  yes but he's busier than ever at work he and   his son Steven I haven't give up their Sunday  to deal with an emergency call-out I wouldn't   see how difficult it's become to manage both  job and talent just how busy are things in   the business of the moment is manic but do you  think the towers being compromised because of the   business I think it has it really has you I mean  it's it's difficult trying to get there I mean   what 45 50 miles away from in the moment I mean  it's a Saturday morning I'd rather be out there   to be putting the wiring in but I can't because  I have to come in here this is a contractual   job then what car has to come a second best but  the water towers have one off entity once that's   done it's done but my customers I still have to  look after them if you keep doing all this work   when are you gonna get the tower finished it's  gonna take forever no I have to just just have   to keep going George if I have to work until  2 or 3 o'clock in the morning I've calculated   I can get away with about four and a half hours  sleep but I do need to have fun a half honestly   if I have less if I have less than that then I  start sort of loosening a bit I can't concentrate I'm not sure how realistic David is being about  his abilities to call even his wife Jenny is   having doubts about the project I still think  it's going to take far longer than he messages   and I think it's going to cost far more than  he said so there's a there's I mean of the two   things that I always thought were going to be a  problem cost and you know I do feel it's a bit of   an open checkbook you know me writing out money  forevermore how are you gonna keep the momentum   going on the build well a lot of that is Dan  to the wife the Jenny is in the background and   obviously she's not getting to involve it but  there is this slight pressure from her side of   things what do you mean what pressure well I  think she's I mean she obviously does want to   she does want to get the thing finished the  project finished but she's not involved you   know she's not but she is in the background and  she's still doing the finances what's happening   at the minute you're working on the business  dipping in a little bit on the tower and I'm   just worried that the water tower is becoming  a hobby no rather than you know it's not a   hobby it's it's a hobby is something that you do  forever and never never like fishing more like   I don't know playing badminton or something like  that this isn't a hobby this is gonna be finished   David's always been determined and finally that's  materialized into a flurry of activity on site   perforate the tower builders are breaking through  the brickwork to make holes for the new windows   the six new floors are going in and they're  cutting through the joists to create a space   for the spiral staircase which is due to arrive  on site soon even the beloved well is finished David's already worked 60 hours this week but  on Sunday morning he's back at the tower with   son Stephen ready to put in a good 10 hours on  rewiring the electrics he can't afford to pay   anyone else so he's taken on the whole job  himself he's trying to draw me towards you   know come and get into it and you know I'm  not I'm just not feeling that at all really   it's the peace and quiet that really does it  for him it's not just the building itself is   the fact that you know there's no cars around  there no civilization nothing and he loves it   he absolutely loves it that's what it is for  him by March more progress the first section   of the spiral staircase is delivered at  12,000 pounds for Megan and fitting the   stairs are costing 1/3 of David's entire  budget he can't have much money left the   stairs must be carefully slotted together no one  involved has ever made anything like this before [Music] the staircase will be 60 feet tall and  they're anxious to find out if it's gonna fit   three weeks later progress is slow each  piece of the stairs is slowly slotted   in and it carefully worked-out order David  starts to worry about where to position and   cut the new access hole in the top floor  of the tower not want to shy away from a   challenge he comes up with an inventive  way for making sure his measurements are   correct the plumb line and strength in his  excitement of drilling the hole he seems   oblivious to the fact that he's perched over a  60-foot drop with no safety harness yet again brilliant we've got it there we have that is  where the staircase is gonna come up he may   know where the stairs are going but that tiny  hole has still got to be made 1.6 meters wider   as always completion feels a long way off but  progress has been made at least there are floors   down and some of the partition walls are in but  ongoing labor and material costs do add up and   by April even the eternal optimist is starting  to worry there's still a lot to do David there   is a lot to do yeah I knew that I mean I've got  all the plumbing to do yet well that's got to be   done I've got people if I moved in the first fixed  plumbing you know not yeah I can't do that until   they've got all the dry lining done I've still  got to drop in the sewer pipe down it that's   got to be done yeah but I can't do that until the  dry linings done David it sounds like a bit of an   over no it sounds like a coordination it is it's a  proverbial pain in the butt I am absolutely bloody   petrified let's not just hope it's going all  right I mean the money is coming out the bank   account I've never spent so much money before and  it's frightening how's the project well the budget   is taking a severe battering at the moment um all  right we're keeping our heads above the water I'm   not actually in the red yet but I'm not far off  really yeah I know George I know it's just doing   my head and it's lunacy lunacy but there's two  ways of doing it George you can either borrow   large sums of money and get it done quickly and  move in or you take your time and you do it on   a low budget where you do most of it yourself and  you prolong the agony yes it is agony isn't it it   is it's agony at the moment trying to get things  right trying to make sure everything is is there   the right time can you actually afford to do this  I can if I'm careful and I don't overspend and a   moment it's very borderline massive worry though  for someone who has never been in debt before you   know it's often trouble here well I know it's  horrible it's a horrible feeling your stomach   churns a bit sometimes and I think this is my  life at the moment I've gotten past the point   of no return I'm a beast obsessed really with  getting this project completed and I just had   to put up with the nagging worry I mean Jenny  said to me the other nights just to do shout at   hour in your sleep what she said I did believe  it I said didn't she said you shout Tower so I   can I can only assume that it's obviously  having a problem even tormented Davis I am David is struggling with the tower his family  skepticism and his own dwindling finances he's   pushing himself to the edge and risking life  and limb you've got to ask yourself is this   building really worth it and can he get it  finished engineered David Foster dreams of   a life of tranquillity an ever-more tower in the  Norfolk woods he fell in love with the Victorian   charms of this old water tower and has been  trying to turn it into a family home but for   the last eight months things haven't been easy  the last time I saw David he was a very worried   man the scale of the project was enormous  he was way behind with the work and taken   some big risks add to that the escalating  costs a wonder if the dream is still alive   by david excellent at the top the weathervane is  finished at the bottom the well is looking great   but between the two there's still some work to do  what is really good David you've got your first   flight of station well nearly you've got one  two three four five six steps yes that looks   beautiful you can just imagine as you spiral up  all of these floors it's gonna be so spectacular   actually reminds me of a sort of chillage tower  when you've got a very tight stone staircase and   their cherished hour get to the top and get the  views of Mississippi yeah when it's done if it   goes to plan we should have little tiny apertures  as you go up rather like Alice in Wonderland so as   she falls down the hole yeah there's little tiny  leaded covers you can open there's a little teacup   behind one perhaps a little tiny book behind and  now that that's what I'm trying to engineer at   the moment you're a fairy tale right yeah because  I think it's rather sort of romantic but this is   not nothing it's beautiful now you have got all  the sockets in place the electrics are all done   medica alright the lights aren't in yet but  all the cabling has been done for that good   from this level as it says here window the window  hasn't been put in yet because we're behind time   we've got to get the staircase done and we put  an OP out through two foot of solid brick there   what's special about this is that you're gonna  get a view out to the entrance area yeah yeah   through the trees I think it's rather nice I'm  gonna have a sink here little washing up place   here so that you know when I've got my Skippy and  she's doing her washing ups this is gonna be the   kitchen this is the kitchen of course this is the  cabin cooker it's a long way from being finished   but this is a labor of love and for David the  detail is everything and of course we've got   our glass hatchway here so you can see people  entering the building down below and look into   the well at the same time this is quite a live  look yeah so you can have a sheet of glass over   the top of here yeah and you're gonna look down  to the entrance hall yeah you can see the other   circular sheet of glass over the world correct  so you're looking all the way down through this   space the next space you've got it as long as  it's nobody but short skirts George further up   the bedrooms are as yet unfinished but nothing can  stop David's determination it is a long way out   George yeah this has always been a spectacular  and dramatic space hasn't it yeah beautifully   detailed and the views are just incredible  but they've always been here David that is   gonna become a livable space video well hopefully  hopefully within the year we have done the roof   yeah and we have put those little roof lights in  that's okay so we have actually done what we've   said we're gonna do when you look at everything  else that needs to be done in here there's a lot   there is an enormous amount so you've got sort the  timbers are you can store the windows you've got   to sort out all the orc frame into the windows  you've got to cut that whole angle still back   which is a massive massive project it's daunting  but you have to keep going on up you know I'm an   engineer by trade and I know I can do it what do  you say to people who doubt that you'll do this   I'll do it it may take time it may not be in the  in the time that I anticipated but I will get it   done David is still a believer and this dream is  very much alive and after all his hard work whole   family are beginning to share his vision it would  be kind of cool to live in it it's so different I   mean how many people live in a wartime I think  I could live it he will do it I know he would   be happier if he was living here I think he does  deserve the chance to get something absolutely   right and to feel happy with it it's ridiculous  to abandon it halfway through so however much it   takes we'll just have done it I mean if somebody  said to me right it's got to be finished at the   end of the month there wouldn't be enough money  but if it's going to progress at the current   rate then I think we can safely say there will be  enough to buy David how important is it for you   that Jenny does get involved in this I'm doing  it mainly for her and the boys I mean Stephens   been great he's helped me out a few things  and Freddy's did it or Freddy's been whacking   holes too you know two feet of solid brickwork  determined to do that to the late hours and the   evening so there then Jenny's in the background  without her it won't materialize that so I want   them to have it it's it's it's theirs and I want  to get it right I want to give something to my   beloved wife who's been putting up with my quirky  quirky ideas and tantrums over the last 25 years   I want her to concentrate a little bit and do  things that she wants to do David's dream of a   new life in a magical tower surrounded by natural  beauty and away from the stresses and strains of   modern life is one of the most poetic dreams  I've ever come across but when your ambition   is so great the challenge is always great too I'm  sure David will keep striving on and I hope that   one day he does finish this remarkable building  gets the fairytale ending he deserves [Music] next week Paul and Tracy least  stressed in suburbia to create   a luxury home in Cambridgeshire but  their dream life comes with a hefty   price every single credit card has  been used and foot Rob's or a limit you [Music]

Channel: Banijay Home and Garden

Views: 73,934

Keywords: architect george clarke, architect guidance, country living, countryside living, david foster project, diy home, diy home transformation, eco-friendly home, family home projects, george clarke, home makeover, home renovation, house restoration, interior design, property conversion, real estate, rural life, rural renovation, spiral staircase, tower conversion, victorian water tower

Id: 8yrGazHfkGM

Length: 45min 38sec (2738 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 21 2020