BUILDERS renovating a terraced house for BBC TV show Homes Under The Hammer made the next door neighbours’ lives a “misery” for six months.
Ian Gilbert and his housebound partner Rita Owen were woken up almost every day at 7.30am to the noise of a jackhammer, and he claims they were given no prior warning before the work got underway.
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Rita, 84 – a cancer survivor who has other severe health problems – has now moved into a care home as full-time carer Ian, 70, can no longer cope, saying his own health problems were exacerbated by the ordeal.
He is currently awaiting open heart surgery. The next door house, in Crewe, Cheshire, was given a full renovation into a six-bedroom HMO after being sold at auction as part of the show.
Ian said the first he knew about the work was when he saw presenter and ex-footballer Dion Dublin outside doing a piece to camera segment for the programme in October last year.
Construction work began almost immediately and wasn’t completed until April.
Ian told the Sun: “They had no respect for us whatsoever and made our lives a misery for six months.
“They never came and told us anything that was going to happen, there was no communication.
“You’d think they’d have given us a fair bit of warning, but we had nothing at all. It’s shocking. They’ve gone now and that’s it, they’ve done their job. Move onto another one, I suppose.
“They’ve got a nice little programme to put together but don’t think of the consequences for other people.”
Referring to Rita, he continued: “My partner, who is now in a home, was very ill at the time, she was housebound… The noise was terrible.
“I used to go out for a couple of hours on a Monday afternoon for a pint with a mate for a couple of hours of respite.
“I’ve gone back home on the first Monday and she was in a hell of a state. They’ve used a jackhammer right the way along the living room wall. Frightened her to death.
“They didn’t know she was in. This jackhammer carried on for the full length of the term of the renovation, until the last day.”
Ian explained that the next door stairway is “right up against” his living room wall and as there was no carpet it sounded “like a herd of elephants” when the builders arrived each morning.
He said he checked on his local council’s website and such noisy work is only allowed from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am-2pm on Saturday, with nothing on a Sunday.
Ian said: “They did make a lot of noise until I went out and said they shouldn’t be making any noise on a Sunday, so (the lead builder) said we’ll work but we won’t make any noise. I’ve heard that one before.”
Ian joked: “They had rubber hammers in the end.”
The episode was broadcast earlier this month.
Ian said: “It all looked very hunky dory, but no one’s concerned about how we went on.
“What about the poor people who had to put up with it all?”
Referring to Rita, he said: “She was very ill, lucky to still be with us.
“She had very bad heart problems. Before they started I had mild aortic stenosis.
“After all this I’ve gone to severe aortic stenosis because I’ve got worked up about it all. And I’ve got to have open heart surgery now.I’ve got to go see the cardiologist in a week.”
Nick Knowles’ DIY SOS wrecked my home and ‘exploited’ my family
BY ALEX WEST
A MAN whose family home was “wrecked” by DIY SOS says the BBC’s offer of financial help won’t cover the damage.
Peter Chapman, 64, a full-time carer for his wife and daughter, says Nick Knowles and his crew caused £30,000 of destruction at his Gloucestershire home.
He says cock-ups included wall bars on the loo for wheelchair-using wife Sarah, 59, and daughter Suzanne, 39, coming off on the first day.
And part of the hallway collapsed at their Cheltenham home after the works, he adds.
Both incidents could have been “fatal”, Peter believes.
Following a three-and-a-half year row, Peter has now refused £15,000 in compensation from the BBC, claiming repairs would cost double.
He said: “I wish I’d never heard of DIY SOS. They’ve literally had me in tears. They just don’t want to know.
“I have been trying to get them to understand the impact their botched attempt at helping me and my family has had on me.
“We’ve been used and well and truly exploited. It was all done for effect.
“There were too many people doing too much, too quickly in appallingly wet conditions.”
Other issues include a leaking roof, which now has buckets catching water, cracks in the patio decking, making it unsafe for Sarah to use her wheelchair and a ramp that is too steep for her wheelchair.
The 64-year-old also blames the programme for laying a driveway that sank and had to be re-laid, cracks in some of the bungalow’s walls, a lack of insulation in two ceilings and installing a slippery hard floor in the lounge when he wanted to keep carpet.
A BBC spokesperson said: “DIY SOS is a heart-warming programme that brings communities together and helps improve the lives of those in need thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time to participate.
“As with all of our previous projects, the Charlton Kings build was planned and completed in accordance with the necessary required regulatory approvals and signed off onsite by building control.”
The corporation said that it sought impartial third party advice to assess the property when Mr Chapman declined its offers of help.
It claimed it offered him various solutions, though Mr Chapman denied this had been the case.
The BBC added that it was aware that Mr Chapman had made his own home improvements since it finished filming, which it had no involvement with.
It said it took its duty of care to its contributors very seriously, offered Mr Chapman support and returned personal items to him.
Read the full story here.
Rita had cancer 10 years ago and Ian became her full time carer after being made redundant from his job as a welder.
She has been housebound for 18 months.
Asked if he blamed the work or TV show for putting his partner in a home, Ian said: “I wouldn’t say it was down to it completely but I don’t think it’s done her any good.
“She’s sat here all day while this renovation has gone on.
“The heart problems caused her to have water retention in her legs and her legs would swell up terribly. She can’t use her legs again now.
“I couldn’t cope with it anymore, that’s why she’s gone into a home.”
Ian and Rita, who have been together 50 years, have lived at their house for 40 years.
A BBC spokesperson told the Sun: “The Lion TV crew visited the property just twice: once at the beginning, before any renovation work started, and once at the end, after the project was completed.
“The construction work at the property was conducted independently, with no involvement from Homes Under The Hammer beyond these two visits.”
We have also approached Lion TV, which produces the show, and the owner of the home next to Ian’s.
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