Objective
Former landscaper Richard Firth and his wife Alison bought a project house in the North Yorkshire countryside that they planned to renovate themselves as their “forever” house where they could raise a family and grow old together.
When their five-year-old son Ben went pale, they took him to the doctors. Concern about Ben quickly escalated, and he went to a local hospital before being rushed to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Three years later, Ben is thankfully in remission, but the balancing act of caring for their son whilst doing their day jobs and trying to work on the house, which dates back 200 years, has taken its toll on the couple.
Whilst Richard has worked incredibly hard tackling issues such as large amounts of mould and damp, he admitted that he has been “too proud” to ask for help, but the house needs a new roof – which is beyond his capabilities.
The Background
Having moved into their home in 2021, Richard set about renovating the house, which included tackling the damp and mould problems.
In 2022, Ben was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is a rare form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. It’s most common in children and young people, especially children aged four years old and under – and it usually develops quickly, so it needs to be treated straight away.
After four months of being in Sheffield Children’s Hospital with Ben, Richard and Alison were informed that Ben couldn’t return to the family home until the house problems were resolved due to Ben’s fragile immune system.
Not only was Ben facing a serious disease at such a young age but now even his own home was a danger to him. Damp, mould and dust had the potential to cause deadly complications for him.
The family had to act – Alison was in and out of hospital with Ben whilst Richard began stripping the house back to bare brick. Every problem solved was replaced with something new. A full rewire, replumbing, structural repairs – the list grew longer as work progressed. The couple quickly used up all of their savings, as well as borrowed money, willing to do anything to reach a point where Ben could return.
Eventually, the worst of the dangers to Ben were dealt with and he was able to return home, but the house, and the work needed to complete it, was far from finished. The family were living out of one finished room for a long time, slowly making progress as they juggled Ben’s treatment, work and renovations.
After more than two years of daily treatment, Ben is finally in remission. Eight-year-old Ben is full of life, but the emotional, physical and financial pressures of those few years have taken a toll on the family. Richard in particular faced difficulties with his mental and physical health after the first year. The family were provided with psychological support from Sheffield Children’s Hospital, and it was here that their psychologist suggested that Richard contact Band of Builders for help.
It was clear that Richard was overwhelmed by the relentlessness of the renovation jobs in order to complete work on the house. He was forced to give up his work in the landscaping industry and take a job driving lorries. He was driven to continue the house renovations for his family, but the adrenaline-fuelled survival instinct that had kept him going during the early crisis quickly gave way to stress, depression and anxiety as Ben’s treatment came to an end.
Project
The house is a Victorian three-bedroomed property that has been extended over the years, and there’s a mix of flat and apex roofs. The flat roof above Ben’s bedroom is watertight, but there is one section of the roof that does need replacing.
Richard has admitted he has been too proud to ask for help, and although he is very experienced on the tools and is self-taught in a number of trades, he didn’t want to ask for help because he didn’t want to rely on charity.
This project will involve replacing a 10 m by 5 m apex roof.
When:
The project will take place from 22nd to 25th May.
Where:
Selby, North Yorkshire
Trades Required:
Roofers
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