- The Home Channel - https://thehomechannel.co.za -

Building Bryks

BUILDING BRYKS is an eight episode construction/renovation series that follows the Bryk family as they fight their way through a construction nightmare in building their dream home.

For this family of five, it has been a long road to their first home. They’ve had houses before (they’ve moved over a dozen times in the last ten years), but this will be their first ‘home’ where they are hoping to put down roots and stay for a long time.

But the house is less than ideal. They bought a former rundown rooming house that needs some serious work; in fact, it’s a complete gut job from roof to foundation.

And to save some money, Danielle has decided she is going to be the general contractor on the renovation. She’ll hire the sub-trades, negotiate prices and make sure everything is up to par. But she also has to juggle the kids, cope with her parents and supervise the biggest construction project the family has ever taken on.

The Bryks expected a challenge, but now they are realizing they may have bitten off a lot more than they can chew. Raccoons living in the closets, incomplete structural work, water in the basement – the list of problems goes on and on.

There will be many sacrifices made in order for them to remain within budget and complete this renovation on schedule.

Will their limited budget be enough to complete their dream home renovation?

Episode 1 – Their Dream Home

The Bryks are a family of five and have moved over 20 times. In order to get their dream home, they decided to buy a house that needs a ton of work.  With a budget that’s a bit too high, Danielle, aka Mom, decides to do much of the work herself.  After only a few days, disaster strikes and threatens to wash their dream home away.

Episode 2 – Greg Comes Home

With the renovation underway, and the discovery of a major basement flood, the Bryks need to cough up additional money to save their dream home.  As mom tackles more and more of the projects, husband Greg sees the renovation for the first time and is very surprised.

Episode 3 – Oh So Close

In an effort to make the house livable for them to move in, the Bryks need to finish two essential rooms – a working bathroom and a basic kitchen. This easy task starts becoming impossible when the newly installed windows start leaking in the bedrooms.

Episode 4 – Greg Gets His Wish

Desperate to move in, the Bryks encounter another leak dripping from their newly finished shower.  While busy breaking up the tiles to fix the problem, they demolish and rebuild the front porch.  Finally, after a temporary sink is installed and an ancient house cleansing ceremony is performed, Greg finally gets his wish and moves his family in to their new home.

Episode 5 – When it Rains

The Bryks have to prioritize the front yard before the weather turns ugly. In order to save money, Greg decides to dig out the yard himself and ends up sloping it the wrong way. During a severe rainstorm, the basement floods yet again, draining more money from their evaporating budget.  Danielle hires a landscaper and waterproofers to finish what Greg had started and to finally fix their basement once and for all. After laying a new stone pathway (fresh from Greg’s pruning attempt), the Bryks have completed the front yard of their house. The inside, on the other hand…

Episode 6 – Completing The Big Dream

After unexpected delays and costs to the renovation, it’s now time for the Bryks to reevaluate their plan.  They will need to multi-task and conquer a number of projects all at once.  Not only will Greg and Danielle need to landscape the backyard before the weather turns, they also have to complete the children’s bedrooms.  With the entire family pitching in, the Bryk’s will finally achieve their one big dream:  A house where everyone has their own room.

Episode 7 – Smashing Seems to Work

With the kids’ bedrooms complete, Greg and Danielle are fine with leaving theirs for a little while longer if it means finishing the main floor. They use reclaimed wood from their old front porch, and a DIY attitude, to build custom shelves for the kitchen. To save a little bit of extra money, they enlist the help of their family and friends to paint the entire main floor. When the custom fireplace insert for the living room doesn’t fit, Greg takes it upon himself to make it work. The result ends up costing them a little more money, but in the end it was well worth it.

Episode 8 – Finally A Home

It’s been a long journey and the Bryks have reached the end of the their renovation budget.  With the master bedroom and bathroom, plus the basement, still to complete, they have decided that they will need to go just a bit over budget to finish the house once and for all.  With some cost saving design decisions and a number of DIY projects that almost bring Greg and Danielle to the breaking point, the family is able to cross the renovation finish line solely on fumes.  To them, it has all been worth it.  It’s been eight months, four floors, a few leaks, and a lot of fun – but more importantly, they got to do it as a family.  And now, for the first time, the Bryk’s aren’t just living a “house”, they’re living in their “home”.