A father who appeared on DIY SOS claimed his house was now worse than before, despite being promised a beautiful extension.
Wheelchair user Stuart Phillips desperately needed help from the BBC's transformation team when multiple sclerosis took a toll on his life in 2019.
Mr. Stuart, who is disabled, began to need more support from his blind mother, Lynn, and felt that it might be better for her to move in with him and his daughter, Lauren.
But when Nick Knowles and his workers began renovating the premises in Torquay, Devon, they quickly realized that they would not be able to get permission to expand.
redesign
Plans to make life easier for Stuart and his family failed, and the only other option was to redesign.
The DIY SOS team converted the downstairs to an open plan, added a special lift to allow Stuart to get to the second floor, and also provided a wet room.
But Stuart complained that he had to stare at a wall all day long after he was no longer able to get an extension.
“One of the things I really wanted was to have a Moorish view, but I'm facing a wall,” Stuart said.
“They installed a mirror so I could see my reflection, but the mirror was too high for me to see.”
The trio are grateful for their hard work, but say living in such a small space has been difficult.
Stuart continued: “Don't get me wrong, it's very nice. We're very grateful and we don't want to seem greedy.
“But we had to squeeze everything into the space of an existing tiny house and house three people where two people lived.
“It's not the BBC's fault.”
Stewart said while her mother, Lynne, lives in a small room that doesn't even have room for an extra seat, it's a struggle to get out the back door while sitting in a chair.
Lin, who became completely blind in the 1980s, added, “There wasn't even space to put a chair. It was very difficult. I didn't want people to think I was ungrateful.”
“The people who were volunteering were amazing.”
A BBC spokesperson said at the time: “The DIY SOS team takes the responsibility of building a home very seriously and consults our collaborators throughout the build to ensure the design meets their specific needs. “I am doing so,” he said.
“We remained in regular contact with the Phillips family following the shooting to address and resolve their concerns as quickly as possible.”
