After selling their three-bedroom semi-detached house, a family embarked on an ambitious £100,000 renovation of a dilapidated 400 year old thatched cottage, which they aim to transform into their “forever home”. The project, which has garnered millions of views online, involves Andy Flood, 41, his wife Becky, 39, and their two children, Ben, 16, and Phoebe, 13, living in a caravan and an outbuilding while they work on the property.
The couple purchased the two-bedroom cottage in Bedfordshire for £280,000, despite it needing a new roof, kitchen, and heating system, and being plagued by mould and rot. However, they are confident that their hard work will pay off, estimating that the property’s value will double once the renovation is complete.
As they work towards their goal of finishing the project by July 2024, which coincides with their 20th wedding anniversary, the family has discovered various historical treasures, including hand-painted wallpaper and old medicine bottles. One of the bottles even bears Andy’s surname, courtesy of a local pharmacist named Flood who lived in the area decades ago.
The family’s DIY ethos has seen them convert one of the property’s four outbuildings into temporary accommodation for their children, who are often enlisted to help with the renovation. Despite the challenges, the Floods are determined to create their dream home, and their progress is being followed by millions on .
Andy, the owner of a roofing consultancy firm, shared with PA Real Life: “My name was already in the land,”.
“We’re doing a lot of the work ourselves but using tradesmen when we need to.”
“It is a lot of hard work … but I’ve done all sorts of jobs so I’m really practical and know how to do a hard day’s grafting.”
“We get to imagine and create our family home where people can come and feel loved.”
The couple has built an extension with two extra bedrooms as well as a kitchen and lounge (Collect/PA Real Life) NOTE TO EDITORS: This image must only be used in conjunction with PA Real Life story REAL LIFE OldRestoration. All usage is subject to a fee or incorporated into your outlets agreed content package (Image: PA REAL LIFE)
After selling their semi-detached house in Cople, Bedfordshire, the couple embarked on a quest for their dream countryside abode about two years ago.
“We wanted a bit of space in the countryside with a decent-sized plot where we could actually build our forever home,” Andy explained.
However, finding the perfect spot proved challenging, and they were outbid on a property in North Bedfordshire just one week before finalising the deal.
“It broke our heart because in our minds we had moved into that place and it got pulled away from us,” he recounted.
Despite the setback, they quickly regrouped and continued their search.
Their persistence paid off in the summer of 2023 when they discovered an old thatched cottage in Everton, nestled within what was once a medieval village.
“It needed a lot of love but yeah, we went for it and because we had a in place and funds in the bank, it went through quite quickly and we moved in.”
They snapped up the dilapidated property for £280,000 and set aside £100,000 for extensive renovations.
Andy has installed solar panels on the roof (Collect/PA Real Life) NOTE TO EDITORS: This image must only be used in conjunction with PA Real Life story REAL LIFE OldRestoration. All usage is subject to a fee or incorporated into your outlets agreed content package. Find copy in full on PA Explore or contact PA Real Life at [email protected] for access or queries (Image: PA REAL LIFE)
“The roof needed replacing, there was barely any kitchen and no heating,” he revealed.
“There were also patches of damp and rotten timber.”
Accompanying the two-bedroom cottage is a massive 30m long greenhouse, as well as a quartet of sheds and garages, rendered inaccessible due to the wildly overgrown garden.
“You literally couldn’t walk through the garden,” he recounted.
The cottage’s origins are shrouded in history, believed by Andy to hail from either the 16th or 17th century when it reportedly served as two separate homes.
Converting one of the old barns into temporary living quarters for their children, Ben and Phoebe, the couple are themselves residing in a modest caravan amidst the garden as they undertake the renovation adventures.
“We’re comfortable but it’s nothing fancy it’s a tiny little caravan, but it’s warm and dry,” he commented.
Not content with mere restoration, the couple has infused the interior of the cottage with character by preserving the original beams, adding an extension with two additional bedrooms, alongside a new kitchen and lounge.
In their renovation journey, a treasure trove of historical artifacts surfaced, inclusive of a medicine bottle.
“Inside the cottage itself, it hadn’t been touched properly for decades,” Andy described.
“We found some curious looking bottles, which I think are old medicine bottles.”
“So there was an old pharmacist in Bedford and one of them was named Flood.”
“I couldn’t believe it.”
Amidst the discovery were fragments of an ancient penknife and shards of hand-painted wallpaper, destined for display in a keepsake cabinet curated by the couple.
The building’s rich historical heritage could present significant challenges, according to Andy. “One of the biggest challenges when you buy a cottage like this is having an archaeological survey,” he explained.
Andy with his father and his 16-year-old son, Ben (Collect/PA Real Life) NOTE TO EDITORS: This image must only be used in conjunction with PA Real Life story REAL LIFE OldRestoration. All usage is subject to a fee or incorporated into your outlets agreed content package. Find copy in full on PA Explore or contact PA Real Life at [email protected] for access or queries (Image: pa real life)
“It turns out there was a medieval settlement in Everton and this is in the heart of where it would have been.”
He also warned of the potential costs: “And if they find anything and we have to dig it up, that’s not cheap, we’re talking at least £5,000.”
Andy and his wife Becky, who runs a cleaning business, are aiming to complete their renovation project by 10 July 2024, coinciding with their 20th wedding anniversary. “We would like it to be done by then, but we’ll see how things go,” Andy said, though he half-joked about the possibility of missing the deadline: “It will probably come and go and we’ll still be in the caravan.”
Despite not being interested in selling, Andy believes the property’s value will soar post-renovation. “We bought it for £280,000 and I think we’ll double that,” he predicted, but clarified their intentions: “But we’re not investors who are doing this for money, we just want to have a lovely family home.”
For those considering similar ventures, Andy recommends collaboration as essential. After buying the cottage, he posted a video that went viral, garnering nearly three million views.
He has continued to share the renovation journey online, offering a chance for others to learn from his experiences.
For more information, follow Andy on and at @ThisOldRestoration.