Sarah Beeny: How To Renovate A Wreck

About The Series
Sarah Beeny's Tips

Property guru Sarah Beeny talks exclusively to 4Homes about her brand new series...

Sarah Beeny, presenter of Help: My House is Falling Down

Sarah Beeny's new series, Help! My House Is Falling Down, features property owners who have bought homes with shocking problems - from pest infestations to subsidence.

These unlucky people were mostly unaware of the extent of the horrors lurking within their dream homes and few could even begin to afford to fix them.

Enter Sarah Beeny, who not only dispenses her usual good sense, she also brings in a variety of experts to advise the homeowners and repair the houses. A fascinating insight into just what can go wrong, it is guaranteed to have us all on the edge of our sofas for weeks to come.

We spoke to Sarah to discover more, and to find out just how she approaches her own property nightmares.

The homeowners featured seemed shocked and surprised by the major problems their homes had. Why had they not spotted them before they bought?

Sarah: I think they just didn't look or didn't want to look at the reality of what lay beneath the decoration. Most had busy lives and/or big families and were excited to be seemingly getting a lot for their money.

Of the problems encountered, which was the worst?

Sarah: I think masonry bees and death watch beetle were the worst for me as I had never actually encountered them before. However, I am really glad I now know much more about them than I did! The most serious for the buildings though was a house that had such huge trees around it that they were undermining its foundations - it was quite literally falling down.

How did the families involved take your advice?

Sarah: Actually they took lots of notice - I really enjoyed making this series and seeing people feel so empowered that they can take control of their homes is a great result.