RTE’s new TV builder Harrison Gardner admits there he has ‘a little bit of fear’ about putting himself and his work out there to the nation as he prepares to make his screen debut tonight.
The master crafter and building teacher from Australia is the brand new house hero on the scene, and is set to make his first ever television appearance as the star of RTE’s new four part series, ‘Build Your Own Home’.
And asked how he feels about possibly reaching Dermot Bannon level of fame by bringing his skills to the screen, the handsome handyman admitted he is a little apprehensive about it.
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He told Irish Daily Mirror: “We will see when the show goes out how things change. I had to come to terms with all that and be ok with speaking about these ideas openly and really only them, and there is a little fear in putting myself out there like that, and what people will think of me and these ideas.
“But I am really speaking from the heart in everything I talk about, I really do believe that housing is something we all need to have access to. And the way we are going to have that access is by learning these skills.
“And I'm very proud to stand behind those words and to represent those ideas. But we will see how these things change when the show goes to air.”
Over days, weeks and months of hard labour, the homeowners are taught and mentored by Harrison, who has travelled the world since the age of 18 to hone in on his skills as an eco-builder and sustainability designer.
The building teacher, who first came to Ireland for a summer holiday seven years ago, said: “After years of travelling back and forth, I decided to buy an old stone ruin out in West Clare and have been living here ever since,” he said.
“And I guess I’m still in Ireland because I met a lovely Irish woman and we got married and we have a two and a half year old daughter and another one on the way in just a few weeks.
“This very much feels like home now.
And whilst he said he never planned to create a career in building, which initially came to him as 'instinct' after watching his parents build their family home from scratch, the passionate master crafter and teacher, is now on a mission to show the country these alternative ways and means to make their home owning dreams come true without having to break the bank.
The dad-of-one, who originally hails from the Central Coast, north of Sydney, said: “It’s not for everyone, and some people are a long way away from being mentally prepared to build their own home.
“But the point of the show is to show it is possible that people who have no idea what they are doing at the beginning of a project like this can be pushing someone like me out of the way by the last day and showing me how they do it.
“These skills are attainable and something that we can just learn if we invest the time and the commitment, and really the need. It’s the necessity of it.
“And at this moment in Ireland, this option of people needing to build their own homes is more relevant than ever because we are running out of alternatives.”
He added: “We really need to stop thinking of housing as a commodity. It is not something that has a fixed price, or a relatable price across the board.
“Every house is different and every family is different and everyone's needs are different, we have way more control over the cost of our housing than we are led to believe.
“So the more we get into those conversations and let our opinion be heard and learn enough of the language and how the process works, we start to see all the ways that we can save money and that we can be in control of how much our homes are going to cost us.”
The show has been a year and a half in the making for the builder and bosses, who originally seeked out Harrison for his input on a separate property project.
And while he is the face in front of the screen, the family man said his wife has been a key part in helping him all along the way.
“I suppose being a part of a young, growing family right now, as we find our feet, Erin has been by my side every step of the way and it is really important to me that they are with me on whatever adventures we are heading off on. So they came on a lot of the builds with me and all the different projects and they are very much a big part of the show, even if it is mostly behind the scenes, we are all in this together.”
Tune in to the new series of Build Your Own Home on Wednesday 26th October, 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
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