Big-hearted Garry and Kyle Ratcliffe decided to adopt four children, each with complex and life-limiting medical conditions, to give them the best lives possible.
But the six of them struggled while crammed in their small bungalow on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, with each room fit to burst with the vast amounts of medicines and equipment needed.
They adopted Hayden, now 16, who has cerebral palsy, Bella, 12, who has Down's Syndrome, Curtis (aka Curly), eight, who also has cerebral palsy and life threatening chest infections and Phoebe, seven.
The loving parents wanted "space and dignity" for all their kids, so the DIY SOS team transformed their home into a place for them to thrive.
In an unprecedented move, the team knocked down their old house and rebuilt from the ground up in just nine days.
They gave each child their own room to support their needs, installed a hoist system and an air treatment unit to give perfectly clean air inside.
In a heartwarming moment, Hayden said: "Thank you everyone for helping me be independent."
Fast-forward nearly three years and the family have made their own massive transformation to their home.
"DIY SOS changed our lives,” says Garry, 46, who explains how much it has positively impacted Curtis' life in particular.
Speaking to Nick Knowles, he continues: "Curtis, who was in and out of hospital, has only been admitted once in three years – for a minor infection – nothing like the chest infections he had before.
"We believe this is because of a fantastic house with the latest tech. We had over 200 volunteers helping with the build and you can still feel that love."
Garry explains they can all be in a room together now and have friends round now, while Hayden adds: "It is good because I can get around the house."
Kyle, 41, says: "When you built the house it was our family home, now it's Curtis' school. All the equipment has allowed Curtis to not only stay with us healthy but to have a good quality of life."
The family are now giving back to the community that helped them by starting a charity called Curly's Legacy.
They have even created a farm at the end of the garden and invite 60/70 school kids a week who have never worked with livestock before to help run it.
Garry says: “We open our garden as part of The National Garden Scheme. The public pay money which goes to charity. We have also set up our own charity – Curly’s Legacy.”
The couple feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to have four happy, healthy kids and want to help the next family in need.
On why they are branching out to help others, Kyle explains: "It's probably because we're energised from the house.
"All the energy from all those people stays in the house and radiates out. All that positivity has got to rub off."
After visiting the Ratcliffes, Nick says: "It's wonderful to see Garry and Kyle and family again and see what they’ve done from when we stopped, they started.
"They really believe in paying it forward and as a result there are 100s of kids in the area benefiting from the house, garden and new farm they’ve built."
Even amid the devastating coronavirus outbreak, when people are struggling most, the Ratcliffes have been stunned by the generosity they have received.
Businessman Nathan Wood had to close his air purification offices because of the pandemic, so stripped out his own gear and donated it to two families, including the Ratcliffes.
Kyle tweeted: "When @DIYSOS & @MrNickKnowles built our forever home, we didn’t imagine people & businesses would still be supporting us 3+ years later @Farmwood_ltd have NEVER left our-side & have constantly been supporting the health needs of Curly. RT pls to support small businesses
"Nick, @Farmwood_ltd rocked up to the house with huge piece of kit in hand and installed a state of the art air purification system as a way of helping to keep Curly out of hospital.
"@Farmwood_ltd also donated to another @DIYSOS family, a local nursery AND a hospital too!"
Nick Knowles replied: "Thank you @Farmwood_Ltd that really is going the extra mile for vulnerable families"
There is no doubt that DIY SOS and the volunteers that make it possible have established many lasting legacies all across the UK.
*DIY SOS is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
