There's a home by the sea that Homes Under The Hammer's presenter Martin Roberts couldn't help but gush about; he really felt strongly about how the property could be improved beyond recognition.
A mid-terrace period property, it had a relatively unusual layout inside, with the front room fireplace not on the expected far wall, but in the central wall between the front and rear reception rooms.
And this posed a problem, as the chimney stack would extend up through the first floor to the roof. To remove it completely would be expensive, but that didn't mean Martin was going to put his sledgehammer away.
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Martin was wielding his imaginary sledgehammer either side of the chimney and again in the rear reception room - there goes the kitchen wall, the outside wall - well, any wall really that didn't take his fancy.
The presenters of BBC's popular daytime property programme usually try to fight back their personal suggestions and thoughts about the future of a home.
Obviously at the 'before' stage they offer advice and imaginative suggestions to viewers, but they don't usually get too involved on what the new owner is going to do to redesign their new property purchase. Until now.
The three-bed house has damp, lots of dingy interiors, an overgrown garden but oodles of potential according to Martin, and he looks itching to get cracking updating it himself.
But it went to auction for a guide price of £150k - £170k and was bought by Dawn and Peter for £170,000 who were at the time living in Bromley and working in London.
The London cabby and part-time DJ and his receptionist wife were looking to use the house as their retirement home and until then, a weekend and summer retreat.
They loved it, even though when they came to view it they were greeted by a secret sitting tenant - a rat.



Another shock for the amenable couple was their disagreement on how the final home should look - they both had a view on what the layout should be and couldn't agree.
Dawn wanted to keep the front room totally separate and create a cosy lounge, an intimate space nestled around the open fireplace.
Peter wanted to 'do a Martin' and get that sledgehammer out and relocate the majority of the dividing wall between the two reception rooms into a skip.
Dawn had vetoed Peter's suggestion and a cosy snug was the future for the floorplan - until they met Martin.
He says: "You know it would feel so much bigger and open if you took it out. You walk through the front door and you just go 'wow!'
"I've had friends who have had houses exactly the same size as this and when they took out all the walls, the main room just felt so amazing."


That's Martin a new member of Team Peter then and Dawn outnumbered. Martin says: "I don't usually get this so involved, sorry! Are you looking forward to putting your touch on it?
"Well I was!" comments Dawn. The couple disappear, probably down the garden path still in dispute about the wall.
They had an initial budget of £50,000 and a timescale of six to nine months to make the house habitable and then a relaxed view on when it would eventually be finished.
This leaves Martin at the house feeling rather guilty.


He says: "Forgive me Dawn, I do try and stay neutral in these situations, so there may be a difference of opinion on how many walls to take out."
Yes Martin, there wasn't, but there is now.
He adds: "I feel a bit bad that I have slightly kiboshed Dawn's plans there but I think it is the right thing to do! Oh dear, should I have kept my opinions to myself?"
But luckily for Martin, Dawn doesn't appear to be too worried about the boys outnumbering her on the future of the wall, but when the programme returned two years later, who really won the war of the wall?



The house in Ramsgate has indeed had the full Martin Robert's suggested sledgehammer treatment.
It has been opened up front to back and an extension into the side-reveal has been added to increase the size. And Martin can't contain himself, yelping, 'yippee!' at the final outcome.
But the central chimney breast has remained to create a broken-plan layout, and will soon benefit from a fireplace that both rooms on either side can enjoy, to create that cosy feel Dawn was looking for.
So maybe the battle ended in a draw and Martin can stop feeling guilty.



The kitchen has been extended into the side reveal and contemporary glass doors at the far end mean that from the front door you can see right down the length of the house to great visual effect, so maybe most people will agree that Martin and Peter were right.
The garden, with its banana plants and palm tree, has been tidied up but remains an idyllic place to relax, still surrounded by plants.
Upstairs though Peter's sledgehammer is out again and this transformation is not one that Martin predicted. The wall between the bathroom and third bedroom has gone to create a vast bathroom.


Usually getting rid of a bedroom devalues a property, but the couple don't care as it's their new home.
Despite one less bedroom the estate agent estimates they will make around £40,000 profit once finished if they were to sell for around £285,000.
But the house is not for sale and is going to be their full-time home very soon, with about another nine months to finish it completely, so Dawn and Peter understandably wanted to make the space right for them in their forever home.
Martin says: "It's your house, you can do what you want!"
Who knows, maybe Dawn will want to be putting that wall back up then once Martin's gone for good.


This Homes Under The Hammer story is in series 24, episode 63, currently still available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Would you have left the wall up to create a snug or do you prefer the final layout? Let us know in the comments section below.
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