๐ฅ FROM ASHESโฆ TO HOME AGAIN ๐ฅ Completed
Sunday 28th June 2026
Tonight marks the end of a chapter I never wanted to write.
On the 19th of April, a fire tore through our home and my craft room. In less than 20 minutes, everything changed. The place where memories were made, orders were created, and dreams were being built was left blackened, broken, and silent.
No insurance.
No easy fixes.
No magic wand.
Just a mountain to climb.
But what followed wasnโt a story about a fire.
It became a story about people. โค๏ธ
People who turned up with tools.
People who turned up with advice.
People who turned up with a message, a share, a donation, a kind word, or simply a shoulder when things felt overwhelming.
Over the last 70 days, Iโve watched walls come down, rooms stripped bare, cables run, plasterboard fitted, plaster applied, paint rolled, floors laid and hope slowly rebuilt brick by brick.
There were days I wanted to throw the towel in.
Days when the finish line felt miles away.
But every time, someone appeared and helped push things forward.
A special thank you goes to:
โญ My brother Ian
โญ Raymond
โญ Kevin
โญ Keith
โญ Alex
Without you lot, Iโd probably still be standing scratching my head wondering where to start.
And to everyone who donated to the GoFundMe, shared posts, sent messages, bought from Bcrafty, or simply checked in to see how I was doingโฆ
Thank you.
You know who you are.
Your kindness carried me further than youโll ever know.
Today the walls are painted.
The rooms are coming back to life.
The craft room is open once again.
And Bcrafty lives on. โค๏ธ
This isnโt just the end of a rebuild.
Itโs proof that when life knocks you flat, you get back up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward.
The Phoenix has risen.
From the bottom of my heartโฆ
Thank you for helping me get home. ๐๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ
Alan (Blu)
Bcrafty
โFrom Ashes We Rise.โ ๐ฅ๐ฆ
Day 46 to Day 49
Thursday 4th June to Sunday 7th June 2026
Just a quick progress update from the build site! It has been an incredibly busy, heads-down few days covering Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and today, Sunday. The manual labor hasn't stopped for a single second as the decoration stage goes into full overdrive.
You might notice something a bit different about today's log: I'm intentionally not posting any pictures or walkthrough videos this time around! The entire space is currently getting its final coats of painting done right now, and I want to keep the cameras strictly off so I can show you the absolute transformation all at once when the room is fully completed.
The finish line is tantalisingly close now. If everything keeps running to plan, I am hopefully looking to have the vast majority of this major room work entirely finished by the end of this coming week! I can't wait to open the doors and show you what a proper blank canvas looks like after all this graft.
No photos or video updates for todayโsaving it for the big reveal!
Well, that is all the news for just now. Thank you all so much for reading along, following the recovery, and keeping me company on this long journey. Big things ahead this week! ๐๐ดโ๏ธ๐
Day 43, Day 44 & Day 45
Monday 1st June to Wednesday 3rd June 2026
Well, it has been an absolute whirlwind, flat-out busy week over here! The momentum is officially staying up as we dive straight into transforming these fresh plaster walls into finished spaces.
First up, a massive victory on the upper layout: the loft flooring is officially DONE! Getting those final structural tongue-and-groove sheets completely locked down across the open joist lines is a proper weight off my chest. With the storage deck secure, it was time to change gears. I took a quick run down to B&Q to load up on rollers, brushes, and tubs of paint, and the second I got back to base, it was absolute all brushes go!
The painting sprint has been running full steam. I've been throwing down the initial white coats on the walls and squaring off the clean finish lines around the fresh coving trim to see exactly how many coats it's going to take to build up a decent, professional depth.
Of course, a house rebuild wouldn't be complete without a minor classic drama! While shifting the big stepladder around in the tight corners to coat the high angles, I managed to accidentally ding and damage a small patch of the brand-new ceiling plasterwork. Absolute typical, isn't it?! ๐ Thankfully, a bit of filler, smooth sanding, and careful paint blending will have it entirely hidden and looking pristine again in no time.
As always, I really could not have done this without all the friends and family. The help I have received across this entire process has been absolutely fantastic and it's what has kept my engine running through the toughest days. So, thank you one and all! ๐๐๐๐ด
Iโve dropped a fresh mix of 7 pictures (.jpg) and 3 videos (.mp4) into the layout below so you can check out the neat trim lines, the room setup, the first major wall layers, and the completed loft boards! Thatโs all the news for just now. Thank you all so much for reading, following along, and keeping me company on this recovery journey. More progress to follow! ๐๐ดโ๏ธ๐
Day 40, Day 41 & Day 42
Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May 2026
The renovation is moving along nicely as I transition into the next phase of the project. I am currently waiting patiently for the fresh plaster to fully dry before I can proceed with the final finishes. While I wait, I have been tackling various "bits and bobs" around the house to keep the momentum going.
I carried out some initial test painting on the spare room today to determine the number of coats required for a decent finish, and I plan to continue with the painting tomorrow to get the house closer to completion.
It was great to have Presley last night for a bit of dog sitting and a quiet evening.
Day 38 & Day 39
Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th May 2026
What an absolutely massive, game-changing couple of days. There is officially a brilliant, bright light at the end of this tunnel now, and honestly, I am absolutely chuffed to bits with how the studio is looking!
Wednesday kicked off with a bang when Keith and Lewis, the absolute master plasterers, arrived on site. They flew straight into the thick of it, tackling the heavy prep work and throwing down the solid bonding coats across our raw framing. Thursday today, they were right back at it to finish the job, skimming and flattening out every single square inch into a flawless, glass-smooth finish. As you can see from the pictures, the transformation is completely night and day!
This is a true landmark milestone for the workspace recovery. Seeing the studio go from a charred, hollow shell back into a pristine, crisp, clean canvas has given me a massive boost. I am just so incredibly over the moon with the quality of the job. Out of the ashes, piece by piece, itโs actually coming together! ๐ด
Now we just let the plaster dry out completely, and then it is full steam ahead into painting, final electrical socket faces, and unboxing the creative gear to get the machinery back up and running. Onwards and upwards! ๐๐ดโ๏ธ๐
Day 36 & Day 37
Monday 25th & Tuesday 26th May 2026
After hitting the brakes for a much-needed chilled Sunday, it was straight back into the thick of it early Monday morning. The mission: conquer the upper deck structural floor and transform it into a safe, usable blank slate.
Laying down the fresh tongue-and-groove flooring across the raw attic framing has turned into a proper mind-bending logic puzzle. Between custom cuts, managing tight perimeter clearance, and handling all the raw timber geometry, it feels exactly like a giant, heavy-duty wooden jigsaw! It has been an immense amount of manual lifting, shuffling, and hammering, but the finish line is tantalisingly close now.
By lunchtime, the mid-day heat inside the roof space was getting seriously intense, forcing a tactical retreat back downstairs. Thankfully, the downtime was put to brilliant use! I turned my focus back to the creative side and knocked out a few custom Bcrafty customer orders that came through. Once those parcels have been successfully delivered to their new homes, I'll be posting some showcase photos over on the main Bcrafty page! ๐จโ
Check out the gallery below to see the progress: shifting away the leftover storage items, opening up the framing gaps, and locking down those solid structural flooring sheets piece by piece! We are almost there! ๐จโจ
Anyway, a massive thank you to everyone for reading, following along, and showing such incredible support for this space recovery. Sending peace, productivity, and sunshine to you all! ๐๐ดโ๏ธ๐
Day 34 & Day 35
Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th May 2026
After a relentless couple of weeks of heavy lifting, demolition, and dust, this weekend has been a beautifully quiet, laid-back chapter.
With the heavy studio prep done, the attic cleared, and the electrical socket back boxes safely wired up, there was nothing left to do but tap the brakes and take things entirely easy. It has been a fantastic chance to recharge the batteries and simply enjoy the welcome sunshine!
We are officially playing a calculated waiting game now. The plasterer is scheduled to arrive this coming week, and once that plaster is on the walls and dry, it is going to be absolute all-go. We'll be straight into decorating, final electrical finishes, laying down the fresh flooring, and setting up the actual creative machinery. I honestly can't wait to see it hit that stage! ๐
No photos or video updates for today.
Day 32 & Day 33
Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd May 2026
Thursday was an absolute whirlwind of a shift, but seeing the workspace take shape makes every bit of the graft worth it! ๐จ
I spent the first half of the day tackling the main attic clearance, sorting through years of hidden history (and an unbelievable amount of dust) to get the structural floor joists completely open and ready for new flooring. Once the top deck was clear, it was straight back downstairs into the main craft studio to clean, empty, and prep every corner ahead of the plasterer's arrival (looks like his schedule shifted slightly, so he'll be arriving this coming Tuesday or Wednesday now).
The proudest moment of the day? I stepped into the electrician boots and successfully fitted and completely wired up all the wall back boxes for the new power sockets. Go me! ๐๐
Friday has been officially designated as "Operation Clean-up." The immediate goal is to give the raw subfloors and stairs a thorough, deep wash down. If the energy levels hold up tonight, I'm going to take the scraper to the remaining wallpaper remnants and wash down the walls so everything is entirely pristine, clean, and ready for the first coat of paint.
It's dusty, exhausting work, but watching the studio transform from a disaster zone back into a creative space is incredibly exciting. Swipe through the gallery below to check out the transformation: 3 shots of the opened attic progress and 3 views inside the prepped craft room! โจ
Day 31
Wednesday 20th May 2026
Following my dramatic dive through the ceiling joists (silly bugger), I had to force myself to take Tuesday completely off from heavy lifting to recover. Instead of manual graft, I spent the time sitting down and doing a complete backend overhaul of the Bcrafty website to get it running perfectly.
Feeling much better today, it was time to win the final war against the attic chaos. My mate Raymond jumped in to help clear the space, managing to borrow his dad's car and trailer for the day. We piled it high with fire-damaged timbers, old doors, and scorched debris, launching the entire lot straight to the dump.
Standing back and looking at a completely clear, swept floor feels absolutely unreal. Unearthing old, soot-stained relics like a vintage Furby really shows how deep we had to dig to get this back to a true blank canvas! ๐ Heavy clearing is officially DONE. Massive thanks to Raymond for the serious shifting power! ๐๐ด๐
Day 30
Monday 18th May 2026
Big steps today: the new windows are fully secure and the plasterboard installation is officially wrapped up ๐
Everything was running like clockwork until I was finishing off the last segment of the ceiling. I lost my footing on the joists and went straight through the plasterboard ceilingโhonestly thought my numbers were up for a split second!
Luckily, I'm still here to tell the tale ๐ A bit battered, deeply bruised, and covered in cuts, but standing. Had to spend the afternoon framing out and repairing the exact section of ceiling I just broke through, which definitely wasn't on today's agenda! It's all patched up now and looking solid. Out of the ashes, piece by piece ๐ด
Day 28 & Day 29
Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th May 2026
Unbelievable progress this weekend... things are moving seriously fast now! ๐
Saturday was entirely dedicated to getting the new window framed and sealed. A massive thank you to Lewis for putting in the hard graft, and to Garry for supplying the window unit. You guys are total lifesavers ๐
Sunday was all work and zero play. Kevin from QBS came in and absolutely flew through the plasterboarding. What an incredible transformation!
The space is finally starting to look like a clean, bright room again instead of a charred, hollow shell from a post-apocalyptic movie set ๐ฌ๐ช
Day 24 & Day 25
Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th May 2026
The materials delivery arrived yesterday... stacks of heavy plasterboard and all the new room flooring. Let me tell you, lugging all of that bulk up the stairs by hand absolutely wrecked me ๐ Proper, old-fashioned heavy graft.
Today was a bit calmer. Took it easy on the joints, cleared out some remaining bits from the attic space, and did another sweep of the floors.
Right now, it's a waiting game until my mate can come over to start hanging the plasterboard so we can get things flying again ๐จ
A massive shout-out to Raymond for coming through to help out. Honestly, without his muscle today, I'd be completely Donald Ducked right now! ๐ ๐
Day 22 & Day 23
Sunday 10th & Monday 11th May 2026
Sunday was a much-needed slow day. Didn't do too much heavy lifting apart from a general tidy up and sorting out a few custom mug and coaster orders. My body was absolutely spent after a grueling week.
Monday, however, was an early start and straight back into the thick of it. I finally finished clearing all the old wood wool insulation out of the hall. Huge win!
Next on the hit list is prepping the spare room. Time to get it stripped bare and ready for the trades. Slowly but surely, the house is starting to look less like absolute chaos and more like a real plan coming together.
Catch you all in the next updateโฆ ๐๐๐ด
Day 21
Saturday 9th May 2026
Well, that is the hallway and landing completely stripped back and nearly finished now.
It feels incredible to see real progress after what felt like an endless cycle of scraping walls, clearing debris, and running loads down to the tip.
Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend. Thanks again for sticking with me on this journey ๐
Day 0
Saturday 18th April 2026
The day it all changed. Still trying to process the scale of it and take it all in.
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