Me helent. I thought it might be useful to compile a list of people that have helped us on this project. All of whom we could recommend without reservation. For further information please contact me at helentuck@googlemail.com.

Barry McGovern and Steve Orr, who are McGovern Carpentry and Design. They, along with Jago, Ziggy, Pietro and others snatched victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat. Had it not been for them NumberFour would not have had her extension on time or anywhere near on budget. We salute you. Special mention, to Callum for the outrageously beautiful walnut kitchen.

Antonio Ramirez Condor, the master plasterer who single handedly replastered every wall and ceiling at NumberFour. Unremittingly cheerful and our two-year son's greatest hero. Also ace tiler.

Tony and Carl Whittington are Flowrite plumbers. Between them they dragged NumberFour kicking and screaming into the world of hot water and central heating, and gave us underfloor heating to boot. They also installed 3 bathrooms and two toilets and all of the utilities in the kitchen. Totally reliable and highly recommended.

Alan re-wired the whole property with unflinching attention to deal.

The lovely Paul who wiped out decades of rubbish accumulation and DIY extensions. Supplier of 20 yarders extraordinaire.

Tui, brilliant painter and decorator, and more recently restorer of stone. When I thought all was lost he brought back to life many of the original features at NumberFour.

George Rochester, who made new sash windows for every room at NumberFour and re-built the top floor landing rails and spindles after we discovered them in the secret loft. He learnt his trade as a coffin maker in Jamaica.

Sarah has transformed the garden at NumberFour with her legendary attention to detail and creative solutions. When I was in the depths of despair she remained calm and cool and spent many hours ensuring the success of her design. She's a lot of fun too.

Peter McKnight who undertook this project with such a practical approach and what had seemed to be an insurmountable task was made to look easy.

Rupert built brilliant storage and fitted the white units in the kitchen, making cheap ikea basics look pretty good.

Scott White and Hookins, in particular Brad and Chris, who made the building control element of this project as stress free as it could possibly have been. They were supportive and open to new ideas.

Stan Smith who restored and remade a lot of the elaborate cornicing at NumberFour.

Hunter Neil who once again produced lovely worktops.