František and Jirka aka "Buzny in action" about the reconstruction of their house: 'We found out that we can stand even as men, we managed many things by ourselves'
Before we get into housing, I want to ask about the name of your instagram account. Since you focused a lot on cooking initially, was the goal to somehow reference the culinary show Guys in Action that was on TV?
František: Definitely not. We didn't even know there was such a thing. The name came about because when Jirka and I were going to visit our friends, they said in a good way that the fags were coming again, and we didn't find it derogatory. A couple of years ago we entered the Instahero Show competition and that's how this profile and its name came about.
As for the house - did it take a long time to choose it, or did you just take one of the first offers? Was there anything that you took into consideration when choosing?
Francis: I originally come from a village five kilometres away, and we already lived there together. It was my family home. But then my parents divorced and sold the house. Today my sister and her whole family live there. Jirka and I then moved here to Chocne to an apartment, but it was too small for us. Moreover, we couldn't even have any animals there, which made us sad because we were used to animals from the village. So the decision came that we would get something of our own, where we would be our own masters, we could have animals, a garden and the possibility to realize everything we liked there.
In total, we had two tours. One house was also in the next village, but it was right next to the cowshed, which was quite annoying. Then my mom's neighbor came over and said that there was a house for sale in the center of Chocne in a quiet area, so would we be interested. And since there is generally a poor supply of property in our area, we didn't want to hesitate too much and made an offer to the owner straight away. However, it didn't work out the first time, she preferred a family from Prague. But she did not show up to sign the purchase contract. But the owner was in a hurry for the money, and because she saw a lot of interest from us, the house ended up being ours.
What kind of animals would you like to have?
František: We already have some. We got a Maine Coon cat named Luna the first month after we moved in, when the renovation started, and four months later, when the floor was finished, we got a female cat named Nala. But then our cat started purring, broke a window and ran away. Outside, a cat had a go at her, so we kept one more kitten and now there are five of us in total. Well, inside, we have four chickens outside. We have plans for more animals, but how many and what kind remains to be seen.
About the renovation, was there anything that surprised you at the beginning? Positive or negative...
František: At the beginning there was a lot that we didn't know, because the owner still had her things here for a while. Then when we started to clean the house, demolish and remodel it, we started to discover these hidden flaws. The first thing that came to mind was that when we needed to dig a 50cm hole as a foundation for the underfloor heating, we found that half of the house was underground, so it just wasn't possible. So we had to choose an alternative solution and instead of insulating the floors we insulated the basement ceilings.
Then there was the problem with the well, which served as the only source of water. We had it analyzed and found that it contained various chemicals and animal excrement, so we had to have a water connection made. Which was a big complication, as we were in a hurry to get everything done because we didn't want to pay the mortgage and the rent on the apartment at the same time. But thanks to our drive we managed to negotiate all sorts of permits for the connection, which took two to three months, within 14 days.
By then it became clear that we would have to cancel the old septic tank and negotiate a completely new sewerage system. But somehow this too was soon sorted out and we have been fully operational ever since.
Do you do the reconstruction completely yourself or do you have helpers?
František: We did the demolition work or, for example, the furniture assembly ourselves. We often had help from Jirka's mother, who we used to make fun of for being a dictator and a general, because she gave us a lot of work. What would normally have taken a week was done in two days with her. When we worked with her, we would start around six in the morning and finish maybe at eleven in the evening. But for specialist things like floors, heating or water, there were already classical craftsmen.
Are you interested in ecology or sustainability, and if so, did that translate into the renovation?
Francis: I don't think it has had any impact. We sort our waste, we try to live ecologically in some way, but we wouldn't buy a cucumber in the shop that is wrapped in plastic, definitely not.
Jirka: We are planning to heat with a heat pump and we want to be relatively energy independent in the future. We are also preparing for solar panels.
On your account, it's impossible to miss that you have several collaborations. What parts of the house have you been able to furnish with them?
František: Thanks to Instagram, we were able to connect with a company that basically completely furnished our bathroom and toilet. Otherwise, it's various little interior accessories around the house.
How difficult is it to get a collaboration like that?
Francis: As far as the bathroom is concerned, the company contacted us themselves, or rather their management. They said that they were interested in our profile and that they experienced the renovation with us from the very beginning. When they saw that we were starting to finish the interior, they started to discuss with us our idea of how the bathroom should look like. They invited us to their showroom in Prague, made a visualisation and then it just turned into reality.
In terms of collaborations in general, it's very individual. Some companies won't even respond to our offer, but I think it depends on how many other people the company we're talking to is working with.
Are you interested in getting any feedback from these companies about your cooperation, or are you happy to get some equipment and don't care anymore?
František: We definitely don't care. We are interested in feedback, we enjoy it. We've even been working with one company for four years now, so I believe they're extremely happy with us, just like we're happy with them. And you can see that our followers enjoy it too.
You started out on social media primarily with culinary content, which has helped you gain a significant following. What was the impetus for expanding your scope to include home renovations?
Francis: I've always enjoyed making videos and taking photos. Jirka supported me in that, but he didn't want to be seen too much. He was more of an aesthete who, for example, prepared the food nicely on the plate so that it would turn out as nice as possible. When we started the reconstruction and the demolition and clearing took place, the results were visible that very day. It was definitely a great idea to document this visible progress through social media postings as well, because now when a memory from that time jumps out at us, it's amazing to see how much has changed in that time. People have enjoyed it too, because since we started adding this content, we've added another 12,000 followers to the original 11,000. Plus, we have a lot of people of a similar age following us who have started to talk to us about things like financing the house, what materials we used, why we didn't use other materials... But sometimes we asked them for advice again.
But the renovation isn't done yet, we still have the top floor to finish by summer, so that means more social content from the new year onwards.
Is what you're finishing now your dream home? Is your intention currently that you'd like to stay here for the rest of your life?
František: How do you define a dream home? You change and evolve and I think you will never have in the future what you have built right now. But overall, we try to keep it timeless because we know that even five years from now, a black kitchen will be nicer than a bright red one. We also have the bathroom in neutral colors. And as for the furniture, it can always be replaced. Otherwise, the layout of the house suits us, our garden is just big enough that we don't have to mow it for four hours, but we grow vegetables and fruit for our own consumption.
Now we are able to say that this is our dream house, but if someone gave us the funds, a bigger plot of land and many other things, we would probably be able to realize ourselves somewhere else. It would be very difficult though, we have some pretty deep roots here. I have my whole family here, and because Jirka and I have been together for six years, we have friends here.
What is the biggest thing, apart from the house itself, that the renovation has brought into your life? Has it moved you forward in any way?
František: Most of all, it has brought us the realization that we can last together. (laughs) A lot of things were difficult, as I said, something always came up. I think it was a nerve-wracking experience overall, especially when we were dealing with craftsmen, who we gave a clear brief to, but the result was far from being up to it. When the going got tough, we found out that we could do a lot of things ourselves, so it made us stronger that we can stand up to it as guys and we're not "tinties".
Jirka: When it came to the craftsmen, I personally liked to find out more about things that you don't understand. Whether it was water, electricity or waste, I often stood behind them and looked under their hands. I guess it bothered them a bit, but it was quite eye-opening for me. It was very beneficial.
Francis: Plus, it's also interesting how one perceives the value of money after such a reconstruction. When we lived in an apartment, it was unimaginable to pay several thousand for shoes. But the moment hundreds of thousands started flying around, we discovered how variable the value was. Often what we thought would be terribly cheap was one of the most expensive things. And, of course, the reverse was also true.
