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00:00France is home to thousands of chateaux,
00:04with many left derelict and unloved.
00:11But some courageous individuals are reviving these old buildings...
00:17I knew it would be dusty, but, oh, my God, this is so bad!
00:21..and bringing them back to life.
00:24Oh, my God.
00:25It isn't always a smooth ride.
00:28I will never want to do this again ever in my life.
00:31..when restoring historic castles...
00:33Now I can visualise more what it's going to be like.
00:36But there's a mountain to climb yet.
00:38..into fairytale homes...
00:40This is really stressful, guys.
00:43..and thriving businesses.
00:46I need a stitch.
00:47What a day for a tent to fall over.
00:50But those that have the ambition and drive...
00:53And relax.
00:56..often get to enjoy the rewards...
00:59Just take it all in, mate.
01:00No, it's beautiful.
01:01..as they get to live out their dreams...
01:04It's hard to pick the one thing that made me fall in love with this place.
01:07..as keepers...
01:09Cheers.
01:10..of their very own French chateau.
01:16Today, tensions flare for one couple...
01:20Oh, you pulled it off the wall!
01:22..trying to complete their first suite.
01:25Is that straight?
01:26No, it's not, Terry.
01:27Oh, my word.
01:28Another pair are concerned about what lies beneath...
01:32All this is going to go boom.
01:34..as they need to be chateau-ready in time for their first wedding.
01:38That is a horrendous scenario.
01:40And another duo deal with the descent of an en suite...
01:44Careful!
01:45..at the start of their bathroom renovation.
01:48I'm worried it's going to swing like a conker into the window.
01:51No, no, no, no. Slowly.
01:56SET WITHIN THE PICTURESQUE NOUVELLE-ACQUITTAINE REGION
02:00Set within the picturesque Nouvelle-Aquitaine region,
02:04in western France,
02:06lies the magical 19th-century Château de la Boutinière.
02:14Along with fairy-tale turrets
02:17and surrounded by 52 acres of ancient woodland,
02:22it even has its own Victorian hunting lodge.
02:27Inside, there are 47 rooms,
02:30which are being lovingly restored by builder Zion
02:34and his wife, interior designer Alison.
02:39Morning, ladies.
02:42This was our château dream,
02:44and it took us 20 viewings of different châteaux
02:47before we found this one.
02:48And the minute we found it,
02:49we just knew this was going to be our forever home.
02:52This is, I think, every builder's dream.
02:55Somebody that likes to create things,
02:58to change things, to improve things.
03:00And this is the place.
03:03Located just over three hours from Paris,
03:07the couple purchased the château in 2021
03:11for £580,000.
03:16The last time we saw them,
03:18Alison and Zion had created a stunning bridal suite,
03:23complete with opulent bathroom and its very own steam room.
03:28It's relaxing, romantic.
03:30It is very romantic.
03:32And it's unique, unique to us.
03:37Now the pressure is on, as there is a deadline looming.
03:42After two and a half years of living here,
03:44we have finally got our first wedding bouquet,
03:47and it's really exciting but equally terrifying
03:50because we've got to be ready on time.
03:52With just three months to go to the big day,
03:56the rear façade and steps, where the ceremony will take place,
04:01look neglected, drab and run down.
04:05The most important thing is to get rid of this graffiti.
04:08We've got graffiti on the shutters
04:09and we've also got it on the masonry of the walls,
04:11so we're not quite sure whether it's going to come off
04:13using a jet wash or whether we're going to have to spray it.
04:16It's going to be quite an experiment, but we need to get on.
04:23That's all I wanted in here.
04:29It feels like, you know, you're trying to take something
04:31that has never been cleaned for probably more than ten years.
04:35It's bedded inside the stone.
04:40While Zion blasts away,
04:43Catherine sets her sights on the central shutter door.
04:47This is probably one of the most important parts
04:49of the rear of the chateau, because where I'm standing now
04:52will be where the bride and groom hopefully will do their vows,
04:55and this door will be in close-up.
04:58My job today is to sand it all down
05:00so that it goes as close to bare wood as I can get it
05:03so it's really nice and smooth,
05:05and then when we paint it, it's going to look gorgeous.
05:08All masked up, set and off, ready, go!
05:14MUSIC PLAYS
05:22What's all this coming off the wall?
05:24It's the poor rendering.
05:26Oh, my goodness. Are we making a job for ourselves?
05:28No, we're just sanding the rest.
05:30Unfortunately, it looks like not just the graffiti's going to come off,
05:33but all the rendering as well, which isn't quite the idea.
05:36Zion doesn't seem at all concerned, but I am,
05:39because I know how these jobs, one leads to another,
05:42and the next thing you know,
05:44we'll be re-rendering the chateau before the wedding.
05:49Having started the mammoth clean-up job, there's no going back now.
05:56In my eyes, it looks better, because you don't see the graffiti.
06:00The rendering is bad anyway, so, OK, a few more holes, big deal.
06:04It's difficult to tell at this stage.
06:06Once it's dried and the render comes back up a lighter colour,
06:09we'll be able to see whether the graffiti's actually gone.
06:12They've made a small dent on removing the graffiti,
06:16but Alison and Zion might just have made even more work for themselves.
06:29Two hours south, to the stunning Haute Vienne département,
06:34the majestic 19th-century Chateau de la Gruyère.
06:42Set within 12 acres, the property boasts two grand towers
06:47and its own turret, and came fully furnished,
06:51with 12 bedrooms, nine bathrooms and two grands salons.
06:59It's now home to Sharon, a retired district nurse,
07:03and husband Tim, who handily worked in construction
07:07before moving to France.
07:10Are you going to do a delboy?
07:14OK? Yeah. Perfect.
07:17The couple from Oxfordshire bought the chateau in 2022 for £500,000.
07:26At the fall that we actually saw, this was the one that spoke to us,
07:29made us both very emotional when we walked in,
07:32so I kind of knew it had something special about it.
07:35And living where we live in this chateau, it's very rural,
07:38everything can happen tomorrow, and it is a quieter place,
07:42and when you come back into the chateau, you think,
07:45wow, yeah, relax.
07:48Located two and a half hours north of Toulouse,
07:53the couple have already restyled eight rooms
07:57and are about to make a bland guest bathroom feel more like their own.
08:03Today we're going to start removing the bathroom from the tower
08:06for the main bedroom.
08:08Get all the tiles out, get the bath out, get the toilet,
08:11get the vanity unit, strip it all back,
08:13and then we'll have a look at whether we're going to take
08:16the false ceiling down as well, which we may do.
08:19This is where Sharon comes into her own,
08:21because she loves destroying things.
08:23So she's going to be really good at this.
08:25I quite like to do the bit of demolition,
08:27because you get an instant result.
08:29Tim is a trained electrician and plumber.
08:35So that should sit in there like so.
08:37I'm disconnecting the electrics into the bedroom.
08:40In typical French style, there's lots of connector blocks
08:43all over the place, so you locate them, find out what goes where.
08:48Current going through.
08:50Although previously renovated,
08:53Sharon aims to give this bathroom a restyle.
08:57We've done two bathrooms so far, so this is our third one.
09:02There's nine in total, so we've still got a way to go.
09:05When I first arrived in France, I put my hand underneath a cupboard
09:10and there were some live wires under there and it gave me
09:13a nice little reminder that you need to make sure
09:16that the electrics are turned off and you can never rely on anybody
09:20unless you do it yourself.
09:22Lefty Lucy? Lefty Lucy? Righty tighty?
09:28In one sense, it was great buying the chateau fully furnished,
09:33but on the downside, it's something quite odd,
09:37living in a house that you don't recognise anything but you own it all.
09:41It was never, ever on my radar to live in France.
09:45We just decided we wanted to take it out of retirement,
09:48but we were too young to do nothing.
09:54Right, how are you getting on?
09:56I've just got this last one, which I'm finding quite difficult.
10:00OK, leave that for a minute and let's get the toilet out, shall we?
10:03I'm going to give this to you. Thank you.
10:06Happy days, happy days. You can hear it swishing around.
10:10This is fairly heavy, actually. Is it?
10:13There we go.
10:18Don't break the part, the mirror. Ooh.
10:22Ready? OK.
10:25Good job.
10:27Bit of heave-ho, yeah?
10:29I think it needs to go up. Up?
10:34Put it over here. Yeah, somewhere just there is good.
10:37We'll strip that down when we get a chance.
10:40Strip it all down into smaller bits, manageable,
10:42and we'll get it into bags and then just chuck it out the window
10:45and on a rope, hopefully.
10:47They've made a good start in stripping the tower bathroom,
10:51but with a bath and floor-to-ceiling tiles to smash off,
10:55this suite is a long way from welcoming any guests.
11:02Coming up, Zion sets about restoring 60 shutters...
11:08..in time for the chateau's first ever wedding.
11:11This chateau looks dead.
11:13And Sharon and Tim let it all hang out...
11:16That is heavy.
11:18..as they continue to strip a bathroom.
11:21Just go really steady.
11:31Surrounded by the lush woodland and riverways of Normandy
11:35in northern France,
11:37lies the imposing 18th-century Chateau de la Lacelle.
11:45Set within 21 acres, the property comprises of 25 rooms
11:51and a magnificent central staircase leading up inside a stunning tower.
11:59It had lain in a dilapidated state for decades
12:03before Middlesbrough couple Terry and fiancée Ashley
12:08bought it in 2021 for £250,000.
12:15It's all going well. Nice quick lunch, get back to it.
12:19It is also home to Terry's mum, Tracy, and his nephew, Jonathan.
12:25It was the Goldilocks, wasn't it? It ticked every single box.
12:28We had a list of requirements that our home in France had to be
12:32and there was no compromise on a single thing with what we wanted.
12:36I think when we saw the spiral staircase in the tower,
12:39that was just the... Sold it.
12:41Yeah, that was a deal-breaker with it.
12:45Located just over 100 miles west of Paris,
12:50the chateau had lain empty for 40 years
12:54and most of the rooms were uninhabitable,
12:57forcing them to live in caravans on site.
13:00It was difficult at first cos you'd give up everything that you've had,
13:03so you had a nice house and cars and everything,
13:07to living in a caravan and showering in a shed and...
13:13It made every step after that monumental, didn't it?
13:16Yeah, like when we got water to the chateau and when we got power
13:20and every little thing was... A huge step forward.
13:24It's not for everyone, but... It's definitely for us. Definitely.
13:30When we were last here,
13:32they were battling to complete their first guest suite.
13:37Oh, my God. It is bad, isn't it? Yeah.
13:41Now, with Trace's help,
13:43they have almost finished what they are calling the 400 suite
13:48and are expecting visitors from America.
13:51So the 400 suite, we've had to do absolutely everything.
13:54It's been a complete rebuild from the electrics, the plumbing,
13:57the walls, the floors, the ceilings, everything's completely new in there
14:01or restored for what was already there. Yeah.
14:06But there's still a few finishing touches to complete.
14:11So before the guests come, I've got to reupholster the chair
14:14to get that into the 400 bedroom, so they've got somewhere to sit.
14:17And I've got some pictures to do, a few nice tapestries
14:20just for in the frames that we've done.
14:22And I'm just the hired help today, I'll just be carrying stuff about.
14:25It's a tea. Yeah.
14:31So this is one of two Louis XV chairs we managed to pick up from a brock hunt.
14:35We got them for an absolute bargain.
14:37So the plan is to completely strip them,
14:39then we can look at the woodwork,
14:41see if there's any repairs to do with the woodwork,
14:43give the wood a nice wax, and then we can look at recovering it.
14:48When I was back in the UK, I used to do quite a lot of upholstery,
14:52picking up chairs that were destined for the skip, really,
14:55and then just bringing them back to life.
14:58With the original horse hair and the padded hessian,
15:01we'll be putting that back in.
15:03So I'm going to try and take this off as carefully as I can.
15:09We're just using a completely natural beeswax,
15:12and it's just soaking up into the wood.
15:14And this one in particular has got a nice sort of rose gold tint to it.
15:23It's beautiful, just getting that sheen on it.
15:27Telly has started to bring a little bit of history back to life.
15:32But there is still a chair to cover and framed tapestries to hang
15:37before their first guests arrive.
15:41BELL CHIMES
15:46170 miles south, at Alison and Zion's,
15:51the race is on to clean up the rear of their chateau
15:55in time for their first wedding ceremony.
15:59Zion and I have very different working styles.
16:01I have a very strict timetable as to how we're going to achieve this
16:05and when we're going to finish. Zion's very much more relaxed.
16:08Why do I have to worry all the time?
16:12Let's get on with it.
16:14See what I mean?
16:17Not an easy job for an old man, you know.
16:20Having already jet-washed some of the masonry and sanded a door...
16:26Oh, she's working.
16:28..Zion gets to work on the shutters, all 60 of them.
16:34This shutter looks...dead.
16:38They need some TLC.
16:42Whoa!
16:48You need to stick it on.
16:52Cleaning the rear facade is one thing,
16:55but the garden is quite another.
16:58It's a disgrace. You couldn't have a wedding as it looks now.
17:03When we first started researching the history of this chateau,
17:06I saw online a photograph that had a very distinctive pattern
17:11here in the rear of the chateau, which had grass in it
17:14and everything else was like a driveway around it.
17:16And if you look closely, you can still see the granite outline of that grass.
17:21And then I'm going to put a shrub here in each corner,
17:25one that I can perhaps decorate for the weddings.
17:28So it'll really create a nice, almost a topiary garden,
17:32but on a fairly basic level.
17:34As time is of the essence, handyman Adrian has been called in.
17:40Outside the granite set, I want to take the grass off.
17:43You want it scraped off? Yeah, I want it scraped off.
17:45So if you could follow the line.
17:47We just have to watch we don't touch the granite thing and damage it.
17:50OK, no problem at all.
17:53There's nothing I like more than having all this work going on.
17:57It's a real bug and it makes me feel like we're actually getting somewhere.
18:07Alison, is this deep enough?
18:10Yeah, that's fine. No deeper than that, though.
18:13No, no.
18:15I think that we've got enough time and we can do just enough
18:19to make a complete difference to the way it looks
18:22and to make it be somewhere these brides want to come to.
18:26But there's also the unpredictable weather to contend with.
18:31The rain's coming in, and once the rain's set,
18:34we're going to have to stop playing
18:36because this digger will make too many tracks in the mud.
18:40We will keep going. We'll get it done.
18:42Everything will be fine, you know.
18:45Just...
18:47It'll all be fine.
18:49What could possibly go wrong?
18:51With a wedding deadline looming, 59 shutters to paint
18:55and a garden to complete,
18:58Alison and Zion well and truly have their work cut out.
19:04Just over 100 miles away, in Haute-Vienne, at Sharon and Tim's...
19:10Just be aggressive with it.
19:12..they're continuing to rip apart their tower bathroom.
19:16So if you get that underneath there, hit the end of this.
19:22But floor-to-ceiling tiles have been cut to size.
19:26So if you get that underneath there, hit the end of this.
19:31But floor-to-ceiling tiles means the bath is still stuck fast.
19:37There you go. There you go. There you go.
19:43See what I'm saying? Don't be shy.
19:45I can see downstairs. What room's that? The salon?
19:49No, that's the office.
19:51Oh, of course. We're in the tower. We're in the tower.
19:54There we go.
19:58They have parties, don't they, where you can go and smash things up?
20:04It is quite satisfying, isn't it?
20:12Give me a heart attack then.
20:15Oh, we've got two sections.
20:17Do you want to take the big bit and I'll take the small bit?
20:21I could take the big bit. You sure? Yeah.
20:24Oh, you're man or mouse.
20:27You good?
20:29Smashing out a bathroom is one thing,
20:32but carrying the bulky parts down the chateau's grand staircase
20:36is quite another.
20:38Tim is a man with a plan.
20:43Rope it up, get a couple of extra loops in.
20:46Just lower it out of the window.
20:48We're all good.
20:52Ready to go.
20:58Please don't let it bang against the windows,
21:01because you'll smash the window of the salon.
21:04There you go, then. If I let it go, can you catch it?
21:08Careful.
21:11Slowly.
21:15Oh, you're a dream.
21:19Dream team.
21:21Yeah, that's good.
21:23That saved the floors and damaging walls on the way down.
21:27We've got to put a toilet through now.
21:30Oh, yes. Look at that.
21:32Perfect.
21:34All good.
21:36I'm a little bit nervous about this one,
21:38cos I think the toilet is very heavy and contained,
21:41and I'm worried it's going to swing like a conker into the window.
21:45Are you there, my love? I'm here.
21:48I think you should put a hard hat on.
21:51Oh, my Lord, that is heavy. Crikey.
21:54Sharon, don't stand underneath it.
21:56I'm not. I'm on the patio.
21:58That is bloody heavy.
22:00The average porcelain toilet base weighs over four stone.
22:05Good to go?
22:07Yeah, just go really steady. I worry about that metal.
22:11It's trying to lift my feet off the ground.
22:14Is it? Yeah.
22:20There you go.
22:23If you need me, I'm here.
22:27If you need me, I'll come down.
22:29Stop being so needy. I don't need you.
22:32It's only a toilet.
22:40What's all the fuss about?
22:43The bathroom is hardly recognisable.
22:47I've got half the tiles off.
22:49They're small ones, so it's quite a slow process.
22:54Yeah, round the curvature of the tower.
22:57We'll get there. We'll get there.
22:59It's all good. We've got tomorrow and the day after.
23:01And the day after. And the day after. It's fine.
23:05It's been a successful day of stripping and smashing,
23:09and Sharon and Tim's latest bathroom renovation
23:13is most definitely under way.
23:17Still to come, Alison and Zion must tread carefully...
23:22No, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.
23:24..as they restore their crumbling steps...
23:27Probably going all the way down to Australia.
23:29..and a nasty surprise for Sharon and Tim...
23:32Oh!
23:33..during a bathroom renovation.
23:36Yeah, that's a list of something.
23:47In Normandy, at Terry and Ashley's,
23:50it's the final push to finish a suite of rooms
23:54before their first guests arrive from America.
23:59The chair's almost sorted.
24:01I've managed to get all of the padding back on,
24:04all of the fabric, barring the last arm, really.
24:08And then I've just got the last of the braiding I put on,
24:11just to trim around, just so it hides all the staples
24:14and get a nice finish, really.
24:16But seeing it now, it's just a completely different chair
24:19compared to what it was when I first started.
24:22So, I'll get this arm done and then get the rest sorted.
24:30Put it on there first, right to the edge,
24:32and then we can stretch off that way to fit that way.
24:34Yeah. All right.
24:36Meanwhile, Ashley and Terry's mum, Tracy,
24:39have to secure the wall hangings into frames.
24:43Tracy's got these lovely tapestries
24:45while we were out shopping one day,
24:47but sadly the frames were damaged and we found better frames.
24:50Terry likes these better, doesn't he?
24:52So, better to use these and have something he's happy with in there.
24:55Yeah.
25:01My job isn't normally the final detail and finishing touches,
25:04but with the weather being the way that it's been,
25:06I'm inside helping finish this off and it's important
25:09we all get this done before our first guest arrives.
25:12This isn't the only one we've got to finish off with, is it?
25:14No, there's hallway, salon.
25:17Luckily, there's none in the bathroom, so we're OK.
25:23I'm putting the little tacks in to hold this in place.
25:26In the back? Yeah. So, if you put the...
25:28No, that's a bit thick for it.
25:30It's all right.
25:33Is that all right? Yes, boss.
25:35Are you OK? Yes, boss.
25:36Don't break the glass.
25:38I'm not doing it.
25:40He won't shout at you, Tris.
25:49Terry is the artistic brains behind all the renovations at the chateau.
25:55Getting this first guest suite sorted, it's a massive achievement.
25:59We never thought we'd be at this stage, to be honest,
26:02because there's been so much work going on elsewhere.
26:06So, finally getting this part done,
26:09it is a real bonus.
26:12Just rubbing it on this? Yeah.
26:16So, Karen's going to be our first ever guest in the completed 400 suite.
26:20She's not been here for a year,
26:22so she'll see the big changes that we've made in this place.
26:28It's so important for us that we get all this right for Karen,
26:31and with her being our first guest,
26:33because she's been a part of our journey from the very beginning, really.
26:37So, we just want to make it special for her,
26:39just so it's a nice, enjoyable experience, really, staying in the chateau.
26:43It's going to be good to see her reaction when she comes and sees the 400 suite.
26:51I'll give it a quick clean-off, just to get all the little bits of fluff off it,
26:55and then we can get it up in the bedroom.
26:59They're almost there with the completion of their first suite.
27:04Then it's just a matter of finding out what the guests think.
27:15200 miles south, at Chateau de la Boutiniere,
27:19Alison and Zion are preparing to host their first ever wedding
27:24in three months' time.
27:27It's really, really bad, isn't it? Yeah.
27:29No, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.
27:32But the steps that wedding couples will walk up to take their vows are unsafe.
27:39The landing is really badly broken, and water's pouring into the basement below,
27:44and now is an opportunity to put concrete down and to resurface it.
27:49I really want to save the mosaic pattern.
27:52It is a little bit of a challenge, because it's something I've never done before,
27:56lifting up a 150-year-old mosaic and trying to put it back on.
28:02Right, go for it.
28:05Ah!
28:08Oh, my word.
28:10Look at this. Look how hollow is this.
28:13I can lose this thing there.
28:17It's a bigger problem than they thought.
28:21Probably going all the way down to Australia.
28:26Alison's priority is saving every morsel of the mosaic.
28:31I feel like an archaeologist coming in after the dig.
28:34Anything I can see that's been dropped in this hole or comes off as we pick these up,
28:39I'm going to save and then use them to patch it all back up again afterwards.
28:44I have to be very careful with this.
28:48Well done. That's great.
28:55This is the decorative bit.
28:56This is the bit from 1872 that we're putting back together again.
29:00And I want to restore what's here and make it beautiful again.
29:06So instead of 400 pieces, I've only got four to worry about.
29:10Yeah.
29:11You are so clever.
29:12Oh, thank you.
29:13Very good.
29:15But the celebrations are short-lived.
29:19Bloody hell. The whole thing underneath is hollow.
29:23Yeah.
29:24I'll tell you what is going to happen.
29:25What?
29:26All this is going to go boom.
29:27This?
29:28Yeah.
29:29If this whole thing is hollow down to the bottom of these steps
29:33and it could just go boom at any time,
29:36that is a horrendous scenario.
29:39Potentially faced with a huge engineering project,
29:43Alison and Zion will have to dig deep to get the Chateau wedding-ready in time.
29:55Two hours away at Chateau de la Gruyère,
29:59All right, let's go and have a look.
30:01Sharon and Tim have been forced to put their bathroom project on hold
30:06as noises have been heard coming from the ceiling.
30:10Today we're going to halt on the removal of the tiling
30:14because we really need to look at getting the ceiling down
30:17so we can understand what's going on behind the ceiling.
30:20We have no idea what we're going to come across,
30:22but Sharon is fearless.
30:25So hence why she's doing it and I'm not.
30:28Maybe because it's of my skill set, which is very small,
30:32so I can hammer things and I can take things out.
30:34You enjoy knocking things about.
30:35Yeah, I don't mind. I want to be involved. I want to do things.
30:38So if I can, Tim will allow me to crack on and get it done, yeah.
30:46And I'm always slightly concerned that the whole thing is going to come down
30:52and I don't think this hat would save me particularly.
30:59Yeah.
31:01Whoa, gosh.
31:03Oh, tray. Hang on, hang on.
31:04It's tray heavy. I don't want it to go through the window.
31:07Look, OK. I've got it. Yep.
31:09Is that a bat? No, it's not, is it?
31:11It's some sort of nest because you can see the hole there.
31:18See how damp it all is? Yeah.
31:20The reason we're taking this down is for that reason as well.
31:23So we can see what's going on. See what's going on.
31:25Because there is something living up there.
31:27Maybe there's a commune of something that's living there
31:30and maybe that's urine or it's from the bath above.
31:34All this insulation is what the rodents love.
31:37So, you know, there's no telling what could be above this.
31:39And this is the tower.
31:41I loathe mice. I loathe rats.
31:44I basically loathe anything with four legs that moves quicker than me.
31:52Can you pull it a bit? Mm.
31:55Well, now I'm very nervous.
31:57I'm hoping I've given them enough time to get out.
32:02OK, keep pulling the insulation away cos you want to...
32:05That's it, that's it. OK?
32:09It seems odd, doesn't it, as a nurse, that I can cope with anything.
32:12Blood, vomit, faeces, but I don't like this.
32:18If that falls down or a load of baby mice come for me, I think I'll faint.
32:23What's all that?
32:25It looks like quite big faeces.
32:28Oh, dear, that's not good.
32:30Oh!
32:32Yeah, that's a nest of something.
32:34There you go.
32:37Oh, look out, look out!
32:39Oh, you...
32:41Fricking half way.
32:45As if the thought of rodents running around wasn't bad enough...
32:49Crikey. The joists are rotten.
32:51Yeah. So we're going to have to...
32:53We're going to have to...
32:55We're going to have to...
32:57We're going to have to...
32:59We're going to have to...
33:01We're going to have to...
33:03We're going to have to...
33:05So we're going to have to trim some new ones in
33:08and support that floor for the bathroom above.
33:12Yeah, it's always something else.
33:14One, two, three, go!
33:18Oh!
33:20Absolutely disgusting.
33:27It's not all it's cracked up to be, is it?
33:30You know, you unearth one thing and there's four other problems behind it.
33:34It's not straightforward.
33:36Whatever's been living in here has not had good hygiene.
33:40Could be...
33:42We might get a little bit of peace at night now.
33:44Go!
33:46Anything run out of it? No.
33:48Everything all right? Good job? Yep.
33:50Nice one.
33:52I get all the mucky jobs. I'm a bit like the gopher.
33:54He's the gaffer.
33:56Can we try and speed it up a little bit?
33:58Well, I'm still the boss.
34:05I think I'm going to have to sack my cat.
34:08It's obviously not doing a good job.
34:13We knew we wanted to take the ceiling down in the tower,
34:16but as most things in the chateau, you never know what you're going to find.
34:20And we found a few nests.
34:23That's been a good day's work to get that out.
34:26It's given us more work, but we have now got a clear way forward.
34:32Sharon and Tim are relieved that any rodent guests have moved on,
34:37but finding rotten joists means there's a lot more work ahead.
34:47Still to come... Oh, my word.
34:49..Alison and Zion worry their crumbling steps...
34:52It's a nightmare.
34:54..won't be ready for their first wedding...
34:56I need to discover what's all this sitting on.
34:59..and can Terry and Ashley finish their first ever suite...
35:03It's been a bit of a headache, but to see the final result,
35:06it's worth every second.
35:08..before guests arrive.
35:17In Western France, at Alison and Zion's,
35:21their clean-up plans have backfired
35:24as they've unearthed a huge problem with the rear steps.
35:30Oh, my word. This looks like a giant sinkhole.
35:36It turns out that not only are the steps hollow,
35:39there's a giant hole we can see there,
35:41but actually this is just collapsing in on itself.
35:44Yeah, it's a floating landing, where is this?
35:47Literally a floating landing.
35:51It's a nightmare. No, it's not.
35:54Don't think about it like that.
35:57After 35 years in the building trade,
36:01Zion isn't phased by much.
36:04I need to discover what's all this sitting on.
36:07When I find out, then I have to make a decision.
36:13This is so typical of work on a chateau.
36:15Suddenly you uncover something that changes the entire dynamic
36:19of what you were trying to achieve.
36:21Look, I'm sure there is a wall here.
36:23Yeah.
36:26Yeah, that's good.
36:29The discovery of a supporting wall
36:32means Zion can fill the void beneath and secure it with concrete.
36:42Aha!
36:48Got more stones?
36:50Stones, stones.
36:52Stones, stones, sand, sand.
36:58Such glamour.
37:01You have to believe, it'll be OK.
37:03It'll be OK.
37:08One bucket, 20 more to go.
37:13Very good, it's going exactly how I want it to go.
37:15It's not seeping through the back,
37:17so this concrete slab is going to be solid.
37:23After five loads of cement, the pair are finally getting somewhere.
37:30This is the last half mix that we're going to put in today.
37:36I feel sorry for people that retire and do nothing, you know?
37:40Seriously.
37:41I thought I'd be mixing cocktails, not cement.
37:45The concrete is laid.
37:47We achieved what we wanted to achieve.
37:52I think we're doing amazing.
37:55I think if we carry on like this,
37:57we'll be going on holiday before the wedding.
38:01No?
38:02In your dreams.
38:04A crumbling crisis has been averted,
38:07but the steps still need securing
38:10and there's an ancient mosaic to rebuild.
38:14170 miles north, at Chateau de la Lacelle,
38:20Terry and Ashley are expecting their first guests.
38:26It just hooks on the little eyelet on the back, Ash.
38:31Oh, he pulled it off the wall!
38:35This is why I'm not allowed to touch the delicate things.
38:38The 400 suite will be the first guest accommodation open for business
38:44and Terry wants everything looking perfect.
38:48Right, do you want to put it back up?
38:50No, I'm not touching it.
38:51Don't swing off the pictures.
38:53Put it in properly next time, Terry.
38:57First to the ones.
38:59I'm not touching it.
39:01I'm not touching it.
39:02I'm not touching it.
39:03I'm not touching it.
39:04I'm not touching it.
39:05I'm not touching it.
39:06First to the ones.
39:09Oh, you've got the wrong pictures in the wrong frames.
39:12Shut up, Terry.
39:13I don't see you have.
39:14What's the thing like?
39:15I wanted that nice picture there.
39:16You can see this here.
39:18Well, this is what happens when you don't supervise.
39:20Yeah.
39:22Grab this.
39:23Working with amateurs.
39:29No, don't put it on that one.
39:31It's not going on that one.
39:33I said just hold it.
39:34I said just hold it.
39:35I said just hold it.
39:36We didn't say anything.
39:37You just handed me it.
39:40Right, is that straight?
39:41No, it's not, Terry.
39:42Which way does it need to go?
39:43It needs to go that way.
39:44That way?
39:45Yeah, now you've gone too far.
39:46No.
39:47There.
39:48Bit more.
39:55Twelve months ago,
39:57the 400 suite was just a collection of dilapidated,
40:02unloved rooms.
40:07Now, they have created a grand entrance hallway
40:11with an impressive ceiling design
40:14and a treasure trove of furniture from local brocante.
40:21The hallway, it's brilliant because it's just a nice,
40:24like, inviting room, isn't it?
40:26And we had three entrances into that,
40:28two of them we've blocked off now.
40:30It's such a welcoming environment.
40:32You want to go in and you want to see more.
40:35A drab, neglected space has been painstakingly transformed
40:40into a grand Edwardian salon,
40:43painted a heritage green and edged in gold.
40:50Terry also created elegant ceiling mouldings
40:54to finish off the whole room.
40:57The salon's probably... It's my favourite room.
41:00It's a proper gentleman's room.
41:02It's so cosy with having the fire in there now
41:04and just being able to see the log burner go on
41:06and sit in there and relax. It's beautiful.
41:10Creating an en suite gave them the biggest problems.
41:16Now, it's a pristine vision with unique hand-painted tiles
41:22and a striking central chandelier.
41:26Bathroom would have been a challenge
41:28because that is a complete rebuild.
41:30Every single piece of that is brand new.
41:32Yeah. I remember, obviously, when we were taking the floor up,
41:35how bad that was. Oh, God, yeah.
41:37And then we took walls down. Yep.
41:39And then we had to put walls back up.
41:41It's been a bit of a headache, but to see the final result,
41:44it's worth every second.
41:47Finally, the plain and dreary bedroom
41:50was lacking any sense of style.
41:53Now, it's been given a right royal makeover
41:57with an abundance of lavish, lovingly created mouldings,
42:02decorating the walls and ceiling.
42:07A grand canopy over the bed was handmade by Tracy.
42:12And Terry's reupholstered chair takes pride of place.
42:17We've been able to restore picture frames
42:21and create our own mouldings as well for the bedroom,
42:24which is fantastic, isn't it? Looks amazing.
42:27Creating our own, like, Louis XV-style bedroom from scratch, really.
42:32To see it finally finished now, it's just... It is amazing.
42:38You made it!
42:40And it's perfect timing, as their first guest, Karen,
42:44has finally arrived with husband Sam and friend Ray
42:49and cannot wait to be shown around.
42:53Ah! Wow!
42:56I was just at Versailles and I think they've outdone Versailles.
43:02So we've got this done just in time.
43:04You're pulling up the drives and we're putting the last bits in.
43:08I saw it when you couldn't even see some of the structures,
43:12watching ceilings fall and floors nearly collapse,
43:16and so I've watched it really come back to life.
43:20Oh, this is nice.
43:22The chandelier is perfect and I think will settle in nicely.
43:26That's incredible, guys.
43:28This room, it was wood and it was terrible-looking
43:33and you couldn't envision that it was going to come back to what it is.
43:38To see it come to life is just very rewarding and I'm proud for them.
43:43It's an honour to be here and, you know, to have supported them along the way.
43:49And so it's just, it's fun.
43:52It's fun to be the first person and, you know, quite the honour.
43:57I think Karen was impressed.
44:00It was just mind-blowing to see her face.
44:03Obviously, we've spent so much time and effort.
44:06There's over 700 tiny little crosses that we've had to paint
44:10and she's noticed every aspect of it.
44:13This has all been in your head and I think to see it come to life,
44:16I think you've done an amazing job.
44:18Yeah, brilliant.
44:20It's good that's finally finished so we can get on with the next one.
44:23Come on, then.
44:25It's a huge achievement for Terry and Ashley
44:28with the 400 suite officially declared open.
44:33Now it's on to suite 401.
44:38Next time...
44:40An amateur inventor prepares for take-off.
44:44This is as far as I'll get to having my own private jet.
44:47One new family get their teeth into life in France...
44:51Just when you think you're about to finish, Chateau bites back.
44:56..and a DIY trailer...
44:58Left hand now!
45:00..narrowly avoids disaster.
45:02Oh!
45:04This wooden bit is getting caught on your tyre.
45:34Subtitling by SUBS Hamburg