Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Across France are thousands of breathtaking chateaux.
00:06Many are forgotten and abandoned.
00:10Now, they're being brought back to life by courageous owners...
00:15Give me a heart attack, then.
00:17..who face extraordinary challenges...
00:20This is crazy. Breathe!
00:23..to transform these historic buildings...
00:26This has been squashed. The water is probably splashing everywhere now.
00:30..into stunning new homes...
00:33Oh, it certainly looks beautiful. Well done, team.
00:37..and flourishing businesses.
00:39Come in and see what we've done to the cookery school.
00:42Oh, my goodness.
00:44There'll be triumphs...
00:46I think we're doing amazing.
00:48..and setbacks.
00:50Right.
00:52Watch out!
00:54But however hard the going gets...
00:56It looks like the place is on fire.
00:59..those who've made the move...
01:01That's exactly what I wanted.
01:03..get to live the dream...
01:05This is what I call chateau life.
01:08..as custodians of their very own castle.
01:16Today, one set of chateau owners has rotten luck...
01:21The whole beam is just... What's wrong?
01:23I'm poking it with my pencil and it's coming apart.
01:27Oh, God, Nick, it's like a cracker.
01:30..another looks for a fairy tale ending...
01:33Mirror, mirror on the wall,
01:35is this art studio the fairest of them all?
01:39..and the first of 50 made-to-measure windows
01:43is carefully wheeled into place.
01:47Ooh! Slowly, slowly!
01:50Come on!
01:57Amongst the vineyards of the Dordogne
02:00stands the historic 14th-century Chateau des Vieilles Vignes.
02:08This crumbling 35-room former monastery
02:12stood abandoned for over a decade
02:15with no electricity, water or heating.
02:21That's until London couple Nick and Nicole
02:25fell in love with the place.
02:28The first time we walked in here, I just felt this sense of calm.
02:33And so despite the vast number of spiders we did find here...
02:36Yeah, no, they're still here. ..it felt very calm.
02:41Located 20 minutes south of Bergerac,
02:44Nick and Nicole bought the empty two-storey building in 2021
02:50for just £195,000.
02:55When we last saw them...
02:57Well, you know what?
02:58It's just probably not quite as straightforward as I was hoping.
03:01..they were rushing to transform an empty wine cellar...
03:05Is that right? Yeah, that's good.
03:08..into a cosy one-bedroom gîte
03:11in time for the arrival of their first baby.
03:16Wow, this is it. It's moving in, mate.
03:20And just three days later, Noah arrived.
03:26Nine months on, this new family has even bigger plans.
03:31As lovely as the gîte is,
03:33it's just clearly too small for the three of us.
03:36Yeah, and our aim now is to, within the next few months,
03:40before Noah's birthday, be moving up into the first floor,
03:44where we'll be making a kitchen, dining room,
03:48living room, an ensuite bedroom.
03:51This move is going to triple the space we have,
03:54and that's a massive change.
03:56Yeah. Can't wait.
04:00It will be a transformation that all three of them can enjoy.
04:06So this space is going to be our big family kitchen.
04:10Big kitchen units and a big island, a roaring fireplace.
04:15This will be just such a beautifully social space,
04:18which will lead in to the beautiful dining room.
04:20I know, so great to just have those two things
04:22right next to each other as well. Yeah.
04:24I'm so excited. This space is going to be fantastic.
04:31So here we're in what's going to be the nook.
04:34Well, we're calling it the nook,
04:35but it's going to be our little living room.
04:37So this is where we're going to cosy up as a family.
04:40It's going to be very private to us.
04:42And, yeah, just space for us to relax and have fun.
04:46Have a view. Yeah.
04:48With less than three months until Noah's first birthday,
04:52they've got a lot of work to do to realise their plans.
04:57So, with Nicole on childcare duty,
05:00Nick makes a start on the nook's exposed stone walls.
05:05I'm just making a mix for the pointing walls,
05:08so essentially it's a mix of lime and then sand.
05:12I guess most times when you're putting walls together,
05:14you just kind of stuff it in and don't really think about it,
05:16but for us, this is actually the finished look of the chateau.
05:26Lime really loves moisture.
05:28If you don't wet it, it doesn't bind to the stone
05:30and it all just kind of ends up falling out.
05:35It looks really messy to start with,
05:37but then you scrape it back from the stone,
05:39so the first pass looks really...
05:41Like, what have you done? You've ruined the wall.
05:43I may well have done, but that's the process, right?
05:45We're flinging this on, allowing it to dry
05:47until it's kind of that crisp point,
05:49scraping it back, allowing it to dry some more,
05:52and then you brush.
05:54So it's kind of a three-step process, essentially.
05:57But, yeah, this first part is definitely the trickiest.
06:03It's intricate work that requires a lot of patience.
06:09As with everything,
06:11it always feels like the first bit takes forever
06:13and you're looking at the whole wall going,
06:15I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get it all done,
06:18but I'm hoping Nicole, if Noah falls asleep,
06:21will be able to, you know, come and help me on this and stuff
06:24and we'll make some decent progress on it.
06:27These new parents are facing long days,
06:31as well as disturbed nights.
06:41In the lush landscape of rural Brittany
06:44are the remains of the grand Moulin du Cuenon.
06:49This derelict former watermill was built in 1881
06:55and sits proudly on its own island between two ancient bridges.
07:03The main building is spread across five enormous floors...
07:10..and comes with concrete silos, outbuildings and a small gite.
07:19Hoping to give the abandoned building a new lease of life
07:24are experienced chateau renovators Donna and Paul,
07:28who snapped it all up for under £100,000 in early 2024.
07:37I think from my perspective, you know, it's a totally different building
07:41and, you know, for designing of how it's going to look,
07:46it is really exciting because I can kind of think outside the box again
07:50on a totally different... Please, no. ..industrial kind of feel.
07:55He's bristing himself already.
07:58We're going to rinse and repeat these same discussions on wallpaper choice.
08:02I have. Yeah.
08:05The property is located just 16 miles from the coast,
08:10and with such a huge restoration task ahead,
08:14the couple are taking things step by step.
08:18We're currently living off-site.
08:20The short-term plan is we need to try and make our gite habitable next door.
08:24The gite has got to be first
08:26because our accommodation is only for another couple of months,
08:30so that has got to be... Priority. ..our priority.
08:35With the clock ticking, they've already begun the transformation
08:39by knocking a door into their new living quarters.
08:44This area is going to be part of the bedroom of the gite.
08:49It's going to be pretty nice, isn't it?
08:51Once the door and window's in place.
08:54The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. Yeah.
09:02First block we've laid in the mill, to be honest.
09:04Just a lot more block to go, you know,
09:06but it's good to get the first one down, so...
09:09When do you need some for the side?
09:11You do it after. Oh, right.
09:14That looks like it's lower than the previous.
09:16It is lower. The slab's way off.
09:18So I'm just going to have to try and do it on the courses.
09:21By the time we get to the window, it needs to be level.
09:27It'd be nice to be actually on-site
09:29instead of distance away all the time.
09:32It's always a worry when you're living away from where you work,
09:36and it'll put our minds at rest once we're here.
09:40Well, the wall's appearing. We've got a corner.
09:43One, two, another 12, 13 more all the way round.
09:49It's far quicker to knock them down than it is to rebuild them, isn't it?
09:53It certainly is, yeah.
09:55It's just the beginning of one of the most colossal DIY projects imaginable.
10:03Coming up, only the best will do for one Chatelaine.
10:08Everyone needs a little bit of gold in a château, a bit of bling.
10:12We've still got about a billion rooms to do.
10:15Nicole hits a wall.
10:17I will never want to do this again ever in my life.
10:20And Donna and Paul are in a tight spot.
10:23Less than 128.
10:25Oh! That's not good.
10:29The beautiful countryside of the Paix-de-la-Loire on the west coast
10:34is the idyllic setting for the fairy-tale Château de Borneaux.
10:42Built in the 19th century, it boasts 55 exquisitely designed rooms.
10:50It's the perfect place to spend the night,
10:53it boasts 55 exquisitely designed rooms,
10:5840 acres
11:01and even a genuine medieval moat.
11:06Since 2018, it's been the home of British-born Erin and French husband JB.
11:14Château de Borneaux project for us is first and foremost a passion project
11:17and this is why we can do it.
11:20We love it, we love this lifestyle
11:22and we're not afraid of putting in the hours or the hard graft
11:25to realise our dream and to bring the château back to life
11:29for other people to appreciate it in the future.
11:36Just 40 miles north-east of La Rochelle,
11:39Erin and JB bought the château and its four jeets
11:43for around £560,000.
11:48Last time we saw them, they'd just started turning the domed turret
11:53into Erin's very own art studio.
11:59While engineer JB focused on repairing the holes in the exterior walls,
12:06Erin started work on the oak-framed windows.
12:12I think the room at the top of the tower does feel very fairy-tale
12:16and quite Rapunzel-esque and it is certainly a very beautiful room.
12:23On a quest for inspiration,
12:25the couple visited one of the Pays de Loire's most impressive buildings.
12:31It's absolutely beautiful.
12:33Château de Terre-Neuve.
12:36The home of the Viscount and Viscountesse du Fontenu
12:40and the 19th-century artist Octave de Rochebrune.
12:46And so all of this is... are your ancestors' work?
12:50It has been printed in the past ten years,
12:53but we used some papers from the 19th century
12:56because Octave de Rochebrune left us a big stock of papers.
13:00Oh, that's good. Recycling in action. I love that.
13:07The opulence appears to have rubbed off
13:11as Erin can't wait to get gilding.
13:14So you need the glue in every little crevice
13:17that you want the gold leaf to stick to.
13:22For my arts and crafts room, I want it to be really light and airy,
13:26but I also want it to have that slightly sort of romantic fairy-tale feel
13:30because it's my tarot escapism.
13:32Once the glue's on, the fun really begins.
13:37You just lay it on roughly and I just slowly tap it in.
13:40Across the process, it will start looking really messy and broken,
13:43and you just keep working it in,
13:45and eventually you'll get a smooth, really beautiful coverage.
13:48I think everyone needs a little bit of gold in a chassé,
13:53a little bit of bling to bring that wonderful gold sort of warmth
13:58and kind of richness to an old frame.
14:01I think this is a really great technique.
14:04Biggest tip is to have a really dry, stiff, brittle brush.
14:08This gets into the little cracks and relief very nicely.
14:16Upstairs, in what will be the new arts and crafts room,
14:20JB is carefully adding fresh putty to the old window frames.
14:28I'm very happy to help Erin, like, you know, creating her workshop.
14:32So it's obviously her workshop,
14:34so it's whatever she wants that will be done here.
14:37If she wants to paint a fresco on the ceiling, she can do it.
14:46I'm just going to give it a first lick of paint on the frame to protect it.
14:52Excited about what they can do with the sweet little room,
14:56Erin and JB have even invited the Viscount and Viscountess
15:01to its inauguration.
15:03First, though, they need to finish it.
15:12Back in Brittany, the walls of Donna and Paul's new bedroom are in,
15:18and their next task is to give it a view across the river.
15:23We need to get a couple of windows and bring them across
15:26and offer them up into the prepared opening and see...
15:29Keep our fingers crossed.
15:30..see how well it's been prepared, so see if it fits.
15:33Before they can check Paul's handiwork,
15:36they have to find the window amongst the 50 or so they've had made.
15:43So it's window W8.
15:45It's obviously going to be at the back, is it? Yeah.
15:49They now have the tricky task of moving the bespoke £1,000 window
15:56into place.
15:57Right, Paul.
15:58You can slip off it, don't you?
16:01It's very nervous, kind of moving them and that.
16:04I mean, they cost an awful lot of money, they're all custom-made,
16:08so any damage, you're stuck with it, aren't you, you know?
16:12Right, go.
16:21OK.
16:23OK.
16:26Solid.
16:27We're going to have to try and support it so it doesn't fall over
16:30as we wheel it.
16:31Yes, there is that as well.
16:33So once we do this, we've only got another 50 times to do it.
16:40So let's smooth out the mud.
16:43Right, ready? Go.
16:47Come on, push.
16:53Slowly, slowly.
16:55Come on.
17:02Oh, that was a just, wasn't it?
17:05Just the swing.
17:09This window is the first of many to be fitted.
17:14The moment of truth.
17:16128.
17:17See, we're 129.5 at the bottom, but I think here...
17:25..128.
17:27Less than 128.
17:29Oh!
17:31That's not good.
17:33The issue we've got is that we may have an opening
17:37slightly less than the window size.
17:41127.5, yeah.
17:43And yet we left more space.
17:45So how's that happened?
17:47It's the blocks aren't always straight.
17:51I mean, neither is me laying them,
17:53but the blocks generally are not always straight.
17:56Donna and Paul have only just started work on this enormous building
18:01and already they've hit a snag.
18:05Over 350 miles south, in the Dogdoyne,
18:09Nick's finally finished repointing the nook's stone wall.
18:15Oh, great, that looks like it's ready to scrape.
18:19See, that's just re-exposing the stone, right?
18:22It's a bit of a challenge, isn't it?
18:24It's a bit of a challenge.
18:26It's a bit of a challenge.
18:28It's a bit of a challenge.
18:30It's a bit of a challenge.
18:32It's just re-exposing the stone, right?
18:37Slowly but surely.
18:38Yeah, I don't know how many weeks or years of our life
18:41we're going to be spending on doing pointing,
18:43but, yeah, I mean, just this alone, right, just this little bit here,
18:46is probably a good half an hour's work, right?
18:50It's a huge job and a constant juggle alongside childcare.
18:56We enjoy being super busy, but I have to say,
19:00this takes a beyond super busy to many times a bit too much.
19:06Luckily, this afternoon, Nick's mum's here to help.
19:16Which means Nicole can spend some quality time with her husband...
19:23..and a bucket of mortar.
19:25This is not definitely how we were thinking of spending our years
19:29together.
19:30Well, not as much of this time, at least.
19:33No, exactly.
19:37But...
19:39The end result will be worth it.
19:41Exactly.
19:42This could be the best time we get together.
19:44No more kind of romantic dates for two at the restaurant.
19:47It's DIY for two.
19:50Soon, the couple are making great progress.
19:55I definitely think that getting this hands-on with your own home
19:59or what's going to be your home makes it a lot more enjoyable
20:02once you live in it, because we know the bare bones of this place,
20:06because we've stripped it back to beams and to stone,
20:09so we know every single layer of this place, which is lovely.
20:13It's a really nice feeling, I think.
20:15But it's really nice to know that this is going to hopefully
20:18stand the test of time as well.
20:20Yeah, exactly.
20:22I mean, this stuff literally lasts for hundreds of years, I think.
20:25Yeah.
20:33I just love the fact that we've still got about a billion rooms to do.
20:38Yeah, I don't want to think about that yet.
20:40OK, sorry. Focus, focus on this.
20:42Once we come to the finished, kind of the end of this project,
20:45I'll definitely be quicker.
20:47But then I will never want to do this again ever in my life.
20:50After a few hours' hard graft,
20:53dinner and Noah's bath time are beckoning.
20:57That's a good time to call it quits for the day.
20:59OK.
21:00Cool, well, good job. Yeah.
21:02Great progress.
21:04Well done.
21:06It's a real skill to point and to do it well and to do it properly,
21:10so I think...
21:13Yeah, no, I'm pleased. What about you?
21:15Continuously. I'm really pleased.
21:17We're continuously learning how to do it, we're getting faster.
21:21It is a huge amount of work to point the walls like this,
21:24but it's worth it because...
21:25The finished result is stunning.
21:27You can't even compare to what it used to look like.
21:29No.
21:30We feel very strongly that it's bringing back the chateau
21:32to its original state.
21:33There's a lot we still have to do.
21:35For now, though, they're back on parent duty,
21:38so the build will have to wait.
21:42Still to come...
21:45Paul goes to extremes to make the window fit.
21:50Just some minor adjustments.
21:52And Nick and Nicole reach for the stars.
21:57Our aim is to make sure the ceiling is straight
21:59for the first time in a very, very long time.
22:12In the Pays de la Loire,
22:14Erin and JB are working hard
22:17to turn the chateau's central turret into an art studio.
22:22So we have finished most of the structural work on the room.
22:26The windows are now finished, back in place, painted.
22:30Now, though, there's some extra pressure.
22:34The Viscount and Viscountess of Château de Terre-Neuve
22:37are going to come here to see our studio.
22:40We just have a completely bare room here,
22:42and we've got them coming here to open my art studio,
22:45and at the moment, there's nothing in here.
22:50With the local nobility on their way,
22:53Erin and JB need to crack on.
22:57Will you be able to hold it more or less here?
23:00Yeah, I think so. OK.
23:02It's actually quite heavy.
23:05Holding. More or less. Good.
23:08Yeah, I think so.
23:10Good. Well done.
23:20Yes! It's on.
23:23I love the sort of prettifying phase.
23:26It's nice actually putting colour on the walls I want,
23:29putting up chandelier, all the little bits and pieces,
23:32all the kind of beautiful elements that bring a room together.
23:36This room is a sort of vanity product in a way.
23:40Most of the things we do here are always for our wedding clients
23:43or for our holiday cottage guests,
23:45so it's really rare that we are doing something for the château
23:48that's really just for us.
23:50OK. Will it fit?
23:53Yeah.
23:55Yeah, so I'll just give it a good clean-up.
23:58It's a useful set, I think.
24:00Cool.
24:02Once the furniture's in place,
24:05Erin can unveil her first piece of craftwork.
24:09This is the gilded mirror that I covered,
24:12so that I'm going to hang up in there.
24:14I think it will look great, that gold antique vibe with the white walls.
24:20Mirror, mirror on the wall,
24:22is this art studio the fairest of them all?
24:26I don't think it is. I will see what the Viscount thinks.
24:31As well as the mirror,
24:34Erin would like to display work
24:37by the Viscount's most famous ancestor.
24:41These are the gravies...
24:43Oh, yeah, good.
24:47Do you want me to hold them up and you can decide?
24:50OK, yeah, go on.
24:53Make myself useful, for once.
24:55Yeah.
24:57Something like that.
24:59Yeah, I mean, we could hang them...
25:01Do you want to split them? Split them.
25:03I can feel the burn in the shoulders.
25:05OK, just move it slightly up.
25:07OK, I think, yeah, maybe we should split the two.
25:09It makes more sense, it's sort of magical.
25:11Split? Yeah, we'll split them. Can I put them down?
25:13Yeah, you can put them down. Good, thank you.
25:15Yeah.
25:17So? I'm thinking...
25:19How high?
25:21So, in level with the middle window,
25:24so, yeah, like, something like...
25:26I mean, I know it's sort of on a funny...
25:28So, but...
25:30Lined up with that?
25:32Or, like, centred within it. Centred within it, yeah.
25:34Cos it needs to be at eye level.
25:36I want to see if Guillaume notices them.
25:38OK, cool.
25:49So, we've hanged a couple of gravure
25:52from the Viking ancestor
25:54on the wall of the art studio,
25:56so we're just going to see if he notices.
25:58That's going to be a good test of his knowledge of his ancestor,
26:01really.
26:03Hopefully, the Viscount not only notices de Rochebrune's work,
26:08but also the effort that Erin and JB have gone to.
26:21200 miles south, near Bergerac,
26:24a month has passed at Chateau des Vieilles Vignes.
26:27There we go.
26:29And while a friend babysits...
26:33..Nick and Nicole carry on with their mammoth renovation.
26:38It's been a busy few weeks, hasn't it?
26:40We've had... Always.
26:41Yeah, the plumbers and electricians coming in
26:43to kind of put in all the remaining pipe work and electrics,
26:46and then... Putting up ceiling rails.
26:49Yes, in the dining room and the kitchen.
26:51Yeah. So, it's coming together.
26:53But there's still a lot to do.
26:55Today, we are going to be putting up more ceiling rails
26:59in what's going to be our nook, so our little small living room.
27:03Yeah. We're creating, in essence, a suspended ceiling,
27:06which is made up of these kind of little hooks that sit down
27:09and then you stick rails on them
27:11and then you screw in the plasterboard directly into that.
27:15Putting up ceiling rails isn't my favourite thing to do, but...
27:18No, I know, but it's progress. It's a means to an end.
27:21Yeah. And a means to us moving in here
27:23and being able to celebrate Noah's birthday.
27:25Yes. So, we're ecstatic.
27:33It's not low enough. We need to go in lower.
27:36Oh, that's better.
27:42So, our aim is to really just make sure this ceiling is straight,
27:46probably for the first time in a very, very long time,
27:49cos at the moment it's kind of doing this.
27:57Two in. Many, many, many more to go.
28:06Oh, God, Nick, this whole beam is just...
28:08What's wrong?
28:10Well, I'm poking it with my pencil and it's coming apart.
28:13I made a huge hole just with a pencil.
28:16So, it's rotted, is what you're saying?
28:18Oh, God, Nick, it's like a cracker.
28:21Get me a screwdriver. I need to test this out.
28:23No, but, Nick, I can use this.
28:25We have woodworm here,
28:26so I think it's been completely compromised with that
28:28because it's the woodworm's holes, I can see.
28:31It's here, that's the problem.
28:34And here's especially bad.
28:36It's just that top layer. It's fine.
28:38This is the good thing with oak, right?
28:40Unless it's damaged by water, the core of the oak is so strong,
28:45no insects can get in there.
28:47So, whilst it might do a little bit of damage on the surface,
28:50it can't get in much deeper than the surface.
28:52I like my beams to be thicker than crackers.
28:55This is not ideal.
28:57Just stick three screws in and keep your fingers crossed.
29:00Yeah, but sticking three screws in a cracker
29:02doesn't really make any difference.
29:10Well done.
29:13This is eaten by bugs as well.
29:19These beams are something else.
29:24Nope, that snapped it. Excellent.
29:30This is our final rail.
29:33Amazing.
29:37How's that?
29:39I'm on.
29:40Me too.
29:41So we're saying we've got it in the right place?
29:43It looks like it.
29:45Yeah, well, I'm up to the end.
29:48I'm on.
29:49You've got it. Don't... Stop.
29:51Oh, is it?
29:52You're going the wrong way.
29:53Oh, God.
29:54Well, that makes a difference.
29:56Wow, and that's done.
29:58Just the whole rest of the château to do.
30:01Once we get the ceiling up here,
30:03it's going to start feeling a lot more like a room
30:06and we're going to...
30:07I feel like I'm going to be able to envisage
30:09the final article a lot better.
30:12It's a huge milestone.
30:14This move for us will transform our lives
30:16because the space we're in is definitely getting too small
30:18for the three of us.
30:20It's way too small. We're cramped, as anything.
30:23So this will feel like moving into a château, in comparison.
30:28They next face the tricky task
30:30of fixing three-metre-long plasterboards to the rails.
30:34But their dream home is edging ever closer.
30:46At Moulin du Cuenon,
30:48Donna and Paul have discovered an issue
30:51while trying to install a window in their Jeet bedroom.
30:57The openings, actually, it's just a little off square,
31:00so we need to take the saw
31:02and cut a bit of the blockwork off
31:04just so we've got enough gap for the windows.
31:06Just some minor adjustments.
31:08Giving Paul the perfect excuse to reach for his power tools.
31:19Despite this setback, the couple don't regret
31:22taking on this enormous renovation.
31:27Each morning, we wake up and we decide
31:30what we're going to do today,
31:32and where, latterly, at the château,
31:35it was dictated by the businesses.
31:37You know, today, we've got guests coming into the Chambre d'Horses
31:41and must-go-and-clean rooms.
31:43Here, it's a new project
31:45where it's restoring it back to its former glory,
31:49which is always exciting, you know?
31:51Hard work, but exciting.
31:55With the opening adjusted by a fraction,
31:58Donna and Paul must now cross their fingers it's correct.
32:06Right, I'm releasing the strap.
32:09Ready? Yeah.
32:13OK. Would you be able to lift it or not?
32:16I think so. Tell me when you're ready.
32:18OK. Go.
32:20Oh, God! No.
32:22It might be a good idea to get Pete on the front as well.
32:26Peter! Can I have a hand, buddy?
32:29Not wanting to take any more risks,
32:32they call in construction worker Pete.
32:35Pete's been on site with us the last couple of weeks
32:38working on the strip-out,
32:40so he's an extra pair of hands when we need it as well.
32:43If you can grab that side and then Donna can steady the front.
32:47The bespoke windows Donna and Paul have had made are costly,
32:52so they can ill afford any breakages.
32:55One, two, three.
32:59To you a bit.
33:02Are you in? I'm on the edge, but just...
33:05Finally, with the window up, they can see if it fits.
33:10It's tight up against this side.
33:13And at last, it seems it's the perfect size.
33:18HE GIGGLES
33:20Cheers, Pete.
33:22Thanks, Pete.
33:27Wow.
33:29Laid in bed, looking out of the window.
33:32Look at that view.
33:35It's amazing how just putting a window in
33:37makes the space feel so different, you know?
33:39Yeah. It's really, really nice.
33:41It feels like we've suddenly moved forward.
33:45It perhaps makes this space look almost doable in six to seven weeks.
33:49Yeah.
33:51It's been a productive day, but for Donna and Paul,
33:55there's no time to sit back and enjoy the view
33:58if they want to be living here in a couple of months' time.
34:05Coming up...
34:07There's a problem with the measurements.
34:09..there's a major miscalculation...
34:12Well, I'm not sure what we've done,
34:14but clearly we haven't measured it correctly.
34:16..and the reviews are in for JB and Erin's art studio.
34:21Very nice. Very nice show.
34:23Ooh!
34:25Oh!
34:27Santé. Cheers.
34:29Cheers.
34:36Back amongst the vineyards of the Dockdoing,
34:39Nick and Nicole are preparing to flex their muscles.
34:44One, two, three.
34:47Yeah, maybe hold the top of your hand.
34:49I am holding.
34:52The 30-kilo, three-metre-long plasterboards
34:56are now needed up on the first floor.
34:59Just tell me if you need to stop or slow down or speed up.
35:02Yeah.
35:04So we are aiming today to get started in what's going to be the dining room.
35:09To get the ceiling up, so the floating ceiling.
35:12It's going to feel really nice to have it looking pristine,
35:15white, level.
35:17Hopefully it will all go smoothly.
35:20We're going to be measuring, getting the line
35:22and then cutting it to the size for it to fit in that space above.
35:26Helping them out today is Nick's stepdad, John.
35:30The other one was four centimetres.
35:33This is roughly six and a half.
35:37And then we're going ten after that? Yeah, yeah.
35:39So that's going to be...
35:42..33.
35:44Hang on, hang on, hang on!
35:47There's always a huge amount of discussion
35:49and I think this would have been done in half the time
35:53had there not been so much discussion.
35:56And still 32 and a half. This gets easier.
35:58Look, this isn't that straight, this wall.
36:00This is ridiculous.
36:02Measurement's complete.
36:04They now need to cut the board to match.
36:07This is definitely not the best way to be cutting plasterboard.
36:13But although surprisingly, it kind of is working.
36:16The next stage is to winch it up,
36:19get it over the awkward wall tie
36:22and get it into place and then screw it into place.
36:27That should be it.
36:29Yeah.
36:36This is way over here.
36:38Yeah, there's a problem with the measurements.
36:41It does look a little bit out.
36:44How far off are we?
36:46Way too much to get it in.
36:48Well, I'm not sure what we've done,
36:50but clearly we haven't measured it correctly
36:52because the board is still too long.
36:54Plan B, cut the panel on the centre line
36:57and make the top of the wonky end on its own.
37:02Yeah.
37:06I think Plan B is going to be much more viable than Plan A.
37:10It feels a lot easier to move something this size
37:13rather than three medium walls.
37:16Twist it. Yeah, that way. That's it.
37:18Keep twisting a bit more.
37:21That's closer, actually.
37:23Well, let's face it, this wall is so uneven on every single side
37:26that it's impossible to get it perfect.
37:28Our amazing plasterer will have to work his magic
37:31to make it look good.
37:33This is completely winging it, learning as we go,
37:37making 10,000 mistakes as we go,
37:40getting it right once.
37:42Half the time.
37:44Well, we just need to get it right once for it to work.
37:47For it to work, yeah, for sure.
37:49We've only even got half the piece up,
37:51so many more halves to go.
37:54John's called it a day,
37:56but Nick and Nicole have no option but to keep going.
38:05I'll help you.
38:08What we need is that to be in line with that board over there.
38:13Beautiful. Now we're talking.
38:19This is the easy part, just screwing the...
38:22Speak for yourself.
38:25...the plasterboard to the metal rails.
38:27It's a quick job.
38:31Now you can move it in there.
38:33I mean, that is pretty perfect.
38:35This is amazing.
38:37Really nice to get this one up,
38:38and it's almost pretty flush against the beam as well.
38:43Yeah? Yeah.
38:45In a little bit, just a tiny bit, yeah.
38:49A bit more. How's that looking? Good, yeah? Yeah.
38:52It's definitely starting to look like our dining room.
38:55It's just looking good. Very pleased.
38:58And with a bit of teamwork,
39:00their dining room has a ceiling at last.
39:05This is the last screw that's coming in place.
39:10I think a collective sigh of relief from Nicole and I.
39:15We did it. Yeah. Well done.
39:17It's easy to get wrong.
39:20But nice to get right. Yes.
39:22And we have a flat ceiling. We do.
39:27It's been a hectic few weeks,
39:29getting this massive project under way.
39:33All in all, an enormous amount of progress
39:35in a very short period of time,
39:37but you can feel it. We feel it now.
39:39Yeah. What, in the aching muscles? Yes.
39:41Tired brains.
39:43I think, yeah, one of the things that the last 12 months
39:45has made us adapt to is juggling so much.
39:48Yeah. Keeping Noah happy,
39:50making sure that we get good quality time in with Noah.
39:53As well as project managing and then doing all the DIY.
39:56Yeah. It's a lot, but somehow,
39:59somehow we've managed 12 months, so I'm guessing...
40:02We can keep going a bit longer. Yeah.
40:05That's very cute.
40:07With their moving-in deadline of Noah's birthday creeping ever closer,
40:12the juggling won't be over any time soon.
40:24Further north, Erin and JB are racing to finish their new art studio.
40:33This is the best bit. It's all the shelfy styling.
40:35It's the kind of trying things out and being like,
40:37no, move that there.
40:38All the stuff that JB's like, stop faffing.
40:41But actually, it makes the room.
40:43Stop faffing. Yeah.
40:46Some very important guests are on their way
40:49and Erin wants everything to be perfect.
40:53Are you ready for the visit of the Viscount of Viscountess?
40:56I hope so. Well, he's, er, I don't know.
40:58Well, we need to get changed, I think. Yeah.
41:02It's time to find out whether their work is good enough
41:05to impress French nobility.
41:09So, this is the grand opening, then?
41:11This is the grand opening, yes, of our turret room.
41:15I say our, my turret room.
41:18Do you think they've done this before?
41:20Probably many times, yeah.
41:23Right, is that right? Let's see.
41:25Yeah. OK.
41:32Only a fortnight ago, the room was simply a dumping ground.
41:38Holes in the tower walls and damaged window frames
41:43left it cold, damp and neglected.
41:49Now, it's been transformed into a warm and welcoming workshop.
41:56The thick walls carefully repaired.
42:00Its oak window frames restored.
42:04Handmade crafts and curated shelves
42:08demonstrate Erin's artistic flair.
42:11And prints decorate the walls,
42:14paying homage to the man who helped inspire the room's renovation.
42:20Now their guests have arrived,
42:22and it's time for Erin and JB to show off their work.
42:28Madame Lavie-Comtesse, would it be just the honour
42:31of opening the art studio for us?
42:33Yes, I was waiting for this.
42:36The music?
42:38Da-da-da-da! Drumroll!
42:40All right.
42:42Ta-da!
42:44Thank you very much.
42:46Can you sign this?
42:48Oh, thank you.
42:50The etchings by the Viscount's great-great-grandfather
42:54don't go unnoticed.
42:56It's very nice that you have the beautiful gravure of Octave de Rochebrune.
43:00Yes, I'm very pleased you've spotted your ancestor's art.
43:03Yeah. It's quite touching for them to, you know, to put that here.
43:09I'm just learning how to do gold gilding, so with gold leaf.
43:14So this is one of my attempts.
43:16Very nice. Very nice job. Yeah, very nice work.
43:20Very nice place.
43:22Oh, thank you.
43:24It's a fantastic view.
43:27I can see she's doing a great job, so really, bravo.
43:33It's important to have some people
43:36who are trying to save the French heritage.
43:41All in all, good job.
43:43Good. Thank you.
43:45Thank you, boss.
43:47All of Erin and JB's efforts have been worth it.
43:52Woo!
43:54Oh!
43:58Santé. Santé. Cheers.
44:01It's only what I can say.
44:04And this is one fairy tale with a very happy ending.
44:14Next time...
44:16Oh, my word.
44:18..one couple face a crumbling crisis...
44:21All this is going to go boom.
44:23..with a wedding deadline looming...
44:25That is a horrendous scenario.
44:27..another struggle to finish their guest suite
44:31before visitors arrive...
44:33Oh, he pulled it off the wall!
44:35..and it's all ups and downs...
44:38Careful!
44:40..for a set of new chateau owners...
44:42I'm worried it's going to swing like a conker into the window.
44:46..as they renovate a bathroom.
44:50Oh!
44:52Yeah, that's a nest of something.
45:19.