Chateau DIY Season 10 Episode 22
#ChateauDIY
#PrimeUSTV
#ChateauDIY
#PrimeUSTV
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:01Across France, there are thousands of stunning chateaux.
00:06Many lying abandoned and unloved...
00:09It's all quite challenging, this bit.
00:11...are now being brought back to life by intrepid owners.
00:16I just think it's got elegance about it, and I love that.
00:20...taking on unique challenges...
00:23It's not as easy as I thought it was going to be.
00:26...to renovate these historic buildings...
00:29We want the brushstrokes, we want to see that this has been done by hand.
00:33...into spectacular new homes...
00:36Oh, wow!
00:38...and event venues.
00:39There's nothing I want more than for everyone to have a great time.
00:42...there'll be triumphs...
00:44Yes!
00:45Yes! Finger!
00:47...and tribulations.
00:49I'm just going to swing to you, mate.
00:51Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
00:52But with great effort...
00:55No holiday, no weekend, no day off.
00:57...comes great reward...
01:00...a masterpiece.
01:02...as they get to live the dream...
01:04...to Stephanie...
01:05...and Sheely.
01:07Stephanie!
01:07Stephanie!
01:08...as custodians of their very own castle.
01:14Today...
01:19There we go.
01:20Lovely.
01:21...it's rotten luck for one suite renovation...
01:24...Tez!
01:25No, that's coming right down.
01:27...surprises are in store for two brothers...
01:30...in search of their dream chateau.
01:32That is a bathroom, isn't it?
01:34...and another couple's restoration...
01:37...hits the buffers.
01:38We've got five, six bar of pressure...
01:40...going in at one end...
01:41...and nothing coming out the other.
01:50Nestled amongst the rolling fields...
01:52...of the Normandy countryside...
01:54...is the elegant 18th century...
01:57...Château de la Lasselle.
01:59...with 25 impressive rooms...
02:04...and 21 acres...
02:08...it had been left abandoned and unloved...
02:11...for four decades...
02:13...before pet shop owner Terry...
02:15...and fiancé Ashley...
02:17...decided to swap life in Middlesbrough...
02:20...for a French château adventure.
02:23Back in the UK we were just working...
02:25...every hour possible...
02:27...and we just realised that...
02:29...there's more life than just work...
02:31...so we came to the château and...
02:33Yeah, that's it.
02:34...do even more work.
02:36It's different, it's not work...
02:38...it's a dream.
02:39Yeah, it really is.
02:45Located an hour's drive from Le Mans...
02:48...the couple bought the place in 2021...
02:50...for £250,000...
02:53...and hope high-end holiday lets...
02:55...will soon help to pave the way.
02:59Living here with them...
03:00...are Terry's mum Tracy...
03:02...ten-year-old nephew Jonathan...
03:04...and Dash Hunt Patrick.
03:08I tip up that way.
03:10Last time we saw them...
03:12...they had begun work...
03:14...on the salon of their new 401...
03:17...guest suite.
03:18Yeah.
03:19All right?
03:19Yeah.
03:20Brilliant.
03:20Now the new fireplace is in...
03:24...but the salon is still far from complete...
03:26...so their next task...
03:28...is to insulate and plasterboard the ceiling...
03:31...and this time...
03:32...it's a family affair.
03:36Wrap it doubly around your lugs.
03:39Lending a hand are Terry's mum Tracy...
03:42...his uncle Pete...
03:44...and nephew Jonathan.
03:46Having all a family part of doing what we're doing...
03:49...it's just...it's amazing.
03:50Obviously they all just chip in...
03:51...and just go in with it.
03:52No-one questions any of the jobs or anything.
03:54You can start your end, Pete.
04:00Awful, awful stuff.
04:02It's a horrible job to do...
04:03...and it's a horrible product to work with...
04:05...but...
04:06...it does an amazing job of keeping the heat...
04:08...and stopping the drafts.
04:10Let go of there.
04:16With all hands on deck...
04:20...progress is swift.
04:22We'll get that one up now, Pete, if you want...
04:24...so it's out of the way.
04:25We've got...
04:26...probably four more runs to get in.
04:28It's done.
04:33It should be all right.
04:37So that's the mucky work done...
04:38...but now's the exciting time...
04:40...we can actually get the plasterboards on...
04:41...and make this into a room again.
04:43Go up, feed it into that corner...
04:52...and then I'll come up and start screwing.
04:54Drop it ever so slightly, Pete.
04:56Just an inch.
04:57Yeah.
04:58Bit more.
04:59Right as it is now...
05:00Yeah.
05:01...is the best place for us to start screwing up.
05:03Okie doke.
05:05Working together as a family...
05:07...is a dream come true for Tracy.
05:10And bricklaying and gardening and everything now.
05:13You have to be, don't you, really?
05:15Terry's Uncle Pete is even taking time out of his day job to help.
05:19I work for a local council.
05:21Clearing fly tips, that type of thing.
05:23Like picking a bit of gardening work.
05:25So this is different for me...
05:27...but I enjoy doing it.
05:29These guys are family.
05:31I get a sense of satisfaction coming over...
05:33...and knowing that I'm giving them a little bit of a hand...
05:35...to help the family out.
05:37In just a couple of weeks...
05:39...we don't have to be, don't you, really?
05:41Terry's Uncle Pete...
05:43In just a couple of hours, the team effort is paying off.
05:49As you can see, this room's pretty much done now.
05:51We're leaving this bit as we're due to get this new window fitted,
05:54so once that window's in, we'll finish this last stretch off
05:57and that'll be this room done as well.
05:59Happy days.
06:00But with a new window to fit and two bedrooms still to tackle,
06:05they won't be welcoming guests to the new suite any time soon.
06:11France has thousands of beautiful chateaux of all shapes and sizes,
06:27and many Brits long to be king or queen of their own castle.
06:32Brothers Will and Richard...
06:36Bonjour.
06:38...are looking to buy a shared home for both their families
06:42after they and their wives fell in love with the French dream.
06:47We started endlessly sending links to chateaux,
06:50to one another, back and forth, back and forth.
06:52So we're massively excited to actually kind of almost like get on with it now.
07:00Construction manager Will and marketing company director Richard
07:04have a healthy budget of £680,000
07:10and want somewhere in good condition
07:12with outbuildings to convert for geats and events.
07:16So if we manage to find the right chateau,
07:20move into it, et cetera,
07:22and start building the life that we want to build,
07:25this is dream come true kind of territory, isn't it?
07:28They have seen two properties so far.
07:33First, the picturesque 19th century Chateau de Pignot,
07:38just on budget at £679,000.
07:43Love the staircase, which goes all the way up to the top floor.
07:47Then they view Domaine de Montmont in the Dardogne,
07:52with a lower asking price of £580,000.
07:57So this is the private kitchen, dining room.
08:01That's some serious taxidermy, isn't it?
08:03Yeah, I do.
08:05We can say I'm right, huh?
08:06Yeah, OK.
08:08Today, they have two more properties to see.
08:12Their next appointment is 100 miles south,
08:16in the Lotte-Garonne département.
08:19On the edge of the city of Ajean
08:23is the beautiful 19th century Chateau La Perlette.
08:29Sitting in over five acres of parkland,
08:33it has seven bedrooms.
08:37Very nice.
08:39Let's go and see.
08:41Yep.
08:42And it's within budget, at just under £670,000.
08:47Hello, nice to meet you.
08:50Richard, love to meet you.
08:51And Caroline Delis.
08:52Bonjour, Will.
08:53Nice to meet you.
08:54Agent Marie-Caroline will be showing them round.
08:59Come on.
09:01Oh, wow.
09:03It's orange.
09:04It's quite bright, yeah.
09:05But you can change the colour, of course.
09:07Of course.
09:08And now we go to the living room.
09:11Oh, huge.
09:13Huge.
09:14Wow.
09:15And the floors are all original?
09:16Yeah.
09:17Nice.
09:18Although, not all the rooms still have their period features.
09:23You come in the kitchen?
09:25Oh, wow.
09:26Wow.
09:27I've not seen a kitchen themed around fruit before.
09:30Yeah.
09:31But, you know.
09:32I think we should keep it.
09:33It's very different here, compared to what we kind of had in mind, really.
09:39We were looking for something that was going to give us more Jeet and Chambrodot potential.
09:45And, from what we've seen so far, I don't think there's going to be enough space for us to be able to have that business opportunity.
09:53The property hasn't won them over yet, but they're still upstairs to explore.
10:05Coming up.
10:07Ashley faces his biggest challenge.
10:10Oh, I looked down.
10:11I shouldn't have done that.
10:12And there's technical trouble.
10:14It's gone now narrower, but more wavy.
10:16With a new toy.
10:18We need to try and get the pipe clear.
10:21Tucked away in the heart of rural Brittany, standing between two historic bridges, is the imposing 13th century Moulin du Quenon.
10:38The five enormous floors of this former flour mill, and the small jeet attached to it, had lain abandoned for over 40 years.
10:49For renovation veterans, Donna and Paul took on the challenge of turning this huge building into their family home.
10:59It's no longer going to be a male, but it's going to have a whole new, different life, which is great.
11:04And hopefully it'll last another however many hundred years, you know?
11:09It'll see us out anyway.
11:10It'll see us out, yeah.
11:11Located 25 minutes from the northern coast, Donna and Paul snapped up the place for under £100,000 four months ago.
11:25And in that time, they've stripped out the mill's interior...
11:30Oh, right, these are the things that held the flour tubes.
11:33Yeah.
11:35..and had the entire roof replaced.
11:38Once fully renovated, the mill will become Donna and Paul's home.
11:43One, two, three.
11:45But in the meantime, the couple plan to move into the attached jeet.
11:49Put your fingers.
11:51Which they can, in future, rent out to paying guests.
11:55It looks nice, doesn't it?
11:57Last time we saw them, they were focused on the jeet's open-plan living room and kitchen.
12:05Looks nice and cosy up there.
12:07It will be nice and cosy.
12:09Installing a new ceiling and repointing the original sandstone walls.
12:15Seems to be staying more or less in place.
12:21I think the work in the jeet's going very well.
12:22For the time that we've spent on it, I think we've made great progress there.
12:25You know, we're at the stage now, we were looking, talking about painting
12:28and thinking about decorations.
12:30To aid with decorating, they've invested in a new machine.
12:36The blue you've got on, it's like you're going to do artwork.
12:38Never mind painting.
12:40Today, we're going to try a new toy.
12:44We've got a paint square that we've never used before.
12:46Normally, we'd do traditional roller and paintbrush.
12:49It'll either be a roaring success or an extreme failure.
12:54So, stay tuned.
12:56It might be me covered in paint rather than the jeet walls and ceiling.
13:00Yeah.
13:01Yeah.
13:08Suited up, Donna begins priming the jeet's plasterboard walls.
13:14But after some initial success...
13:18It's gone now narrower but more wavy.
13:20OK, all right, keep going and then we'll just...
13:22I can't.
13:24They soon encounter a problem.
13:26It's gone completely now.
13:28It was better how it first started.
13:30It just got worse and worse.
13:32This was the worry about buying one.
13:34Are they going to be temperamental?
13:36You tell when it was spraying, it was actually spraying quite nice in the end.
13:40Before it died.
13:42There's a paint like that.
13:46Yeah, but it talks here about if the nozzle or filter is clogged,
13:52it can alter the pressure of the spray.
13:55So, I'm wondering if we cleaned that off
13:58and put it into the water to see if that would clear.
14:01Well, we've got five, six bar of pressure going in at one end
14:04and nothing coming out the other.
14:06We need to try and get the pipe clear.
14:08So, if we blow this out with the air hose...
14:10Yeah.
14:11Right, plan C.
14:14Huh?
14:17We think there's obviously something blocked in the pipe
14:20because the air is not even moving it.
14:23So, we'll try and now push it out with the power washer.
14:33LAUGHTER
14:41Right.
14:42So, the hose is clear.
14:43That works.
14:44You look spectacular.
14:45I know.
14:46Inside, it's...
14:47I'm absolutely covered in paint.
14:48Pressure applied.
14:50I obviously took this off at the wrong moment.
14:53And much to Paul's delight...
14:56That's why I...
14:57I'm glad you found it funny.
14:58That's why I was at the other end.
15:00The blockage is removed.
15:03The paint was just too thick for the hose, the length of hose that we had.
15:07So, less and less...
15:08That's...
15:09A learning curve.
15:10Yeah.
15:11Won't do that again tomorrow.
15:12We'll get some water, we'll thin that paint down, and then we'll have another go tomorrow.
15:17Donna and Paul just have to hope that there are no more issues on the horizon.
15:23Back in the Lotte-Garonne department, brothers Will and Richard are viewing this 19th century chateau, originally built for a bishop.
15:39I have a surprise.
15:41This is...
15:43A chapel.
15:44Come on.
15:45Wow.
15:46Wow, look at this.
15:49Oh, wow.
15:50Can you imagine hosting marriages in here as well?
15:53Only for a small service.
15:54A small service.
15:55Yeah.
15:58As the tour continues upstairs, there are four bedrooms.
16:05And this is the bathroom.
16:09Wow.
16:11That is a bathroom, isn't it?
16:13Er...
16:14Yeah.
16:15It's a plague mask.
16:16Something you like to look at when you're relaxing in the bath.
16:19Yeah.
16:20Well, there is a lot of masks.
16:25The property doesn't have outbuildings or sheets.
16:30Okay, so now we go to the second floor.
16:33But there is a self-contained apartment.
16:36This is the living room, but you have a kitchen, you have a bathroom, and you have a bedroom.
16:42Wow.
16:44With the viewing over, Will and Richard have a lot to think about.
16:49Thanks.
16:50Thanks a lot.
16:51Bye.
16:52Bye-bye.
16:53And it's in budget at under £670,000.
16:58Impressive building, no doubt about that.
17:00But really, we're setting out to find something in the countryside, a bit more secluded.
17:07We're expecting more in the way of outbuildings and sheets to convert.
17:11Let's see what else that we view, but at the moment, probably not top of the list.
17:16They still have one property left to see.
17:23The final appointment...
17:25Here we go.
17:26Okay.
17:27...is 150 miles south in the Pyrénées Atlantique département.
17:32Near the historic riverside town of Salie de Berne, stands the beautiful 19th century Chateau de Saint-Pic.
17:46Look at that.
17:47Proper chateau this, isn't it?
17:49Ooh.
17:50Set in ten acres of parkland, the property consists of over 14 rooms...
17:59...with impressive period features.
18:03It's under budget, at £668,000.
18:08Richard.
18:09Hello, Adrian. Hi.
18:10Lovely to meet you.
18:11Hi, Will. How are we doing?
18:12Hello, Will. Very well indeed.
18:13Agent Adrian is here to give them the tour.
18:16This is a Napoleon III Chateau.
18:18Okay.
18:19Most of the land is in this direction here.
18:21Fantastic, yeah.
18:22Can't wait to see some more of it.
18:23Good, excellent.
18:24Let's go inside.
18:30Oh, look at that.
18:31So, yeah.
18:32That's quite a staircase, isn't it?
18:33Double staircase.
18:35You've got the original parking floors everywhere.
18:37High ceilings, aren't they?
18:38They are, yeah.
18:39Yeah, you've got about three and a half metre ceilings, I think.
18:42Definitely get a Christmas tree in here, then.
18:43Double Christmas trees.
18:44But they're double stairs.
18:45Brilliant.
18:46I like it.
18:47So, we can also open these doors as well.
18:49They've got the light from the other side.
18:52Oh, wow, yeah.
18:53All that light coming in.
18:54So...
18:55Streams all the way through the house.
18:56Exactly, yeah.
18:57And, of course, the Pyrenees are in that direction.
19:00Can't quite see them, though.
19:01No, you can't.
19:02Not that close.
19:03But you can see them from the top of the house.
19:04Oh, can you?
19:05Yeah.
19:06Oh, brilliant.
19:07The viewing has got off to a strong start.
19:10It's a good size, isn't it?
19:11And there's plenty more for them yet to see.
19:14450 miles north in Normandy, Terry and Ashley are transforming the second floor of their chateau into a new two-bedroom guest suite.
19:33Got it.
19:34Got it.
19:35Mine.
19:36Got it.
19:37Mine.
19:38Yep.
19:39Today, Ashley and Joyner Paddy are installing a new window in the suite salon.
19:44There we go.
19:45Lovely.
19:46Yep.
19:47Mine.
19:48But soon, they're in need of reinforcements.
19:55Tears!
19:56No, that's coming right down.
19:57You need to come up quick.
19:59One of the beams is a bit rotten.
20:00The other two are absolutely fine.
20:01We couldn't see it because of the window being in place, but it's absolutely completely gone.
20:06But this, again, there was water ingress on this side of the building when we first got here.
20:09And it's just rotted it away.
20:11So it's just a case again.
20:13Getting it out.
20:14Getting it out of the way.
20:15Whilst Terry removes the rotten beam, Ashley prepares an emergency replacement.
20:20This is an old door frame.
20:21We always try and recycle what we can.
20:23This is the perfect size to actually put back into that hole and fill the lintel back in.
20:28It's absolutely solid.
20:29No problem with using it.
20:30So we're just going to get it in and just get it shoved back up for now.
20:33Meanwhile, Paddy's going to take a look at the other side of the building when we first got here.
20:38And it's just rotted it away.
20:40So it's just a case of getting it out, getting it out of the way.
20:42Meanwhile, Paddy has discovered that the beam could be even older than the 18th century chateau.
20:49If you look at this, it's quite interesting because you see the mortise in it?
20:54Which means it was never new when it was fitted.
20:57It had been reclaimed.
20:59The mortise, or slot into which another piece of wood is fitted, reveals its previous life.
21:06That could have come from another building, a monastery, or who knows?
21:11An old ship's timber.
21:13But definitely not new when it went in.
21:15Yeah.
21:16That's great.
21:17Lovely.
21:18We'll cement it in a little.
21:19Looks sweet for her, and then we'll bring a frame up.
21:22Problem solved for now.
21:23Downstairs, Terry is getting creative, making some decorative mouldings for the bedroom.
21:29We've already created the silicone mould from some wood caverns that we had.
21:32So we've got a two-part resin, and we just mix that 50-50.
21:36To the resin, Terry adds a small amount of paint.
21:39Helps us know when the mixture's properly mixed up, and it gives a nice base coat as well for
21:43the moulds.
21:44And, to the resin, Terry adds a small amount of paint.
21:50Helps us know when the mixture's properly mixed up, and it gives a nice base coat as well
21:53for the moulds.
22:04as well for the molds after a thorough mix it's ready to pour in total of these we're going to
22:15need about 20 of these larger ones and then we're going to be making some smaller ones to create
22:21each panel i think with them we're going to need probably about 40 or 50 of them so it's going to
22:26be a long slow process but doing detailed jobs like this and taking the time to do stuff like
22:32this is going to make a massive impact on the interiors and just make them a lot grander so
22:37when people actually walk into the chateau they're completely wild and stunned being in the rooms
22:43so i'll leave it now for 24 hours and then come back to it and get them at the mall back on the
22:51second floor these aren't light ash and joiner paddy are ready to fit the salon window into the frame
23:02oh look down i shouldn't have done that heights aren't my favorite but there's jobs here that
23:10you just can't avoid you have to face your fears unfortunately you ready yes i'm gonna be
23:16just get on the top bite i'm in lovely
23:29yeah
23:30come on lovely lovely oh and we have windows
23:44superb absolutely superb the holes in the in the frames of that window were horrendous so it's going
23:51to be brilliant
23:51it's been a productive day but with terry's elaborate design scheme still to implement in
24:00every room of the suite there's a lot of work ahead
24:10still to come they look different colors donna's in pursuit of perfection given that's the first thing
24:16you're going to see when you come in it'll annoy the life out of me if it's slightly different and
24:21things don't go to plan terry where's the water in here for terry and ashley
24:38between the pyrenees and the atlantic coast will and richard are exploring the 19th century
24:46chateau de saint-pique
24:49ratio definitely
24:53i thought we stopped in half way
24:56definitely an amazing staircase beautiful yeah really perfect especially we did weddings or
25:00something like that yeah maybe less racing more yeah less racing more weddings
25:05with eight bedrooms upstairs there would be space for both their families
25:10okay so this is the main bedroom and bathroom okay that's an interesting yes wardrobe behind that
25:22there we go beautiful but the view is amazing
25:28the chateau may not have outbuildings but with a 10 acre estate there's plenty of space to build sheet
25:36this is amazing this is the chateau i think we've really been looking for this is the most
25:43chateauy chateau that we've seen so far which is amazing it's brilliant this is probably the smallest
25:50bedroom you've got five bedrooms up here yeah and two bathrooms this viewing certainly seems to have
25:57got their pulses racing yeah it's been fantastic thank you very much love it really appreciate it bye
26:05and at 668 000 pounds it's 12 000 pounds under budget it's much further south than we would have ever
26:15really properly considered yeah but because of the look of the property because of the size of the land
26:20we decided to come this far down and we've not been disappointed by it doesn't have the outbuildings
26:27that we were looking for but putting chalets or wood cabins into the woods would be a great idea and would
26:34get us around not having the buildings we're after yeah i think there's lots and lots and lots of potential
26:39with this yeah huge potential definitely having seen four very different chateau will and richard
26:47have a lot to think about before they head back to the uk back up in normandy it's the moment of truth
27:02for the first of terry's handmade resin moldings i've left the molds for 24 hours i've just came in to
27:09check see if they've all set and cured and they're feeling good so it's ready to de-mold them and making
27:16sure they're all okay so that's the first one out and it came out brilliant nice and easy
27:25so this one's a lot more obviously trickier to get out because there's so many
27:30raised parts in it you don't want to force it out because then you'll actually damage your silicon mold
27:36absolutely fantastic come out all in one piece which is i was good it's just giving it that little
27:47bit more detail with more than 60 more moldings to make terry won't be putting them on the wall just yet
27:57so it's on with the next task don't make it look so heavy
28:09it would have been easier just carrying it off
28:11at the rear of the chateau terry and mum tracy want to give the brickwork a cleanup
28:18meanwhile inside ashley is adding a touch of glamour to the latches for the suite's new windows
28:30we're using a nice it's a copper gold effect but it gives more of a gold effect a bronzy effect
28:35um which we've done on all the windows that we've put in so far so it's to match them
28:40and the spray painting it just gives a much nicer crisper clean finish it just looks a lot more
28:45professional than actually painting on with seeing brush strokes and stuff so it's just the way we
28:50prefer it to be done
28:55terry yeah where's the water in here
29:00we thought we'd clean inside as well wow no it's because there's no seals on this window yet
29:07you can get a towel on it for us so it doesn't have the floor it's not the end of the world i'll go and get a towel
29:15we've got hydrochloric acid and if terry washes it off first and then we go along with the hydrochloric
29:23acid and then wash it off it seems to be the best solution to get the granite especially the granite
29:29clean and it doesn't do any damage horrible job especially when it's cold and windy but it looks
29:39amazing when it's done with the chateau exterior measuring up at 210 square meters it's a huge task
29:50bless mom honestly to do a job like this to be up on the scaffolding and to be scrubbing the walls
29:55is just amazing so yeah she's a trooper bless her while the window latches dry
30:01ash needs to finish the salon's newly plasterboarded ceiling
30:10i can plaster a wall in england but when it comes to france it's a very different method
30:14what they tend to do is just plaster the joints
30:19so depending on how big the joint is i'll put a coat of plaster on get our tape stick the tape in the hole
30:26and then plaster over it again it just creates a seamless transition between the two boards so you
30:33don't see where the different boards are so first course always looks a bit messy after the second and
30:38third coat looks superb
30:44outside terry and trace's hard work is paying off so you can see obviously on the sections that we've
30:51done the difference just how dirty it really was a massive massive job and it's such an achievement
30:58to just get it back to the original stonework really it's just brilliant getting it clean
31:04so yeah once we've got that section done we just need to move on and get the the rest of it done
31:09the family are making progress but they've still got the mammoth challenge of decorating the whole suite
31:16in front of them
31:2473 miles west in brittany
31:29right i'll get my kit on donna and paul are decorating their jeet's kitchen and living room
31:35how much paint do we reckon's in there
31:38it's just less than half isn't it so there's probably what four liters in there do you reckon
31:43and they're hoping to learn from yesterday's paint spraying problems so we've just added water just
31:50to make it a bit more fluid and we're just mixing it in so we get a decent consistency then we'll hook
31:55up the sprayer and see if it works should be about 10 percent dilution i think i'll start on this
32:04all the wall i haven't done so far
32:18a lot better than yesterday
32:22donna's paint gun is now fully functioning and able to spray up to two and a half liters of paint
32:29per minute i'm not sending it back that's that's the main thing while the undercoat dries they're
32:39quick to move on to the next task we're going to get on with putting in some floor tiles we've got to
32:46start at the main door because we want all of the tiles to be aligned with the front door
32:51so paul will start there and then we'll go towards the left where the kitchen's going to go because then
32:57i can obviously get on with making up the kitchen units and get the kitchen installed and things
33:02like that they look different colors well the first three are at the same box no but that looks
33:08very different and given that's the first thing you're going to see when you come in
33:12it'll annoy the life out of me if it's slightly different
33:15DIYing that's better okay looks the same to me the vision for the jeez is to retain the industrial
33:34aspect of the place um but at the same time i want to add that warm um and homely feel
33:43and i'll then add some color burnt orange and a few other colors into the mix and and just bring
33:52that warmth to the the industrial feel so uh yeah it'll be quirky shall we say i like quirky
34:00the first few tiles are down i think it looks great
34:10but with the rest of the floor to finish kitchen to fit and the decoration to complete
34:16donna and paul won't be sitting back in their new happy space just yet
34:21coming up this is nice yeah the pool is great though isn't it yeah yeah it's decision time for
34:31richard and will i can see myself living there definitely and after five months of hard work
34:37the end is in sight for donna and paul for now at least it's starting to look a bit more uh ready for
34:44occupation in southwest france brothers will and richard have visited four potential properties
34:59over the last four days you take this one you'll have this one now it's time to decide whether any of
35:08them is a perfect fit this is nice yeah the pool is great though isn't it yeah yeah really nice
35:14really really nice with a budget of 680 000 pounds there are two they've ruled out already
35:22certainly large the 18th century domain de mormont was 100 000 pounds under budget welcome come in
35:37but they felt it was too much of a project
35:43the second property they discounted was the 19th century chateau laparlette
35:52oh wow it's orange it's quite bright yeah yeah the former bishop's home was 10 000 pounds under budget
36:07but with no outbuildings it didn't measure up
36:16however they did see potential in the 19th century chateau de pinot
36:22you've got two large barns so you could have that converted into sheets or accommodation
36:27that's what you're looking for okay box isn't it inside was plenty of space for both their families
36:35a door there would close this end off yeah completely completely yeah so self-contained
36:40just if yeah if you wanted to chop it off yeah at 679 000 pounds it's just in budget
36:49it ticked that box for me of okay wow we're driving up to a very impressive house the outbuildings
36:56were easily convertible they're in good condition roofs had been done but it's one of those ones that
37:03needs a second look another successful viewing was the napoleon the third property near the pyrenees
37:11the hell is look at that proper chateau this isn't it 12 000 pounds under budget and packed with period
37:22features ratio definitely
37:27very impressive property beautiful to look at whilst it didn't have any outbuildings it had the space to
37:33create log cabin areas which would be away from the main building so we would have our own separate space
37:39i can see myself living there definitely i'd love to go back and spend some more time at the
37:44chateau seeing what the the area is like explore the grounds more and really sort of embrace that
37:50chateau life before saying yes with two properties they're keen to revisit one with outbuildings ready
37:59to convert the other with a cheaper price tag but a blank canvas estate will and richard
38:06are a step further along their journey to a new life in france
38:21in brittany at moulin de quenon donna and paul have made huge strides in their jeep's open plan
38:29kitchen and living room we've finished the tiling in the living room we've installed the kitchen
38:37fitted all the skirt ins donna's also done the papering to the kind of feature wall
38:41yeah it's come along really well today donna's hoping paul can work his magic on the finer details
38:49i'm just wanting a small like bistro table so that's why i thought if paul can make me something
38:57all this wood is uh from the joists in the mill isn't it paul that is here that's the old joists
39:02that we took out from the fourth floor cutting down so again recycling as much as we possibly can
39:09so if you can just make that i'll just go and make that isy woozy let's get busy
39:17yeah this path poof here's the table over in his workshop paul conjures up his carpentry skills
39:28i'm just trimming up these boards i'll keep this edge on i can always take it off later but the one in the
39:35middle i've just taken smoothed up both sides i think it's great we're using this timber and
39:42it's got a bit of a wobble on it adds character though doesn't it somebody's going to get some glue
39:48we run glued down these edges and then get some clamps uh we'll clamp it up and then once it's dry
39:54we can cut it to whatever shape donna wants if she wants to keep these rough edges that's fine if not
39:59we could take them off with a saw to create the base of the table donna is using materials repurposed
40:08from their previous property this sand is um it's from the chateau and we had a lot of these on the
40:18external terrace and the new owners didn't want those so we brought them with us so i'm now trying to
40:25change them again into just different things use them in different areas so all i'm doing is kind of
40:32cleaning down and i'll give them a spray of black paints black metal paint
40:48talking about recycling isn't this off the kitchen yeah these are the off cuts
40:52off the off cuts off the kitchen just push that down
40:59while you're waiting for it to set there's lots of other things you could do
41:04things to go up on the wall i've got the lights to put out hopefully the blinds to go up on the window
41:11uh they sound like new tasks the new tasks and i'll supervise and instruct
41:24leaving the table top to dry they head inside the sheet
41:30still we want it first here where donna can supervise and instruct
41:36this picture has uh one of the flower stacks from the mill um it was one of them that we actually
41:46found i think it's just a nice reminder of uh what it used to do so uh i think it'll go quite nice in
41:54here on it yeah
42:00at last donna's vision is finally coming together for now at least it's starting to look a bit more uh
42:07ready for occupation
42:09just five months ago the mill sheet was a barren shell cobweb strewn and filthy left empty for over 40
42:23years and open to the elements a building that really had gone through the mill
42:30now the first room has been transformed into a stunning open plan kitchen living room
42:46the modern compact kitchen is complemented by the beautifully restored original sandstone walls
42:53paul's craftsmanship with the ceilings and floors give it clean lines and a fantastic finish
43:03donna's eye for design nods to the building's industrial past whilst carefully curated soft furnishings
43:12bring warmth and comfort
43:16and their handmade table
43:17built with materials reclaimed from the mill has been expertly turned into a simple but delightful
43:26piece of furniture that completes the room
43:30i think the table it's a amalgam of you know the base from the chateau and timber from the mill so
43:36i think it's quite poignant actually it's a good full stop to yeah you know this particular room if
43:42you think like this small space how nice it now is and how i mean it's just totally different to how it was
43:52you can kind of get a feel of how the mill's going to look can't you yeah
43:55no i think you look at a room like this and i think you just
43:58you know it hasn't taken a great deal of time it's taken a lot of effort but had not a long
44:03particular long time and you think well you know we'll crack that mill out in no time you know so
44:08with the first room in the sheet complete the couple can now crack on with the bedroom and bathroom
44:17and finally move in but with their epic five-story project next door desperately needing work
44:25this pears miller's tale has only just begun
44:35next time one couple's dream pool house is a complete washout look at it look what's this all
44:43about come on france coco you're all sleepy aren't you a chateau owner has an unexpected guest
44:53we found her on the landing of the attic and we're all invited to an engagement party raise your glass to
45:02stephanie and she
45:16so