Original subtitles

I'm Dick Strawbridge and, along with my wife Angel and our two children...

Yay. Oh, well done.

..we've lived in this magnificent chateau for the past five years.

Look, look, look, look, look, look.

Oh, my God.

That is so beautiful.

It's not just our home...

And we're up.

..but our business.

You may kiss your bride.

And all over France, there are other Brits doing exactly the same.

Oh, my God.

We'll follow a new wave of intrepid chateau owners...

If I open some windows, it might help get rid of some dust.

..and some familiar faces,

as they take on these majestic buildings.

And we'll reveal more about our own chateau life.

Is everyone ready?

Yeah! Yeah!

There'll be triumphs...

This looks incredible.

Do you like it, Laura?

I love it.

..and setbacks...

Oh.

..as they battle to renovate their homes...

..and earn their keep.

OK, I'm ready.

But no matter how hard the going gets...

This is probably, yeah, my worst nightmare.

..they get to live the dream as custodians of their very own castle.

Today... At one chateau,

they reach new heights getting ready for a VIP visit.

Mum has not let me on the big ladder.

Look at the ladder I've been given today.

So this is it?

These chateau owners hope to impress their own important guest...

There'll be a lot less pigeon poo here when you're practising yoga.

..to kick-start their fledgling business.

Is this the first handstand in this room in 600 years?

I reckon so.

Lee? Huh? Ah.

And one couple's long-awaited delivery...

Oh, no.

..threatens to put a spanner in the works.

This is not good.

This is a very, very bad sign.

Making the move from the UK to France can mean a property

supersize for many Brits.

Angel and I swapped our three-bed Essex

flat for our dreamy 45-room chateau

and there are plenty more like us.

The 19th-century Chateau du Dohem is set in just over

an acre of land, with 15 rooms and its own swimming pool.

Bought eight years ago for £600,000 by former company director Wendy...

Bonne journee.

..it's now run as a holiday let

and hen party business with builder husband Marcus.

I just love the gorgeousness of the whole place.

Everything's very relaxed over here, it's lovely.

It's like a step back in time, really

and it just feels like a really, really special place to be.

Located 26 miles from Calais,

it's an easy hop across the Channel for Wendy and Marcus.

They maintain a base in the UK

while they're working on the chateau.

Come on, put your back into it.

Their latest project has seen them

working hard to turn the barn into a wedding venue.

They hope this will generate enough money

so they can move permanently to France.

ALL: Yay!

Love it!

Really nice.

18 months later, and having spent nearly £30,000,

the barn is almost finished.

And now Wendy wants to give it the wow factor.

My vision for the barn is, it's going to be decorated with foliage

and neutral flowers, light colours, fairy lights round all the beams.

And behind the couple will be a whole wall of flowers

to make a lovely backdrop for all their wedding photographs.

That's quite a vision.

It's great that Marcus is impressed

but it's not only him Wendy needs to win over.

This week we have a very important visitor coming to the chateau,

Patricia, who is the Maire de Dohem, the mayor.

If we have the mayor's seal of approval,

then she will help to promote the chateau

to the local area for potential weddings for French couples.

We still have quite a lot to do and we have today

and tomorrow to actually finish.

You all right with that? Yep.

To hit their deadline, Wendy's roped in daughter Leah

to help style the barn, starting with the piece de resistance...

Right. Just plonk them in there.

..a wall of silk flowers.

The plan is to cable-tie these up to this pole.

Yep.

I think it will make a really classy and simple backdrop.

There's a couple of thousand pounds' worth of flowers in here,

so that is a bonus for any couple who are getting married.

That's a lot of flowers.

But before the flower wall,

it's the oak beams that are getting spruced up.

It's never ending. I know.

These, we have woven with fairy lights.

They should hang down just a little way,

so it feels like you're walking under arches of flowers.

OK. Let's get down and have a look.

Look at it.

Ooh, lovely.

Coming on nicely...

but the clock's ticking. The flower wall still needs to go up

and there are box loads of blooms left to unpack.

The rendezvous with the mayor is happening at 6:15 tomorrow evening

and it has to be finished by then.

We won't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Nearly 300 miles south is the magical 15th-century

Chateau Mareuil.

The 17-room defensive fortress was purchased for £378,000 four

years ago by south London couple - retired caterer Belinda,

and lighting designer Lee, who now run it as a B&B and events business.

Chateaux can be money pits,

and we felt that because the size was quite bijou...

It was a manageable money pit.

It was a manageable money pit. Oh, how wrong you can be.

Situated 40 miles from Limoges in central France, Belinda

and Lee have spent around £150,000 on renovations.

To make back some of the money, they've expanded their events

portfolio and recently hosted their first-ever fashion show.

Eat, drink, be merry and spend loads of money. OK.

However, their venue space, the castle keep or donjon,

almost ruined everything with its leaky roof.

Oh, dear. Look at this. I'll go and get a bucket.

And its uneven floor meant a wobbly catwalk for the models.

Classic colours, aren't they? Very, very flattering.

Before the next season kicks off, the donjon desperately needs

an upgrade if Belinda and Lee's business is going to thrive.

Got to put a new level floor in so that

when we're hosting events, tables and chairs aren't wonky.

And people don't trip over their feet. And people don't trip over

when they're dancing. That's the most important thing.

Most important thing, yeah.

Right, here we are, then. Right.

Here we are.

To keep the cost down, builder friends Paul

and Danny have come over from the UK to help.

The big problem I've got is between here and this point here,

there's something like 150mm difference,

so it's higher there than it is here.

What I wanted to try and do, we've got some spoil over the field,

bung it in here and try and raise this level up.

Right, come on, let's crack on.

The spoil is a mixture of soil and stone left over from when

the swimming pool was put in, so it's down to the boys to shift it.

Never driven it with a trailer on the back before.

Nerve-racking, it's very nerve-racking.

Backing up in the field is proving tricky for Lee.

Which way? That way?

Back, back, back. No, keep going straight.

It's harder to reverse for him,

because everything has to be done in the opposite direction.

You're going to have to straighten up.

Hold on, hold on. That's it, keep coming. This way?

This way, this way. That's it, turn.

Turn.

Keep going, keep going.

Yeah, that's fine, mate.

That's fine.

I was struggling with that.

I knew I was going to have trouble with this.

While Danny and Paul transfer the spoil into the trailer

and take it to the donjon,

Lee's ready for his next challenge, smoothing it out with a whacker.

What this does is it vibrates. The sheer weight of this

thing will literally compact the Earth down

with the soils compact, then the concrete will sit on top

of the soil and form its own layer. A bit like a sponge cake, really.

All right, grab it there, that's it.

But not quite as tasty.

It's got my foot. Ow!

Best to have your steel toe-capped boots for these jobs.

MACHINE STARTS UP

I'm loving this.

Seems the compactor is an easier drive than the tractor.

With the floor well and truly flattened, Lee wants to see

if it's now level.

Well, that has raised it. It's great, isn't it?

That's perfect. Yeah.

Result.

Now it's just a case of calculating how much concrete they need.

It's working out at 4.2 cubic metres,

but that's not going to be enough.

Why is it not going to be enough, sorry?

So we need to order a bit extra.

What's worse is not having enough. Exactly.

Because then that's a hand-mix job and we haven't got time to do that.

Have you measured it recently? Are you sure of those figures?

Yeah.

Is it possible, I'm not being funny, Lee, the chap is very helpful,

he's very knowledgeable.

Why don't you go back and talk to him, rather than second guessing.

OK.

That sounds like a plan, then.

Yes, good idea.

It's probably better in this situation to ask the experts.

The last thing you want is to find out you haven't ordered

the right amount.

Coming up...

Wendy and Marcus are against the clock getting everything

ready for the mayor's visit.

These have been absolutely awful to fix.

Whoop.

And these chateau owners...

Hey.

..are making the most of their resources?

It's quite satisfying.

In south-east France lies the stunning 13th-century

Chateau de Rosieres.

With 16 bedrooms, five outbuildings, and set in 130 acres of land,

the lucky owners are British writer and yoga teacher Amy

and her French farmer husband, Marc.

They bought it three years ago for £650,000.

Come on, everybody!

We could not have taken this on unless we believed

we were going to spend the rest of our life here.

Come on, little one.

And we knew as soon as we saw it that we wanted to spend

the rest of our lives here, so I think that's the plan.

I think we're getting there.

We're...

The more we live in the chateau,

the more we picture what we would like it to be.

Located an hour and a half's drive from Lyon,

over the past year they've begun renovating the chateau

to turn it into a high-end B&B.

Oh!

Oh, my. Oh.

They've started to install an eco-friendly sewage system...

Wahey. Victory.

..completed their first guest suite...

I just feel like sitting in here forever and staring at it.

..and are now planning for an important arrival.

We worked and worked and worked through the winter

and then I fell pregnant, so that's been completely terrifying.

We've gone from relying on each other

to him having to do everything.

Amy's determined to push on with her dream project

for the chateau, creating a yoga retreat

in two of the derelict outbuildings.

We have a huge barn.

What I want to turn it into is a beautiful airy yoga studio,

with a mezzanine level where people can relax.

I think it's going to be a really beautiful space.

And that's not all.

We're quite excited about the cafe.

It's the old coach house of the chateau

and it'll be the place where people from the retreats

can cook their food, or we can have a chef in.

But it can also be that we open it for people from the village

to come and have tea and cake.

I think it'll just be an incredibly flexible space.

I do, too.

It's a massive undertaking as they're hoping to get both buildings

finished by the end of the summer.

It will be really nice to have a little bit of money coming in.

Yeah.

Because we are paying for this work by putting a loan

against our business, so it's a bit of a gamble

but we are really confident that it will work out.

Whoop.

In a bid to keep the cost down...

This. Yep.

..Amy and Marc want to take trees from their vast forest

of Douglas firs to use as structural beams and flooring

for the yoga barn and cafe renovations.

Do we need to cut this one?

I think so, yes.

They decide to mark straight, healthy trees

for the lumber company to cut down and to take to the nearby sawmill.

One of the things I really like about using these guys

is that they're an ancient family from the village.

They've been here since the 11th century,

so I like the idea that they might have been working this land

for about 900 years.

This one will be good as building wood,

that's a really good timber wood.

So, will that go to make a beam, or will it be planks?

Oh, yeah, that's way big enough for a beam.

Overall, I think we'll be cutting about 20 trees

or something today, and we probably need, for us,

about five or six.

Is that all? Yeah, I think so.

They are quite big trees.

So we might actually make profit on this one?

Yeah, I think we will. Woohoo.

Felling more than they need means the excess trees

will be sold at the sawmill to cover costs.

Each trunk can fetch up to around 75 Euros,

that's about £65.

It's important to know their size for pricing up.

Now they're measuring the tree to estimate the volume.

There's a math formula.

Oh, blimey, I didn't realise it was that scientific.

Woo!

Wahey!

That's quite satisfying.

The next morning, the job continues.

And some of the trees need to be transported to the sawmill.

That's a very satisfying truck. I know.

The truck's arrived half full, meaning costs are shared.

You want to drive it, don't you? Yeah.

To load up, the truck's blocking the road, so time is of the essence.

I'm going to go and hide behind a tree

so I don't have to be embarrassed.

At Chateau du Dohem in northern France,

Wendy and daughter Leah are busy getting ready

for tomorrow's all-important visit from the local mayor.

So you'll add a couple of hydrangea heads

and then some ivy hanging down in the middle

so then it bulks out that middle bit.

It's not just the barn that's receiving attention.

Marcus is also up against it, putting in an arched gate

at the entrance to the pool,

with help from local handyman Andre Luc.

Je pense le...beaucoup.

Er...

Although communication is proving tricky.

Is there more of that?

Er...

He speaks a very little bit of English

and I speak a very little bit of French

so, between us, we muddle through.

Back at the chateau, Wendy has received some news.

I have an e-mail from the assistant of the mayor of Dohem

and she says she's very sorry, but Madame the mayor

is now at a reunion from tomorrow at 17.00

and it's not possible for her to come.

How are you doing?

These have been absolutely awful to fix.

Oh, no, really?

Absolutely horrendous.

Now, the reason I came down to talk to you...

You're not leaning on that, are you?

No, didn't think so. Not leaning on that at all.

..is because I've had a message from the assistant to the mayor.

Yeah?

And she can't make the meeting down here for six-ish.

Right, OK.

I feel a bit disappointed that she's broken the arrangement

because we've gone to a lot of trouble to get everything ready

for her visit.

Wendy feels getting the mayor on side could be helpful

to the business by spreading the word locally.

It's also down to the mayor to approve future building works,

so Wendy's not giving up yet.

I'm waiting for the mayor's PA to come back to me

and see if it's possible for her to actually come earlier in the day.

Carrying on in the hope the visit will still go ahead tomorrow...

Do you think it needs a hydrangea at the other side?

..it looks like Wendy and Marcus could be in for a very long night.

Nearly 300 miles south, at Chateau Mareuil,

Belinda and Lee's donjon floor is now level

and prepared to their satisfaction,

ready for the concrete delivery today.

It's five cubic metres.

It's already about... It's 650 Euros, virtually.

Yeah.

So it's eye-wateringly expensive. So it's nearly £600.

Yeah.

And there's an added pressure

as builders Paul and Danny do have to go home one day.

The worst thing that could happen today is that the concrete

doesn't turn up.

That is a realistic possibility,

because although we've ordered it and specifically said today,

we did the same thing when we were having the pool put in

and they turned up a day and a half late.

Two days' time, these guys are gone.

They've only come over to help us do this,

so that would be a real problem for us.

This waiting is...

HE SIGHS

It's making me a bit nervous.

Ah!

Oh, no, it's wind in the trees.

I thought I could hear a lorry coming.

Yeah, this is it. That's great!

Here it is.

Here it comes.

Once turned around, it's a tight squeeze through the gateposts.

This makes me feel really nervous because I'm just concerned

he's going to take out my ancient stones and slabs.

And Belinda's concerns don't stop there.

I'm really worried about him hitting these ancient doors,

because they are...

How old are these doors? 500 years old?

Yeah, and they're huge.

They're irreplaceable.

Whilst the lorry's hydraulically powered arm

has successfully manoeuvred its way in,

Belinda's spotted something leaking out of it.

Lee?

Huh? Ah!

Oh, no!

The hydraulic pipe's burst.

Without the hydraulic fluid, the conveyor belt on the arm won't work.

This is not good.

This is a very, very bad sign.

Not quite sure what's going to happen next.

We've got five cubic metres of concrete

sitting in the back of that lorry that he may not be able

to pump out in there.

Unable to use the conveyor belt,

Danny's suggested they wheelbarrow the concrete instead.

What, from here? Yeah.

Barrow it from here? In here.

No, it's...

Well, what else can you do? You've got these guys here.

What are you going to do? Not do it today?

It's going to take all day. Yeah, but there's no alternative.

Desperate to get the job done today, Lee's come up with another idea.

This guy's phoning the depot to see if they can send another

lorry out with another five cubic metres with one of these that works.

But, if not...? If not, we'll have to barrow it in.

You're going to have to. We've got no choice.

It's too early for a gin and tonic, isn't it?

I'm not so sure.

Somewhere in the world, it's past one o'clock.

Get that crate of beer going.

Word comes back that the lorry driver has to return to base,

so it's down to Belinda and Lee to see if they can get

another delivery this afternoon.

I'd better telephone now. Yeah.

Straight away. Yeah, let's do it now.

Ce n'est pas possible?

SHE GASPS OK. Au revoir.

So, nothing today.

The very earliest is going to be tomorrow afternoon.

Um...

I've told him Friday is the absolute last day,

and he knows that,

but he has absolutely nothing today at all.

So that's it, it's finished for today.

On Saturday, Paul and Danny will be gone,

so Belinda and Lee have to hope they can get

that concrete lorry back tomorrow.

Coming up...

Amy and Marc go to great pains to work well as a team.

I thought you meant the frame inside.

I meant the frame.

You weren't very clear.

Yeah, yeah.

Little dance of joy.

And it's time to celebrate at Wendy and Marcus'.

18 months' worth of hard work, finished.

And looking lovely.

In south-east France, trees from Amy and Marc's forest,

for use in their chateau building works,

have arrived at the sawmill.

Bonjour, Amy. Bonjour.

Around a third will be turned into planks and beams

and the rest sold, covering transportation and sawing costs.

The measurements mean manager Luc can choose the right size trees

for Amy and Marc's made-to-measure beams.

I can see the pink marks on our ones.

I think we should get one of those.

A band saw removes the bark and cuts the trunks

into perfect planks and beams.

These will be used for the yoga barn's new mezzanine level.

Is that our beam? Yeah.

It looks like they've managed to make three.

That's really good.

It's amazing that we'll have been able to cut the trees,

then have them cut to size and then take them home,

all within just a few miles of our house. Mm.

Good job done. Well done.

As well as utilising their Douglas firs,

Amy and Marc have also created window frames

from their home-grown sweet chestnut trees for the coach house cafe.

We've just had a delivery of some beautifully handmade

windows for the building and we got a quote from the window makers

that they would charge us 3,000 euros to oil the windows.

And we thought, "That might be something we can manage ourselves."

By not having to pay for your wood,

and by preserving the windows yourselves,

you've saved a huge amount.

Just what you need when you've got a hefty loan to pay off.

This room is going to be stunning, I'm so excited about it.

It's gonna have a home cinema system, a roaring log fire...

Coffee machine.

SHE LAUGHS That's what he's excited about.

That's the most important.

This is the first of the 11 windows they've had made,

all of which need oiling.

But before that...

You can do the frame, I'll do the window itself. OK.

They're using a tannin blocker to stop sap seeping to the surface,

causing stains.

You do the frame, I said.

I know, but you were doing the outside whilst I...

And you said the frame, so I thought you meant the frame inside.

I meant the frame. You call the frame. You weren't very clear.

I just thought it was your mauvais anglais.

Amy's technique is very interesting.

We just need to work on the coordination between Amy and I,

cos we tend to go over and over the same places.

Maybe we should be keeping track of what we've done

and what we haven't done?

What's really satisfying, when you're doing this, is thinking

how many euros per minute we're saving than if they'd done it.

Yeah. It's not even a horrible task, is it?

No, it is quite enjoyable.

Bon, I think we're done.

We've just applied the first coat.

After that, we'll put the finishing oil

that will help the wood keep its colour.

You did an amazing job.

No, I didn't, it was awful.

Oh, maybe for the window.

No time to stop.

Oh, and the peacock is joining us.

Amy's friend Brent, who runs high-end yoga retreats

around the world, has arrived to give their yoga barn the once over.

If he likes what he sees,

his classes could help get Amy and Marc's yoga retreat up and running.

So, this, is it.

It's a little bit dirtier than it should be.

Obviously there will be a lot less pigeon poo here

when you're practising yoga.

So, in there, is going to be the big yoga studio,

and then in here is going to be a kind of welcome area.

I don't know if it would be possible, but this area has such

amazing scenery, if there's any way to get just a little bit of a view?

From the view, we're planning to have some output door yoga

platforms spread around the land to choose,

so we have other locations. It's amazing.

It's incredible.

I mean, where else are you going to be able to practise yoga

in a place like this? It's perfect.

It looks like you could be getting a thumbs-up

from your friendly yoga guru.

When are we talking about being able to bring a group here?

OK, I think a small group next year.

Well, book us. Plan... Let's pencil it in.

Good. I want to save our spot.

And with their first booking on the cards,

Amy's got an idea.

I'd like to see you doing a handstand in it now,

so that I can take a picture of you now and then,

when you come back when it's done, I take the same picture.

HE BLOWS AWAY DUST

Ah, beautiful. All right...

..up we go.

Is this the first handstand in this room? Oh, yeah.

Ever, in 600 years?

Uh, I reckon so.

Probably. I did one the other day. Did you, really?

HE LAUGHS

Now there's just the small task of getting the derelict yoga barn

finished in time to welcome retreat guests.

I'm so pleased after Brent's visit.

If he thinks this is good enough, then

I think we've got the start of a really good business.

400 miles north, Wendy, her daughter Leah, and Marcus are working towards

finishing their wedding barn before guests arrive in two days' time.

Leah and I were in the wedding barn until about ten

and we did finish dressing all of the oak beams and

we also managed to get half of the flower wall up,

which we're continuing with today.

They were hoping the local mayor would visit this evening

to give her seal of approval.

But having cancelled her appointment,

Wendy's been trying hard to see if there's another time.

I heard from the mayor's PA today and unfortunately,

for Madame Mayor, it's definitely out of the question for her

to arrive today now.

But we're just going to carry on anyway as normal

and proceed with the work.

Absolutely.

Both the barn and landscaping need to be finished

before the chateau guests arrive.

This is just a finishing touch to the patio area.

It's time for the last details in the barn, too.

Mum has not let me on the big ladder.

Look at the ladder I've been given today.

You're supposed to give me the best tools in life

and you're giving me the tiniest ladders.

I gave you the best tip in life.

Yes, you did.

You said, "Always wear great shoes,

because when you dance on the table, it's the first thing people see..

THEY LAUGH

Outside, it might not be a table,

but Marcus's paving sure looks smooth enough for bridal shoes.

There we go. That's it done.

Not sorry to see that finished, that's for sure.

Let's try my gates, make sure they shut.

Oh, look at that.

A little bit more. Finit. That's it, done.

OK? I'm so happy. Good.

Yeah, yeah, little dance of joy.

THEY LAUGH

You have done a peach of a job. Ah.

I'm glad that you like it. I might cry.

Oh. No, it's lovely.

You may not have the mayor on hand to impress,

but you've done a bloomin' marvellous job with the decorating.

Time for Wendy to show Marcus the wedding barn in all its glory.

Stunning.

18 months' worth of hard work, finished and looking lovely.

What began as an empty shell now boasts a beautiful oak floor,

exposed beams and bespoke light fittings.

And its signature floral display creates the setting to say, "I do."

Now we've got this space, we've got something we can

really go out and promote.

Happy? Yeah.

I'm happy.

Looking at what you've seen for so long in your head

and wanted to make a reality, to achieve that reality...

I tell you what, it's emotional.

Let's hope bookings start rolling in,

bringing you one step closer to living your chateau dream full time.

In central France at Chateau Mareuil,

Belinda and Lee are two days into waiting for their concrete delivery.

This is the last day we've got people here to help us.

Um, and so it's absolutely critical

that the cement turns up today on time and it actually all works.

You know I don't normally swear?

Might all change today. Yeah.

And we wouldn't want that, Belinda.

With builder mates Danny and Paul returning to the UK tomorrow,

my fingers are crossed for your concrete arrival today.

So, I don't want the cables dangling in the cement.

I hate to correct you when you're under such stress, Lee,

but it's concrete you're waiting on, not cement.

It's all about the angle of the dangle, you know.

Concrete's here! Concrete's here!

TRUCK BEEPS

Well, that's a welcome sight.

God, he's got like, an inch.

Not the gates.

TRUCK CONTINUES BEEPING

Here's hoping the conveyor belt on the arm works without a hitch.

SHE NERVOULSY LAUGHS I can't watch it.

No.

This was the exact moment the hydraulic disaster struck last time.

Lee, there's a drip happening, look, but is it water? Where?

Oh, don't say that. I just saw one drip.

It's right over the point where the last one broke.

It's dripping, look. Where?

But I think it's water.

I hope so for your sake, Belinda.

Conveyor belt in position,

the driver wants to know how thick they want the concrete.

Do you want it quite liquid? No? How do you want this?

I think there's a choice. How do you want...? Like, medium. Medium.

Classique? Oui, classique.

This consistency is going to take a lot of effort to spread it

quickly and evenly across the floor before it starts to dry.

It looks a bit like cake mix, doesn't it?

Lee's beginning to wonder whether he's ordered enough concrete.

I'm slightly nervous, right, because the guy that's used to

delivering all this muck, I've just said to him,

"We've got five cubic metres, do you think it's going to be enough?"

And he said, "How big, is it?" And I told him and he said,

"How deep are you doing on it?" And he went, "Mm."

To help with the job, the lorry driver has given Danny and Paul

his tamper to help spread the mixture evenly.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

A little bit nearer and then tamp it down with that.

After 50 minutes of hard graft, dragging and spreading,

an even level may be the least of their worries.

It's finished? Fin?

There's not enough.

There's no more, so we need to drag it back.

Paul and Danny are sweating a little bit, because now,

the whole lorry has been emptied into the donjon,

they're working against time, because the more they do on it,

the drier the mix gets.

You're always nervous and anxious.

Look at me, I'm 30 years old on my next birthday.

This is what it does to you. SHE LAUGHS

Never. You don't look a day over 28, Lee.

Now you're pulling it back, I can see we have got enough.

What a relief. SHE LAUGHS

Au revoir, monsieur, merci. Au revoir, monsieur.

Au revoir, madame.

Who'd have thought it? They're done.

Oh, the light switch is over there, I can't turn the lights off.

HE CHUCKLES

I think the concrete floor laying has been really successful,

don't you? It's looking reasonably flat in there.

Reasonably flat. Reasonably flat? Well, I, you know...

If that were me and I were icing a cake,

I think I might've gone over it again with a spatula.

There are no second chances with concrete, Belinda,

and when it's dry, it's going to look pretty much the same.

Coming up...

Renovations could take a turn for the worse

in Amy and Marc's yoga barn...

Pretty much hoping that the whole roof doesn't fall in.

..and Lee has a big surprise for Belinda.

Wow. SHE LAUGHS

In the Ardeche region of south-east France,

Amy and Marc's coach house cafe is coming along

with the help of a team of local builders.

The new windows are going in

and the stone walls have been traditionally repointed.

They used lime and really nice sand and it comes up really beautifully.

It just brightens it up.

I'm extremely happy with how the coach house is coming along.

It's just come alive, it's so bright and beautiful.

On the other side of the main chateau building,

their yoga barn is ready for a seven-metre-long,

one-and-a-half-tonne beam,

which will form the structural support for a new mezzanine level.

We saw that there were some existing holes in the walls

and thought we might be able to use that by putting one of our

big tree trunks that was cut into it and making a mezzanine.

That was really your idea, wasn't it, the mezzanine? Yep. It was!

The first job is to get the massive log off the lorry,

get it in there, see if it fits...

..and then decide what to do next.

Amy and Marc's carpenters are lifting the beam off the lorry

with a chain winch.

They're hanging this gigantic one-and-a-half-tonne

beam off a rather small-looking one.

Pretty much hoping that the whole roof doesn't fall in.

Once it's off the lorry, with the roof still intact,

the beam is rolled into position

using a tried and tested ancient technique.

If it's good enough for the Egyptians!

The massive beam has to be lifted into place one end at a time,

once again using the chain winch.

This is an old building

and we're just hoping it's fit into these nice existing holes.

I know, cos I measured. But still, it could crumble.

Have faith, Amy, those medieval walls are surely thick enough

to support the beam's weight.

Though with the first end in situ, Amy's got another concern.

The beam's a bit mangled on this side.

Can it not go the other way up?

It's just that that's the worst bit and that's the nice bit

and that's going to be facing this way. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

I think they hate me a little bit right now.

Look at them, they're lifting it!

Whoops!

Hey! Merci beaucoup!

Just right, Amy.

That is much better.

I mean, that is actually nice to look at now.

Non? Don't you agree with me? That was easy! But you agree with me.

I do agree. I thought I was being a pain in the backside for asking them

to turn it, but they're now all saying to me,

"It's very good you saw that, because, yes,

"it's much nicer on this side."

Now it's crunch time as the second end

of the beam is lifted into place.

And it's in.

It fits!

And you can start to see what it's going to look like,

which I'm really pleased about.

No!

Oh, he's going to sit on it, look.

He's testing out. Marc! Oh, my God...

Oh, my God!

Yep, that's a very good mezzanine.

I'm really pleased with the result.

Yeah. The next step is to now build around it.

These guys... I think they're going to do some of the major structural

work and then we're going to fill in the rest, aren't we? Yep.

You have a mammoth task ahead of you, guys,

but I've no doubt it won't be too long before your yoga barn

is welcoming retreat guests and your cafe is feeding them.

At Belinda and Lee's, the new concrete floor is now set.

Belinda's been away and Lee's looking forward to

showing her their re-vamped events space.

I think Belinda's going to be well pleased with the

finished product because she's been on at me for almost a year to get

a level floor in there.

But first, he wants to hide the newly set floor from her.

Right, I've got a small problem here.

The doors won't shut and I think the reason why they're not

shutting is because, whilst the concrete's been curing,

they've been secured outside and we've had some rain recently

and it could have affected the doors,

getting really wet and it's dropped on its hinge.

Now, because of the size and the weight of the door,

I'm not going to try and prop the door up, so I need another solution.

Sawing Belinda's prized doors might not be the best idea.

Let's hope that's fixed it.

YES!

Yes! Ha-ha!

Done!

I'm well pleased with that.

Now the donjon's new floor is successfully hidden from view,

Lee's planning a little party with local friends to unveil it.

If we grab this one and put it underneath these.

Helping to set up for the celebration is neighbour Chris.

You twist it round that way, yeah.

The new level floor means no more wobbly table legs,

so Lee can go all-out to make the donjon look its very best.

Our neighbours will be arriving in a minute.

With Belinda unaware in the chateau, it's hushed voices all round.

WHISPERED: Thanks for coming. Hi.

Go in, mind you head. Hiya, mind your head.

Right, just wait there, Belinda. OK. All right? And I'll open...

This is all very exciting. ..the doors. Yeah, well, you haven't...

You wait. Ooh.

Ooh... Wow!

Hi! Hello!

Oh, this is lovely!

Thank you. So, a celebratory cheers, and thank you all for coming.

Thanks, everyone. So, Belinda, what do you think?

Could you dance on it? You can dance on it, try it.

Twist and shout. It's a bit...

These shoes aren't great, but then, they're rubber...

So, could this have another layer on it, eventually?

Because it is a bit uneven. I knew this was going to happen!

If I'd have decorated this. What did I say?

I knew this was going to happen. So, seriously, is it possible?

You know, eventually have a screed self-levelling coat

put on top of it? Ooh!

Screed. Self-levelling coat. Ooh. Technical term.

I think we'll have to face that another day when the money comes in.

Yeah, but, you know, it's a usable space. It's brilliant, thank you.

Yay!

Bravo, guys.

I hope all that stress was worth it.

And once you fix your leaky roof,

you'll have an events space for all seasons.

Yeah, at the moment, we've got an extremely large owl door

which is about two-and-a-half metres square. More than one owl door.

Yeah. I think six owls could come in there.

We could have a whole squadron of owls flying through there, yeah.

On a dry day, the donjon is a much-improved space for your events.

I can say, hand on heart, we can host your party, your wedding,

your event in our donjon.

While the final repairs will make it a year-round venue,

the summer has heralded a successful season

of new events for Belinda and Lee,

with their hugely popular classic car rally barbecue...

Mesdames et messieurs, s'il vous plait, mange!

..and an equally popular fashion show.

A big thank-you to Lee and Belinda.

As the renovation fund is in need of a top-up,

there are plans to expand their events even further.

Fire pit, medieval banquet, jousters, jugglers...

Jousters? That was one idea.

I'm guessing that's not going down too well at the moment.

Jousting? No. OK, scrub that.

What about an artist day? And there were people throwing pots,

there's a photographer's exhibition in there.

Do you know what? If they were throwing pots, it wouldn't matter

if some of the clay went onto the floor.

You'd get your floating screed then, wouldn't you? Yeah, yeah.

Wow! The creative juices are really flowing, you two.

I can't wait to hear all about whichever event you run next.

Next time...

Is it central? It is.

It's all change again at Wendy and Marcus's wedding barn.

How good does that look? It looks amazing.

I know we did it, but...

No. Why's it doing that?

Amy and Marc get in the zone as they prepare for

their first meditation class...

It looks beautiful, mon cheri.

..and these chateau owners dip their toes in the water

with their new business venture.

Careful.

Here it comes!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media