Original subtitles

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. SHE GASPS

Oh, my God. That is so beautiful.

It's not just our home...

HE GRUNTS And we're up.

..but our business.

You may kiss your bride.

APPLAUSE

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...

I'll 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? BOTH: Yeah!

There will 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...

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Ah!

..plans for a new spa...

I'm just hoping the crane doesn't topple over, we'll see.

..cause tensions to bubble to the surface.

Everything is in chaos.

This owner cracks on with bedroom renovations...

Slosh it on. That's it, all over.

..that are child's play for her new apprentice.

I'll have to give you this, look, the symbol of knowledge.

HE LAUGHS

And at this chateau...

Here it comes.

..as a couple get to work on a new event space...

SHE GRUNTS

..a missing bit of kit means a race against time.

We only have 30 minutes to get this tool before the concrete sets,

so a little bit of pressure.

We've never regretted our decision to buy a chateau,

but there's no doubt that looking after one of these

magnificent buildings is a serious undertaking.

Especially when you're just starting out.

Take the rather splendid Chateau de Bourneau.

With parts dating back to the 1400s,

but mostly rebuilt in the 19th century, it has 50 rooms...

..40 acres of land and even its own moat.

Do you want to carry it sideways,

and then you can actually see where you're going?

I'm covered in flowers. Like, literally covered by flowers.

It's home to former anaesthetist Erin and her French fiance,

engineer JB, who picked up the keys to this impressive pile in 2018.

And when we saw the chateau, we instantly fell in love with it.

You see the turrets rising over the wild flower meadow,

it has that real fairy tale feel.

Set in the Pays de la Loire,

Erin and JB have found living in a place this big

takes some getting used to.

We seem to constantly lose things.

And we spend a lot of time actually phoning one another,

because we just have no idea where the other is.

Hey, it's me. Would you be free for, like,

five minutes to give me a hand by the bridge?

I think we should probably invest in walkie-talkies. Yeah.

THEY LAUGH It might be easier.

Baby? SHOUTS: Yeah. Are you under the bridge?

SHE LAUGHS

Erin and JB plan to turn the chateau into an events venue

with accommodation. They have already started creating

five en-suite guest bedrooms in their south wing.

This is obviously going to be a challenge.

But after recently hosting a successful first-ever paid event,

they have decided to put restorations on hold

and concentrate on the events side of the business

to get an income flowing in sooner.

And they already have the perfect party space in mind.

Our ruined orangery, which has so much potential,

and it's a shell, essentially, at the moment.

It has no floor, it has no windows,

but there is something really charming and beautiful about that.

It took some effort, but our orangery is now

a perfect event space, and the centre of our wedding business.

If Erin and JB can do the same with theirs, they could be onto a winner.

But before they tackle the orangery itself,

they have another important job they want to make a start on.

Erin and I have decided to make a gate

for the entrance into the flower meadow that leads to the orangery.

I think it's important, cos at the moment,

there's just a bit of rope there.

It doesn't quite make a grand arrival space for our guests.

To save money, JB is making the gates himself,

something he's never done before.

The way I'm planning to assemble them all... Mm-hm?

..is to create half-laps,

so we're going to cut... What's that?

..a section here which is half the thickness of this post.

OK.

When two pieces of wood are cut to half their thickness,

they can be bolted together where they meet.

That's a half-lap joint, it's really neat.

Oh, cool.

JB's clearly a man who loves his carpentry.

Remove the excess.

Make it as smooth as possible.

So how did you do it, literally just tap it out that way?

This is VERY satisfying. SHE LAUGHS

I'm not normally allowed in the man cave!

HE LAUGHS

Finally, the gate can be assembled.

It's the moment of truth, does it all fit together?

So that's how it's going to. Oh, yeah, OK. That's so nice.

So this is loose fit at the moment. Yeah.

Um, you see, we're going to screw it in place.

It's going to be an impressive sized gate.

Actually, visualising this half, here,

I suddenly realise actually it's going to be enormous.

Yeah, but you're coming to a chateau, you know? True, true.

It's like... # Da-dah. #

The big gate. Yeah. Open the gate. Yeah. Be fine, cool. Very nice.

A few weeks later,

JB and Erin's hand-crafted gates are painted and ready.

Th is pretty solid, this thing. How strong are your hinges?

THEY LAUGH

Today, they're hanging them in the entrance to the orangery meadow.

I have faith in JB's engineering skills.

I mean, this is the first gate he's made, so it's pretty impressive.

Here goes. Do you want me to guide it in?

It all hinges on this. Check the bottom, please.

OK. Yep.

OK, right.

Hang on.

There we go.

All right, let's see.

Oooh!

Oh.

Shut it.

Huh.

It's flat. You've got a reasonable gap at the top,

but not at the bottom.

So close, JB.

I took my measurements on the top part of the gate,

where there's a nice clearance, but I forgot about the bottom part.

Do you think it's just a case of altering the hinges?

Yeah. I will bring tools here and try to.

OK, cool. Well, let me know if you need any muscle.

THEY LAUGH Yeah, sure.

It's a minor error, all it needs is a little tweak

and no-one will ever know.

120 miles to the east is the stunning 12th-century,

13-bedroom Chateau du Masgelier, home to DIY enthusiast Fiona.

That's it.

She lives here with her 11-year-old son Louie,

and has spent the last six years single-handedly renovating it.

I really do enjoy all of the DIY aspects.

I think if I just sat still, I'd just curl up and die really,

at the end of the day.

Tucked away in the central Limousin area,

Fiona's plans to renovate the whole of the chateau's first floor

have temporarily been put on hold.

So she's given me a brief, "No birds, no flowers."

Everything that I was going to do.

Instead, this winter, she's working on a bedroom on the top floor

for her daughter Rochelle,

who's due to visit from the UK in a month's time.

Really to give her her designated room to move all her junk into,

so when she travels back and forth from the UK, she feels at home.

Ah! I'll get it in the face now, I know it.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse,

which means Louie's school is closed for the day.

The sub-zero temperatures have also been

hampering progress in Rochelle's room.

The wallpaper Fiona's been hanging hasn't been drying,

but having had heaters on for a whole day, she can now start work...

Oh, it's nice and warm in here, isn't it? Come on in, Lou.

..with the help of her new assistant.

I'm going to be doing all the big, long drops today,

cos it's nice and warm,

and you can do a little bit under here if you want to.

Yeah. Yeah? You can be my little apprentice.

So, what you do, you get the paste brush,

hold the brush tight. That's brilliant.

With a perfectionist like Fiona,

Louie's sure to get a thorough lesson.

Slosh it on. That's it, all over.

And if you do the edges, look, like this.

Get the edges done. Mind your hands.

Quickly, get it all over.

I hope Rochelle is going to like this.

She'd better like it. OK, what a job! Good boy.

Do all the edges, though.

I think he doesn't really enjoy

getting involved in any of the restorations.

Go over it, just to double check.

But it's nice to have him around and teach him

a little bit here and there.

So what you're going to do is lift it with your two fingers, there.

It's got T for top. Walk over here, squat down.

Excellent, look at that.

And what you do is push it very gently, don't squash it.

It looks like, with a bit of help from Louie...

Go on, keep going.

..Fiona is getting back on track.

Oh, look at that, excellent. And only about another 25 drops to go.

Got to be kidding me. SHE LAUGHS

You're now initiated.

I'll have to give you this, look.

The sym... Take this, the symbol of knowledge.

HE LAUGHS

I'll have to start teaching him how to cook, soon, as well,

I think, and how to use the Hoover, I reckon.

Oh, and the washing machine.

Nice thought,

but with the whole of the room to wallpaper and furnish,

it might be best to stick to this for now.

Coming up, at Chateau de Bourneau, work tees off in the orangery...

The technique is a bit like a golf swing, you know? It is.

Do you want to have a go? Right, here we go.

THEY LAUGH

..and two chateau owners race to get a new hot tub ready for guests...

You don't get a spa delivered every day of the week.

..if it'll fit through the door.

If Tim's measurements are correct, then it will fit.

If not, then...I don't know what we'll do.

This is the magnificent 19th-century,

39-room Chateau du Puits es Pratx.

Set amongst a vineyard,

the family-run hotel is owned by Londoners Sasha and Tim.

We've been here 15 years and we look at it now,

and you easily forget the work,

sweat and toil you've put into it. Mm.

I certainly don't want to leave.

For me, this is now home.

Set in the Occitanie region of southern France, Tim and

Sasha's main business is weddings, which they hold throughout the

summer with help from their daughter Lily and her boyfriend Luke.

Confetti. Confetti. Confetti.

Working within this business is not so much working long hours,

but life is work.

Work is life.

With a restaurant and hotel to run,

things aren't exactly slow in the low season, either,

especially since they opened a guest spa in a small outbuilding.

There is, however, a problem.

The previous spa we had was an inflatable home spa type,

it didn't look very professional and it finally came to a death

when we found we had got a small leak in it.

It's very difficult to satisfy guests

when you've got a spa with a leak.

For Tim and Sasha,

spa breaks are a key part of drawing in guests during the low season,

so it's crucial it's back up and running as soon as possible.

And today, they have a brand-new Jacuzzi being delivered.

So, what time is the monster arriving? Two o'clock.

And when are the first clients coming in?

The first clients are on Friday, in two days. Friday afternoon? Yeah.

So one and a half days... Two days.

..we've got to get it all ready. Yeah.

I'd put the wall to there.

Guests are arriving on Friday afternoon.

If the sun's out, they're bound to want to get into the spa.

This has been the pressure round it, because we basically sell ourselves

as a hotel and spa and we've been without a spa for the last month.

The spa itself is due to arrive any minute, by crane.

And be hoisted over the wall here into the garden and the weight

of this thing, apparently, it takes five men to carry.

So I'm just hoping the crane doesn't topple over. We'll see.

It'll probably go perfectly smoothly,

I might be worrying unnecessarily.

You're about to find out if those are famous last words, Tim.

The crane with the new Jacuzzi is here, bang on time.

Flippin' 'eck.

You don't get a spa delivered every day of the week.

This crane looks as though

it's capable of lifting something ten times bigger.

They need to get it done quickly,

as the crane is completely obstructing the road.

The local mayor was supposed to put out signs warning

people that the road was going to be blocked.

But I think he forgot.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God!

Oh, my goodness. Oh!

It looks so small up there.

It's supposed to be a seven-seater spa.

It's seriously impressive, isn't it?

Christmas and birthday in one.

Touchdown.

That's the tricky bit done, now all they need to do is get it inside.

If Tim's measurements are correct, then it will fit.

If not, then I don't know what we'll do.

Here goes nothing.

Un, deux, trois.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

It's a relief it's got through the door.

Oh, boy, is it smart?!

Smart!

Jacuzzi in.

So cool. Isn't it? So, so cool. Really the business.

Seven-seater for the bride and her bridesmaids.

There's a bit more sprucing up to do

and they need to be ready for their first spa booking in two days' time.

Nearly 300 miles north, at Chateau de Bourneau,

after a few hours of toil...

Oh, well done, you've managed to fix it. Yeah.

..the hinges are repositioned

and Erin and JB's new gate is good to go.

Da-da!

Well done. Honestly, they look really good, I'm so pleased.

I agree, they look splendid.

And now Erin and JB are turning their attention

to the orangery itself.

It's a grand old building, but they have some serious work to do before

they can use it to host an event here, starting from the floor up.

We need to start on the floor first,

because at the moment it's just dirt.

If we're going to have events and people have nice shoes,

we don't want them to ruin their shoes

and having a proper floor will just upmarket a little bit.

Erin and JB are planning to pour a new concrete floor, but first

they need to lay a conduit that will eventually carry the electrics.

That's an electrical pipe that we're going to bury under

the concrete slab and it's already equipped with a wire

which you can attach your electrical wire and pull them through.

Main points, those two corners, we want electricity, which makes sense.

One for power, one for band sort of thing. Yeah. Great. Ready to, er...

..get to work? Chateau workout again. Absolutely.

First, they decide to dig a trench for the pipe to sit in.

It's all in the technique, a bit like a golf swing, you know.

Bend your legs. Straight arms. I'm pleased I'm not...

He makes it look really easy, but it isn't.

Do you want to have a go? Right, here we go.

Yeah, OK.

It may be a bit of force, actually.

There's a lot of force.

Practice makes perfect.

OK, we're going to be here for, like, ten years,

if it's left me to do this.

It's quite, um, a distance...

..to go. I'll leave you to it. Are you sure? Yeah. OK.

Digging this kind of hard-packed earth is tough work,

but do the preparation well and Erin and JB will reap the rewards.

The money that we get from all of our events

and our holiday stays is the thing we use to do up the chateau,

so, actually, the sooner we can have an event here, the better.

We'll see how it goes

and hopefully we'll be able to lay this concrete flat. Yeah.

But, you know, we're not experts.

Well, I for one can't wait to see the finished job.

Back at Chateau du Masgelier, the weather is still freezing cold.

Progress on the bedroom Fiona's renovating for her daughter

has been going slowly, but it will take more than that to worry her.

I'm really looking forward to Rochelle coming.

I hope it doesn't snow and the flights are coming in still.

But it's great and I think she's going to really love the room.

She's due in a month, so let's hope you can get back to it soon.

In the meantime, Fiona has other jobs to be getting on with.

Her birthday is in a few weeks' time, she's planning a party in her

dining room and wants to reupholster two of the chairs so they all match.

A lot of people would just say, "Got the chair, got the fabric,

"let's just stick some material on the top, stick it over the top."

But it's going to make...

The additional fabric on top of this is going to make it too bulbous

and it's not going to sit properly into the chair frames,

so I'll just get this old piece off.

Be nice to have a party for my birthday.

Not be dressed like this for a change.

It's not just an opportunity to dress up,

but also show off her dining room, which she renovated herself.

When I restored the dining room, I based it on more of a Victoriana

theme because that was the last time, in 1880, the room was used

as a dining room, so we're going to christen it, which will be lovely.

Whoops.

Having taken off the old cover,

Fiona now needs to replace it with a new material.

Usually takes about an hour, it depends how bad the chair is.

If I can do it, might as well do it myself,

really, at the end of the day.

I tip my hat to you -

doing as much as you can yourself is extremely satisfying.

That's nice and tight, nice little pleat, perfect.

Now to see how the new chairs look in the dining room.

I'm really pleased with the way that the chairs have come out,

I think they look great.

New bit of material makes a lot of difference,

just recovering them, doesn't it?

That was worth the effort.

Bet you can't wait to get back to your daughter's bedroom.

Coming up...

Oh, wow. Look at those lions.

I love those lions.

..Tim and Sasha swap the spa refurbishment

for some retail therapy...

I think we ought to have him and her. That's us.

..and at Erin and JB's,

there's a setback that wasn't "cement" to happen.

Time is of the essence at the moment, because we only have

30 minutes to get this tool before the concrete sets.

Ugh!

At Chateau de Bourneau, it's a big day for Erin and JB.

With the electrical pipes now all buried in their trenches,

the new floor for the orangery event space it is about to go down.

We are very excited because the concrete is coming for the

ruined orangery, so we're just doing the last-minute preparations

and a little bit of last-minute refreshments, because when it comes,

we've got to get to work and I'm not sure how quickly it's

going to take to dry. So we need to act relatively fast, I think.

Hello. How's it going?

Hopefully ready. Good.

Oh, that's looking a lot better, actually, now the plastic is down.

Before the concrete is poured,

JB has covered the floor with heavy-duty plastic

as a damp-proof course.

Talk me through the game plan so I don't royally mess this up,

because I've never done it before. Or even seen it, actually.

Well, don't worry, I've never seen it before either. Oh, really?

OK, so, when the truck is going to arrive,

normally it should be able to reverse up to here, it will

dump the concrete here and we'll just need to push it in the corners.

It should start to settle.

I will probably have to check the level at this stage.

I will explain when we cross that bridge, OK?

OK. Feeling confident?

Yeah.

I'm always slightly anxious,

because we don't want to waste money or time, but...

Ooh. This could be them arriving.

Ca va?

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

Time is of the essence after the concrete's been poured.

They need to move quickly to spread it out.

I think the plan is to let it pile up first,

and then we're going to start moving it.

At a cost of £1,300 for this 80-square-metre floor,

it's important for them it goes right first time.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH

Here it comes.

SHE LAUGHS

It's hard work, it really is.

He's poured everything.

This is actually naturally self-levelling,

so we just need to make sure that we've got a pretty uniform coverage,

but so far we think we have.

So far, no disasters, but there's still time for that.

Be careful what you wish for.

What's the problem?

It appears they're missing a vital piece of kit.

And what is this tool? Is it something to help with the...?

Yeah, it should make it perfectly smooth.

Unfortunately, we need another tool,

which would help with the next stage

which is perfectly smoothing it.

There's always going to be a problem, isn't there?

How long do we have, do you think, until this is properly set, JB?

About half an hour? More or less, yeah. Yeah.

More or less, we have to have it smoothed within the half an hour.

JB heads off to fetch the smoothing tool

from the concrete factory seven miles away.

Time is of the essence at the moment

because we only have 30 minutes to get this tool

before the concrete sets, so a little bit of pressure.

The guy that came to pour the concrete said

he should hopefully have a little bit extra,

so we're sort of banking on the little bit extra. So...

SHE GROANS

In the south of France,

with Tim and Sasha's new hot tub safely in position,

work is under way to get the spa ready for guests in two days' time.

IN FRENCH:

And with preparations left in Luke's capable hands,

Tim and Sasha have other business to attend to.

They've come to look for something to give their guests

a truly memorable welcome to the chateau.

And they're not holding back.

Oh, wow, look at those lions. I love those lions.

I need to measure that.

Ever since we've been at the chateau, we've had the two columns

at the entrance of the courtyard with just a squared-off top.

It looks as though it would have had something in its history.

For me, when I first discovered the property, it was the magic,

the gates opened, that's the excitement,

that's the dream that starts when the gates open.

So for every bride that arrives or anybody arriving, those gates,

the welcome and the history

is all part of what we're trying to preserve.

So we decided to come out to this place

which is quite well known for having a lot of choice of unusual things.

Right, then, time to get shopping and no monkeying around.

Oh. SHE LAUGHS

Sorry.

Sasha. He's marvellous.

Can't take him anywhere? What a fella.

The plinth is a metre, he'll fit perfectly.

George. George.

What about this guy?

SHE LAUGHS

Actually, I think we ought to have him and her.

That's us.

Shopping together with Tim is... Wonderful.

A wonderful experience, everyone should have it.

In honesty, I would love this fellow over here.

This gorilla.

But it might it convey the wrong impression.

Sounds bananas to me, Tim.

Come on.

Fortunately, Sasha seems to concur.

We could go the urn route. That's the alternative.

I quite like that. Oh. What about those?

These are a metre, just under a metre, so that would match the base.

They're very nice. The moulding on here

matches the moulding on the front of the house, doesn't it?

It's just perfect.

The downside is the price.

590.

Oh, what?

We might go up to 1,000 Euros if we had to.

We'd need to see if he could do a deal.

I've now got to talk to him very, very nicely

in my faltering French

and see if we can get the price a little bit cheaper for two.

Bonne chance, Sasha.

Let's see how good your haggling skills really are.

IN FRENCH:

Oh!

Oh!

Merci. Woohoo.

That's good news, two for the price of one.

Right, so he's got a sale on.

I'm going to have a look for some more stuff.

What a result.

But I'd get Sasha out of there before she buys anything else, Tim.

We need bar stools.

No, we don't.

At Chateau du Masgelier, the snow has finally thawed

and the sun's shining.

Not that Fiona's seen much of it,

as she's been working flat-out on daughter Rochelle's new bedroom.

It's four floors high,

it had to be the top floor with the furniture going up.

Got to try and get round the bend, now.

Now it's a matter of just bringing up the last

pieces of the furniture and it will be good to go.

But the finishing touches will have to wait, as for one day only,

Fiona's putting the bedroom on hold.

It's her birthday and she's planning a party in the dining room

she finished refurbishing two years ago.

My chairs have come out lovely, look at that.

Upholstered them really beautifully.

I'm very pleased.

I wouldn't have thought anyone will be sitting down,

we'll all sort of be standing around, chatting.

I'll leave the French doors open as well

and then the children can go and run on the lawn

with their chocolate eclairs.

It's going to be a really nice mix.

It's old friends, friends that also that I've made here

while I've been here over the years,

that all live quite locally.

She may have downed tools for the day,

but canny businesswoman Fiona hasn't completely switched off.

When you do something for yourself,

it's always a good little test run, isn't it,

for holding more public events and things?

So you learn by the rights and the wrongs

what does and doesn't work.

I need quite a few more glasses, don't I?

Someone else keen to make sure the party is a hit

is Fiona's son, Louie.

Dare I ask you, are you going to be able to carry these in for me?

Can you take a big plate? Er, I'll try.

I have visions of you falling over and just, boof.

HE LAUGHS

It's really nice to be able to use the room

after it took so long to restore.

I had to build walls, create a new fireplace,

so it's lovely to be able to use it now, isn't it?

And look at the weather, it's supposed to be winter.

Right, the spread's ready.

Time to make sure you are, Fiona.

I'll just take my slippers off, get my shoes on, my high heels on,

and they'll all start arriving.

Bonjour. Dauphine. Hi.

Gladrags on, champagne popped, it's time to celebrate.

OK, we'll do some gateaux first.

You might have to say that in French, Jo, for me.

My translator.

Come here, darling, what would you like? What would you like?

Raspberry. Raspberry? Yeah, and what would you like?

Do you want to ask Alan what he wants?

What do you want, Louie? An eclair?

The party's in full swing.

Blimey, that's a big piece, isn't it?

And Fiona's friends are happy to see her finally having some downtime.

It's lovely, we're all having a gorgeous day.

A lot of people see her mainly dressed in her scruffy clothes,

so it's nice for her to put something smart on, look good

and have a glass of champagne with good friends.

Fiona is a very lively person and I'm always very pleased to see her.

We love to come to see Fiona

and see how she's moving on with her projects.

OK, I'd like to just say thank you for all coming.

It's really nice to see you all and I know some of you have had

quite a bit of a drive as well, to come here.

Cheers. Thank you, everyone.

Happy birthday.

Cheers, thank you.

Lucky girl having everybody turn up today.

It's gone really well.

It's a nice way just to see everybody

and have a little celebration on my birthday.

It's been, you know, a long time since I've done something like this.

Many happy returns, Fiona, you've earned it.

Au revoir.

And you've still got the visit of your daughter to look forward to.

Coming up...

Are we going to oil that today, or not?

..in the south of France, the spa proves far from relaxing.

Guests are arriving a day earlier than they were booked in for,

expecting a brand-new spa and everything is in chaos.

And at Chateau de Bourneau, has JB made it back in time?

Let's see, moment of truth.

At Chateau du Puits es Pratx,

Tim and Sasha's spa is taking shape.

Over this side.

Are we going to oil that today or not?

It won't be dry in time for today. No. So we'll have to make do.

Fur blankets now.

But it's come right down to the wire.

Guests are arriving a day earlier than they were booked in for,

expecting a brand-new spa, and everything is in chaos.

Complete chaos.

So we've got to completely get the spa up and running.

You all right?

Yeah, I was just giving him a tape measure.

And now we have the pillars.

Oh, yay.

They are cool.

Sasha's collected some last-minute bids to dress the spa with

before their guests arrive this evening.

I found them online and I'm going to put plants on the top,

but I think they're meant for candles.

They are.

Right. Luke.

Luke. Yes. Candles in or plants out?

I'd say plants. Yeah, agreed.

Mind you, it's quite romantic having candles inside.

Yeah, that's true.

We'll just have to keep them away from the curtains.

With Sasha and Luke flat out in the spa, Tim has his hands full

making sure the chateau will give the best possible first impression.

Just noticed that there's a sold sticker on the side.

He's hired a forklift to get the two urns they bought into position

on top of the four-metre-high gate posts.

IN FRENCH:

Parfait.

That's the first one.

But before their second one goes up, there's a spot of gardening to do.

At the moment, there was creeper on top of there -

roots and things like that.

So, it would rock and it wouldn't be stable.

And one thing we don't want is them blowing off in the wind.

Which I don't think will happen.

Try telling Sasha that.

Are they going to be heavy enough to stay there without... Yeah, they...

They are heavy. They reckon on their own, they'll be heavy enough. OK.

But especially when we've filled them

with gravel and sand and earth and everything.

But how on Earth are we going to get gravel up there?

Luke will hold the ladder and you go up with a sack of sand and gravel.

Shouldn't we get some in now?

Cos if you put a sack of gravel that we've got in the driveway there...

Yeah. ..put it on the panascopic... Yeah, yeah. ..whatever it is,

at least you can get the gravel in now.

Well, if you don't ask, you don't get.

And as Luke has the best French, it's down to him.

IN FRENCH:

Have they agreed?

Oh, brilliant. Excellent.

If we had to walk up the ladders with gravel and bags of gravel,

it would be somewhat precarious.

A little while later, with both urns safely weighed down

and in position, Tim can admire the chateau's new entrance.

I think they look great.

Once they're coloured down and match the base, they won't look so new.

But in terms of size, perfect.

I mean, I still wonder whether the gorillas I found would look good.

Maybe next year.

There is something rather special about gorillas

on your gate posts, Tim.

And they would be very welcoming for your guests.

Best ask Sasha, but maybe save that for another day.

I had a surprise this morning that guests were coming THIS evening,

but we're done.

We're ready. We're ready.

That's the main thing.

In just two days, Sasha, with help from Luke,

have transformed their tired old spa...

..into a newly renovated space,

ready for their guests to kick back and enjoy some bubbles.

I think it looks magical.

We deserve a glass of champagne, because mission successful.

And also fun for the brides and bridesmaids.

I could be resident barman in there.

Ah, mm. Serving drinks. Hmm.

I'm with Sasha on this one, Tim.

I hope the newly improved spa will give your future bookings

a big boost.

Now, I'd better clear off before this evening's guests arrive.

Back at Erin and JB's,

the pressure's on to get the concrete smooth before it sets.

50 minutes after he left,

JB is finally back with the missing spreader.

Has he left it too late?

And this is when it's set.

Erm, let's see, moment of truth.

No. No? Good.

Ah, relief. It looked pretty wet, so that's good.

This ingenious piece of kit jiggles the surface of the wet concrete

to give it a smooth, flat finish.

And Erin's dad, who's visiting from the UK, is clearly impressed.

This is... That's really shining now.

You know, it's really flat.

It looks good. It does look good, it looks really good.

So, worth that stressful moment of getting the right tool. Yeah.

Panic over, JB can make sure the concrete

has the smoothest possible finish.

Although one member of the family may have other ideas.

Now, listen here, Oscar, just stay there

because I don't want you covered in concrete.

I know fresh concrete is exactly what you want to walk on,

but you're not allowed.

Yeah, it's not a personal toilet, Oscar.

Just saying.

How is it that, always at these crucial moments,

Oscar always wants to come and get involved?

No. Watch out.

Oscar, non, non, non. OSCAR MEOWS

Oh, good reflex, thank you. I know.

Well, caught.

Oscar, hey, hey, hey, you're not allowed, OK?

Go on. Go for a little run.

Sorry, sorry, but this is a very crucial moment.

Off you go. That way.

You're so naughty.

You are.

Oh, God.

You know what? I think we should go inside.

With success snatched from the jaws of disaster

and Oscar sent back to the house in shame,

the orangery floor is finished off with a final spray.

This coating stops the concrete from drying too quickly

and cracks appearing in their lovely new floor.

We just have this side to finish and then this is it, we need to get out.

Da-dah.

Hopefully Oscar is not going to walk through that.

He's been locked away, so let's hope he doesn't.

Stage one.

Stage one, floor is in.

I'm really thrilled to finally see a floor down.

So, we're getting there, little by little.

And it's going to be a great place for us to have parties, weddings,

and it's essential for us to be able

to restore this property and the chateau.

BELL RINGS

As a new day dawns, Erin and JB are back to check their handiwork.

So, how do you think it set?

I'm pretty pleased.

There is some marks, but I think...

I wonder if it's the product we used.

But it looks pretty flat.

I'm going to check the level. Oh, moment of truth.

Make sure that this is self-levelling concrete

was not just a marketing thing.

Oh, hey, that's not bad.

Yeah, it's perfectly level.

Oh, well done.

When do you think we can walk on it, officially?

Hmm, dunno, it's tempting, isn't it?

I know. But I don't think it's...

I think it's two days, minimum.

Guess who can't wait that long?

Oh, I see Oscar's already in.

Just checking it out. Well done, humans.

Very proud of your work. Just checking out...

Wow, he really is assessing every single corner.

Yeah, every single detail, look at it.

Oscar is clearly in charge of quality control.

Don't mind us.

Well done, you two.

The new floor is a huge step towards creating a beautiful event space

and, crucially, getting an additional income.

And it's already made a huge difference

to one member of the family.

At Chateau du Masgelier, Fiona is putting finishing touches

to her daughter Rochelle's bedroom.

I wanted her to have a room of her own

that she can leave all her bits and pieces in,

so that each time she comes to stay, she's not in a guest bedroom.

And she's working to a very specific design brief.

She just wanted a lovely contemporary, modern-style bedroom

and so it is actually the only contemporary room in the chateau.

I hope I've got the brief right for her,

exactly what she did want.

We'll soon find out.

Rochelle's visiting from the UK,

so will be able to see her bedroom for the very first time.

I've been trying to keep her out of the room so she can't see it,

cos I want it to be a nice surprise,

you know, I've worked hard on this room.

Right, all done.

Over the past few months, Fiona has battled freezing temperatures

and woodworm to transform a derelict room in the eaves...

..into a warm and inviting contemporary bedroom.

But it's not me she needs to impress.

I'm gonna take you into your room, Roch.

Oh, wow.

I hope I got your brief right and it's all lovely

and contemporary, modern. I love it.

I love these fabrics.

Love this, this is really nice.

In the afternoon, all the sun comes round into the room, as well.

It's a very bright room in the afternoon.

It's completely different to the rest of the castle, isn't it?

This is more me. Thank you, Mum.

You're welcome, darling.

I'm glad you really, really, really like it. It was worth it.

I'm very pleased with the result.

It made a nice change to do a contemporary room.

It was a really nice project.

Great job, Fiona.

This room has truly been a labour of love.

Ah, you got my hair wet.

Next time...

Just a whisker more.

..Tim and Sasha start work on a new garden...

Got to get all of my plants round here, I've got to get them planted,

so the pressure's on for me.

..Chateau du Masgelier marks a grand anniversary...

I have to have it all nice and straight.

Bonjour, ladies and gentlemen.

..and Erin and JB put their orangery to the test.

Is that good enough, do you think? You're the creative director.

Oh, God, don't say that.

But will it scrub up as well as they do?

Everything seems to be under control,

so what could possibly go wrong?

Ow.

Sorry. I burn myself.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media