All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S03E08.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

I'm Dick Strawbridge,
and along with my wife, Angel,

and our two children...

I've got him!

..we're nearly five years
into restoring this once-abandoned
chateau.

There's something quite
sort of majestic about it.

You feel like you're in the clouds!

It's been demanding...

..yet truly fulfilling.

It's made me feel a bit mushy
and, like, a bit emotional.

And with thousands of
chateaux in France,

we're not the only Brits
buying into the French fairy tale.

Oh, my goodness, it's amazing!

So, Angel and I are once again
helping our fellow expats...

This is a big old build!

..as they embark on a brand-new
set of chateaux adventures.

Ah! Ah!

It'll be a roller-coaster ride...

Whoa!

SHE GASPS

No. No.

..but no matter what...

I'm just going to try not to cry.

..these plucky Brits...

Are we doing this with all
the technological accomplishment

of the ancient Egyptians?

..are determined to transform
once-unloved buildings...

..into the most spectacular homes...

That is amazing!

..and live the dream as custodians
of their very own castles.

FIREWORKS CRACK

Today, this owner enlists help with
her final B&B suite...

It's not coming off at all.
Nothing.

..that's been a long while
in the making.

We have to find another solution or
that room is not going to get done.

I offer up some engineering
advice...

Right, give me a dimension for your
water feature.

It'll probably be about
12 square metres. That is not small.

..although things don't go
exactly to plan.

Oops! Oh, Belinda's going to go mad.

Get rid of the evidence.

And a couple call in their friends

to help speed up chateau
renovations...

It's going, it's going, it's going!
Everyone breathe in.

Yes! We've got a cooker!

..and a smashing time is had by all.

Oh! Uh-oh!

SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Around 150,000 Brits

have made a permanent move
across the Channel.

And some of them are
lucky enough to end up calling

one of these wonderful places home.

This is the charming 15th-century
Chateau Mareuil,

which South London couple
Belinda and Lee launched as

a holiday let and events business
last summer.

As you come down the drive and you
see this beautiful building...
It's so pretty.

..and you think, "I can't believe...

"I own that." "..I own that
and I live in it.".

Lying 40 miles from Limoges,
the chateau includes a castle keep

that acts as their main
events space.

Lee had to repair the roof
because of storm damage.

This is Hairy Maclary,
scary from the dairy!

Now they're planning to create
a new outdoor-event space

in a raised garden area
behind the chateau.

It was a former watchtower,
we believe.

It's now really an overgrown,
tired space

which we want to turn into
something beautiful.

To do that, Belinda and Lee are
planning to build a water feature

and they need to get it
finished in time for an
exciting upcoming booking -

their first ever wedding.

We have to get the water feature
finished in time for the
early summer.

It's promised, basically,
as a feature of the chateau.

They want to use it,
so there's a deadline for us.
We have to get it done in time.

This is so typical of us,
as well - both feet in,

making a commitment, not quite sure
how it's all going to work out...

We can do it, it's no problem, it'll
be done. We'll do it. Yeah.

Large water features can be tricky

and, as these two have
no experience,

what they need is a bit
of engineering know-how.

I know just the chap!

Hello! How are ya?

Hi, Dick! Hi, Dick, yeah,
we're great, thank you.

Talk to me about this water feature.
What are you trying to achieve?

OK. You talk to that,
cos this is your project.

OK, what it is... I'll chip in.
It's your fault, Lee!

THEY LAUGH

So, what I want to try and do
is put a small water feature

in the centre of the tower
to draw people down to it.

We just want to make it
a more tranquil,

user-friendly, pretty green space.

Right, give me a dimension
for your water feature.

Um, it'll probably
be about 12 square metres.

That is not small. That's huge.

During the summer months,
you're going to have

a lot of evaporation on it.

Yes. Yeah. Actually, that's a very
good point.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Unless, of course,
you have most of it subterranean

and reduce your surface area.

Now, do you want moving water?

Well, the whole idea of moving water

was, literally, just like
a recirc...

Now, recirculating sounds easy,
but if you want to recirculate

from the bottom of a feature
to the top of the feature,

that's, say, five metres,
that's quite a lot of work.

If it's a metre,
it's a lot less work.

If it's a lot less work,
you need a lot less energy.

And so, from your perspective,
a solar... Uh, I take it you've got

no electricity over there?

No. No. So, is it
a small solar panel,

a battery that can store
the energy...?

That sort of thing
is completely doable.

That's great. That's been really
good advice...

Honestly! ..actually, Dick,
thank you very much.

Because, certainly, I didn't
think about the evaporation. No.

I didn't think that we could get
solar-powered pumps

that could do what you've just
described and the idea

of putting more water storage
in a smaller surface area,

you may have actually saved us
quite a lot of effort... Thank you.

..and a considerable amount of
money, so thank you very much.
Thank you. That's really good.

OK. You two keep smiling. Lovely
to chat to you! You take care.

Thank you very much, thank you. Bye!
Take care. See ya! Bye! Bye!

INDISTINCT CHATTER

It's back to the drawing board
for Lee and Belinda.

Armed with my advice, I'm excited
to see what they come up with.

If we were using this for weddings,
so you have the bride and groom
standing here,

smack in the middle of the garden is
this water feature. Yeah.

It's going to be in the way, isn't
it? So, is your thinking to just
make a smaller water feature?

Well, this is the clever bit, right?
This is what I was thinking now.

You see this scrub area, here? Yep.

So, supposing we make a small
reservoir here... Right.

..with rocks on it. Right.

Supposing there was a service going
on, you have the celebrant... Right.

..standing in front of
the water feature, say.

In the background, you've got this
very gentle trickle of water...

Yeah. And the pretty statue, yeah.

And the man here, with his book
of words. Mm-hm.

Yeah, groom, bride, bride, groom.

You've got the processional route
straight the way down... Exactly.

Straight down the stairs. You could
probably get 50 people down here.
50 people down here.

That's a far better use
of the space.

Yeah, it's great.

I think they've made a good call.

But with that first wedding
already booked in, they need to make

a start on clearing
this overgrown garden sharpish.

This is the beautiful 16th-century
Chateau de Lalande.

Boasting 60 acres of land,
a moat and even its own chapel,

it's home to Brit Stephanie, who
runs it as an events space and B&B.

We started doing bed and breakfast
here about six years ago

and now we're very busy, so it's
fantastic and we need more rooms.

Located in the heart of the French
countryside, Stephanie has started

refurbishing her fifth and final
guest room ahead of peak season.

It's like a journey back in time,
with everything that we peel off.

We want to be able to operate
the B&B business

at a full capacity for the first
time in 13 years.

Very exciting!

But more excitingly for me

is to see a room that I've always
liked very much -

but that I've never quite been
able to work out - finally getting
done.

Oh, it's perfect.

I love it, I love it!

To add an en-suite,

Stephanie's created a loo in what
used to be a bedside cupboard.

Innovative, but a bit of a squeeze!

So my wife, Angel, gave
Stephanie an idea -

distressed mirrored tiles
to give the illusion of space.

We can do this with a bit of paint
stripper and some bleach.

That's looking great.

Angel has been really, really
helpful, so we're going to have

an experiment today and see
if we can do them

and if we can put them
up in the room.

With the holiday season almost
upon her, Stephanie has recruited

Mum Isabelle and close family friend
Gerry to get the job done.

You know it's going to be a good day
when the disposable gloves come out.

As neither has done this before,

it's down to Stephanie to show them
the ropes.

I'll try to explain
the process to you.

These are ones
that I did with Angel.

So, first, we removed the top layer,

which is this plasticky backing. OK.

Then after that, we tried to
remove this silver layer.

There, can you see? Oh, yes.

The mirrored layer, there.
Do you see, Gerald?

To get rid of the backing,
it's on with the paint stripper.

It's very gloopy and quite fun

and slightly silvery
and pretty and sparkly.

This seems a very, very quick
process. Well, this is the
beginning, Mummy,

we haven't really done anything yet.
Easy.

Wait until we have to get the
backing off with the scraper. OK.

See if you're still saying
"easy" then. One thing at a time.

PEACOCK CROWS

Stephanie's friend Michael is
painting on some trompe l'oeil
panelling,

an illusion that looks
like real wood panelling.

I've never ever done
this kind of thing before.

I've seen what it looks like,
so I've got an idea.

But how to do it, I've no idea,

so I'm just going to have to make
it up as I go along.

I think if I get the shading right -
the shadows and the highlights,

you know, when you walk in, it will
give that kind of impression

that there is wood panelling.

Whatever it looks like, it's going

to be better than just a plain,
flat wall.

It's like a trick of the eye,
that's what it's...trompe l'oeil.

That's what it means, it means to,
like, trick the eye.

There we go.

Not too bad.

Best seen from a distance, though!

It'd trick my eye!

Outside though, Stephanie, Isabelle
and Gerry's results

are altogether less convincing.

It's not coming off at all.
Nothing.

The first coat of paint stripper has
been completely catastrophic,

in that it's done absolutely nothing
at all!

We have to find another solution or
that room is not going to get done.

The tiles are not distressed,
but we're all distressed!

Like every chateau owner, Stephanie
has built up a stock of

DIY products and has got her
hands on a stronger stripper to try.

This says, "Don't use on plastics."

Yeah, that's the whole idea -

if it says, "Don't use on plastic,"
then we use it on plastic.

Put it on. Let's... We're going to
have to... "Don't use on plastics."
"Put it on!" OK.

Let's go.

Do you want to just try it on
a couple, to start?

I can actually feel it bubbling.

Oh, look at that, Stephanie.
Is it bubbling?

What? Look, already! I don't believe
it! That is incredible. Woohoo!

Yippee! We're saved, Mummy!

Success at last.

I love paint stripper!

STEPHANIE SIGHS HAPPILY

Well, I've done one, two, three,
four and I'm into my fifth.

I'm on my first and I'm bored -
anyone want a cup of tea?

Don't put your feet up yet,
Stephanie,

there's still a long way to go!

Coming up,

one couple takes delivery
of a new oven...

Now, the tricky bit will be
in getting it into the kitchen

without taking any walls down
or doorframes off!

THEY LAUGH

If we've measured it wrong...
We're stuffed!

Oh, it's dead, look.

..Lee starts clearing the garden
for the water feature...

What about that, that you pulled out
of the corner? Where did you put
that?

That was dead. It wasn't!
It was dead.

..but it ends up a thorny issue.

What about that? That's dead.

That is NOT dead.

And Stephanie finally sees
some progress...

I've got some scrapey marks
on the front of your mirror.

..despite her disgruntled workforce.

I am not having a good time,
it's jolly hard work.

This is the glorious 19th-century
Chateau Thuries.

It's been home to Gloucestershire
couple Jayne and Steve

since they quit their jobs
in the UK last year.

We're not working, we haven't got
an income coming in, so...

We're not working?
Can I just interrupt, there?

We're not working?

No. I beg to differ on that one.

Well, we are working,
we're probably working harder

than we've ever worked in our lives,

actually, but we're not getting
paid for it, are we? No.

Located near Toulouse,
in southern France,

they've spent the winter renovating
the chateau's ground floor

to have its three rooms ready for
the B&B in a month's time.

Ooh, that's a nice bit.

The dining room, salon
and hallway are now decorated.

But with a raft of finishing
touches still to do,

Steve and Jayne are counting
the cost of the work.

The money situation, I think
things are going to be very tight,

actually. But as long as we start
earning something by, you know,

the time when we open, that's...

..I think we'll be able to
just about hang on.

If it goes on any longer than that,
then we're in trouble.

To save cash, they've called
in the cavalry for the weekend.

Can we go through this list,
then, of who's doing what?

We've got all our friends and
they've all come out to help us, and

they've got a multitude of skills
between them, so it's just perfect.

Right, so weeding the terrace?

I don't mind doing that.
I think you girls...

We girls are on the weeding.

..yeah, can do it. Leaf-blowing?

Yes, that's my job.
Is that you, Jonathan?

Sure. Yeah, I think
you said you were going to do that.

Right, OK. Can you put the knob
on...

..on the staircase?

Yeah, that'd be great.

To reward their friends' hard work,
Jayne's planning a special meal.

The only problem is,
they don't have an oven...

..yet.

We've got a new cooker arriving
later, but it weighs a tonne

and there's absolutely no way that
we could just lift it in on our own.

No, no. We're just going to really
maximise their muscle power.

Yeah.

There are just two days to get
everything done, and Jayne

and Steve now have a
mission of their own.

Right, I think
I have everything I need now.

The salon will be the guests'
main relaxing space

and there's one finishing
touch left to do.

So, when we first came into this
room, it was cloth over battening

and underneath that, we
think, is the original wallpaper.

And it was so nice, we thought
we could just keep a little bit of

it and frame it, just, you know,
as an original part of the house.

And this was the only area
that we thought was suitable,

but it did have a little
bit of damage.

Um, so what I've done is,
with the Stanley knife,

I've just cut a little bit of paper,
which I'm going to glue

and then put it on there,
hoping that it will disguise it.

Great idea, framing wallpaper is
right up Angel's street.

Well, this is my theory here...

..is if that goes like that, I don't
think anyone's going to see that.

It's going to be...
Well, I think they are.

Are they? Yeah,
cos you can see that that bit...

Is cut off?

Jayne, I don't think...
That's all right, there, like that.

Right. That's perfect.

Well, you put it on,
I'll spray this glue on. Oh, OK.

Let me just spray the glue on
and you stick it on. OK. OK?

Yeah.

OK. Now it's all yours.

It's a bit wet, it'll be all right.

Yeah, when it's dry, it'll be fine.

Oops. Whoa. Hang on.

I'll just use my fingers.
Yeah, I would.

There it is.

One there. That's fine,
Jayne, no-one's going to see that.

Perfect. Parfait.

I mean, if you're standing back,
no-one's going to go right up to it.

If you look at the whole thing now,

and you didn't know that was
damaged, you wouldn't know.

Yeah. Actually, when that's dried,
I think that will be fine.

Good, OK. That's fine.
All right, good.

Right, now the difficult bit.

If you just hold that corner...
I can hold it.

And then...

You need to go up a little bit more.

..up and over to you and then down.

Now down. That's it, it's on.

That's parfait.

Parfait.

Actually, I need to get... Ooh.
Oop. Is it on? Yep. Is it?

I think it's really nice. Yeah,
good. I love it, actually.

Good. OK.

Another job finished.

It's great to save original
features

to remind people what the
chateau was like.

That's one job down,
but the heat's still on.

Their new oven, which they've bought
second-hand from some ex-pats,

has arrived.

Well, right on cue.

Because we're just debating the best
way to bring it in, Steve thinks...

Where do you actually want it?

Well, I think... In the kitchen,
obviously.

Yeah, I think you should... We want
to take it through the front door

because they're double doors,
through the dining room

through double doors, and the tricky
bit will be then getting

it into the kitchen, without taking
any walls down or doorframes off.

If we've measured it wrong...
We're stuffed. Yes. Yeah.

Back at Chateau Mareuil, with their
first wedding in just a few months,

Lee and Belinda are making
a start on their water feature.

OK, so from the Skype call we had
with Dick... Right. ..I've worked

out now flow rates, pump height,
head to height,

and the size of pool we need.

Instead of a 12-metre square pool
in the centre of the garden,

their new plan is for a smaller
rockery feature

tucked away in the corner.

That means less evaporation,
less maintenance

and more space for that upcoming
wedding ceremony.

Is that where you want it?
Yeah, I think so. OK.

That's the area marked out,

but Lee can't start digging the hole
for his water reservoir just yet.

Well, what we're going to do now,

I'm going to start a bit of ground
clearing.

Right. You're not going to clear
these plants today, are you?

Yeah, it's all coming out. No, no,
cos those are going into bags.

Yeah, well, we need some black
bags... So don't dig them out now.

They're going to be relocated,
they're not being destroyed.

Can't you do some other stuff first?
No, this has got to be cleared.

If we're going to do this today...
OK.

Let's get some black bags
and then get these out.

I'll go and get some bags.

Saving everything is really
important to me.

It's on an emotional
level I think, for me, totally.

So just to see that little
plant down there,

with its tiny little green shoots,

and the idea of Lee digging it up is
just heartbreaking.

Better look away, Belinda.

Oops. Ooh, Belinda's going
to go mad.

Get rid of the evidence.

I broke all the roots off
of that one.

Couldn't be helped,
I'm trying to save them.

Best try not to do it again.

Ah, it's dead, look.

You'd better watch out, Lee.

Here's some...

..some bags.

Just careful to get as much
root as you can, really.

They've come out with good roots,
look. Oh, gosh, that's good.

Look at the root ball on that.

See what you can do?

Let me get that in. Oh, dear.

And that will keep.

The plastic will keep it nice
and... Yeah, nice and moist.

..moist, so it won't...

So, if you move those
to one side... ..dry out. OK.

What about that,
that you pulled out of the corner?

Where did you put that?

That was dead. It wasn't.
It was dead. Oh.

No, it was dead. What about that?

That's dead. How do you know?

It's got green on it, it's got
green shoots coming out of it.

Well, then it's still there then.
That is not dead.

Well, it's still there
then, isn't it? Please.

I've not done anything,
I've loosened it.

Lee, Lee, change the subject
and move on!

I think what I'm going to try
and do is start digging some of this

out cos the rest
of that can be cut easily. OK.

So, did you want to help,
did you say?

I could put the first...
Spade in the ground.

Spade in the ground, like
the Queen.

Oh, the Queen? You could be the
Queen! When she plants a tree.

Go on, then, the first spade in the
ground for our new water feature.

Oh, dear, hold on.

Ooh, actually, that's not bad,
is it? Ooh!

I know, it's soft.

Chuck it over there. Where?
Over the back.

That's where it's all got to go.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm going to go and have a cup of
tea.

Can you just carry on?

Let me know when it's all done,
will you? Don't.

Do you want to do some?

Yeah, go on, I'll have a go.

I've never, in all the years I've
known and married you,

I've never seen you put
a spade in the ground.

An hour or so later,
despite the odd stubborn stone...

That is solid. ..the hole is ready.

Let's have a look
and see how deep we are.

380. So you've definitely got 400
here.

Yeah, so that's 50mm, that's that
much. Yeah. That's nothing.

I mean, today was the easy bit,
really, so digging the hole,

that's not difficult,
even I was able to help with that.

I think the next bit, which is going
to be actually making the water

feature and making it work, that's
going to be a lot more challenging.

And the idea of it working,

and actually water coming out of
that pump is fantastic.

Good job, you two,
but the next step is the tricky bit.

210 miles north, Stephanie, Gerry
and Isabelle are distressing

mirror tiles for the ensuite
loo in the final B&B room.

I am not having a good time,
it's jolly hard work.

Bad news then, I'm afraid, Isabelle,
you're only halfway there.

Next up is the bleach.

It's supposed to eat through
this silver layer.

Oh, it's doing that, is it?
I think so.

We've got the bleach on. The mirrors
are definitely distressed.

I've got some scrapey
marks on the front of your mirror.

Mine's the worst of all,
there's scraping all over mine.

Ooh. Ha-ha, ha!

I reckon Angel would be impressed.

Let's hope Michael's painted wood
panel effect

is going just as smoothly.

It's going really well.

Stayed up late last night
and got most of it done.

I'm just at the stage now, I'm
putting a few of the shadows in.

Oh, wow! Look at this!

Oh, Michael, you're a genius.

Oh, thank you very much.

I just hope you like it. Thank you,
I love it, I love it.

You like it? I really love it.

You're so clever.
Thank you very much.

Cracking job, Michael.

Stephanie's been busy in the guest
suite, too.

There's now trellis on the walls
of the en suite loo.

I'm trying to make it look
a bit garden-y.

And then, here, we're going
to have the distressed mirror

tiles that we did. And I found
a really pretty cut-out MDF panel,

which we painted in the same colour
as the trellising, to go in front,

so you just get the reflection
of the mirror without, for men,

having to just stare at themselves
whilst they're using the loo.

I'm never without my measuring tape.

All they need to do now is
measure up.

So...

..let's do this.

I try to ban anyone from using
a spirit level in this house

because people just naturally go to
a spirit level to put

paintings or anything up.

And then I come in and it looks as
though the painting is

completely crooked, because nothing
else is straight. No wall is

straight, the floors are like
this, the ceilings are like that.

So we can only do
things by eye here -

otherwise it looks weird.

Mummy's going to be
so impressed with us, Gerry.

We're going to get major brownie
points for this.

Stephanie, I'm going to need
you to come in and pass them to me.

OK. I'm going to have to
stand on the loo. Sure.

There you go. Ah, excellent.

OK, ready with the last one.

Wonderful. This is the moment.

Well, this is the easy part.

It's amazing how it changes
the space so quickly, a mirror.

Yeah, I'm pleased with that.

Yeah, it looks good.
It looks really good!

You stay there and I'm going to put
that up again, Stephanie,

and you tell me what you think. OK.

OK. I think I've got to come down.
Come down, yep.

That's great. That's really pretty.

OK, so that's fixed.
I can go and eat.

So you're leaving me here now?

A woman after my own heart.

Just make sure you're back here

after dessert to get this
room finished.

Coming up...

How are you going to get
the water down here?

Um, yeah,
that's a bit of a problem.

..work on Lee and Belinda's water
feature is in full flow.

It's going to take forever,
doing it like this.

Stephanie surveys her hard work...

If Mummy's happy, we'll be happy!

If Mummy's happy,
that'll be a miracle.

..ready for her guest of honour.

Oh, this is wonderful! The light.

Oh, it's like a golden egg.

And, at Chateau Thuries...

Oh! Oh. Oh.

..Steve's in the bad books.

That looks gorgeous, doesn't it?
SHE LAUGHS

Bit of masking tape
up on the windows.

In southern France, Jayne, Steve

and a battalion of their friends are
in the final push

to have the whole chateau ready in
less than one month's time.

Isn't it beautiful?

The most pressing job is to get
the new oven into the kitchen,

otherwise there'll be no
thank you dinner.

This cooker is huge,

so we definitely need all hands on
deck for this beast!

But just getting this thing off the
trailer is a challenge in itself!

What we don't want to do is lift
it by the handle here.

OK.

Let's go in. Let's go.

Watch out for those freshly
decorated walls, chaps!

It's going, it's going, it's going.

Everyone breathe in.

Yes!

We've got a cooker!

That's great! It's gone through
the door, that's the main thing.

Down gently.

Ahh! Look at that.

Can you stay and help us
with some furniture?!

Just plug it in.

Success!

And the news that dinner is on seems
to have boosted team productivity.

However, there's plenty on Steve
and Jayne's plate in the dining room

before they can all sit down to
eat tonight.

Right, so you're going to put that
other curtain pole up...

Yep.

..and then we'll get the
curtains up. OK. OK.

What we're doing is, we're going to
hang these curtains up

and see whether the curtains look OK
with that great big piece

of furniture, because we'll then
have to make a decision on whether

we move that piece of furniture
whilst we've got all the guys here.

Before Steve can put up the
curtain pole,

he needs to remove an old bracket.

Simple enough.

Oh!

Oh.

Uh-oh!

Oh, what a shame! That's the first
disaster that's ever happened.

Yeah.

Sorry.

It's all right!

I'll tape that up.

Yeah. I'll do a bit of taping.

Yeah.

Oh, what a shame!
I should have just pulled it off.

Well, we're going to have to...

There's loads of panes of glass
that are broken, so...

Yeah, but that one wasn't.

These ones are broken, over here,

and I go and break the one which
wasn't broken!

Sod's law.

Yeah.

Well, never mind.

I'll just put some tape on it.

That will just temporarily hold it.

They'll need to get it
fixed properly

before paying guests see it.

That looks gorgeous, doesn't it?

Bit of masking tape up on
the windows.

For now, they just need to press on.

Right, just tighten up the other lug
and that's it.

You're ready to put them up.

Fabulous.

There you go.

Do you want me to hold the bottoms
or anything?

No, it's all right - I've got them.

Sure? Sort of.

How are you doing? Two more.

Yep.

If I lift it up, you can
move the ladders away.

Just, that's it.

Moment of truth, Jaynie.
I'll let you deal with that.

I think it's fine and I think it's
more balanced with those two

cupboards than one.

I agree, now. I agree.

It's actually better than I thought
it was going to be.

I love the curtains - I think
they look great in the salon

and they're the same,
exactly the same.

I thought I wanted to have them
running through

the front of the house...

..and I'm really pleased with them.

Really gorgeous, love them.

Cracking job.

Now to get the rest of the
downstairs ready for tonight.

At Belinda and Lee's, with their
first ever wedding on the horizon,

they're cracking on with their
water feature.

So are we actually going to get
the water flowing through it today?

Today, we're going to have the
water flowing. Fantastic!

With the reservoir in, Lee's bought
a solar-powered pump for £109.

I just hope he's got his sums right!

All we want from the water feature
is really a simple trickle of water.

I've got to say...

If you look at it now, it looks
like we tipped a load of rocks

in the corner and put a hose pipe
on it!

This reinforced bar, here...

Yep. ..which is just laid on at
the moment.

I've got some rebar there that I
want to put on

to take the weight of the rocks,

but we can't do that until the
water's in and the pump's working.

OK. How are you going to get
the water down here?

Yeah, that's a bit of a problem.

We're going to have to get a hose,
fill buckets

and just chuck buckets of water in
there, I reckon.

OK. Mind you, it's not that big -
it won't take that much, will it?

It's not that big, no.

It might not be big, but it's a bit
of a trek from the nearest tap.

This is going to take forever,
doing it like this.

Eventually, with the pool full
and spirits un-dampened,

they can turn their attention to
the pump.

Right, so how does it work?

Well...

Do you want to look at
the instructions?

No.

I'm a man. I don't look at
instructions until it goes wrong.

Lee, it's freezing. Why have you
just taken all your clothes off?

Because I don't want to
get my sleeves wet.

I've got to stick my arm in
that pool.

There we go.

We immerse the pump in the water,

push it down firm onto the
sucker pad,

so it stays where it is, and now...

Mm?

It's the switch-on moment.

All Lee needs to do now is connect
the pump to the solar panel and...

Oh, my goodness me! Hey!

It's working! Oh, that's amazing!

There you are. It does work.

That's so simple, isn't it? Simple.

That's brilliant.

This is actually genius,
I'm really happy with this.

Now, using rocks from the chateau
grounds, they can start building.

Well, it's getting there.

Lovely, right.

I think it's time for a cup of tea,
what do you think?

I'd say that's a brew well-earned,

but make sure you come back down
here afterwards to finish the job.

Back at Chateau de Lalande,
with mum Isabelle out,

Stephanie and Gerry are busy getting
the last B&B suite ready

ahead of peak season.

Gerald, that nail is too long.

No, you try putting it up there
and tell me what you think.

Mm-hm.

How's it looking?

It's fine, actually!

Is it OK? Yeah, it's OK!

That's amazing, isn't it?!

I think it might need to go up a
wee dod.

A wee dod.

Try it up a bit.

A wee dod up.

It's feeling really good to
get this room done.

And even though it's grey
and miserable outside,

it's like sunshine in here.

I love it.

The room is almost there, just one
important finishing touch left.

Every room in the house needs
a painting by my father.

Yep!

Right...

Don't you want to go up?

No, I can reach, I think.

Or can I?

Yes, I can.

Bit more, yeah.

Are you on? Yeah.

Fantastic, darling.

I think that looks good.

I think that's about the right
level on the door.

It has an emotional attachment for
me, this room,

because it's the first room
I stayed in at the chateau.

But now, when I'm finishing it,
now that Daddy's painting is up,

it feels like home.

Yes.

With Isabelle due to return,
Stephanie and Gerry take stock...

I love it, Gerald.

It's superb!

When Mummy comes, do you think she's
going to be pleased

with what you've achieved?

I think she'll love this room,

especially now Daddy's
painting is up.

If Mummy's happy, we'll be happy.

If Mummy's happy,
that'll be a miracle!

With a bit of help, Stephanie's
fifth and final guest room is ready.

No longer the dated 1960s feel,

but, instead, a grand and stylish
chateau boudoir,

complete with trompe l'oeil wood
panelling effect.

The bijou loo is now a
trellised gem,

with the Angel-inspired distressed
mirrors adding space and depth.

Oh, this is wonderful! The light!

Oh, it's like a golden egg.

It's a golden egg?

Yes! It's wonderful.

Oh!

Oh, that is exquisite.

You like it?

Oh, absolutely!

It's beautiful, sweetheart.

Wow.

Daddy's painting's up.

Yes.

Oh, that's lovely!

I wouldn't have thought of this,

but it is delightful.

Oh, I love it! I really love it.

Well done.

Well done!

This is absolutely lovely
and it's such a relief,

because this is the last one
to prepare.

All the other four are more or
less done,

but this one really needed a lot of
care and attention

and it's done!

Just done!

We're good to go on renting this
now.

I absolutely love it.

I think this is now my
favourite room.

13 years after buying this place,

Stephanie finally has her five
B&B suites finished.

Now she can look ahead to her first
full capacity holiday season

and more income for all the other
projects she wants to do.

Coming up...

It's a little bit busy.

..there's no let-up at Jayne
and Steve's,

as they race to get the
downstairs finished.

Wow.

Ah, fantastic! That is amazing!

And it's the grand switch-on for Lee
and Belinda.

Three...two...one.

I can hear something!

In central France, Lee and Belinda
have almost finished

their rockery water feature.

Yeah, told you, didn't I?

Their first wedding is in just
a couple of months' time

and it's essential it
looks the part.

But as it stands, Lee's not so sure.

What I've done so far is I've
relocated all the rocks

from up on the pile up there and
brought them down.

I've just literally, in no
particular order,

apart from the big ones at the back
and those pieces of wood,

all this lot at the front

has literally just been dumped there
and not arranged.

So, basically, I think what we
should do is try and find,

you know, stones with these sort of
rather softer edges,

and just make those flat to
the ground,

to make it look like it's emerged,
rather than been plonked.

Like this.

Sort of rather more feathered at
the bottom.

Yeah.

Much better. Much, much,
much better.

Well, it looks much... Done!

That looks much softer at the front.
Oh, Lee, that is SO much better.

Yeah. The edges are softened,
it's... The size of that feature

is now much more in proportion to
the rest of this garden.

So... No, I'm pleased with this.

I would say I do think the rockery
does need a bit of a frou-frou.

Get a deep enough hole down there.

By using materials from their own
grounds, Belinda and Lee

have created a unique water feature
for next to nothing.

Now to see it in action...

Shall we do the grande switch on?

Oh, yeah, go on, then.

I can't wait!

Ready? Yeah!

BOTH: Three, two, one...

I can hear something.

Oh, look, there it is! Oh, yeah.

Oh, that's lovely.

The simple things in life, innit?

I know. Trickle of water out of
a spout.

This is really important to us,

because in about ten weeks' time,
we've got our first wedding here

and we really want this garden to be
ready for them.

And I think also, you know, it's
another string to our bow, really,

in terms of the number of outdoor
areas that we now have.

We've got about five different
exterior areas to use,

which is great, you know.

It's exactly what they wanted,

but the work ahead for their first
chateau wedding has only just begun.

At Chateau Thuries, after a weekend
of hard graft,

Jayne and Steve are doing the
finishing touches

before a thank-you meal for all
their band of helpers.

They're still beavering away.

That's it. OK.

It's a little bit busy,

but the girls are doing a good job
in the kitchen, I have to say,

they're sort of getting on with it.

I'm trying to set the table.

But, yeah, we'll get there.

You know, it's coming up to
5 o'clock,

and then the fun begins.

Lovely.

Poifick.

Over the past four months, Jayne
and Steve have moved mountains

to transform the chateau's
ground floor.

The once-dingy dining room
wallpaper has been covered

and freshly painted to create a
bright and sophisticated space.

The hallway is unrecognisable, with
a newly-restored mosaic tiled floor.

And the neglected salon is now
an elegant reception room,

complete with repaired
wood panelling.

I think their guests will
be impressed.

But for now, it's strictly friends'
eyes only.

So come and have a look and see what
we've been doing in the salon.

All our hard work.

Wow!

Wow! Fantastic!

That's amazing! That is amazing!

Looks absolutely stunning. Well
done, guys.

Beautiful. Love the panelling. What
a difference!

Thank you! So this room's finished,
now, I'm really glad to say.

Is that the old wallpaper? That's
the old wallpaper.

That's the originale - le wallpaper!

All we've done, cos we wanted to
save a little bit

of the flavour of the old room.

You didn't paint this, did you?

No, that is actually
vintage wallpaper.

And basically, instead of having it
all as one big picture,

we decided that we'd just put
it as panels on the wall.

It works very well. Yeah, it
works well.

Modern twist. Looks very nice.

Anyway, cheers, everybody.

I just want to say thank you SO much
for all your help.

Thanks for your muscle power, guys.

Here's to you. Here's to you, guys.

Cheers!

Well done, Steve and Jayne.

With that, everyone can retire to
the dining room

for a very well-earned feast.

Get stuck in.

It looks delicious, actually.

I can't thank you guys enough -
what amazing friends you are.

We've had a great weekend, four
couples have come over,

we've done a lot of work.

And we've ended it with
a wonderful meal,

and lots of fun and friends
and wine.

When you walk in, there's a real
warmth to the place.

And a real, erm, you know,
friendliness.

I love it. Just loved it.

Oh, it's been great.

Tired, after a long few days.

We're hoping we might get a free
holiday after this!

After all the hard work, this might
be the way to...

I think these working holidays could
catch on!

I think so - it was good fun.

Can I just propose a toast to
Jayne and Steve?

Thank you so much for letting us
come and help you,

and we love it and we hope
everything goes well.

Aww! Thank you so much!

Cheers! Cheers.

Thanks.

To renovate the ground floor in the
time they've had,

even with a bit of help, is a
fantastic achievement.

I can't believe we're in
this situation.

No, I know. If you think back, the
state of the place

when we moved in... It was terrible.

..and where we are now,

and the fact that we can see
the finish line...

It's actually... ..that's a pretty
good feeling, actually.

..turning into a beautiful house, I
have to say it.

Because, you know, we've never lived
in anything like this before.

It's much more grander than I
thought it would be, actually.

It's a chateau. It's a
chateau, yeah.

Yep, it's a chateau.

But you're not at the finish
line yet.

Now you have to get your business up
and running!

Next time,

Lee and Belinda try to prepare
their new garden event space...

You don't need instructions,
only when it goes wrong.

Trust me - I know what I'm doing.

..and end up in a tangle...

Oh...

Don't tell me you've done it wrong.
I've done it wrong.

..Stephanie tackles a
greenhouse renovation...

OK, you can open your eyes.

Oh!

..and with their first guests
due in a matter of days...

No, no, no, Jayne!

Now you've got it all over
the gravel.

..Jayne and Steve have their work
cut out to be ready in time.

It could turn out looking awful.

Couldn't it?

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