Original subtitles

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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