All language subtitles for Escape To The Chateau DIY S03E01.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

and along with my wife Angel

and our two children,

we're nearly five years
into restoring

this once-abandoned chateau.

There's something quite
sort of majestic about it.

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
chateaus in France,

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

Oh, my goodness, this is 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 chateau adventures.

Oh! Ah!

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

Whoa!

Oh!

No. No.

..but no matter what...

I'm just going to try not to cry.

..these plucky Brits...

We're 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.

Today...

..we revisit some familiar faces...

We need to get these
big branches out.

This is the biggest bit of branch,

and then we've got an awful lot
of logging to do on the other side.

..who have plenty to do to impress
their first winter guests.

It's absolutely freezing today
and there's snow possible tomorrow,

so I'm feeling a bit anxious,
just a tiny bit stressed

that we're not going to
get everything done in time.

One couple are looking
to reach new heights...

We've got to do some proper
construction today, haven't we?

..as they start renovating the
last room in their chateau.

We definitely don't want to get a
heavy object jammed above our heads.

And new chateau owners
get a dose of reality...

Oh, my... Oh.

That is really full.

..as they start work
on a massive project.

I don't really know yet what I'm
supposed to be jack hammering.

Maybe I should find that out.

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

Oh! The sewage pipe!

..we're busy all year round running
our chateau as a home and business.

LAUGHTER

Autumn and winter are tough -
we have to do all the jobs

we can't do when we're
hosting guests in the summer.

This is... This is a big moment.

And there's always unexpected
challenges to overcome.

I need things to happen
in a timely manner,

otherwise I'm going
to have a heart attack.

I just really, really,
really hope it grows.

Across France, there are
lots of Brits in the same boat.

For new chateau owners,

they also have to cope with
building up their business.

Like Lincolnshire couple
Tim and Rebecca

and their two children,
who we first met a year ago...

..after they spent £380,000

on the once-dilapidated
Chateau de la Ruche.

I think we've had lots of moments
where we've thought,

"What have we done?" Definitely.
Yeah.

Not in a kind of,
"I don't want to do this," sense.

But in a kind of,
"Crikey, have we taken on

"a bit more than we could chew?"
kind of sense. Yeah.

Located just 50 miles from us
in the Pays de la Loire region...

This is going to be a bathroom.
Right.

..last summer, they began renovating
two out of the five guest rooms

to start running the place as a B&B.

There's an ever so slight
gradient up. Ever so slight?

It proved trickier than
they thought.

Hang on, there's quite a
lot of water

leaking out of this tap,
Tim, right now.

However, all their hard work
eventually paid off

as they transformed four
derelict rooms

into two beautiful
high-end suites...

..and welcomed their first guests.

You're welcome to use
this room at any time.

Wow, it's absolutely gorgeous.
It's amazing.

Now winter is here,
bookings have slowed down.

They haven't had any guests
for over three months,

and are financially struggling.

We are into loans from
both sets of our parents,

currently, and the credit card.

It's kind of survival mode.

We're kind of eking things out
to get us through to next spring.

However, with Christmas
fast approaching,

Tim and Rebecca have some good news.

We've got some guests coming
this weekend,

so our first winter guests,
bless them.

These guys are coming over
from the UK for three nights.

It's a really important step for us.

For any business,
it's all about reputation.

Tim and Rebecca need the
chateau to look its best.

But as their guests arrive tomorrow,

they need to get their skates on.

I can't feel my hands already.
I think this is a good thing.

First task is to clear the
grounds of recent storm damage.

Right, who's driving?

So they've drafted live-in mate
and helper Dale.

Come on.

The worst-hit area is
the entrance to the driveway,

which is nearly three quarters
of a mile away.

OK. Now you can get out.

We had a freak storm,
basically ripped a tree out,

almost out of the ground.

And it crashed through, of all
the places, through my gate,

which I wasn't very happy about.

Today we've got to clear away
the branches that are in the ditch

and on the drive, and get it
kind of back into the woods.

So let's start at the bottom.

CHAINSAW BUZZES

This is a good workout!
I'm knackered already.

And it's a case of all hands -
and paws - to the pump.

Go on. Take it away.

I don't need it left here.

Being outside is nice.

We've been doing
a lot of inside work,

so getting outdoors for a bit
is good fun.

Can you get this bit off?

Tim seems to be enjoying the
challenge, as does Dale.

Ride it! Ride it! Yes.

But there's a lot more
clearing up to do

if they want the place ready
for their winter guests.

We need to get these
big branches out.

This is the biggest bit of branch,

and then we've got an awful lot of
logging to do on the other side.

300 miles away,
in south-east France,

lies the stunning 13th century
Chateau de Rosieres.

It has 20 rooms and is set in
an incredible 130 acres of land.

The lucky new owners are Brit Amy
and French husband Marc,

who moved in last year.

It was so clear to us
when we came to visit here

that this was the right place.

We were looking for history
with the land

and the potential to do something...

If I could just translate that,

we had no idea what
we were looking for.

We just wanted somewhere that spoke
to us and was magical, basically.

So, history and gardens and stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. That's what I said.

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

it's a dream come true for
writer Amy and French farmer Marc,

who met by chance seven years ago.

I went on holiday with my mum and
I happened to bump into Marc there,

who was running a hydroponic
lettuce farm, as you do.

He just kept suggesting activities
for us to do together,

and so my mum kept coming along
on all of them

and we actually nearly
drowned her on one of them.

Yeah. I didn't manage. No!

We got married about a year later.

They now want to start
a new life in France,

running a B&B
and hosting yoga retreats.

Before they can start work
inside the chateau,

they need to replace the
old, defunct sewage system.

Oh, my... Oh!

That is really full.

Their plan is to put a
brand-new one in themselves

with the help of
their own excavator.

But until they replace a
damaged caterpillar track,

they can't start digging.

Apparently, I have to clean this.

Not totally sure why.

But I suppose it makes
the caterpillar track

come off more easily!

Marc tends to get the
technical jobs,

and I get the brute force jobs
cos I'm the muscle.

I'm supervising my workforce.

You're very cheeky.

It's a tricky job, so they've
brought in friend Manu to help them.

The last time we had to do this,

it took us about two hours
to get it off.

To release the track, they have
to unscrew the retaining bot.

MANU ASKS A QUESTION IN FRENCH

But the bolt's not moving.

We might have...a 24
of this kind.

While Marc goes in search
of more tools...

..Amy has a go.

I'm going to try anyway.

SHE STRAINS

Hey! Oh! It moved!

It's moving, I'm doing it.

Is it working? Yes. Oh, well done.

Just a little bit.

First prize for a digger
technology today goes to me!

Nice one, Amy.

All they have to do now
is take the old track off...

Yeah!

..and put the new one on.

Is it...? Ah, yeah. Perfect. Yeah.

Bravo. Did it!

Good teamwork, Amy.

SHE LAUGHS

With the excavator up and running,
Marc can start digging trenches.

It's just the start
of a much bigger plan.

They want to create giant
eco-friendly filter beds

at the edge of the forest
to purify their waste.

We've been digging two ponds right
down at the bottom of the slope,

and the ponds will have gravel
and then reeds planted in it,

and the reeds will
digest the sewage,

and any clean overflow water
will just flow into the forest.

That's how the system works.

The more difficult bit,
and the bit we're a bit...

..concerned about getting right

is moving the sewage
from all the buildings.

Connecting pipes from the chateau
100 m down a slope to the waste pond

is going to be an epic task.

If we don't do this task, then
we can't set up bed and breakfast,

we can't set up a retreat centre,
we can't do anything,

because until you've sorted
a fundamental like the sewage,

you ain't going anywhere.

Coming up...

Where are we going
to have a disco ball?

..more familiar faces return as they
begin their next renovation project.

We are working at serious height.

We'll be 13 m off the ground. Yeah.

There can be no room...
There can be no room for error.

..Rebecca gets creative
to win over her guests...

I just want their whole
kind of weekend to be

really treatful and beautiful.

..and Amy and Marc start the next
stage of their sewage masterplan.

Marc convinced me to rent
this boring machine

to drill holes in the
bedrock of the house.

In north-west France
lies the beautiful

19th-century 45-room
Chateau de la Grande Maison...

..located a stone's
throw from the Loire Valley.

The chateau is run as a luxury
guesthouse,

and is home to musicians
Ben and Billie.

We really do have regular
moments of going,

"Wow, this is incredible, isn't it?"
And we do pinch ourselves.

You know, we might take
a cup of coffee up onto the balcony

and sit in the sun and look out
at the land and the river...

That is really special. ..and just
say, "This is incredible."

Last time we followed them,
they transformed the chateau's

south wing, with a bit of help
from yours truly.

That is a talking piece. Yeah.

They created an events venue...

..and dining area...

Thank you, everyone, for coming.

..which proved to be
a great success.

Now that it's winter and quieter,

they want to renovate the chateau's
final untouched room...

..the old library, where
they're planning to start hosting

book club events in three months.

The problem is, it's been used
as a dumping ground

ever since they moved in.

Getting into that room at the moment
is a bit like mountaineering,

I think. If there is something
you need,

you would have to climb over
a hell of a lot of boxes and junk.

And what is all that stuff in there?
I've no idea.

Before they can do anything,
they need to clear the room out.

When are we going to have a disco?
THEY LAUGH

There's some quite
interesting cupboards,

which are original to the house.

I actually haven't seen that before.

That's, erm...

What is that?

Is that that?
Is that moving, Billie?

Yeah, there's a metal arm up there.

This is the mechanism for opening
and closing the window.

It will be possible to maybe
get that working again,

just to open the internal window.

It's a nice find.

The skylight is two-tiered,

and is the only source
of natural light,

as the room has no other windows.

Several weeks later,
with the old library cleared

and walls plastered...

..Ben now needs to replace
the top window with

a heavy-duty 100 kg piece of glass
he picked up for £250.

It weighs an absolute ton,
doesn't it?

As it's going to sit on the roof,

the only way to get it up there
is through the skylight itself.

So they've brought in some
friends to help out.

We've got to do some proper
construction today, haven't we?

Me and Ben have been planning
this for about three weeks,

how we're going to do it.
We're working at a serious height.

We'll be 13 metres
off the ground... Yeah.

We're going to be five metres
from the roof to this floor.

There can be no room for error.

It's dizzying heights, however,

all of Ben's mates are experienced
tradesmen, so he's in safe hands.

The boys are constructing a frame
to hoist up the heavy glass,

using an electric winch.

They've secured the glass
with ropes.

It's crucial the weight is evenly
spread to avoid the risk

of it falling out.

OK, there, there will do.

All right, keep going up.

Having got it up safely, they now
have to fit the glass in place.

Just try and keep it
around the outside.

OK, towards me, then.

It's got to come this way a bit.

Whoa.

OK, hold it there, everyone.
OK, I'm good here.

Great job.

The whole plan has worked
seamlessly.

With only the frame of the window
to seal in,

it's mission accomplished.

Wow, the light's literally glowing
out of this room.

It is so much lighter in here,
isn't it? Oh, yes. Fantastic.

Yay, fantastic! That's really good,
really happy with that.

Stage one complete.

They now need to get
the interior window working,

which could prove a lot trickier.

Over at Chateau de la Ruche,

Tim is still tidying up
the driveway,

ahead of their first winter guests'
arrival tomorrow.

Rebecca has an idea to make
the chateau look extra special.

I'm going to go foraging
for some bits and bobs

for some kind of festive,
floral archway over the front door.

We have got paying guests coming,

and I want it to look amazing
when they rock up.

I love decorating
the house for Christmas,

it's one of my favourite things, so,
yeah, really looking forward to it.

Foraging is one of Angel's favourite
pastimes.

OK, brilliant.

Throughout the year, she collects
a host of things from our garden

to help bring our chateau to life.

That's good, we are
getting somewhere.

And there's no time more special
than winter.

It is just such a lovely, easy,
cost-effective way

to make your house into
a bit of a winter wonderland.

Rebecca obviously shares
Angel's passion.

What am I doing? Am I up a tree?

And there's one festive plant
she's on the lookout for.

Mistletoe.

We've got loads of mistletoe,
actually, and this is

a really good tree for it.
But there's quite a lot everywhere.

Right, I might see how far
I get with that lot, and then...

..I can always come back
and get some more.

Hello, my love.
Hello, do you want a kiss?

I can't stop.
SHE LAUGHS

Do you want me to stop? Oh, OK.

Here you go.

Ugh, you've got a wet beard.

At Chateau de la Ruche,
Rebecca can finally get cracking.

I have no idea
if this is going to work.

Last year, I made an absolutely
beautiful wreath,

and it was huge, and it was lovely.

But I'd forgotten that the door was
a double door, so I made it all,

and then said to Tim, "Can you
put this on the front door?"

And we came out here and then
realised that we had

a double door, so,
we put it on and basically,

the door was completely unusable,
and the only way you could

get out of the house was by
ducking down

and crawling underneath the wreath.

Which is fine if you're us,

not so fine if you've got
paying guests coming in.

Rebecca's going to make sure
there's no repeat with her archway.

There's going to be
a lot of cable ties, initially,

to get the initial structure.

And then, hopefully, I'll be able to
weave a few sticks through.

I need it to be strong, because
I need it to withstand weather.

OK.

That's a start.

I feel like it's slightly...

When the guests arrive, I just want
them to be, kind of, wowed.

And for it to be really
festive-looking and special.

And it's kind of their first
impression of the chateau,

really, and I just want their whole
weekend to be really treatful

and beautiful, so, hopefully,

this will, kind of,
set the tone for it.

Fingers crossed, Rebecca.

Over at Chateau de Rosieres...

..new owners Amy and Marc
are putting in a new

eco-friendly sewage system.

While Marc continues to dig
trenches outside,

inside, plumbers have started
laying new waste pipes that will

connect to a central one
in the entrance hall,

which presents its own
raft of problems.

We need to be able to get the pipe
through the house

and out of the building.

And Marc convinced me that the
only way to do this was to rent

this boring machine to drill holes
in the bedrock of the house.

To operate the machine,
experts have been employed,

as they need to drill down
over a metre through the wall.

Going to go just through
the corner of the floor,

and you see, where he's pointing it,
it's going through

actual bedrock, rather than
the stones of the house.

It's a nice piece of kit.

It's designed to extract a core
of material in its cylinder.

What's that made of?
Is that the actual rock?

We have the first layer of concrete
here, which will be the edge

of the wall, and here,
we are hitting the rock, yeah. Oh.

It's going to be a long,
BORING job.

Oh, my God.

Boring? Great pun, Marc.

Although it's no laughing matter...

..as their experts don't appear
to realise the drill

isn't long enough to go through
the wall and out the other side.

So far, they have managed
to drill

1m20 with the bore.

But the wall is probably
about 1m80 thick,

so we are going to have to finish
breaking the wall

with the jackhammer.

So now, they have to try and meet
the internal hole from the outside.

Actually, I don't really know, yet,

what I'm supposed to be
jackhammering.

Maybe I should find that out.

Yeni?

I actually have absolutely no idea
where anything's coming out,

so I'm just randomly drilling holes
in the wall at the moment.

SHE GROANS

I'm very determined
not to be defeated by this.

It seems Amy is not the only one
who doesn't know where the hole is.

Basically, they dug it at a much
steeper angle than I expected,

and so I think they've gone too low
under the bedrock.

I rarely understand much
of what's going on, so...

..I'm just rolling with it.

Using a collection of drills,

they try to see how much
further down the hole is.

I think I can hear the sound
of his drill bit going through

the borehole, so we might be
very near to joining the holes.

Yeah, yeah!

It worked! Woohoo!

We found the hole!

So, he felt the drill bit
on this side from the other side,

so we have managed to connect.

What we are going to do now is put
another borer from the other side,

and do another borehole
from the outside.

While the machine does the rest,

Amy and Marc breathe
a huge sigh of relief.

You can see light through the hole.

At the end of the tunnel.

THEY LAUGH

Coming up...

You forget that the room's -3,
so is the radiator, innit?

Tim and Rebecca's guests
risk being left in the cold.

Feeling a bit anxious, just,
and a tiny bit stressed

that we're not going to get
everything done in time.

I catch up with Ben and Billie...

Show me how much it moves the bar.

Oh, yeah!

..to help them with the next part
of the skylight.

Aw, that's cool.

Can you imagine going and trying
buying one of these?

And Amy and Marc's new challenge
could get very messy.

It's really important that we glue
it well, or we get leaks.

Erm... We don't really want
sewage leaks

in the walls of the house.

At Chateau la Grande Maison...

..Ben and Billie are restoring
their old library

to host book club events.

They've put in the first part
of their two-tiered skylight.

Now they need to get
the interior window working...

..so I'm checking in
to see how they're getting on.

Hi, Dick. Hey, Dick. How you doing?

Oh, good, thank you.
Good, thanks, yeah. Nice to see you.

Progressing well.
First things first, where are you?

We're in the library.

Done loads already.
We had great fun putting, er...

That's over 100kg, that window.
We had great fun putting that in.

So what our plan is now,
with the window,

is to leave the top window fixed
and get the inner window working.

And you're going to put a mechanism
in that so it opens?

There is a centre mech...
The centre window.

Oh, that's the only bit that opens?
Only the middle part of it? Yeah.

It lifts upwards, correct?

So you're looking at the top side,
there?

Yeah, we're looking at the top.
Good. So that opens like that.

Ah, couldn't get easier than that,
could it? I don't know,

can we get the mechanism working
that's in the cupboard? Yeah.

Yeah, shall I show you
this mechanism? This is the fun bit.

Because it looks great. If it
worked, that would be even better.

And so we showed you earlier,
um...the bar.

So that bar moves up and down.

And it's controlled
by this mechanism in the cupboard.

Oh, you have to love it.

It's a lovely thing, isn't it?

When you turn it,
how much does it move?

Make it go up and down.

OK, I'm just lifting off the catch.

OK, here we go.

Now I've hit the cupboard
with the handle, so what do I do?

Lock that on,
and then reposition that?

It's a little bit tricky
at the moment

because the cupboard is in the way

for the handle to go
all the way around. It's kind of...

What you have to do there, mate, get
a ratchet one that goes on there.

Oh, yeah, yes, that's a good idea.

An old car ratchet, you'll find
one on the Internet or somewhere,

cheap as chips for that size.

By putting the ratchet over the top
of that, you can go chug-chug-chug,

which means it can be permanently
in place. Yeah, I understand.

If you have something
that you have to remove,

it gets lost, it doesn't get used.

Can you show me
how much it moves the bar?

Oh, yeah! We've got bar movement.

I'm jealous.

Do you know
what's really interesting?

I've actually got a mechanism
a bit like that

I bought at a vide grenier.

I didn't know what it was, so,
down in my workshop at the minute,

I've got something
that looks a bit like that.

Hold. Don't go away. Don't go away.

Hold the line a second, hold on.
Yeah, no problem.

I'm always buying stuff
that could come in useful.

As, when you own a chateau,
you just never know.

The handle idea was really good
for the mechanism. Yes. Yeah.

It could be a ratchet. Yeah.

If we can't find a ratchet,
we could always make an extension.

Hello!

Hi.

Look what I've got!

Oh, wow. Very similar.

Oh, that's cool. Great.

I bought it for two euros
in a vide grenier,

and I bought it because it had "JM"

and a mate of mine
is called Jim Milner. That's great.

So you bought it
without knowing what it was?

You just thought,
"Well, that looks interesting"?

I wasn't quite sure what it was,
I thought it was for lifting things.

But the mechanism makes sense
now that I've seen yours.

Yeah, great, brilliant.
So we've solved a mystery as well.

That's brilliant.

But be very aware
about getting rid of anything,

because one day - one day -
you will need it.

Yeah. Have to got and try...

Can you imagine going
and trying buying one of these?

Yeah. Yeah!
THEY LAUGH

They don't make them
like that any more.

So your window now, and all of that
side of life, that looks brilliant.

Thank you very much. Listen, lovely
to talk to you, you take care.

Speak to you soon, be good.

Take care, bye.
Cheers, bye, Dick. Bye.

Cheers.

I tell you what, it's really nice
to find someone else

as excited about our mechanism.

Got someone to talk to
about my mechanism now.

Over at Chateau de la Ruche,
the temperatures have plummeted,

and Tim and Rebecca's first
winter guests are due tomorrow.

Ready for heavy lifting? Whoa!

The old oil-fired boiler
that heats up the guest wing

hasn't been started in months,
so the rooms are freezing.

That's cold, innit? Oh!
THEY LAUGH

It's really...

You forget that the room's minus
three, so's the radiator, innit?

Before they can turn the boiler on,

Tim's brought in mate Dale
to help connect up the radiators.

The heating is very important,

which is why I wanted to
get it done this morning,

so we've got plenty of time
to heat it up,

because it's absolutely
freezing today.

I'm feeling a bit anxious
and a tiny bit stressed

that we're not going to
get everything done in time.

Oh, my God!
HE LAUGHS

Ugh...

The original cast-iron radiators
weigh a tonne,

and they need to be
plumbed in carefully.

With all the radiators in
and sealed,

it's down to the boiler room
to start pumping water though them.

Dale? Yeah?

Do you want to run upstairs quick
and keep an eye on those three rads?

Yes.

Here's hoping for no leaks.

So the...the noise has just changed.

Which means...

I don't know what it means.

But when the noise changes, it means
the system's started to fill up.

HISSING

I am just releasing
the pressure in the radiator,

so all the air can get out.

Is he still up here? Tim? Yeah?

Are you still
getting air out of yours?

With all the air out,
the system is now filled with water.

Let's hope there's no puddles.

I'm down in the Honey Suite.
Oh, OK.

With three separate floors
to negotiate, there's lots to check.

Did you get water out of the one
in the Garden Room bathroom or not?

I forget the names.
I've only been here a year.

HISSING

I'm now hearing water
running into the rad.

The old switcheroo.

This room is the Garden Room,

so this is where we've got guests
this weekend.

So this rad really needs to work.

Are they all done up here now, Dale?

Ooh! It's got water!

Oh, nice.

It's looking good.

Water is being pumped
into the radiators.

The challenge now is getting
the boiler working to heat them up.

The boiler's old.

They're very simple and all it does
is blast diesel into it

and set it on fire,
as long as the old beast fires up.

After sitting idle
for almost a year, it's crunch time.

If it doesn't work, they may end up
losing their imminent booking.

BOILER HUMS

BOILER RUMBLES
Wahey!

That's two noises -
again, I don't know what they mean.

One noise, it starts, then
the next noise is proper growling.

You can hear that now.

It's so good that you can actually
see the flames of the boiler.

Yeah, you can see
that that's burning away.

Is there heat?

Well, feel the pipe, it's not cold.

It's lukewarm.
All right, come in here.

Come and get hold of this pipe.

That pipe is just slightly more
than lukewarm.

Yes, that's definitely better.
Yeah? OK, good.

Good work, Tim.
It's a big relief all round,

and one less thing to worry
about before their guests arrive.

Over at Chateau les Rosieres,
Amy and Marc have finally managed

to put a sewage pipe
through the outside wall.

Now they have to finish
laying them inside.

This is my....
This is what's left of my office.

It's a very messy job,

as the pipes are being fitted
inside the entrance hall,

and underneath floorboards
on the first floor.

Thankfully,
they have Stefan the plumber

to do most of the hard graft.

This is the junction.

This room is eventually
going to be another bathroom,

and so it's Stefan's idea
that we put the junctions in now,

even though it's going to be
maybe another year

until we do the renovations here,

to save us having to
rip up the floor again.

Stefan's our best friend.

It's a smart move, but now Amy
and Marc need to get involved,

to help connect
the pipes between floors.

We might need you to lift it
when we fit it in. Yeah.

And then we'll tell you to push.

OK. OK, thank you.

Because it's going
between the two floors,

it needs three of us to
push the pipe together to glue it.

It's really important that
we glue it well, or we get leaks.

Um, and we really don't want sewage
leaks in the walls of the house.

Marc and Stefan
line up the pipes from below...

..while Amy prepares to push
from the first floor.

Ooh-ooh!

To make these joints work,

Stefan's not being shy
with the glue.

There's no...

No way back now.

Now?

IN FRENCH:

Now?

I'm leaning.
OK, it's all good.

Sorry? All good.

OK.

Well, it all seems to fit together.

Now we need to wait for it
to dry completely during the night.

Um...

And hopefully we'll see
if it's completely watertight.

It's quite a work of art, that.

Non. Oui.

SHE CHUCKLES

After leaving the glue overnight,
it's the moment of truth.

Amy and Marc gather outside...

Vas-y.

..while Stefan pours water
through the pipes.

AMY LAUGHS

Wahey-hey-hey!

Ah...

My God, that's such a relief.

Just think of all the poo that's
going to come running down there.

We are one step closer
to being eco-friendly.

It's a great start, but with more
trenches to dig, pipes to lay,

and sewage ponds to build, this huge
project has only just got going.

Coming up...

Get the chains back up,
we're ready to test it out.

..it's the moment of truth
for Ben and Billie...

Does it open? Does it work?

I haven't tried it yet.

..and Tim and Rebecca face
a race against time

before their guests arrive.

Slightly-y-y-y...stressed.

Just feels like
there's quite a lot to do right now.

At Chateau la Grande Maison...

How are you getting on?
Looking good.

..Ben and Billie are preparing to
put the internal part

of the skylight
back up in the library.

Rest them on here, lift it up

and then just lift
it into the slot on the way up.

The 19th-century frame needs
new glass panels,

but first Ben has to get
it in place.

I'm really very worried about
getting it stuck on the way up,

cos when we got it down it was
incredibly tight. I measured it

earlier today and there's literally
1-2mm of clearance.

We definitely don't want to get
a heavy object

jammed above our heads
3.5m off the ground.

To help get the frame up there,
he's brought in his mate,

also called Ben... OK.
It's definitely the right way round.

..and built a scaffold to ensure
it's easier to lift into place.

Wear it like a pair of trousers.

Logic has it that if it came out...

Yes, yes, yes.
That's a very good start.

..it has to be able to fit back in.

Fantastic. I've got it. Oh...

It's gone in? Yeah.

OK? Yeah.

It's looking promising.

Although having screwed in one
part of the frame,

they now realise it's not level.

Maybe we do need a mallet.

If in doubt, bring out a hammer.

OK. Brilliant, Ben. Brilliant.

That's superb.

There's been so much
work in this area of the room,

it's been incredible.

He's not quite finished yet,
as he needs to add a ventilation

system as the glass on the roof
is fixed.

That will fit perfectly,
you may need to fit

the hose from the other side
but that's going to be great.

But it will all be for nothing

if once all the glass is in he can't
get the mechanism working.

Get the chains back up
and ready to test it out.

After working tirelessly to
transform their old crumbling

skylight, it's the moment of truth
for Ben and Billie.

Oh! Oh, gosh!

It's really nice, isn't it? Lovely!

I love it. Does it open?

Does it work?
I haven't tried it yet.

Do you want to try it?

All right. OK.
Are you going to lift it?

Ahhh!

Up she goes!

I think that's about the highest,
I think.

It's so much lighter than it used to
be, it's really good.

Really, really good. I love it.

So much work in that little square,
1.5 metre square.

It's a positive start,
but there's a lot of hard work

ahead before this room is ready to
host a book club.

At Chateau de la Ruche, Tim and
Rebecca's first paying winter guests

are due in a couple of hours.

I want to lay up
the table for dinner,

so that's all
done before they arrive. OK.

With word-of-mouth so vital to any
new chateau business,

every detail of their guests'
stay has to be perfect.

Sorry for walking on your stairs!

Now it's a race against time to get
the guest wing spick-and-span.

Just looking and thinking,
what do I need to do?

Slightly...stressed.

It just feels like there's quite
a lot to do right now.

Getting a sweat on. The heating's on
and the house is actually warm,

this is how real people live.

Real people with heating and money.

Is there time for a mistletoe kiss?

At least your beard's not
sweaty today.

I do the making pretty,
Tim doesn't do making pretty.

He doesn't get it.
He can clean while I make pretty.

He may not do pretty, but at least
he does hoovering!

Right. Job done.

Just as well,
as here are the guests.

We could do with music in here.
Yeah.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Hiya, how you doing?

You can chill now. Yeah. Good.

Come on up.

This is your room. Gosh, thank you.

You're very welcome. Oh, my God,
it's beautiful.

Thank you. We're not leaving!
THEY LAUGH

It's kind of up your street,
isn't it? Yeah, literally.

Oh, my gosh, the taps!
I never thought I'd love taps.

THEY LAUGH

Good. So, if you want to just get
settled in and then pop downstairs

to the salon, you can have a little
drink and something to eat

and chill. OK. Thank you.

LAUGHTER

After the travel that we've had...

To get here. Sitting here
in front of the fire...

It has all been worth it.

It's stunning,
everything is immaculate,

everything's been so thought-out.
Yeah.

It's going to be an amazing three
days. We're going to be coming back!

SHE LAUGHS
Definitely going to come back.

I don't think you can get any more
complementary than that.

Rebecca's extra special touches,
both inside and out,

have proved to be a big hit.

I was really pleased with
their reaction when they arrived.

That's the thing I love most,
seeing people's faces

when they arrive and them kind of
getting it. It's another step

towards where we need to be.
It feels like all the hard work

we've done is worthwhile.

It's just amazing. Really amazing.

It's good. Good job. Yeah, good job.

Good job, well done. Well done.

Hear, hear!

Fingers crossed more winter guests
start coming soon.

Next time... Billie?

..Ben and Billie make an amazing
discovery...

Almost perfect. Oh, my gosh!

No! That's perfect!

..and call on Angela to lend a hand.

Like an old face coming back for
tea with a trailer!

Mind the chandeliers.

Tim and Rebecca start their next
renovation...

There's definitely worse jobs.

..but don't always see eye-to-eye.

Do you not like it? No.

What don't you like about it?
Well, everything.

And Amy and Mark continue
work on their monster project.

We have a digger.

How hard can it be?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media