All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau DIY S03E02.540p.HDTV.x264-GTi.English

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

and our two children...
CHILDREN SHOUT

..we're nearly five years into our
French adventure...

This is heavy.

..restoring this once-abandoned
chateau.

We have another capability on the
chateau.

It's brought plenty of challenges...

Phew.

..but also some amazing rewards.

I love you.

And, across France,

there are dozens of other Brits
who've bought their own chateaux.

SHE GASPS
Oh, wow.

Now Angel and I are once again
lending a hand

to other expat chateau owners.

Sometimes simplicity is the way
forward. Yes, yes.

We'll meet some old friends...

We don't need instructions.
Only when it goes wrong.

..and new faces.

Ooh, look at that.

There'll be plenty of ups...

Oh!
SHE LAUGHS

..and downs.

We can't ruin the wedding meal by
eating outside in the rain.

..but, no matter what, these plucky
Brits...

Ooh.

..will stop at nothing...

No. Steve, no.

Stephen, whoa!

..to ensure these once-unloved
buildings...

BANG
I think I've made a hole.

..become the homes of their dreams.

That is amazing.

Today...

OK. Mind the chandeliers.

..two B&B owners start their next
project...

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.

Billie? Yeah?

One couple make an amazing
discovery...

Almost perfect. Oh, my gosh.

No, that's perfect.

..and call on Angel to lend a hand.

It's like an old friend coming back
for tea, with a trailer. Aw!

And new chateau owners have
a battle on their hands...

..as they try to finish off
their first colossal project.

I'm just looking at this,

it's supposed to be this gentle
gradient to put a pipe in,

and it just looks like
a roller coaster.

Trying to build up any chateau
business takes time and money,

and can be especially tough during
the winter months.

Lincolnshire couple Tim and Rebecca
and their two children

moved into the 24-room
Chateau de la Ruche 18 months ago,

and have opened it up as a B&B.

We've poured everything into it.

It's been kind of 24/7 - lots of
hard work -

but having the opportunity to
restore a place like this is...

We're just really lucky, and really
privileged to be able to do it.

Located a stone's throw away from
Angel and I,

in the Pays de la Loire region,

they have so far created two
beautiful high-end suites.

And, after a slow start to winter...

Hiya, how you doing?

..they've welcomed their first
winter guests.

It is really nice to have money
coming in and to feel like

there's a possibility
that the business will succeed.

Hello. Come on, then.

They now want to boost their income
by opening a third guest suite...

Yeah, so if we get this bed out of
here. Yeah.

..and have been collecting loads of
stuff in one of their outbuildings.

In here, we've got various bits of
furniture

that came out of the house. Yeah.

And lovely things that we've bought
that we don't have a home for, yet.

Today, Rebecca wants to start
restoring one of the old bedframes

they picked up at a local
brocante...

When did we buy it? October?

I don't know, it was one of the
first things we bought at, like...

October, 2017. Yeah.

..although Tim's not sure
it's a good idea.

That's a LOVELY bed for the Meadow
Suite.

Do you not like it?

No. Why did you let me buy it
if you didn't like it?

Because it was, like, ten quid.

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

What is there to like about it?

I don't know. It's fine.

As long as when it cleans up,
it doesn't look like it's been sat

in some smoker's bedroom, where it
clearly has been for the last...

It hasn't been sat in a smoker's
bedroom.

It'll be fine.

It'll be fine. I'll make it look
beautiful.

BANG
Ooh. Don't break things.

Better grip on this, I think.

HE LAUGHS
It's really awkward, isn't it?

SHE LAUGHS
That's better.

There's probably untold
disgustingness

going on our hair now.

The new room, which they've named
the Meadow Suite,

is targeted at families, as it has
two bedrooms and a large en suite.

It's on the ground floor,

so at least they don't have to take
the bedframes upstairs.

Look, it's going to look lovely
green. Don't you think?

Yeah, I'm all over that.
No, you're not.

There's no point asking you,
is there?

HE LAUGHS
No, come on, show me.

No. Nope.

What's the other fabric for?

The other fabric is for cushions.

The thing is, I don't think my eyes
see it the same as yours.

No, I don't, cos your eyes are
special.

Yeah. It's your choice.

SHE LAUGHS
What's wrong with it?

Nothing, I just see it...

It just...

I guess the colours just don't work
for me.

Well, it's always difficult

when you've got a tiny weeny bit of
fabric...

Yeah.

..and you can't see it, but it's
going to look lovely.

Yeah?

While Rebecca makes a start on the
upholstery...

..next door, in the en suite,
Tim has a less creative task,

grouting the intricate patterns on
the new mosaic floor tiles.

It's just a time-consuming job,
really.

So...

It has to be done.

It's just not my favourite job.

It looks beautiful.

I'm sure it's worth the pain.

Mm.

The thing is, I'm halfway through
that bag.

I've got another two bags after
that.

It's just depressing.

Just, er...

Shut up. And go away.

You're so rude.

Keep at it, Tim.

As the saying goes,
"No pain, no gain."

90 miles
south lies the stunning 19th-century

Chateau la Grande Maison.

It's set in three acres of land
and even has its own river.

It's owned by musicians Ben
and Billie,

who live there with their daughter,
Ella.

They've been renovating it into
a guesthouse and events venue

for the last eight years.

We feel like we're custodians of
this wonderful house

and we're passionate about learning
and telling the history

of the place.

So far, it's been seven years' work

and we've probably still got
another three or four years.

And then I'm sure there'll be
projects after that, as well.

I think it's going to be a life's
work. At least.

At least a life's work.

Located a few miles from the Loire
Valley...

..the next room to be refurbished is
the old library,

where they want to start hosting
book club events.

OK there?

It's proved to be a tricky job...

..as most of their time has been
spent restoring the old skylight.

I really love it.
Well done, well done.

Thank you. It's excellent.

Now Ben and Billie can turn their
attention to styling the library.

They're planning to celebrate
the past,

including the renowned botanist
who lived here in the 19th century.

The library, in its heyday,

was probably the creative hub
of the house.

It's where the botanist
did all his discoveries,

so we're trying to bring some
of the history back to the room.

Today, they're on the hunt
for curiosities

that lie even further back in time.

We quite often find fossils close to
the bank or in the bank

as the water sort of washes by
in the winter.

So, a good place we look
is around by the edges,

around the bases of trees,
even molehills,

cos the moles dig up all the stones
and earth and we find them in there.

Unbelievably, they can find plenty
of fossils,

as the chateau lies
on a Jurassic seabed.

The area used to be completely
covered in water.

So, er, ammonites...

There's a little bit of one.

..and things, we can find.

It's not a great one,
but there's a fossil there.

Really?
SHE LAUGHS

Well, that was obviously a shell
at some point. Yes.

But that's not a very good example.
No.

It's not a great example,

but we've only been looking for
about 60 seconds.

The thing is, I always find the best
fossils. I do.

No, you don't.

Mainly cos I'm closer to the ground,
right? That's true.

But, no, that's a reject, so I'm not
going to let him come fossil hunting

with me, if he picks up
rubbish ones.

That's a reject? OK, let's carry
on looking.

I mean, there's so many leaves on
the ground... There you are.

Oh, you're kidding me? No.

That is definitely one,
there you go.

To date, they have managed to
collect over 150 fossils

that have passed Billie's
quality control.

Here's one.

Billie? Yeah?

Got a great one. Are you sure?

Most definitely. I know I'm just
going to come round and reject it.

No, you're not going to reject
this one.

Almost perfect. Oh, my gosh.

No, that's perfect.

It's very small,
but perfectly formed.

That is 150 million years old.

You win today's prize. Excellent.

That is really beautiful.

I don't think that's going to quite
make a centrepiece

in the library, though, Ben.

It's still pretty special, though.

At our place,
Angel is the queen of curiosities...

It's going to be like a big
explosion of butterflies,

that are going to go up the wall
and the ceiling.

..and has created many wonderful
displays.

There's so much to see in here,
isn't there?

So Billie's paying a visit...

Hello.

Billie! Ahoy.

..to see if Angel can come up with
some creative magic for her fossils.

It's like an old friend coming
back for tea, with a trailer. Aw!

I know. This time...this time
the trailer.

Oh, my God, it's totally light.
Oh, that's better.

Billie's hoping to display them in
an old second-hand coffee table,

but needs some help converting it.

I actually wrapped this up like
a Christmas parcel.

OK. Nice.

So...

Here we go.

Right, OK, I see. You've got two
bits of glass.

Two bits of glass just sit in there.

OK. So, I'm thinking of, like,
your relic cases?

The old display relic cases?

Yeah. Yeah, I know exactly.

Gorgeous. I love a display cabinet.

I can't wait to see what Angel comes
up with.

Coming up...

..it's all hands on deck for Tim
and Rebecca...

It's hard on your knees,

but apparently good for my bingo
wings, according to Tim.

So, this...

..Angel sets out to inspire
Billie...

I've got some ration books in here,
these are...

Look at this. I love it.

..and one couple...

I think I've broken the shredder.

..take on their biggest challenge
yet.

We have a digger.

How hard can it be?

This is the beautiful 13th-century
Chateau le Rosieres,

which lies in 130 acres.

It's been home for the last
12 months to Brit Amy

and French husband Marc,

who fell in love with the place
as soon as they saw it.

As we drove down the driveway,
we started to see this sort

of magical forest atmosphere and
the house emerged from the forest.

And you could see for miles, you
could see the Alps in the distance.

We felt really peaceful and happy
in the land and then came the house.

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

they want to run
the chateau as a B&B

and host yoga retreats
in the outbuildings.

But it all needs updating.

That includes putting in
a whole new sewage system.

I've often felt very overwhelmed.

Are you overwhelmed?

I am sometimes overwhelmed.

And, then, when I look at the view,

I find it's so nice to live here
that I'm not any more.

TRACTOR HORN BEEPS

LAUGHING: Stop it. Leave it there.

They've recently started
plumbing the chateau,

but now need to sort out where
the waste will end up.

They want to be eco-friendly,
so have decided to create two

natural waste ponds 100 metres down
a slope at the end of their garden.

It's taking a bit longer
than I'd hoped down here.

The thing was we had some ash trees
growing around

and ashes drink water.

So, we had to cut them and move
them out of the way and we'll

plant other trees nearby instead
that will not plant their seeds

in it and won't drink the water
and destroy the lining and things.

Cutting down ash trees is just
the tip of the iceberg

on this massive project.

We are down here because
we're going to put

two sewage ponds side by side.

Pipes are going to run straight up
where the tractor lines are

and, then, they branch just below
the wall around the original

fortification, and there will be
pipes that go off to every

building so that this will be the
sewage pond for all the buildings.

It's an epic task and they're
planning on

doing most of it by themselves.

We have a digger.

How hard can it be?

There's so much to do before
they can even dig out the ponds.

Marc has to remove the tree stumps.

So, that's one done,

but five more to go.

Amy's job, meanwhile,

is to get rid of the branches
through a wood-chipping machine.

But she's already struggling.

Right.

I think I've broken the shredder.

Did you break the tractor?

Not the tractor.

It's possible something
happened to the shredder.

Hup.

Oh.

Oh, hello.

Yeah, that is a bit jammed.

It's all a bit caught up.

So, I didn't...it wasn't my fault.

A little bit, I would say.

LAUGHING: That's very polite.

Jamming a shredder is
reasonably easy

and is usually caused by
putting in over-sized branches.

Luckily, it's an easy fix.

Amy.

Stop, stop, stop.

I've stop-stop-stopped.
I've stopped.

I don't know why it keeps jamming.

It wasn't even a big bit.

Smoke is not a good
sign in a machine.

There's still a bit in here.

Hold on, I can't reach.

It is working,

but I notice he's only putting
very tiny twigs in there, so...

..either he's being sensible
or cheating, I can't work out which.

Shredding branches
is always a long old job.

Over at Chateau de la Ruche,

Tim and Rebecca have moved on
to cleaning the floors

of their new Meadow Suite in
preparation for varnishing it later.

It's hard on your knees,

but, apparently, good for my bingo
wings, according to Tim, so...

They're hoping an extra room for
the B&B will bring in more income

and help make the chateau
pay for itself.

There's definitely worse jobs.
Like grouting that bathroom floor.

I'm never doing a bathroom
floor like that again.

It's done now.

With grouting of the bathroom
floor finished,

a shower's been put in
and a washbasin fitted.

Now Rebecca wants to begin
styling the rest of the suite

and has a clear idea of how
she wants it to look.

The theme for this room is
kind of loosely Arts and Crafts.

So, this end of the house,
they started to build it in 1910.

So, originally, the chateau was
the main, central piece and,

as you look at it,
the right-hand wing.

And, then, this wing, they started
it in 1910 and had to stop

because the First World War
broke out,

and then they finished it after
the First World War.

So, yes, there's kind of a loose
sort of Arts and Crafts theme to it.

So, I've got some lovely William
Morris fabric for the cushions

and I wanted it to be quite...it's
kind of green and pink and gold.

So, quite kind of rich and...

..opulent and...

..a bit glam, but not overly glam.

First stage of her vision is to
finish off upholstering the old bed,

which she's covering in
green velvet fabric.

It's very physical, upholstery.

It looks easy,
but it's bloody hard work.

That looks good, doesn't it?
Yeah. I think so.

I need to put the trim on,
and then we'll see.

Yeah, it's cool.

CAT PURRS GENTLY

Having got Tim's seal of approval,

Rebecca has set him
a challenge of his own.

An electricity meter sticks out
of one of the walls...

..so she wants him to find
a way to hide it

behind a specially-commissioned
picture of their chateau.

So, the plan is...

..what?

How are you building this
box, cupboard thing?

I'm going to... With your
superior carpentry skills?

With my amazing carpentry skills,

I'm going to cut four bits of wood

and I'm going to use
the classic butt joint...

..to screw them together. OK.

And I've got... I bought some
hinges,

like kitchen cupboard hinges.

And how are you fixing
this to the wall?

I haven't thought about that, yet.

OK, good. It'll be fine.

It's a simple idea.

Tim wants to build
a cupboard around the meter

and use the picture as the door,
which should hopefully do the trick.

Although, it always sounds easier
than it actually is.

Yeah.

My hastily chosen hinges mean that
I've made a cupboard that

closes perfectly but
can only open about halfway.

So, I'm going to have to lift
these hinges up.

Oops.

If in doubt, Tim, try and try again.

There's no other answer.

That'll do.

It works.

Wow.

That's the technical bit done.

Now it's time to see
if it gets Rebecca's blessing.

Can you hold it by yourself
so I can look at it? Yeah.

I think it looks lovely.

It hides that ugly thing.
It's much prettier than that thing.

It's not very heavy
actually, either. No.

You're so...

Good effort, Tim.

But there's a lot more
decoration to be done

before this suite
is ready for guests.

Over at our place...

Ah, gorgeous.

..chateau-owner Billie is hoping
Angel can help her transform

a coffee table into a 19th-century
display cabinet for her

collection of
prehistoric curiosities.

Oh, wow. These are...

# ..super do-do-do #

In our area, in the garden,
we find ammonites, fossils,

Stone Age tools, so...

So, these are from your garden?
Yeah.

That is amazing,
I cannot believe it.

In terms of free art, it couldn't...
It doesn't get any better, does it?

No. Especially, you know,

it's a bit corny, but you always
think your chateau chose you, yeah?

And the wallpaper museum,
the walled garden for Dick, I always

feel there's a romantic story that
we were meant to find this chateau.

I think for you... I think so.

I feel like a bit the same.
I feel that too, as well.

It's like a little piece of
paradise that we live next to.

So, basically, you have
got a museum. Yeah.

This is incredible.

For the display cabinet, Billie has
brought along her own material.

I think, especially
seeing this red now,

that makes me think of
the old Victorian, sort of,

curiosity cabinets, cos they were
really dark and rich, weren't they?

Yes. And do you think... I mean,
I was wondering if it might look

a bit flat just on the wood,

or whether or not to maybe pad it
a bit? I like, you know,

those sort of relic jars
they have here? Oh, I see.

Yeah. I don't know if maybe a little
bit of padding might work.

Do you know what I have got?

I've got oodles of Dacron.

So, like, the spongy stuff
that when you do chairs,

you do it to smooth it over.

Right. However, you may not need it.

It may sort of add a shadow
to them that you don't like.

Oh, right.

Because the display cabinets
that I've got upstairs,

I've just laid them sort of flat.

Over the years, I've built
lots of display pieces for Angel.

One of her favourites
is kept in our Boudoir Suite

and is filled with some of her
most treasured possessions.

Oh, yes. So, this is just
one of the display cabinets.

So, I've got some ration
books in here, these are...

..this, look at this. I love it.

"Hang my nylons".

"Hang my nylons"? So, you take that
with you on your holiday.

Oh, there's teeny-tiny pegs.

Adorable, isn't it?

And there was a time in my life that
I used to wear stockings every day.

Wow. Every single day.
That's a commitment.

It's a commitment.

Now I'm permanently
in green trousers, boots.

My life has changed. Yeah.

But one thing I just want to
say on here is, actually,

what I did was literally varnish
the piece of wood underneath.

Right. Yes, the wood itself

looks so nice, you don't need
anything else, do you?

Yes, so that's...so, sometimes
simplicity is the way forward.

Yes, yes.

And that is the way Angel
is planning to tackle

Billie's display table.

OK, this is the stuff you
mean, isn't it? Yes.

The first step is to see

if padding will enhance that
all-important look.

OK.

Do you know, I'm not...yeah.

See, I... I'm not sure, now.

You see, I think you need
cleanness, personally.

I think you're right.
I think you're right.

I think I like the idea
of the sumptuousness,

but, then, once it's under glass,
you're not going to be touching it.

Yeah. So, it's only what
happens when you look at it.

It's whether, from my perspective,

it's whether you want to have
really a decorative object,

or you want to keep it true to how
they used to display curiosities.

Yeah. And it was much more just
letting people know the information.

Yes. I mean, this, on its own...

These are quite weighty,
aren't they? They are.

So, they're actually already
pulling down on that.

Let's just take the Dacron off
and put this back on.

Right, is that long enough to...

This is so much cleaner already,
isn't it? It's better.

Yeah, I think so.

Do you like it better?
I do, you're absolutely right,

it's much cleaner,
flatter lying. Oops.

And now they stand proud
instead of sinking back into it.

I think that's it.

That's your classic "less is more"
definitely working, there.

I knew Angel would come good.

Can't wait to see
what else she's planning.

Lovely.

Coming up...

Oh. ..Tim and Rebecca
get that SINKING feeling...

Is it supposed to make that noise?

..and Amy and Marc
run into more problems.

I can feel the ground shaking here.

In south-eastern France, Amy

and Marc's eco-friendly sewage
system is taking shape.

They've disposed of all the ash
trees and dug out the waste ponds.

Today, they face a different
challenge

as they want to start digging
trenches for the pipes.

Pull it tighter
cos the wind is blowing it.

That's not going to be a straight
line if we leave it like that.

They need to connect the trenches to
all the outbuildings

and process the waste.

So where's it going to join here?

Down here, into that poo box.

SHE LAUGHS

They also have to work their way
down a 100-metre slope to the
filter ponds.

One of the difficult
bits is we're up

here on the mount of the medieval
castle, and the ponds

are down here so, actually, the
slope isn't, overall, a big problem.

But we have a long bit on the top
of the level to get through,

so we have to make sure the slope
continues to descend.

So that's what I'm relying on Marc

and his amazing mathematics
to calculate.

I'm a perfectionist, me.

It's going to be a big job.

There's a baby pigeon on the
doorstep, Marc - just be careful.

The trench has to get
deeper as they cross the lawn.

Neeeoow!

With Amy busy digging,
Marc needs to make sure

the trenches are sloping enough to
allow gravity to do its thing.

I need to check
if the slope is right,

so, for that, I use my spirit level.

I take the horizontal
along the pipe,

and I just measure the gap
between the pipe and the horizontal.

So this spirit level is 80cm, which
means, if I have a 5cm difference

between my pipe and the spirit
level, it means it's a 4% slope.

Let's check that.

Actually, it's not so bad.

I have 4cm, which means that

the slope would be a bit over 3%,

so that's really good.

With a slope like that, the sewage
should run to the ponds freely.

Although it appears Amy's
unearthed a problem.

How do you break rock?

She's hit bedrock, which is too
tough for the digger to cut through.

Why have you got my pigeon?

Does she want to come with me?

Is it too rocky?

I think so. Um...

Look, watch what I do here.

I can feel the ground shaking here.

What do you think? Um...

Can I go round, or...?

No, we can't, really.

The problem is that we've come down,
and then there's suddenly

a nice big lump of bedrock,

so we can't continue the slope down,
unfortunately.

We need to measure the slope,
really.

Bedrock in the middle
of their planned pipe route is

the last thing they need,

especially when they still have
hundreds of metres to lay.

So that's, yeah,
this bit is not so good.

Yeah, here we have less
than 2cm in this portion,

so we need to try
and break this bit.

I might...

I might just have a go with
the jack hammer for that.

Finding a solid obstacle like this
is a big blow

as they've barely covered
ten metres from the chateau.

I'm just looking at this -
it's supposed to be this gentle

gradient to put a pipe in,
it just looks like a roller-coaster!

Maybe the sewage just gets up some
speed so it can get over the bumps.

It looks like their big job is
getting a whole lot bigger.

In north-west France,

work in Tim and Rebecca's Meadow
Suite has been slow going.

A bit to me.

They've varnished the floors
and restored an old bed frame.

But they were hoping to have
done a lot more.

Mind the chandeliers.

Having been fully booked
with guests,

they've simply not had the time.

Watch out. Ooh!

That's in.

So they've had to make a big call.

We've closed the two
chambres d'hotes

rooms we've got at the moment,
just for a couple of days,

so we can crack on with renovations,
but, obviously,

that means that we don't bring any
money in, so it's always that

juggle between getting on with
renovations to open a third room to

give us more money and sacrificing
bookings for a couple of days.

So, tricky.

Few decisions are easy.

Come and lie down.

That's nice. I like it.

There's no time to rest,
especially for Tim...

I've brought tea towels,
as requested.

..as Rebecca's spotted that he's put
the wrong taps on the wash basin.

So in the drawer...

The nice taps.

Yeah? See? Look.

The reason I like them is cos
this shape matches this shape.

It's beautiful.

And they're a bit more Art Deco.

Yeah, that's fine.

OK, shout me when you need me.

I will. Thank you.

I've got a bit of a thing
for collecting old taps.

So whenever...

I'm always on the internet,
looking for old taps,

or buying them in brocantes,
or anything like that.

You can buy them
when they've all been refurbished,

and they cost a fortune,
or you can buy them in really bad

condition and they're relatively
easy to make work yourself.

We quite like them when they've got
that patina on them, anyway.

So there are the taps with which...

..Rebecca wants to live here.

I prefer the other ones!

I think they're fine.
I quite like them.

They're a bit different.

I think you've already lost
this battle, Tim,

but there's only one
way to find out.

Taps. Oh, yeah, they look nicer.

Yes? Yeah. Happy?

What's left to do is test them out.

Right, you ready?

Yep.

Oh!

RUMBLING

Is it supposed to make that noise?

I've never seen a tap make that
noise before.

Hot's all right.

Just turn that on a little
bit faster.

RUMBLING

What's that? I don't know.

RUMBLING

That doesn't sound healthy.

It's different, isn't it?

Looks like Tim's going to have
his work cut out for a while yet.

I've never in my life seen
a tap do that.

Over at our place...

We're not going hang around today.

..Angel's helping chateau owner
Billie transform an old

coffee table into a 19th-century
display cabinet.

How many hours of sanding have you
done since you opened the chateau?

You know what? I've no idea.

I don't know, 100?

Billie's hoping, once
the curiosities are added,

it'll be the centrepiece
of the room.

So tell me a bit about the library.

It's going to be
sort of multipurpose.

I'm going to run a book club,
so we're going to launch that.

Amazing!

And it's like a book club weekend,
so it's a bit of...

..well, combining food with books,
really.

The rest of the time - sitting,
researching, reading.

Chilling out.

So it's pleasure,
but it is also business?

Yes. Yeah. It's both.

Sounds like the ideal
combination to me.

With the sanding done, Angel gives
the coffee table a dark varnish.

I like that.

But she's not finished yet...

Lovely!

..as now she needs to
attach Billie's material to
the display shelf.

That's looking nice.

And before it's even properly
finished,

they can't wait to test
it on the table.

And... Yep.

Well, there we are.

Oh, that's gorgeous!
That looks gorgeous.

Amazing!

Well done, ladies.

Now it's just a case of adding
Billie's wonderful curiosities.

And you're just laying them out,
exactly how I would do it!

Straight lines - how I would
expect to see them, you know?

And you know what? When you put
that bit of glass on, that is

going to be a gorgeous
moment for you.

That's working for me,
I tell you what.

That really is. I love it!

Well done. It's really good.

Thank you so much for your help.
A good use of a coffee table...

Yes. ..that was average.

An average coffee table -
superb historic display.

That is going to make the room.

It's certainly going to look
impressive once Billie puts

the glass on at home.

The idea of
coffee-table-meets-display-cabinet
has come together brilliantly.

It's going to really be a nice
centrepiece for the library.

It's going to really echo the theme
of curiosities and science,

so it's great, couldn't be better.

Travel safely, and I'd love to see a
picture of the coffee table in situ.

I'll send you a picture.

Please. Thank you so much.

Bye, take care.

I'm looking forward to seeing
what other plans Billie

has for her library.

Coming up...

I don't like it!

..the finishing line
is in sight for Tim and Rebecca.

Slightly wonky,

but then most of the pictures
in this house are slightly wonky.

And as their giant project
nears completion...

..Amy starts to have
second thoughts.

This looks like it would be
a really good swimming pool!

What a waste!

In south-eastern France,

Amy and Marc's eco-friendly sewage
system is moving a step closer.

They've smashed through the bedrock
and laid all the pipes.

Now they're ready to create
the first of the two ponds,

and deliveries are already
coming in.

First load, second one to come.

Before they can do anything
with the gravel,

they first have to prepare the base.

The tarpaulin's what stops
the sewage from just randomly
leaking out into the ground.

So it's just a big pond, really.

The tarpaulin is the same as you do
when you line a pond.

Although this is
not your average pond -

they're planting
reeds to process sewage.

As I understand it,
the reeds have an ability to digest

all of the sewage that comes
out of the toilets.

So you have these two different
ponds and one -

the sewage flows into it,
it soaks down through the gravel

and sits there,
and the reeds just kind of eat it.

And then it gradually feeds
through to another pond,

which takes out the nasties like the
nitrogen from it and makes it...

..essentially purifies it.

And then it's just normal water and
can flow out into the woods around.

So what we're doing at the moment
is just the first pond
because you need to establish...

Because it's plants, you can't just
stick them in and expect them

to work straight away -

it will take a couple of years to be
fully up and running.

So we have to get the infrastructure
right for it, put some

plants in, and then gradually expand
it until both ponds are working.

It's taken all morning for Marc
to put down the lining

for the first pond.

Perfect.

Their next task is to transport ten

tonnes of gravel
down the 100-metre slope.

Ooh!

It's not going to be easy.

Do you want me to do it? Yeah.

So Amy offers to help out.

Jobs like these require a very
steady hand.

Sorry! Practice will make perfect.

To help speed things up,
they've roped in mate Kate.

This still just looks like it would
be a really good swimming pool.

What a waste!

A bit late for that now.

You see the roots?

With some of the gravel in...

How deep?

It's just about stabilising.

..Amy's planting the reeds.

It's very satisfying doing this bit,
it feels like we're reaching...

I know it's not finished finished,
but it feels like we're reaching

the end and we're creating
something quite special here.

I know it's sewage,

but it's quite cool to be able to do
something so sustainable.

I'm with you there, Amy.

It may look like it's not terribly
spectacular at the moment

but, from that little bit,
we'll gradually expand it.

As the reeds grow,

we'll put more in, and the whole
thing will just emerge organically.

So, really,
what we need to do now is pour some

water from the spring down the pipe
and let nature do its work.

Ready?

Allez!

Oh, that was dirtier than I thought!

SHE LAUGHS

I just pooed in the pipe!

It's very glamorous, chateau life.

We get excited about things
like sewage.

I find sewage quite exciting.

Yeah, well, you're weird, though.

It's been an epic task, which is a
couple of years from being finished.

However, it's the first crucial
step towards completing

the eco-sewage system.

I mean, there's a slight limit as to
how excited you can get about

sewage, but I'm quite pleased that
we're actually coming towards the

end of a major project and, yeah,
just having an answer to the immense

sewage problems of the chateau
would be very, very satisfying.

Yeah, I'm quite pleased
to start seeing

the light at the end of the tunnel.

He's been working on this
for so long.

Yeah, I'd really like to start
another project now.

Yeah.

This one has been lasting
a bit too long. Yep.

In north-west France...

You all right? Yeah.

Tim and Rebecca are so close
to finishing their new family
Meadow Suite.

I don't like it!

Here we go.

Good. Let's get it up.

Slightly wonky.

But then, most of the pictures
in this house are slightly wonky.

In the suite's second bedroom,

Tim is constructing some old bed
frames left by the previous owners.

We think it's nice to use stuff
that was in the house

rather than getting new
stuff every time.

They don't need much work, either -

nothing a little bit of glue
won't sort out, anyway.

Yes.

So they just finish them off nicely,
they kind of add to the...

They're very chateau-y, they're
quite traditional French beds,

but they're quite grand as well.

In the bathroom, Rebecca's adding
the final bits of decoration

and is very happy now the noisy tap
problem has been resolved.

All it was
was a loose washer kind of vibrating

when the water was coming
through under pressure.

So Tim's just put some new
washers in, I think.

I don't think he was particularly
pleased with me
cos he liked the other taps better.

But I like these ones
and now they work, so that's fine.

So we're all good.

It's taken three months, but Tim
and Rebecca have finally done it.

The old room has been
transformed from an empty space

into an elegant family guest suite
that has style and sophistication.

I had no idea what it was
going to look like.
That's cos you're not in my head.

Literally, right up
until it was done.

Dressed in opulent fabrics
and rustic furniture, the arts

and crafts theme honours the history
of this wonderful chateau.

In the second bedroom,

the antique bed frames give it
the charm of centuries ago.

While the bathroom combines modern
fixtures with vintage finds,

creating a stylish mix
of old and new.

I feel a bit relieved that the
Meadow Suite's complete

because it's been a long
time coming. Yeah, I feel
relieved as well.

Having three rooms ready for
guests is going to be a big help
financially.

We can see that we can
survive this year now

where, at the beginning of the year,
we really couldn't see that we were
going to survive this year.

So we feel comfortable now that we
won't have to pack our bags and
leave, which is nice. Yeah.

Here's hoping they have lots
more guests to stay.

Next time...

..I check in on Ben and Billie...

This is a big old build.

This isn't a trivial
sort of amount of work.

..as they start the next
stage of their library.

I think it's working out.
I've actually really,

really enjoyed doing this.

Tim and Rebecca face
an uphill battle.

I think we are 10-15% in,
which doesn't feel very good.

And Amy
and Marc have their work cut out...

..as they go in search
of chateau relics.

He won't be able to leave this now.

Every time he has five
minutes to spare,

he'll be in here with
the jack hammer.

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