Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 5, Episode 7 - Episode #5.7 - full transcript
I'm Dick Strawbridge,
and along with my wife Angel...
Angel: Hello!
Dick: and our two children...
we've lived in this magnificent
chateau for the past 5 years.
Angel: Oh, that's lovely.
Dick: It's my little corner
of paradise.
Angel: Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over:
It's not just our home...
Angel: Whoo!
[Laughter]
Dick, voice-over:
but our business.
Dick: That's a proper kiss.
Dick, voice-over: And with over
a thousand chateaux in France...
-Wow.
-Oh, my God.
Absolutely incredible.
Dick, voice-over: we're not
the only Brits
flying into the French
fairy tale.
-Do you like it?
-I mean, yes. It is gorgeous.
Dick, voice-over: We'll follow
more daring owners...
Man: It looks to be a massive
undertaking.
Dick, voice-over:
and familiar faces...
Fiona: Why?
Dick, voice-over: as they
battle to renovate their homes.
Man: That is disgusting.
Dick, voice-over: And we'll
reveal more about
our own chateau life.
Angel: That is lovely.
[Laughter]
Dick, voice-over:
There'll be ups...
Isabelle: Ah! Sweetheart,
this is beautiful!
Dick, voice-over: and downs.
Woman: What are you gonna do?
Man: It's gonna take all day.
Woman: Yeah, but there's
no alternative.
Dick, voice-over: But however
hard the going gets...
Woman: No!
Dick: these plucky Brits...
[Woman shudders]
get to live the dream as
custodians...
Man: God bless France.
Dick, voice-over: of their very
own castle.
Today...
Ashley: Baguette baskets.
I mean, you can't get more
French than this.
Dick: the language barrier
almost
gets one couple into trouble.
Johnny: Merci, madam.
Monsieur. Pardon. Merci.
[Johnny and Ashley laugh]
Anna: OK.
Dick: These fledgling
renovators...
Philipp: Now run, run, run, run.
Dick: start replumbing
their whole chateau
from top to bottom.
Philipp: No leak here.
That's a high five.
Anna: Well done.
[Hammering]
Dick: And at this chateau,
a landscaping project
10 years in the making...
Edward: All these little
circles here are trees.
Anna Holmes: Once it's finished,
it's going to look really nice.
Dick: becomes a reality.
Across France, chateaux
with long and colorful histories
have been bought for Brits,
who are working hard to create
new stories
for future generations.
Take the gorgeous
Chateau de Lomenie.
Built in 1750, this former
winery has 21 rooms
and sits in 15 acres of land.
18 months ago, it was snapped up
for £412,000 by
British artist Johnny
and his American partner,
TV producer Ashley.
Johnny: The chateau is my baby
after Ashley, of course.
Ashley will always be my
number-one babe,
the chateau, a very
close number 2.
Ashley: I think we knew that
this was the place for us.
We saw A--the original features
but B--all of the space,
so we just said, "This is it."
Dick: Located an hour south of
Bordeaux,
the intention is to make
the chateau work for them
as a business.
Future plans include
an art gallery and studio
for Johnny, but for now,
the focus is on creating
an antiques emporium in
the orangery,
where they plan to sell upcycled
brocante bargains.
They have set themselves a goal
of opening for business
in 12 weeks.
So the pressure is on.
Ashley: I had to work a lot less
before we bought the chateau.
Now we bought the chateau,
never here because it has to be
paid for.
I mean, right now the chateau is
a money pit,
and the goal is to have
the chateau make some money
so that I don't have
to always be gone.
Dick: Hoping to keep Ashley's
feet firmly in France,
Johnny has a plan: to use his
artistic skills
to win over future customers.
Johnny: We always thought it'd
be lovely to have some images
painted straight onto the walls
in the antique area.
Then Ashley's business
had kicked in,
as it always does,
and she's like,
"Why don't you do it on MDF
panels, mount them on the wall,
and it'll be something else
for sale?"
So, yeah, I've done that with
a marker.
So I'm gonna take my jigsaw
and just cut out.
Dick: Johnny's going all out to
create a 1-1/2-meter sign.
Johnny:
It's starting to come alive.
Dick: When cutting MDF,
the dust is particularly fine.
You should wear a dust mask.
Johnny: Baby, you might have
to go inside, darling.
Don't want anything dropping
on your head.
[Groans]
Don't do hard hats
for dachshunds, do they?
[Kiss]
Uh! Cut the wrong piece out.
Only kidding.
Can you imagine? Ha ha.
Oh, I've nearly done that
before.
I find this little stool has
been a lifesaver many times
when I've been on my own.
Love it. Simple things like that
make a big difference.
Dick: The banners
begin to take shape.
So it's time for Ashley to
take a look.
Ashley: That looks like a very
complex thing to cut.
I would never be able
to do that.
Johnny: This is its
weakest point here.
It'd be awful if it snaps
on the very last leg.
Ashley: Ah, that'd be terrible,
wouldn't it?
I love it, by the way.
It looks amazing.
-Do you love it?
-I really love it. Yeah.
-It's nice, right?
-Yeah.
Johnny:
I'll give it a little dust off.
[Sound of camera shutter
clicking]
Johnny: Oh, my gosh.
[Sneezing]
Dick: Bless you. A dust mask
would have put
a stop to that, Johnny.
Ashley: If I saw that in
a brocante,
it would be sold in 2 seconds.
Dick: I look forward to seeing
it finished.
With a huge, empty orangery
still to fill with antiques,
there's plenty to do before
Ashley's emporium
will open its doors for
business.
Over 300 miles north is
the handsome Chateau Gonneville.
With 16 rooms and 15 acres of
lush French countryside,
it was bought for £900,000 by
fashion designer Anna
and her filmmaker husband
Philipp, who now live here
with daughters Lily and Ella.
Anna: I remember just driving in
through the driveway
and just thinking,
"Wow. This is amazing."
And I fell in love with it.
Because we just knew this was
the one.
Dick: Located in Normandy,
in northern France,
Ana and Philipp got the keys
a couple of months ago.
Ana: OK, there's a lot to do.
Ha ha!
Dick: Having spent their
life savings on the house,
the plan is to create a family
apartment in the attic
and open the chateau
as a stylish B and B.
The couple have taken out a loan
on the promise of opening
as a B and B in the next
8 months.
To keep costs to a minimum,
Philipp is taking on
the majority of the renovations
himself.
Philipp: We didn't get enough
money from the bank
to have it done by
professionals, so I decided
to take a year off and dedicate
that year to do
as much as I can myself.
Dick: Today, Philipp
is cracking on
and starting work
on the chateau's waterworks.
They plan to replumb the whole
chateau and upgrade
from two toilets
to 10 bathrooms.
It's a big job, so he's drafted
in some extra help.
Man: Hello.
Philipp: How are you doing?
What a car!
Anna, the kids are out here.
Lily: Cannot sit anywhere.
Anna: Look. There's a seat
there, next to Grandad.
Lily: Oh.
Dick: Anna's dad John is here
to give a helping hand,
along with family friend
and owner of a water treatment
company Jolyon,
who they hope will bring his
expertise to help them out.
And after an al fresco
breakfast,
it's time to get to work.
They want to get their own well
up and running
to provide water for
the chateau.
It's a great idea and could save
them up to 3,000 euros a year,
which is about £2,600.
Philipp: And here it is.
John: Right.
Philipp: Careful. Now--
We had a dream when we bought
our property that this well
would provide us with
a reasonable amount of water
to make a substantial saving in
our water bill.
I'm quite confident that in some
way that this well
will help us.
John: Should we get some of
this crap out?
Philipp: I think we should.
Yeah. OK...
Jolyon: Shall we drop this
down?
Philipp: Yeah.
Dick: The first job is
to find out how much water
the well actually holds by
calculating the depth.
Jolyon: You do that.
41 meters to the water level.
Philipp: 41 meters to
the water level. Is that good?
Jolyon: Let's see if we can find
the bottom.
47 to the bottom.
If the water level's at 41,
that's 6 meters of water.
Dick: If they want to use
well water to flush
their 10 new toilets, they need
to find out
how quickly the water returns to
the 6-meter level
after some of it has been
pumped out.
Philipp: Do we need to pull
that out...
Lily: Grand, what's that?
John: Ah, we're gonna run
the water out of there
because it's coming in up there
and then down here.
There's a pipe that goes right
down to the bottom of the well.
Anna: Lily, look!
John: Oh, my gosh.
Philipp: Look, Lily.
Jolyon: Just time how long it
takes to fill a bucket.
John: Ready? Steady? Go.
Anna: OK.
John: About 10 seconds
to fill 12 liters.
Jolyon: Good. That's very good.
Yeah.
Anna: Oh, great.
Dick: While the pump's making
short work of getting
the water out, now they need to
check if the well can provide
enough water for the chateau.
Jolyon: When we've been pumping
for, say, 10 minutes,
we'll leave it and see
how quickly the level comes
back up again,
which is the all-important
thing,
to see how quickly it's
recovering.
Dick: Fingers crossed, it's the
big money saver they're after.
Dick: The magnificent
15th-century Chateau Lagorce
lies on 71 acres of woodland,
has its own chapel,
private lake, and swimming pool.
With 22 bedrooms,
it's home to Edward,
his Kosovan wife Anna,
4-year-old son Charles,
and recent arrival baby Emma.
Anna: Chateau life has changed
a lot lately
with the arrival of baby Emma,
and also Charles needs
more attention, so he eats at
100 miles per hour now.
It was busy,
but now it's hectic.
Dick: Located a half-hour's
drive southeast of Bordeaux,
Edward's parents bought
the chateau 16 years ago.
And now Anna and Edward run it
as a wedding venue.
They hosted two weddings a week
over the summer season,
and perfectionist wedding
planner Anna worked right up
to the minute she went into
labor.
Edward: OK, I'll grab my keys,
grab my wallet, and we'll go.
Now, two months later,
with the wedding season over,
Edward has plans
for the chateau's future.
Edward: My first project is
going to be a formal garden
on the third terrace.
Really, it's a palatial chateau,
so it should have
a formal garden.
I mean, how many years have I
been talking about doing it?
10 years, something like that?
And I said, this year,
I'm doing it. That's it.
Dick: The terrace is the perfect
spot for wedding photos,
so Edward wants it
to look pretty as a picture.
Edward: So this is the wall that
we're looking over,
fountain looking back at us.
And in all these little circles
here are trees.
Anna: I didn't know what to
expect,
but once it's finished,
it's going to look really nice.
[Baby fussing]
Edward: You get little girl
her milk.
I'm going to get on with it, OK?
Dick: Developed from Italian
Renaissance gardens,
this formal style arrived
in France in the 15th century.
For the design to work, geometry
and symmetry are key.
[Conversation in French]
Dick: But it's going to be
a little bit tricky
as the terrace is not
symmetrical.
[Man inhaling and exhaling]
Edward: It looks square with
the wall.
From here, it looks like it's
the center, so that's fine.
Dick: It's important that
Edward and chateau worker Cyril
measure carefully to ensure
the walkways will be at
right angles to each other.
[Conversation in French]
Edward: 13.62 divided by 2
divided by pi,
which is 3.14159.
That'll do, I think.
Dick: Luckily, Edward has a
degree in maths under his belt.
So this is right up
his garden path.
Edward: It's probably not
that important to be so precise
and exact.
I'm just a bit of a maniac when
it comes to things like this.
When people come to look over,
that needs to be straight.
And it's perfectly straight.
I'm happy. So we're
gonna spray up,
and then I'll call Anna across.
Dick: Speaking as an engineer
with a shared love of maths,
Edward, I'm loving your work.
Edward: If she doesn't like it,
I'm gonna be in a bit of a mess.
Dick: Let's hope it gets
Anna's seal of approval.
Just an hour southeast,
at Chateau de Lomenie,
Johnny and Ashley are planning
to open an antiques emporium
in their orangery.
Johnny: There's some glassware,
babe.
Ashley: Yeah, I'll take a look.
Dick: Today they're visiting
a nearby vide-grenier--
it's like a car boot--
to buy stock for the shop.
[Johnny asking question in
French]
[Woman speaking French]
Johnny: Merci, madame.
Dick: They need to buy bargains
that they can sell for more
so their business will be
a success.
And judging by Johnny's hat,
they've already started buying.
Ashley: The whole idea today is
really to try to find
the best price possible, because
if you're gonna sell on,
you know, you have to make
a profit, right?
Ashley: What is this?
Johnny: Oh, pretty.
Ashley: Oh, I like these.
"History of France."
And we're looking for
a little bit of everything.
We're looking for books, frames,
demijohn bottles.
You know, new treasures.
Johnny: Bonjour.
Johnny: How about this tatty
one, too?
Ashley: Yeah?
Johnny: This is lovely.
Look at the size of this.
Ashley: I love all this.
Oh, yeah. We have a rule that we
always have to buy a book...
-Yeah.
-anytime we go to a market.
Even if it's just one book.
Johnny: OK, merci.
Voila. Merci, madam.
Monsieur. Pardon. Merci.
[Johnny and Ashley laugh]
Dick: Well-recovered, Johnny.
Just as well. You'd already
closed the deal.
[Conversation in French]
Johnny: C'est possible for this,
monsieur, si vous plait?
-Yes.
-It is? OK, d'accord. Ha ha!
[Ashley speaking French]
Johnny: Shall we shake on it?
Ha ha!
Ashley: Baguette baskets.
I mean, you can't get more
French than this.
[Man speaking French]
[Laughter]
Ashley: Oh, this is right up
your alley.
Johnny: Oh, a nice leg.
Ashley: It's unusual.
Johnny: Uh-huh. I kind of have
a thing for mannequins.
Ashley: Maybe a little bit
too much information.
Dick: Each to their own.
Ashley: You know,
sometimes you go,
and everything's really
expensive,
or there's nothing you want.
This has been a great
combination
of finding stuff that I really
love for next to nothing.
So a very successful day.
Dick: Who doesn't love
a bargain?
You've got some stock. Now you
need to get started on the shop.
Over 300 miles north,
at Chateau Gonneville,
it's time to find out if
Philipp and Anna's plan
for the well to provide water
for the chateau is
going to work.
Jolyon: We've pumped about
150 millimeters of water
out of the well.
So we'll see what the depth is
now after that recovery time.
Philipp: And we hope it has
fully recovered.
Dick: If it refills
quickly enough,
they will be able to use
the water
to flush their 10 new toilets.
-It's done?
-Oh, there we go.
Jolyon: So in 3 hours,
it's recovered
about 75 millimeters.
It's slow.
Philipp: It's slow. OK.
Jolyon: It's a slow recovery.
I mean, you know, yes, there's
water there,
but it's not viable for the
house, but it would supplement
the rainwater and may be useful
for the garden.
Philipp: OK. But it's not enough
to go into the house.
-Not enough water.
-Not enough water there. OK.
So it's not perfect use, but--
but it's still, you know,
it's still worth doing it...
Jolyon: It's a useful
water supply.
Philipp: pumping it into
the water storage tank.
Dick: Unfortunately,
it's not the big money saver
they were after, but at least by
pumping the water out
and storing it, they'll be able
to use it on the garden
and still make a small dent in
their water bill.
Philipp: Maybe not
what we hoped for,
but, also,
it could've been worse.
Dick: Excellent attitude,
Philipp.
When restoring a chateau, it's
always best to look
on the bright side.
-Thank you, guys.
-Thank you so much.
Woman: We'll pop in to stay
some night, love.
-Thank you.
-Bye. Thank you so much.
John: See you there.
Jolyon: Bye.
Dick: Knowing the well won't be
the complete answer
to his water requirements,
Philipp must now move on
to the next part of the project.
He has decided to fit
the waste pipes
for the plumbing himself.
They should be able to save some
money, but it's no easy task.
Philipp: It's a big saving,
and I want to do it myself.
I have to do it myself.
Dick: To do this, he plans to
dig a 7-meter-long trench
under the tiled hallway
so waste pipes from the house
can be connected
to the septic tank outside.
[Saw cutting]
Philipp: To be honest, I have
no idea what's underneath it.
I think it's probably soil,
because we're
on the ground floor here.
It might be a concrete slab.
That would be the worst-case
scenario, because then I
would have to go
break through that,
and that's heavy machinery.
I think I need another tool.
OK, that's doing absolutely
nothing.
It's really, really hard,
the soil.
That's not good news.
Absolutely nothing.
But I know this has to go.
That doesn't look nice.
Dick: Not surprisingly,
he's hit concrete.
Philipp: Who knows how deep
this layer is?
This is a really big job.
When we bought the chateau,
I didn't expect
to spend so much time
on my knees.
Dick: Philipp, get yourself
a decent set of kneepads.
It's where you'll be spending
a lot of your time.
With no idea how thick
the concrete is,
he just needs to battle on.
As a plumber is coming in
10 days' time to start work
on the chateau's water pipes,
the pressure's on.
Philipp: Soil underneath.
That's good news because it
means that once I've taken off
that, I can start digging.
Oh, look at this. Good one.
Ha ha. That's success.
It's interesting, a seashell.
The reason for that, certainly,
being when they build a house,
the cheapest source of sand was
just to go and get a bit
of sea sand.
Somebody came in with this sand
from the beach
and filled it up 200, 300 years
ago for a wealthy customer,
who wanted a nice hunting
chateau for his weekends.
Dick: Now that the trench
is fully exposed,
Philipp can crack on
with digging a hole
for the sewage pipes.
You've got your work cut out
for you.
There's just 10 days to get
the job done
in time for the plumber to
start work.
In southwest France,
near Bordeaux,
Edward's design for the new
formal garden is complete.
Edward: Come have a look.
See what you think.
Dick: It's time to see if
chief wedding planner Anna
thinks it'll be picture-perfect.
Anna: Yeah. I mean, that's--
I can imagine, like,
for a photo, like, the bride
with her dress--
that's perfect.
That is a good size.
Edward: What about the paths
round the fountain?
Are they wide enough?
Anna: Maybe that one bigger.
Edward: OK.
What, like, 20-someting meters?
30-something meters? 40?
Anna: 40.
Edward: 40 bigger?
-Yeah.
-And then we're good to go.
Anna: I hope so.
Dick: Me, too.
To increase the width of
the path to accommodate
the bride's dress, all that's
needed is a bigger stick.
And now for the fun bit.
With a terrace just
over 4 times the size
of an average British garden,
this is a decent sized job.
The first thing to do is
remove the top layer of turf
to make way for the base
of the path.
Edward: Just leveling
things off.
Maybe 1 1/2 hours, 2 hours,
all 4 done.
Dick: But digging the paths
isn't the only challenge
for Edward and Cyril.
30 tons of gravel have been
delivered to the chateau,
to the wrong place.
Edward: This isn't where it was
gonna be,
because this is completely the
opposite side of the chateau.
Dick: As the delivery driver
decided he couldn't get further
than the driveway, Edward and
Cyril will have to take loads
down to the garden
over 200 meters away.
Edward: I don't even want to
calculate how many loads
it's going to be, but it's
going to be a lot.
Dick: They'll be laying
the gravel onto a membrane
which will stop weeds coming
through.
With all the gravel down,
the next step is to flatten it
with a compactor to create
a solid surface to the path.
Edward: Try giving this path
a bit of a whack
if the dogs will get off it.
Dick: Well done, guys.
It's coming together, and I look
forward to seeing it
all finished.
Around 30 miles southeast after
a successful shopping trip,
Johnny is making progress
on his sign
for Ashley's antiques emporium.
Johnny: I love artwork done
straight onto walls,
particularly on old buildings.
And as you drive through
the villages in France,
you see the old sign writing
on a mechanic's or a patisserie.
and it's always chippy
and faded.
Hopefully, you know,
it's amazing how
a little bit of white paint,
how it just brings
the thing alive.
Dick: By using paint effects,
he's trying to create
a shabby chic vintage look.
Johnny: I'll just go ahead and
add a little bit of
water to that and then oil.
It's great being at
that point now
where we are creating art for
the sole purpose
of being able to sell it on.
Dick: Spending time at
the chateau
and exploring life here has
given Ashley an idea.
She wants to sell something
special
in the antiques emporium,
her own homemade jam.
Ashley: We have an orchard,
and we have plums, figs,
apricots, almonds, apples,
pears. You name it.
We have so much fruit, so it's
nice to make preserves from it.
This one, I'm doing plums with
rosemary.
I might add a little vanilla
as well.
Dick: The overall plan
is to create
an immersive shopping
experience, where visitors
can enjoy refreshments and art
as they browse.
Ashley: I once, years ago, went
to a similar concept
in San Francisco where it was
an antiques shop, but it was
also a cafe.
And every single thing from
the spoon that you use
to stir the coffee
to the coffee cups
and table you're sitting at,
everything's for sale.
And I always just loved
that idea.
Ashley: How many to expand...
I'm gonna add some almonds
as well.
It feels really good to be
so close to opening up.
You know, and to be able to
sell antiques, oh, it's just
such a passion of mine.
I do have a bit of
an antiques addiction.
[Chuckles]
-Hey, Ashley, special delivery.
I think these are your jam jars.
Ashley: Ah, just in time.
In time.
Johnny: But before you open it,
it's not sounding very good.
-Oh, you're kidding me.
-The sound of glass.
Ashley: Oh, yeah, look at that.
Johnny: Well, one or two is all
right, isn't it? Well.
-Well, one's broken.
-OK. Oh, well, that's not bad.
[Ashley chuckles]
Johnny: So one jam jar
down out of 12, eh?
That's not bad going, is it?
Could be worse.
Dick: Keep going, guys.
The deadline for opening your
multifaceted shop is
fast approaching.
-OK?
-Yup.
-Should we go sideways?
-Nah.
Johnny: Please. Ha ha!
Dick: It's good to see more
things going into the emporium.
-If you need to rest, babe.
-Ha ha!
Dick: Johnny may be the artist,
but today Ashley's in charge
of the visuals.
Johnny: Watch out for
the sausage.
So where should we put this now?
Ashley: Let's just put it here
for now.
-Yeah?
-And then what I want to do is--
I want to separate these
and put that in the middle.
So I tend to make Johnny move
furniture,
and then I decide I don't like
it where it is,
and then he has to move it
back in.
See what it looks like.
OK, ready?
-Yeah.
-Oh, yeah, it is.
-Just keep--
-Just the back end.
-Yeah, this is about the center.
-Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
-Yeah.
Ashley: It's really important,
for me anyway, ha ha,
to get it exactly center.
Yeah, I want them touching it.
-Touching.
-Touching.
This one's leaning.
It just needs to come up this
way just a tiny bit.
Uh, that's better.
Can we now move this table
next to that?
Johnny: I love these tables.
Ashley: Definitely not that
configuration. I'm so sorry.
Let's move the armoires out
to the side.
Johnny: A little bit more.
Ashley: My face is squished up.
Down, down. Uh!
Johnny: OK, then?
Are these getting heavier
and heavier, or is it just me?
Ashley: Yeah, they are.
Johnny:
I forgot how beautiful it is.
Dick: With the furniture finally
in place and Ashley happy,
it's time for Johnny's
piece de resistance.
Johnny: The idea is that
it follows
the sequence of the banner.
The dream is that we both are
resident here all year-round
and working, and by working, I
mean selling wonderful things
like art and antiques, which is
not really work, is it,
when you're doing something that
you're passionate about
and that you both enjoy
and love.
Drum roll, please.
So voila. There she goes.
All done.
Ashley: I think it should go
right here
smack in the middle.
It's the first thing you see.
-It's OK?
-Look at that.
-All right?
-Perfection.
Dick: The new sign has received
Ashley's seal of approval.
Time now to get the emporium
fitted out
and open for business.
Over 300 miles away in Normandy,
restoration novice Philipp
has managed to lay the waste
pipes for the sewage system
under the entrance hall.
Now he faces the task of taking
the pipes up into the bathroom
he's creating directly above.
Philipp: All that's left to do
is to connect this
to the holes that I'm going to
make in that ceiling.
The plumber will use it
for hot water, for heating.
Because these buildings never
were meant
to have any kind of plumbing
installed, you need to find ways
to get all these pipes through
without destroying
the look of it.
Dick: To hide the pipes,
Philipp intends to install them
in the walls and under
the floorboards
as close to the wall as he can.
Philipp: And I will go
completely as far as possible
in to keep the pipe work as
close as possible to the wall.
Here it is. It's this way.
Look, look how it, uh...
Well, I think it's not bad.
I'm pleased.
I think it's a good start.
Dick: Philipp now decides to
make a hole
through to the hallway below so
he can connect it all together.
Philipp: I am rather convinced
that this is the exact area
where I want to break through.
[Pounding]
I'd say that's all right.
Now I'm going to open that up
even further,
and then we'll put in place
the pipes.
But there will be a lot
of pipes here.
We will box it in, and it will
just look like as if
the wall was a bit thicker.
Yeah. One thing done.
Dick: A couple of weeks later,
Philipp's pipe dreams
are becoming a reality.
-Here it is.
-The beautiful toilet.
Philipp: Uh, you have to turn it
around.
Anna: Yup.
Dick: Now to connect the first
of the 10 new toilets to see
if the plumbing works.
-Ooh.
-Oh!
Anna: If it's not on straight,
then we might have a leak.
Ha ha! And you don't want a leak
from a toilet.
Philipp: I've never put on
one of these, to be honest.
Anna: So you don't know what
you're doing.
Philipp: I don't know what I'm
doing, but I think it looks--
it looks all right to me.
Dick:
With the waste pipe attached,
it's time to see if the water
flushes away.
Anna: It would just be--it'll be
super annoying if it leaked
because it would just mean that
we've wasted our time
and probably we can't do it
ourselves,
so it would mean getting
a plumber in to do it.
And it would cost us a lot of
money.
OK. Am I gonna put it in here?
-Yeah. For a little bit
and see if the toilet leaks.
-OK, OK.
Philipp: Pour it.
So OK.
That looks like a reasonable
amount of flushing.
Dick: So after checking
for leaks...
[Flushing]
Philipp: Now run, run, run, run.
Dick:
it's time to check if there are
no surprises
popping up elsewhere.
-OK.
-The pipe's all nice. OK.
No leak here. I can't see
any leak there.
Anna: I think that was
a success.
Philipp: I think so. Well, we
have to check upstairs, though.
Anna: OK.
That pipe.
That's good.
-It's good.
-I think that's, uh...
-It's a high five...
-Well done.
-for our first flush in
our new home.
-So you see, you're pretty good
at plumbing.
Dick: I don't think the bathroom
is quite finished,
but you are one step closer
to making the building
function as a home.
Anna: Philipp is always
surprising me
with his talents and his DIY
skills
and saving us money.
And, yeah, I'm proud of you.
-Yeah.
Dick: Just a bit more
plumbing to go.
In the countryside near
Bordeaux, Anna and Edward's
formal garden is beginning
to take shape.
With all the paths now laid,
today Edward's challenge is
to plant 20 pyramid trees
in perfect alignment.
Edward: So distances
we're doing,
60-centimeter distance.
So if the tree grows to, say,
an 80-centimeter diameter,
it's gonna have a 40-centimeter
radius,
which leaves us 20 centimeters
between the edge of the bottom
of the tree and the path,
which should still look good.
Dick: I so love listening
to sums.
Edward: Go on, now, boys.
Every stage of this renovation,
the dogs have been making it
harder for us, but the worst was
when they started digging up
the path,
and we were just like, "Are we
gonna keep coming down here
"in the middle of summer
having to rake out a path
that the dogs have dug up?"
But once the paths got a bit
harder, they
stopped digging it up, so...
You know, it's been years
wanting to make this
into a formal garden, so to
actually see it finally
all coming together is just
brilliant.
And especially on my birthday,
so it's a good little
birthday treat.
Dick: Happy birthday, Edward.
And what better way
to celebrate than by adding
the finishing touches to
your long-awaited garden?
However, with 5 trees planted,
Edward soon spots a problem.
Edward: Just looking at how it's
all lining up,
and I don't like where
that middle one is there
that Cyril put in, of course.
It's not mine that's wrong.
Dick: Of course not, Edward.
Dick: Better get
that tape measure out again.
Edward: It'll look too messy
if you come down here
and they weren't lined up.
Dick: With all the trees in,
the best place to view
their handiwork is from above.
Edward: Yeah, it looks like
I wanted it to look.
I just love it all.
I think the paths look good.
I think the trees
look good.
Our baby French garden.
It's gonna grow into
a beautiful garden.
[Heavy sigh]
Dick: Don't even think about it.
Now that the garden is finished,
it's time for Anna's verdict.
Edward: So what do
you think, then?
Anna: I was a bit scared
and skeptical,
but the end result is really
beautiful.
It's going to be an even nicer
spot now for ceremonies.
No, it's really nice.
Proud of you.
This rectangle of grass has been
transformed
with its symmetrical paths
and manicured trees
into something the Renaissance
Italians would be proud of--
a garden that will grow
and develop as the years pass.
Not only does it look fantastic,
but it's a great addition
to the wedding business.
Edward: When people come to
look round, you know,
they expect certain things
from a chateau.
They expect a turret.
They probably expect
formal gardens.
Well, now we have formal gardens
as well.
So it's another tick on
the list, really.
Dick: It's been a good year
at Chateau Lagorce.
Edward and Anna hosted
32 weddings...
and welcomed a new arrival.
Anna: So Emma is doing
really well.
She's had her meal now.
So she's currently snoozing.
-She's growing day by day,
isn't she?
-Yes.
-Well, I'll miss a few days
here and there, but at least I
get to see her growing up.
Yeah, it's great!
Dick: And their chateau
improvements will roll on
into next year.
Anna: One of the key things is
the gates...
-Yeah.
-then the pool shed.
Edward: We need to have a chat
about things
and make sure that I've got
the time and the energy and...
-The money, too.
-the money. Yeah.
Because it--we don't want to do
things by halves
down at the pool.
If we want to redo
the pool shed,
it's gonna be in stone, so,
you know, it's fairly expensive.
If we want to do the gates,
it has to be in keeping
with the chateau.
It has to be kind of palatial.
Dick: But for now, top of their
to-do list is
spending time together as
a family.
Edward: We're not committing to
any particular jobs
we're going to do over
the winter
because I think this winter,
family has to come first,
doesn't it, for a start?
Dick: Enjoy your family time,
Edward and Anna.
After the busy year you've had,
you certainly deserve it.
Johnny: Not by the arms, sweet.
Under here like that.
Dick: An hour southeast,
Johnny and Ashley
continue with preparations for
the launch
of their antiques emporium.
Ashley: This is the fun part.
Johnny: I'm certainly going to
be, um, working hard
for the lady.
Ashley: I'm going to say, "Move
this here. Move that there..."
Johnny: Everything's going to
get moved a thousand times.
Ashley: Ha ha!
Johnny: So where's this
one going, darling?
Ashley: I want to create
a little vignette.
Johnny: Yup.
Ashley: So let's...
just turn it around this way.
Johnny: Let's.
Ashley: Yeah, something
like that.
Dick: Today's the day they want
to finish the project
and be open for business.
With Ashley hoping to work
away less, she's determined
to make it a success.
Johnny: Just hold it.
Ashley: Oh, spider's in there.
Johnny: It's all right.
Spiders are long gone. Trust me.
Is this little table going out?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
We're just scratching
the surface at the moment.
Ashley: The interesting thing is
that we have been collecting
stuff for a shop for years.
Johnny: Yeah.
Ashley: And so it's really fun
to see it all come together.
Johnny: Should be standing up.
So no one will trip on it.
Ashley: Oh, yeah. Ha ha!
The leg.
-OK?
-Yeah.
-Ohh.
-All right.
Dick: After years of collecting
antiques
and upcycling pieces of
furniture,
today is an important day.
Johnny: So you really do forget
what we've collected.
It's nice. It's given me
a visual idea
of what Ashley's going to do
with the space.
Ashley: Every antiques shop
needs a French flag or 3.
Johnny: We have to get it right
'cause it's gonna be
representing what we do at
the chateau, but also,
it's important that things
are finished
so the doors can be thrown
open, so we can start selling.
I love the chair up
on the table. That's cute.
Am I allowed just
to center that?
Ashley: Yes, you may.
[Laughter]
Johnny: Beautiful. So sweet.
Ohh, really. I love it, darling.
Done a great job.
Ashley: I think Abernathy likes
it, too.
Johnny: Where is he?
Hee hee! He's like a part of
the furniture now, isn't he?
Ashley: I know!
Dick: With their antiques
emporium now fully stocked,
Ashley's prized homemade jam can
take its spot
alongside her
French market finds.
Ashley: It's cute.
Johnny: All right. So...
where do you want madame put?
Well, there's a shelf screaming
out there.
Now, what's her name?
Have we got a name for you?
-Hortense.
-Hortense!
She does, actually, sometimes
give me nightmares here.
So, yeah, this could be the lady
that made the jams,
like your
great-great-grandmother
passed down the family recipe.
Ashley: Grandma "Ma" Hortense.
Johnny: That's what we can tell
people when they come.
"Hortense."
Ashley: That's probably her leg
over there. Ha ha!
Johnny: But one thing I do have
a bone of contention with is
this I bought for you
for a Valentine's present.
Number one, my number one girl.
-Ha ha!
Johnny: Please tell me it's for
display.
Ashley: It's just for display,
I promise. I won't sell it.
Dick: Nice save, Ashley.
Johnny: Hey, it could be a bad
omen if you sell it.
-Yes.
-You're gonna lose your donkey.
And who's gonna cart your
furniture around for you?
Ha ha! Oh, OK.
So this is more or less
the last thing, right?
Ashley: That's it!
And we're done.
Dick: Before, the orangery
was a dumping ground,
an unloved outbuilding used
for storing bicycles,
garden machinery, and dust.
Now it's a bright, welcoming
antiques emporium
filled with beautiful vintage
French objects,
each with its own story to tell
and ready to sell to the next
loving owner.
And with plans to protect
the large open windows
with shutters, Ashley's emporium
will be able to welcome guests
all year-round.
Johnny: I feel like I'm in
a good quality
French antique shop.
Ashley: Yeah.
Johnny: And guess what.
Ashley: That's the idea!
Johnny: We own it.
Ha ha! How great is that feel?
Ashley: It's ours!
Dick: Well done, guys.
All you need now is to draw in
the customers
to ensure Ashley doesn't
have to work away
and the chateau can become
the business you need it to be.
Next time...
Philipp and Anna splash out on
insulation.
Anna: It looks like we
overordered, but we'll see.
Ha ha!
Philipp: That explains
the price,
'cause it seemed expensive.
Dick: One couple's search for
their dream chateau.
Man: I'm blown away with just
how impressive it is
from the outside.
Woman: I just want to get
inside. I'm excited now. Ha ha!
Dick: And at Johnny
and Ashley's...
Johnny: It's got to come off.
Ashley: He has 40 huge pieces of
art to bring up here
in the next 2 hours.
Dick: the gallery opening draws
out high emotions.
Johnny: She's stressed. It means
we're up against the clock.
Ashley: I'm not stressed.
I'm annoyed.
[Laughs, then exhales]
and along with my wife Angel...
Angel: Hello!
Dick: and our two children...
we've lived in this magnificent
chateau for the past 5 years.
Angel: Oh, that's lovely.
Dick: It's my little corner
of paradise.
Angel: Ha ha!
Dick, voice-over:
It's not just our home...
Angel: Whoo!
[Laughter]
Dick, voice-over:
but our business.
Dick: That's a proper kiss.
Dick, voice-over: And with over
a thousand chateaux in France...
-Wow.
-Oh, my God.
Absolutely incredible.
Dick, voice-over: we're not
the only Brits
flying into the French
fairy tale.
-Do you like it?
-I mean, yes. It is gorgeous.
Dick, voice-over: We'll follow
more daring owners...
Man: It looks to be a massive
undertaking.
Dick, voice-over:
and familiar faces...
Fiona: Why?
Dick, voice-over: as they
battle to renovate their homes.
Man: That is disgusting.
Dick, voice-over: And we'll
reveal more about
our own chateau life.
Angel: That is lovely.
[Laughter]
Dick, voice-over:
There'll be ups...
Isabelle: Ah! Sweetheart,
this is beautiful!
Dick, voice-over: and downs.
Woman: What are you gonna do?
Man: It's gonna take all day.
Woman: Yeah, but there's
no alternative.
Dick, voice-over: But however
hard the going gets...
Woman: No!
Dick: these plucky Brits...
[Woman shudders]
get to live the dream as
custodians...
Man: God bless France.
Dick, voice-over: of their very
own castle.
Today...
Ashley: Baguette baskets.
I mean, you can't get more
French than this.
Dick: the language barrier
almost
gets one couple into trouble.
Johnny: Merci, madam.
Monsieur. Pardon. Merci.
[Johnny and Ashley laugh]
Anna: OK.
Dick: These fledgling
renovators...
Philipp: Now run, run, run, run.
Dick: start replumbing
their whole chateau
from top to bottom.
Philipp: No leak here.
That's a high five.
Anna: Well done.
[Hammering]
Dick: And at this chateau,
a landscaping project
10 years in the making...
Edward: All these little
circles here are trees.
Anna Holmes: Once it's finished,
it's going to look really nice.
Dick: becomes a reality.
Across France, chateaux
with long and colorful histories
have been bought for Brits,
who are working hard to create
new stories
for future generations.
Take the gorgeous
Chateau de Lomenie.
Built in 1750, this former
winery has 21 rooms
and sits in 15 acres of land.
18 months ago, it was snapped up
for £412,000 by
British artist Johnny
and his American partner,
TV producer Ashley.
Johnny: The chateau is my baby
after Ashley, of course.
Ashley will always be my
number-one babe,
the chateau, a very
close number 2.
Ashley: I think we knew that
this was the place for us.
We saw A--the original features
but B--all of the space,
so we just said, "This is it."
Dick: Located an hour south of
Bordeaux,
the intention is to make
the chateau work for them
as a business.
Future plans include
an art gallery and studio
for Johnny, but for now,
the focus is on creating
an antiques emporium in
the orangery,
where they plan to sell upcycled
brocante bargains.
They have set themselves a goal
of opening for business
in 12 weeks.
So the pressure is on.
Ashley: I had to work a lot less
before we bought the chateau.
Now we bought the chateau,
never here because it has to be
paid for.
I mean, right now the chateau is
a money pit,
and the goal is to have
the chateau make some money
so that I don't have
to always be gone.
Dick: Hoping to keep Ashley's
feet firmly in France,
Johnny has a plan: to use his
artistic skills
to win over future customers.
Johnny: We always thought it'd
be lovely to have some images
painted straight onto the walls
in the antique area.
Then Ashley's business
had kicked in,
as it always does,
and she's like,
"Why don't you do it on MDF
panels, mount them on the wall,
and it'll be something else
for sale?"
So, yeah, I've done that with
a marker.
So I'm gonna take my jigsaw
and just cut out.
Dick: Johnny's going all out to
create a 1-1/2-meter sign.
Johnny:
It's starting to come alive.
Dick: When cutting MDF,
the dust is particularly fine.
You should wear a dust mask.
Johnny: Baby, you might have
to go inside, darling.
Don't want anything dropping
on your head.
[Groans]
Don't do hard hats
for dachshunds, do they?
[Kiss]
Uh! Cut the wrong piece out.
Only kidding.
Can you imagine? Ha ha.
Oh, I've nearly done that
before.
I find this little stool has
been a lifesaver many times
when I've been on my own.
Love it. Simple things like that
make a big difference.
Dick: The banners
begin to take shape.
So it's time for Ashley to
take a look.
Ashley: That looks like a very
complex thing to cut.
I would never be able
to do that.
Johnny: This is its
weakest point here.
It'd be awful if it snaps
on the very last leg.
Ashley: Ah, that'd be terrible,
wouldn't it?
I love it, by the way.
It looks amazing.
-Do you love it?
-I really love it. Yeah.
-It's nice, right?
-Yeah.
Johnny:
I'll give it a little dust off.
[Sound of camera shutter
clicking]
Johnny: Oh, my gosh.
[Sneezing]
Dick: Bless you. A dust mask
would have put
a stop to that, Johnny.
Ashley: If I saw that in
a brocante,
it would be sold in 2 seconds.
Dick: I look forward to seeing
it finished.
With a huge, empty orangery
still to fill with antiques,
there's plenty to do before
Ashley's emporium
will open its doors for
business.
Over 300 miles north is
the handsome Chateau Gonneville.
With 16 rooms and 15 acres of
lush French countryside,
it was bought for £900,000 by
fashion designer Anna
and her filmmaker husband
Philipp, who now live here
with daughters Lily and Ella.
Anna: I remember just driving in
through the driveway
and just thinking,
"Wow. This is amazing."
And I fell in love with it.
Because we just knew this was
the one.
Dick: Located in Normandy,
in northern France,
Ana and Philipp got the keys
a couple of months ago.
Ana: OK, there's a lot to do.
Ha ha!
Dick: Having spent their
life savings on the house,
the plan is to create a family
apartment in the attic
and open the chateau
as a stylish B and B.
The couple have taken out a loan
on the promise of opening
as a B and B in the next
8 months.
To keep costs to a minimum,
Philipp is taking on
the majority of the renovations
himself.
Philipp: We didn't get enough
money from the bank
to have it done by
professionals, so I decided
to take a year off and dedicate
that year to do
as much as I can myself.
Dick: Today, Philipp
is cracking on
and starting work
on the chateau's waterworks.
They plan to replumb the whole
chateau and upgrade
from two toilets
to 10 bathrooms.
It's a big job, so he's drafted
in some extra help.
Man: Hello.
Philipp: How are you doing?
What a car!
Anna, the kids are out here.
Lily: Cannot sit anywhere.
Anna: Look. There's a seat
there, next to Grandad.
Lily: Oh.
Dick: Anna's dad John is here
to give a helping hand,
along with family friend
and owner of a water treatment
company Jolyon,
who they hope will bring his
expertise to help them out.
And after an al fresco
breakfast,
it's time to get to work.
They want to get their own well
up and running
to provide water for
the chateau.
It's a great idea and could save
them up to 3,000 euros a year,
which is about £2,600.
Philipp: And here it is.
John: Right.
Philipp: Careful. Now--
We had a dream when we bought
our property that this well
would provide us with
a reasonable amount of water
to make a substantial saving in
our water bill.
I'm quite confident that in some
way that this well
will help us.
John: Should we get some of
this crap out?
Philipp: I think we should.
Yeah. OK...
Jolyon: Shall we drop this
down?
Philipp: Yeah.
Dick: The first job is
to find out how much water
the well actually holds by
calculating the depth.
Jolyon: You do that.
41 meters to the water level.
Philipp: 41 meters to
the water level. Is that good?
Jolyon: Let's see if we can find
the bottom.
47 to the bottom.
If the water level's at 41,
that's 6 meters of water.
Dick: If they want to use
well water to flush
their 10 new toilets, they need
to find out
how quickly the water returns to
the 6-meter level
after some of it has been
pumped out.
Philipp: Do we need to pull
that out...
Lily: Grand, what's that?
John: Ah, we're gonna run
the water out of there
because it's coming in up there
and then down here.
There's a pipe that goes right
down to the bottom of the well.
Anna: Lily, look!
John: Oh, my gosh.
Philipp: Look, Lily.
Jolyon: Just time how long it
takes to fill a bucket.
John: Ready? Steady? Go.
Anna: OK.
John: About 10 seconds
to fill 12 liters.
Jolyon: Good. That's very good.
Yeah.
Anna: Oh, great.
Dick: While the pump's making
short work of getting
the water out, now they need to
check if the well can provide
enough water for the chateau.
Jolyon: When we've been pumping
for, say, 10 minutes,
we'll leave it and see
how quickly the level comes
back up again,
which is the all-important
thing,
to see how quickly it's
recovering.
Dick: Fingers crossed, it's the
big money saver they're after.
Dick: The magnificent
15th-century Chateau Lagorce
lies on 71 acres of woodland,
has its own chapel,
private lake, and swimming pool.
With 22 bedrooms,
it's home to Edward,
his Kosovan wife Anna,
4-year-old son Charles,
and recent arrival baby Emma.
Anna: Chateau life has changed
a lot lately
with the arrival of baby Emma,
and also Charles needs
more attention, so he eats at
100 miles per hour now.
It was busy,
but now it's hectic.
Dick: Located a half-hour's
drive southeast of Bordeaux,
Edward's parents bought
the chateau 16 years ago.
And now Anna and Edward run it
as a wedding venue.
They hosted two weddings a week
over the summer season,
and perfectionist wedding
planner Anna worked right up
to the minute she went into
labor.
Edward: OK, I'll grab my keys,
grab my wallet, and we'll go.
Now, two months later,
with the wedding season over,
Edward has plans
for the chateau's future.
Edward: My first project is
going to be a formal garden
on the third terrace.
Really, it's a palatial chateau,
so it should have
a formal garden.
I mean, how many years have I
been talking about doing it?
10 years, something like that?
And I said, this year,
I'm doing it. That's it.
Dick: The terrace is the perfect
spot for wedding photos,
so Edward wants it
to look pretty as a picture.
Edward: So this is the wall that
we're looking over,
fountain looking back at us.
And in all these little circles
here are trees.
Anna: I didn't know what to
expect,
but once it's finished,
it's going to look really nice.
[Baby fussing]
Edward: You get little girl
her milk.
I'm going to get on with it, OK?
Dick: Developed from Italian
Renaissance gardens,
this formal style arrived
in France in the 15th century.
For the design to work, geometry
and symmetry are key.
[Conversation in French]
Dick: But it's going to be
a little bit tricky
as the terrace is not
symmetrical.
[Man inhaling and exhaling]
Edward: It looks square with
the wall.
From here, it looks like it's
the center, so that's fine.
Dick: It's important that
Edward and chateau worker Cyril
measure carefully to ensure
the walkways will be at
right angles to each other.
[Conversation in French]
Edward: 13.62 divided by 2
divided by pi,
which is 3.14159.
That'll do, I think.
Dick: Luckily, Edward has a
degree in maths under his belt.
So this is right up
his garden path.
Edward: It's probably not
that important to be so precise
and exact.
I'm just a bit of a maniac when
it comes to things like this.
When people come to look over,
that needs to be straight.
And it's perfectly straight.
I'm happy. So we're
gonna spray up,
and then I'll call Anna across.
Dick: Speaking as an engineer
with a shared love of maths,
Edward, I'm loving your work.
Edward: If she doesn't like it,
I'm gonna be in a bit of a mess.
Dick: Let's hope it gets
Anna's seal of approval.
Just an hour southeast,
at Chateau de Lomenie,
Johnny and Ashley are planning
to open an antiques emporium
in their orangery.
Johnny: There's some glassware,
babe.
Ashley: Yeah, I'll take a look.
Dick: Today they're visiting
a nearby vide-grenier--
it's like a car boot--
to buy stock for the shop.
[Johnny asking question in
French]
[Woman speaking French]
Johnny: Merci, madame.
Dick: They need to buy bargains
that they can sell for more
so their business will be
a success.
And judging by Johnny's hat,
they've already started buying.
Ashley: The whole idea today is
really to try to find
the best price possible, because
if you're gonna sell on,
you know, you have to make
a profit, right?
Ashley: What is this?
Johnny: Oh, pretty.
Ashley: Oh, I like these.
"History of France."
And we're looking for
a little bit of everything.
We're looking for books, frames,
demijohn bottles.
You know, new treasures.
Johnny: Bonjour.
Johnny: How about this tatty
one, too?
Ashley: Yeah?
Johnny: This is lovely.
Look at the size of this.
Ashley: I love all this.
Oh, yeah. We have a rule that we
always have to buy a book...
-Yeah.
-anytime we go to a market.
Even if it's just one book.
Johnny: OK, merci.
Voila. Merci, madam.
Monsieur. Pardon. Merci.
[Johnny and Ashley laugh]
Dick: Well-recovered, Johnny.
Just as well. You'd already
closed the deal.
[Conversation in French]
Johnny: C'est possible for this,
monsieur, si vous plait?
-Yes.
-It is? OK, d'accord. Ha ha!
[Ashley speaking French]
Johnny: Shall we shake on it?
Ha ha!
Ashley: Baguette baskets.
I mean, you can't get more
French than this.
[Man speaking French]
[Laughter]
Ashley: Oh, this is right up
your alley.
Johnny: Oh, a nice leg.
Ashley: It's unusual.
Johnny: Uh-huh. I kind of have
a thing for mannequins.
Ashley: Maybe a little bit
too much information.
Dick: Each to their own.
Ashley: You know,
sometimes you go,
and everything's really
expensive,
or there's nothing you want.
This has been a great
combination
of finding stuff that I really
love for next to nothing.
So a very successful day.
Dick: Who doesn't love
a bargain?
You've got some stock. Now you
need to get started on the shop.
Over 300 miles north,
at Chateau Gonneville,
it's time to find out if
Philipp and Anna's plan
for the well to provide water
for the chateau is
going to work.
Jolyon: We've pumped about
150 millimeters of water
out of the well.
So we'll see what the depth is
now after that recovery time.
Philipp: And we hope it has
fully recovered.
Dick: If it refills
quickly enough,
they will be able to use
the water
to flush their 10 new toilets.
-It's done?
-Oh, there we go.
Jolyon: So in 3 hours,
it's recovered
about 75 millimeters.
It's slow.
Philipp: It's slow. OK.
Jolyon: It's a slow recovery.
I mean, you know, yes, there's
water there,
but it's not viable for the
house, but it would supplement
the rainwater and may be useful
for the garden.
Philipp: OK. But it's not enough
to go into the house.
-Not enough water.
-Not enough water there. OK.
So it's not perfect use, but--
but it's still, you know,
it's still worth doing it...
Jolyon: It's a useful
water supply.
Philipp: pumping it into
the water storage tank.
Dick: Unfortunately,
it's not the big money saver
they were after, but at least by
pumping the water out
and storing it, they'll be able
to use it on the garden
and still make a small dent in
their water bill.
Philipp: Maybe not
what we hoped for,
but, also,
it could've been worse.
Dick: Excellent attitude,
Philipp.
When restoring a chateau, it's
always best to look
on the bright side.
-Thank you, guys.
-Thank you so much.
Woman: We'll pop in to stay
some night, love.
-Thank you.
-Bye. Thank you so much.
John: See you there.
Jolyon: Bye.
Dick: Knowing the well won't be
the complete answer
to his water requirements,
Philipp must now move on
to the next part of the project.
He has decided to fit
the waste pipes
for the plumbing himself.
They should be able to save some
money, but it's no easy task.
Philipp: It's a big saving,
and I want to do it myself.
I have to do it myself.
Dick: To do this, he plans to
dig a 7-meter-long trench
under the tiled hallway
so waste pipes from the house
can be connected
to the septic tank outside.
[Saw cutting]
Philipp: To be honest, I have
no idea what's underneath it.
I think it's probably soil,
because we're
on the ground floor here.
It might be a concrete slab.
That would be the worst-case
scenario, because then I
would have to go
break through that,
and that's heavy machinery.
I think I need another tool.
OK, that's doing absolutely
nothing.
It's really, really hard,
the soil.
That's not good news.
Absolutely nothing.
But I know this has to go.
That doesn't look nice.
Dick: Not surprisingly,
he's hit concrete.
Philipp: Who knows how deep
this layer is?
This is a really big job.
When we bought the chateau,
I didn't expect
to spend so much time
on my knees.
Dick: Philipp, get yourself
a decent set of kneepads.
It's where you'll be spending
a lot of your time.
With no idea how thick
the concrete is,
he just needs to battle on.
As a plumber is coming in
10 days' time to start work
on the chateau's water pipes,
the pressure's on.
Philipp: Soil underneath.
That's good news because it
means that once I've taken off
that, I can start digging.
Oh, look at this. Good one.
Ha ha. That's success.
It's interesting, a seashell.
The reason for that, certainly,
being when they build a house,
the cheapest source of sand was
just to go and get a bit
of sea sand.
Somebody came in with this sand
from the beach
and filled it up 200, 300 years
ago for a wealthy customer,
who wanted a nice hunting
chateau for his weekends.
Dick: Now that the trench
is fully exposed,
Philipp can crack on
with digging a hole
for the sewage pipes.
You've got your work cut out
for you.
There's just 10 days to get
the job done
in time for the plumber to
start work.
In southwest France,
near Bordeaux,
Edward's design for the new
formal garden is complete.
Edward: Come have a look.
See what you think.
Dick: It's time to see if
chief wedding planner Anna
thinks it'll be picture-perfect.
Anna: Yeah. I mean, that's--
I can imagine, like,
for a photo, like, the bride
with her dress--
that's perfect.
That is a good size.
Edward: What about the paths
round the fountain?
Are they wide enough?
Anna: Maybe that one bigger.
Edward: OK.
What, like, 20-someting meters?
30-something meters? 40?
Anna: 40.
Edward: 40 bigger?
-Yeah.
-And then we're good to go.
Anna: I hope so.
Dick: Me, too.
To increase the width of
the path to accommodate
the bride's dress, all that's
needed is a bigger stick.
And now for the fun bit.
With a terrace just
over 4 times the size
of an average British garden,
this is a decent sized job.
The first thing to do is
remove the top layer of turf
to make way for the base
of the path.
Edward: Just leveling
things off.
Maybe 1 1/2 hours, 2 hours,
all 4 done.
Dick: But digging the paths
isn't the only challenge
for Edward and Cyril.
30 tons of gravel have been
delivered to the chateau,
to the wrong place.
Edward: This isn't where it was
gonna be,
because this is completely the
opposite side of the chateau.
Dick: As the delivery driver
decided he couldn't get further
than the driveway, Edward and
Cyril will have to take loads
down to the garden
over 200 meters away.
Edward: I don't even want to
calculate how many loads
it's going to be, but it's
going to be a lot.
Dick: They'll be laying
the gravel onto a membrane
which will stop weeds coming
through.
With all the gravel down,
the next step is to flatten it
with a compactor to create
a solid surface to the path.
Edward: Try giving this path
a bit of a whack
if the dogs will get off it.
Dick: Well done, guys.
It's coming together, and I look
forward to seeing it
all finished.
Around 30 miles southeast after
a successful shopping trip,
Johnny is making progress
on his sign
for Ashley's antiques emporium.
Johnny: I love artwork done
straight onto walls,
particularly on old buildings.
And as you drive through
the villages in France,
you see the old sign writing
on a mechanic's or a patisserie.
and it's always chippy
and faded.
Hopefully, you know,
it's amazing how
a little bit of white paint,
how it just brings
the thing alive.
Dick: By using paint effects,
he's trying to create
a shabby chic vintage look.
Johnny: I'll just go ahead and
add a little bit of
water to that and then oil.
It's great being at
that point now
where we are creating art for
the sole purpose
of being able to sell it on.
Dick: Spending time at
the chateau
and exploring life here has
given Ashley an idea.
She wants to sell something
special
in the antiques emporium,
her own homemade jam.
Ashley: We have an orchard,
and we have plums, figs,
apricots, almonds, apples,
pears. You name it.
We have so much fruit, so it's
nice to make preserves from it.
This one, I'm doing plums with
rosemary.
I might add a little vanilla
as well.
Dick: The overall plan
is to create
an immersive shopping
experience, where visitors
can enjoy refreshments and art
as they browse.
Ashley: I once, years ago, went
to a similar concept
in San Francisco where it was
an antiques shop, but it was
also a cafe.
And every single thing from
the spoon that you use
to stir the coffee
to the coffee cups
and table you're sitting at,
everything's for sale.
And I always just loved
that idea.
Ashley: How many to expand...
I'm gonna add some almonds
as well.
It feels really good to be
so close to opening up.
You know, and to be able to
sell antiques, oh, it's just
such a passion of mine.
I do have a bit of
an antiques addiction.
[Chuckles]
-Hey, Ashley, special delivery.
I think these are your jam jars.
Ashley: Ah, just in time.
In time.
Johnny: But before you open it,
it's not sounding very good.
-Oh, you're kidding me.
-The sound of glass.
Ashley: Oh, yeah, look at that.
Johnny: Well, one or two is all
right, isn't it? Well.
-Well, one's broken.
-OK. Oh, well, that's not bad.
[Ashley chuckles]
Johnny: So one jam jar
down out of 12, eh?
That's not bad going, is it?
Could be worse.
Dick: Keep going, guys.
The deadline for opening your
multifaceted shop is
fast approaching.
-OK?
-Yup.
-Should we go sideways?
-Nah.
Johnny: Please. Ha ha!
Dick: It's good to see more
things going into the emporium.
-If you need to rest, babe.
-Ha ha!
Dick: Johnny may be the artist,
but today Ashley's in charge
of the visuals.
Johnny: Watch out for
the sausage.
So where should we put this now?
Ashley: Let's just put it here
for now.
-Yeah?
-And then what I want to do is--
I want to separate these
and put that in the middle.
So I tend to make Johnny move
furniture,
and then I decide I don't like
it where it is,
and then he has to move it
back in.
See what it looks like.
OK, ready?
-Yeah.
-Oh, yeah, it is.
-Just keep--
-Just the back end.
-Yeah, this is about the center.
-Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
-Yeah.
Ashley: It's really important,
for me anyway, ha ha,
to get it exactly center.
Yeah, I want them touching it.
-Touching.
-Touching.
This one's leaning.
It just needs to come up this
way just a tiny bit.
Uh, that's better.
Can we now move this table
next to that?
Johnny: I love these tables.
Ashley: Definitely not that
configuration. I'm so sorry.
Let's move the armoires out
to the side.
Johnny: A little bit more.
Ashley: My face is squished up.
Down, down. Uh!
Johnny: OK, then?
Are these getting heavier
and heavier, or is it just me?
Ashley: Yeah, they are.
Johnny:
I forgot how beautiful it is.
Dick: With the furniture finally
in place and Ashley happy,
it's time for Johnny's
piece de resistance.
Johnny: The idea is that
it follows
the sequence of the banner.
The dream is that we both are
resident here all year-round
and working, and by working, I
mean selling wonderful things
like art and antiques, which is
not really work, is it,
when you're doing something that
you're passionate about
and that you both enjoy
and love.
Drum roll, please.
So voila. There she goes.
All done.
Ashley: I think it should go
right here
smack in the middle.
It's the first thing you see.
-It's OK?
-Look at that.
-All right?
-Perfection.
Dick: The new sign has received
Ashley's seal of approval.
Time now to get the emporium
fitted out
and open for business.
Over 300 miles away in Normandy,
restoration novice Philipp
has managed to lay the waste
pipes for the sewage system
under the entrance hall.
Now he faces the task of taking
the pipes up into the bathroom
he's creating directly above.
Philipp: All that's left to do
is to connect this
to the holes that I'm going to
make in that ceiling.
The plumber will use it
for hot water, for heating.
Because these buildings never
were meant
to have any kind of plumbing
installed, you need to find ways
to get all these pipes through
without destroying
the look of it.
Dick: To hide the pipes,
Philipp intends to install them
in the walls and under
the floorboards
as close to the wall as he can.
Philipp: And I will go
completely as far as possible
in to keep the pipe work as
close as possible to the wall.
Here it is. It's this way.
Look, look how it, uh...
Well, I think it's not bad.
I'm pleased.
I think it's a good start.
Dick: Philipp now decides to
make a hole
through to the hallway below so
he can connect it all together.
Philipp: I am rather convinced
that this is the exact area
where I want to break through.
[Pounding]
I'd say that's all right.
Now I'm going to open that up
even further,
and then we'll put in place
the pipes.
But there will be a lot
of pipes here.
We will box it in, and it will
just look like as if
the wall was a bit thicker.
Yeah. One thing done.
Dick: A couple of weeks later,
Philipp's pipe dreams
are becoming a reality.
-Here it is.
-The beautiful toilet.
Philipp: Uh, you have to turn it
around.
Anna: Yup.
Dick: Now to connect the first
of the 10 new toilets to see
if the plumbing works.
-Ooh.
-Oh!
Anna: If it's not on straight,
then we might have a leak.
Ha ha! And you don't want a leak
from a toilet.
Philipp: I've never put on
one of these, to be honest.
Anna: So you don't know what
you're doing.
Philipp: I don't know what I'm
doing, but I think it looks--
it looks all right to me.
Dick:
With the waste pipe attached,
it's time to see if the water
flushes away.
Anna: It would just be--it'll be
super annoying if it leaked
because it would just mean that
we've wasted our time
and probably we can't do it
ourselves,
so it would mean getting
a plumber in to do it.
And it would cost us a lot of
money.
OK. Am I gonna put it in here?
-Yeah. For a little bit
and see if the toilet leaks.
-OK, OK.
Philipp: Pour it.
So OK.
That looks like a reasonable
amount of flushing.
Dick: So after checking
for leaks...
[Flushing]
Philipp: Now run, run, run, run.
Dick:
it's time to check if there are
no surprises
popping up elsewhere.
-OK.
-The pipe's all nice. OK.
No leak here. I can't see
any leak there.
Anna: I think that was
a success.
Philipp: I think so. Well, we
have to check upstairs, though.
Anna: OK.
That pipe.
That's good.
-It's good.
-I think that's, uh...
-It's a high five...
-Well done.
-for our first flush in
our new home.
-So you see, you're pretty good
at plumbing.
Dick: I don't think the bathroom
is quite finished,
but you are one step closer
to making the building
function as a home.
Anna: Philipp is always
surprising me
with his talents and his DIY
skills
and saving us money.
And, yeah, I'm proud of you.
-Yeah.
Dick: Just a bit more
plumbing to go.
In the countryside near
Bordeaux, Anna and Edward's
formal garden is beginning
to take shape.
With all the paths now laid,
today Edward's challenge is
to plant 20 pyramid trees
in perfect alignment.
Edward: So distances
we're doing,
60-centimeter distance.
So if the tree grows to, say,
an 80-centimeter diameter,
it's gonna have a 40-centimeter
radius,
which leaves us 20 centimeters
between the edge of the bottom
of the tree and the path,
which should still look good.
Dick: I so love listening
to sums.
Edward: Go on, now, boys.
Every stage of this renovation,
the dogs have been making it
harder for us, but the worst was
when they started digging up
the path,
and we were just like, "Are we
gonna keep coming down here
"in the middle of summer
having to rake out a path
that the dogs have dug up?"
But once the paths got a bit
harder, they
stopped digging it up, so...
You know, it's been years
wanting to make this
into a formal garden, so to
actually see it finally
all coming together is just
brilliant.
And especially on my birthday,
so it's a good little
birthday treat.
Dick: Happy birthday, Edward.
And what better way
to celebrate than by adding
the finishing touches to
your long-awaited garden?
However, with 5 trees planted,
Edward soon spots a problem.
Edward: Just looking at how it's
all lining up,
and I don't like where
that middle one is there
that Cyril put in, of course.
It's not mine that's wrong.
Dick: Of course not, Edward.
Dick: Better get
that tape measure out again.
Edward: It'll look too messy
if you come down here
and they weren't lined up.
Dick: With all the trees in,
the best place to view
their handiwork is from above.
Edward: Yeah, it looks like
I wanted it to look.
I just love it all.
I think the paths look good.
I think the trees
look good.
Our baby French garden.
It's gonna grow into
a beautiful garden.
[Heavy sigh]
Dick: Don't even think about it.
Now that the garden is finished,
it's time for Anna's verdict.
Edward: So what do
you think, then?
Anna: I was a bit scared
and skeptical,
but the end result is really
beautiful.
It's going to be an even nicer
spot now for ceremonies.
No, it's really nice.
Proud of you.
This rectangle of grass has been
transformed
with its symmetrical paths
and manicured trees
into something the Renaissance
Italians would be proud of--
a garden that will grow
and develop as the years pass.
Not only does it look fantastic,
but it's a great addition
to the wedding business.
Edward: When people come to
look round, you know,
they expect certain things
from a chateau.
They expect a turret.
They probably expect
formal gardens.
Well, now we have formal gardens
as well.
So it's another tick on
the list, really.
Dick: It's been a good year
at Chateau Lagorce.
Edward and Anna hosted
32 weddings...
and welcomed a new arrival.
Anna: So Emma is doing
really well.
She's had her meal now.
So she's currently snoozing.
-She's growing day by day,
isn't she?
-Yes.
-Well, I'll miss a few days
here and there, but at least I
get to see her growing up.
Yeah, it's great!
Dick: And their chateau
improvements will roll on
into next year.
Anna: One of the key things is
the gates...
-Yeah.
-then the pool shed.
Edward: We need to have a chat
about things
and make sure that I've got
the time and the energy and...
-The money, too.
-the money. Yeah.
Because it--we don't want to do
things by halves
down at the pool.
If we want to redo
the pool shed,
it's gonna be in stone, so,
you know, it's fairly expensive.
If we want to do the gates,
it has to be in keeping
with the chateau.
It has to be kind of palatial.
Dick: But for now, top of their
to-do list is
spending time together as
a family.
Edward: We're not committing to
any particular jobs
we're going to do over
the winter
because I think this winter,
family has to come first,
doesn't it, for a start?
Dick: Enjoy your family time,
Edward and Anna.
After the busy year you've had,
you certainly deserve it.
Johnny: Not by the arms, sweet.
Under here like that.
Dick: An hour southeast,
Johnny and Ashley
continue with preparations for
the launch
of their antiques emporium.
Ashley: This is the fun part.
Johnny: I'm certainly going to
be, um, working hard
for the lady.
Ashley: I'm going to say, "Move
this here. Move that there..."
Johnny: Everything's going to
get moved a thousand times.
Ashley: Ha ha!
Johnny: So where's this
one going, darling?
Ashley: I want to create
a little vignette.
Johnny: Yup.
Ashley: So let's...
just turn it around this way.
Johnny: Let's.
Ashley: Yeah, something
like that.
Dick: Today's the day they want
to finish the project
and be open for business.
With Ashley hoping to work
away less, she's determined
to make it a success.
Johnny: Just hold it.
Ashley: Oh, spider's in there.
Johnny: It's all right.
Spiders are long gone. Trust me.
Is this little table going out?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
We're just scratching
the surface at the moment.
Ashley: The interesting thing is
that we have been collecting
stuff for a shop for years.
Johnny: Yeah.
Ashley: And so it's really fun
to see it all come together.
Johnny: Should be standing up.
So no one will trip on it.
Ashley: Oh, yeah. Ha ha!
The leg.
-OK?
-Yeah.
-Ohh.
-All right.
Dick: After years of collecting
antiques
and upcycling pieces of
furniture,
today is an important day.
Johnny: So you really do forget
what we've collected.
It's nice. It's given me
a visual idea
of what Ashley's going to do
with the space.
Ashley: Every antiques shop
needs a French flag or 3.
Johnny: We have to get it right
'cause it's gonna be
representing what we do at
the chateau, but also,
it's important that things
are finished
so the doors can be thrown
open, so we can start selling.
I love the chair up
on the table. That's cute.
Am I allowed just
to center that?
Ashley: Yes, you may.
[Laughter]
Johnny: Beautiful. So sweet.
Ohh, really. I love it, darling.
Done a great job.
Ashley: I think Abernathy likes
it, too.
Johnny: Where is he?
Hee hee! He's like a part of
the furniture now, isn't he?
Ashley: I know!
Dick: With their antiques
emporium now fully stocked,
Ashley's prized homemade jam can
take its spot
alongside her
French market finds.
Ashley: It's cute.
Johnny: All right. So...
where do you want madame put?
Well, there's a shelf screaming
out there.
Now, what's her name?
Have we got a name for you?
-Hortense.
-Hortense!
She does, actually, sometimes
give me nightmares here.
So, yeah, this could be the lady
that made the jams,
like your
great-great-grandmother
passed down the family recipe.
Ashley: Grandma "Ma" Hortense.
Johnny: That's what we can tell
people when they come.
"Hortense."
Ashley: That's probably her leg
over there. Ha ha!
Johnny: But one thing I do have
a bone of contention with is
this I bought for you
for a Valentine's present.
Number one, my number one girl.
-Ha ha!
Johnny: Please tell me it's for
display.
Ashley: It's just for display,
I promise. I won't sell it.
Dick: Nice save, Ashley.
Johnny: Hey, it could be a bad
omen if you sell it.
-Yes.
-You're gonna lose your donkey.
And who's gonna cart your
furniture around for you?
Ha ha! Oh, OK.
So this is more or less
the last thing, right?
Ashley: That's it!
And we're done.
Dick: Before, the orangery
was a dumping ground,
an unloved outbuilding used
for storing bicycles,
garden machinery, and dust.
Now it's a bright, welcoming
antiques emporium
filled with beautiful vintage
French objects,
each with its own story to tell
and ready to sell to the next
loving owner.
And with plans to protect
the large open windows
with shutters, Ashley's emporium
will be able to welcome guests
all year-round.
Johnny: I feel like I'm in
a good quality
French antique shop.
Ashley: Yeah.
Johnny: And guess what.
Ashley: That's the idea!
Johnny: We own it.
Ha ha! How great is that feel?
Ashley: It's ours!
Dick: Well done, guys.
All you need now is to draw in
the customers
to ensure Ashley doesn't
have to work away
and the chateau can become
the business you need it to be.
Next time...
Philipp and Anna splash out on
insulation.
Anna: It looks like we
overordered, but we'll see.
Ha ha!
Philipp: That explains
the price,
'cause it seemed expensive.
Dick: One couple's search for
their dream chateau.
Man: I'm blown away with just
how impressive it is
from the outside.
Woman: I just want to get
inside. I'm excited now. Ha ha!
Dick: And at Johnny
and Ashley's...
Johnny: It's got to come off.
Ashley: He has 40 huge pieces of
art to bring up here
in the next 2 hours.
Dick: the gallery opening draws
out high emotions.
Johnny: She's stressed. It means
we're up against the clock.
Ashley: I'm not stressed.
I'm annoyed.
[Laughs, then exhales]