Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 6, Episode 5 - Episode #6.5 - full transcript
Across France,
there are thousands
of beautiful chateaux.
Many forgotten and abandoned.
Look at this.
Now they're being brought back
to life by adventurous Brits.
-Can it get easier
after this, can't it?
-[laughing]
They're taking on
the challenge.
Yoohoo. It's always fun.
To transform these ones
unloved buildings...
It's amazing. Yeah, it is.
...into incredible homes.
The feel of the room is lovely.
And businesses.
[applause]
There'll be triumphs...
Aww well done.
And setbacks.
Don't break the door.
I know, I know.
But however hard
the going gets...
-You got it?
-Yeah.
-All that worry.
-Panic over.
...those who've made the move,
get to live the dream
as custodians
of their very own castle.
Today, we meet some new faces.
Tackling an enormous project.
I hate this, you know,
I hate this.
One owner is put through her
paces in Chateau maintenance.
-Where are you going?
-I was going to try --
And that this Chateau, there's
a challenging situation.
This side has got delicate
things that can break.
In the push to finish
a huge renovation.
Go around me, go around me.
That's it. Got it.
Yeah, I've got it,
I've got it, I've got it.
Nestled deep in
the heart of France,
sits the Magnificent 19th
century Chateau Joli Bois.
Set in 17 acres of parkland.
It boasts 15 bedrooms
and three outbuildings.
It was bought three years
ago for 308,000 pounds
by American born Vanessa,
who works in
financial services,
and her barrister husband Ben,
along with their
nine year old son Max.
This was the first place we
saw. And it was unmatchable.
It was un coup de coeur
as they say they in French.
[laughing]
Effectively grabbed
us by the heart
and we knew that this was,
this was a place for us.
Due to work commitments,
the couple have been
splitting their time
between their home in London
and their Chateau,
but are desperate
to swap their city life
for country life permanently.
The dream is to be able
to leave the rat race behind
and come and live and work
here that's the goal.
Located in Limousin,
an area famed worldwide
for its prime beef cattle,
the couple have spent
the past few years renovating
the outbuildings
into their private
accommodation,
leaving no time or money to
work on the Chateau itself.
The Chateau when we
bought it three years ago
was nearly the
state it's in today
-[laughing]
-which is state of disrepair.
We've done a lot of work
converting the building
opposite,
so that we have our own base.
The view was to get
a place set up
so that we would
enjoy being here.
Six months ago, Ben
and Vanessa finally started
to work inside the Chateau,
starting with a room that
originally stole their hearts.
What I love about the ballroom
is the possibility of
what it's going to be.
We get to do this once.
This is a big deal.
We have to get it right.
To help them bring the ballroom
back to its former glory,
they have enlisted Peter,
a professional
decorative artist.
So, far, he has completed
a stunning ceiling fresco
in keeping with
a 19th century ballroom
with an added personal touch.
It's basically got a cloud
scene with individual figures
and painted around the edge,
with a Lady Justice
in the middle, and our
son as a little cherub.
The two figures on horses
that's my son Jake
and my daughter, Elsa.
Jake and Elsa live with
their in mom in St Albans
and they've been out here I
think every summer since we --
since we got the place.
I think they like
that pictures being up there.
Although they're teenagers now
so they don't let you know 100%
what they're thinking.
The fresco may be finished
but there is still plenty
of work to be done
to complete
the ballroom ceiling.
Today, I've got to start
preparing the band of moldings
around the central painting for
the next phase of decoration,
scrubbing it all down with
sugar. So, getting rid of all
the flaky paint and the old tar
and spiders and cobwebs.
Ben and Vanessa, hope to finish
painting the central molding
before friends arrive in
a week's time to see how
the ballroom is progressing.
It's just very hot up here,
it is much hotter up here
than it is down on the ground.
-How's it going?
-Not bad.
-Do you fancy coming up?
-It's like 25 feet, right?
-Yeah.
-[laughing]
And with Vanessa not
a fan of heights,
Ben has to tackle
the plaster work alone.
I've got to move
the scaffold now already.
You can't reach out too fast
so you're limited to doing
this much at a time.
-Has anything fallen off?
-Nothing serious.
No, that's not funny.
No plasters fallen off
if that's what you mean.
-Okay.
-The plaster is quite solid.
Because it's really quite
rough what you're doing.
I'm being very careful.
-I... [laughs]
-That's the paint,
it's just paint flaking.
-So, what do you think, you're
going to finish it tonight?
-It's taking a lot longer.
Every single thing we do
takes a lot longer. [laughing]
Than you think
it's supposed to.
It's going to take me longer
than I thought to finish it,
but I still should
still be able to start
priming it tomorrow.
Yeah, it is slightly boring,
hot, tiring work,
but it has to be done.
At least it's a start.
One step closer
to restoring this impressive
ballroom ceiling.
In north west France sits
the stunning 19th century
Chateau La Perrière.
With 20 rooms
and 10 acres of land,
it has been lovingly renovated
into a luxury holiday retreat
by interior designer
Karen and husband Paul,
who runs a workplace
design company,
along with help from their
children Katie and Tom.
We dream big,
and our dreams never stop
and therefore I don't
think the renovations here
will ever stop because there'll
always be more today, always.
Perched on a hilltop
in the Loire Valley,
last time we met them,
Karen and Paul with help
from son Tom renovated
a stable block...
Oh, that is disgusting.
...into a space for
parties and weddings.
We did it, cheers,
cheers everybody for coming.
Cheers, cheers.
This year there's
a big change afoot.
The couple they employ
to look after the Chateau
while the family are working
in the UK are moving on.
So, Karen has to take
the reins as caretaker.
I've got to learn how to
maintain the Chateau on my own
because there isn't
going to be help.
Who's going to get to do it?
I guess there's a lots
of anxiety I have
about whether I will be
able to meet the standard
that our guardians have
already set over the years.
I have hopes for you,
I reckon you will.
-Do you?
-Yeah.
Luckily for Karen,
her 16 year old son Tom
is the dab hand when
it comes to Chateau upkeep.
And with Paul busy
working back in England,
it's the perfect opportunity
for Tom to give his mum
a crash course
in Chateau maintenance.
-I'm going to be a really
good student.
-Open minded.
-Open minded, good listener.
-Hopefully.
With Tom heading off
to college soon,
it's time Karen faced
up to the challenge
of running the Chateau
plus its 10 acre estate
and having never operated
any of the outdoor
machinery before...
Ready to learn how
to use a tractor?
The first thing she
needs to get to grips
with is the garden transport.
You're going to be reversing
the tractor backwards through
those two marks there.
-You're joking.
-That's not even big
enough for the trailer.
-Enough space.
-I'm going to need
much wider berth than that.
What happened to being
open minded Karen?
Where are you going?
-I'm going to--
-Target's that way.
No other way, other way.
There you go keep it going.
That's cheating.
Unfortunately for you
if that was a cement wall,
-you wouldn't be able
to just move it.
-[laughing]
Tractors sort of mastered,
it's straight to work on
the big gardening project.
They need to cut back a wooded
area behind the Chateau.
When the family bought
the place 15 years ago,
they painstakingly declared
a viewing point from this area
to gaze over their new home.
So, from here you see
the Chateau, and now...
-You can't.
-You can't see anything.
Karen's desperate
to reclaim her view,
but before
they tackle the trees.
1, 2 and pull.
It's a perfect opportunity
to learn another new skill:
operating the strimmer.
Seriously not comfy. Okay.
[engine whirs]
-Whoo!
-Don't go too close
to the bank.
For her first try
it's pretty good.
With the overgrown
bank to tackle next,
Karen hands over to Tom.
This hills pretty steep.
It's almost like
you're abseiling.
-Yeah, if you say.
-Yeah.
He's very confident at climbing,
so I don't need
to worry too much.
It's very hard
work down here man.
Do you think we'd be able
to chop a few bits off here
-so we can just
see the view?
-Yep.
Tom swaps his scythe for
a saw and takes to the tree.
-So, it's this one, is it?
-Yeah.
Kind of handy.
Having a son that climbs.
Timber.
Whoa...
-The nice noise, wasn't that?
-Yeah.
While I fall with
it down the bank.
Aw! Ow! Ow!
Just sat on
a whole load of brambles.
I've got a bramble in my bum.
With the undergrowth
fighting back,
Karen will have
to wait a while
before she can enjoy
the view once more.
Coming up...
These Chateau owners
could become unstuck.
So, this is the final
one which will hopefully
hold it all together.
Like the famous last words.
And Karen and Tom
take on a dirty task.
It is disgusting.
In Western France sits
the impressive 19th century
Chateau La Grande Maison.
It has 45 rooms,
3 acres of land
and is also bordered
by the stunning River Dive.
Situated near the Loire
valley famed for its
world class wines.
Come on.
It's owned by musicians
Ben and Billie
who run it
as a luxury guest house.
Over the last two years
we've been adding to
the fact we're a boutique BnB,
we're now also an event space.
We've had some fantastic
weddings here
and we're now getting into kind
of the finishing touches
which is adding
a honeymoon suite.
We want to draw in a couple
that again to say why we want
to be in that bedroom,
that bathroom pampering myself.
That's more like it, come on.
They've already made
headway creating
the opulent honeymoon suite.
The structural work has been
completed in the bedroom
and is ready to be decorated.
They've also installed
a new ceiling and floor
in the ensuite,
all set for their luxury
Jacuzzi to be fitted.
But before they can do that,
Ben has to finish off
the mammoth task of tiling.
Choose a tile.
He saved the
trickiest part to last,
tiling the alcove that will
have lighting and shelving.
One of the challenges today
is fitting the tile upside down
and making sure it sets
because the last
thing you want to be
is relaxing in the Jacuzzi
and then a tile falls
from the shelves.
So, I've got to make sure
this works properly.
By sourcing the tiles directly
from a quarry in Spain,
they have managed to pay
just 25 euros per square
meter, rather than 150.
The downside is they
don't have many to spare.
So, a steady hand
is definitely needed.
The idea is this tiles
mainly held up by the backside
and held up a side tile.
Then when there's
a hole here for light,
there's three different things
holding up as well as
the adhesive as well.
The tiles are solid marble,
and with each one weighing
two and a half kilograms,
Ben will have
to handle with care.
Because the tiles are so heavy,
I've actually done a row
at a time,
and I was doing one maybe
two rows a day.
So, I've probably been
doing this five days already.
It's a time consuming job.
Each tile must be measured
and cut precisely.
Tiny little chip there,
but you won't see that.
There's no room for error
when cutting the tiles.
Ben doesn't have a lot
of spares meaning a mistake
at this stage would be costly.
That's pretty good.
As well as one ton of tiles,
Ben's using 100 kilograms
of tiling adhesive.
That is some serious weight.
I'm sure there is
a way of doing this without
getting covered in it,
but I haven't discovered it yet.
Now comes the most intricate
part of the process so far.
What I'm going to try and
do is actually pretty much
assemble it all at once
because everything
supports each other.
So, this is the final
one which will hopefully
hold it all together.
It might be famous last words.
Let's try.
Fairly quick.
I'm making this up as I go
along. Hopefully this will work.
Ben's hoping that the screws
will take the weight of the
tile until the adhesive dries.
So, far, so good.
Oh, this is good.
I've got upside down tiles.
Defying the laws of
gravity with your tiling.
So, they stay upside
down not on the floor.
Gosh, well done.
It's very impressive, Ben.
-Thank you.
-You've created like a Roman
public spa in here.
[laughing]
We'll have to wear togas.
[laughing]
The tilework is a success,
and another job done in their
dream honeymoon suite.
In central France
at Chateau Joli Bois,
the molding around the ceiling
fresco has been scrubbed clean,
ready for Ben to paint
before artist Peter gets
to work on the gold leafing.
It gets one coat of primer and
once it's had a coat of primer,
it has a coat of undercoat
and then after the undercoat
it has two top coats.
That's a lot of painting.
The intricate central molding
alone spans almost 50 feet.
Starting with
the biggest room first.
It can only get easier
after this, can't it?
Ben certainly has
his work cut out
as they've invited guests
over for a drinks reception
in just five days' time.
It's very fiddly because it's
quite deep as the molding
and you've got
to cover all of it.
It's not just slapping it
on with a nice big brush.
Oh, that looks better
than it did before.
Vanessa has a huge
job of her own.
She set her sights on
tackling the ballroom's grand
six meter high windows.
I just really want to know
what it would be like to look at
the view through a clean window.
I think I might have to
take the curtains down then,
but I don't even know how
I would do that. They come out.
There's a massive
hornet out here.
I don't want it to
get too interested.
I'm kind of hoping it goes away.
Ben's not the only one
struggling with unwanted help.
There's spiders.
So, dusty and disgusting.
So, gross.
It's pretty gross. Yeah.
So, you want to help.
Take a break. [laughing]
-That's all right?
-It's all right. Sorry.
If Vanessa wants
the windows clean,
she's going to have to
face her fear of heights.
Vanessa would much rather not
have to do anything at height.
She has been up there and
I think she was up there
for two or three hours
because she hasn't put on the
courage to come back down again.
Don't you see? I hate this,
you know, I hate this.
It's not funny.
Oh, this is horrific.
It's like the dirt
of a 1,000 years.
All right. I don't know
if I'm going to get
any more than this.
I don't like this bit.
I think coming down
is worse than going up.
Because it's just like, all
you're doing is looking down.
There, I'm done. I'm done.
Back on solid ground,
Vanessa can get to work
cleaning the lower windows.
I remember when Ben asked
me to move in with him,
it was the one condition
was that we had a cleaner
and now look me. [laughs]
This is crazy.
All right, I have two really
clean windows now.
And the view is actually
better through them.
So, it's going to be worth it,
it will be worth it.
It's just beautiful.
So, this is probably
about 20 hours per coat,
and there are four coats.
So, that's about 80 hours' work.
-Yeah, you can do that.
-That's easily doable.
Yeah [laughing] It's fine.
That's a lot of time and
paint needed before the gold
leafing can even begin.
It's a huge job, but worth
it to bring this stunning
ballroom ceiling back to life.
In the Loire Valley
at Chateau La Perrière,
Karen's preparing to take over
the running of the place
when their caretakers leave
at the end of the season.
Son Tom's been bringing
his Mum up to speed using
the Chateau machinery.
No other way, other way.
But before he leaves to
start college back in the UK,
Karen has another project
she needs his help with.
much to my husband's
and my son's disgust,
I bought a rather
old disheveled,
stinky snooker table.
I've got some ideas
for making it into a peg table.
I think it's going to look
really smart.
The family play
a lot of poker for fun.
So, this is something
for both them and their
paying guests to enjoy.
So, first, we're going
to take off the bracket.
Seriously, my first screw
and it won't even come out.
-This is why I'm going
to miss you, Tom.
-Yeah.
Because there are going to
be jobs, I'm just not going to
be able to do,
you do that one,
I just can't get that one out.
That's why I can't do it,
because he's got muscles.
There we go.
With a bit of teamwork,
the bumper cushions
are soon off.
It's really satisfying,
breaking up a pool table
-and then putting
it back together again.
-Just trashing it.
This would be interesting.
We don't know the state
of the slate underneath.
Oh, so gross.
It is disgusting.
It has been cracked and I think
they've tried to fix that.
Just as well we're our not
using for snooker, isn't it?
After a thorough scrub down,
the table is ready for
its new felt fabric.
Tom, do you want to do this bit?
You're handing me over
the reins of the garden,
do you want me to hand
you over the reins to
doing your own laundry?
I'll give that a pass
as long as I can.
Well, it was worth a try.
There's no holding him back
with a staple gun though.
Good job. That's nice and tight.
It's lovely and flat.
We have done a pretty
good job at that.
With the hard work done,
Tom's free to get back
to the gardening,
leaving Karen to tackle
the rest of the table alone.
Coming up. Ben and Vanessa
get stuck in
uncovering an old piece
of furniture.
It's lovely.
Why would they do this?
And it's crunch time
for Ben and Billie,
1, 2, 3.
As their bathroom renovation
reaches tipping point.
Square up, I don't like this.
Back at Chateau Joli Bois,
after five days of hard graft,
Ben's finally finished
priming the ceiling mold
and made a start on
the colored top coat,
ready for artist Peter
to begin the gilding.
We bought effectively
a large tester pot
of this yellow paint
so that we could put
it up on the ceiling
and see how it looks.
When we put it up,
it was very strong,
and really difficult to
imagine that strong color
all the way around the painting.
Unsure of the overall effect,
they're keen for Peter
to give them a taster of
how the ceiling might look
once it's adorned in gold.
-Now we're going
to lay the gold.
-So, how do you put that on?
Well, I use a very fine brush,
which just picks up the gold
and you rub it on your --
on your cheek, on your hair,
to give it static electricity,
and that acts like a magnet
to the gold and
you apply that way.
And that's going
to be a lot of gold.
If Ben and Vanessa approve
of the sample area,
Peter then faces
the mammoth task of gilding
the entire ceiling.
This is all of our books have
gold leaf, it's very liked.
The gilding comes
in booklets containing
sheets of 22 karat gold.
To gild the central molding
will take about 300 booklets
which could top 6,000 pounds.
In my wildest dreams,
I wouldn't be in a position
to watch somebody who's,
you know, technically
capable of executing
something like this.
Until Peter finishes
the sample area,
Ben and Vanessa shift
their attention elsewhere.
They're keen to complete another
job before their guests arrive
in a few hours
to see their beloved ballroom.
They've just nailed
into the wall.
The couple want to restore
an old piece of furniture
that's been used as a bar
by the previous owners.
We're going to
detach it from the wall,
take the cladding off
and then see what we've got
because from the other side,
it looks like this probably
wasn't a bar at all.
Probably quite a nice
piece of furniture.
They're hoping that
behind the cladding is
an opulent dresser
that could make the bar
much more in keeping with
the style of the Chateau.
This is kind of the
thing I enjoy. [laughs]
Breaking up bits of wood.
Brilliant fun.
Don't break the door.
I know. I know.
They really nailed
it to the furniture.
-Yeah.
-Oh my gosh.
It's lovely.
Why would they do this?
-That's all going to fall apart.
-Okay.
I've thought about it over
the years as to do we paint it
or and I can't
bring myself to do it.
So, I'm just going
to polish everything up
and I have some lovely wine
glasses waiting to go into it,
which I bought about two
years ago for this purpose,
and we're going to have some
really great parties in here.
Hopefully starting with
tonight's drinks reception,
as long as the bar is
up and running in time.
In western France
at Chateau la Grande Maison,
Ben and Billie are busy
renovating
their luxurious
Honeymoon suite.
Now the tiling's completed
in the bathroom,
they're ready to attempt
the tricky task
of installing
the main attraction,
a very large
and heavy Jacuzzi bath.
These are the kind of days that
are really quite scary because,
you know, things going wrong.
It's very costly either
for personal safety
or for the safety of the things
that we spent a lot of money on.
-Has to get it right today.
-Yeah, it has to get right.
They decided to call
for some extra help from
friends Robbie and Tony.
This side has got delicate
things that could break.
If it scrapes this is going
down that sides delicate
things that could break.
-Okay, so I'm basically
got a look there in there.
-Yeah.
1, 2, 3.
There's only a few millimeters
allowance fitting the bath
is a complex maneuver.
Okay. We can sit in there.
One false move, and they
could chip the expensive tiles,
damage the delicate workings
or even crack the bath.
All right. I'm good.
Where you're going
first on to the wood.
Yeah.
Go around me, go around me.
That's it. Got it.
Yeah, I've got it.
I've got it. I've got it.
I've got it temporarily.
Okay, coming down.
[chatter]
-Yeah, I think that's right.
-Yeah.
Is that all, is it?
Yay, well done.
Woohoo.
-Looks amazing.
-Yeah, it is.
Looks amazing.
Just want to get in there.
That's perfect.
Big success.
Well done.
Yeah, big, big success
and it's looking fantastic.
-Absolutely brilliant.
-Yes, it is.
I've been thinking about
this for seven months,
you know, planning it all out
in the end it went really,
really easy, so fantastic.
This may have been
a tricky job,
but Ben and Billy want to make
use of the extra help
for something much trickier.
One person's down
passing it to two.
We're lifting a 75 kilogram
skylight up onto the roof,
so we can change
the window in the hallway.
The corridor that links
the honeymoon suite is
in need of a new window.
It's the perfect opportunity
to get the new glass lifted
through the bathroom
skylight and onto the roof.
Ready. Good. Actually,
that's not too bad.
Good idea with the straps.
It's a major operation really
heights don't like
heavy glass, risky.
Yeah, you'll be okay.
The glass has taken three weeks
to custom design and make
so any damage to it would
really set them back.
1, 2, 3.
-That's it, that's it.
-It's going to have to
come on this side.
Yes, if you can hold it
up square up --
-I don't like this.
-It's fine.
-You ready guys?
-1, 2, 3.
Okay, now we got it.
Well done.
Well, that's scary.
Nice one Robbie.
Jobs a good. [laughing]
And once the old plastic
window has been removed...
That is fantastic.
Look at the light flooding in.
They can install
the bespoke glass panel.
Okay, back a bit,
back a bit.
That's good.
That's a perfect fit.
Brilliant work.
Now all that's left to do is
secure the glass in place.
I'm really pleased with
that. That was tricky.
Ben and Billie have
completed two huge jobs today,
and are a big step closer
to finishing their project.
That's the end of the
scary construction part
of this project, isn't it?
Everything scary has been done.
And now it's just the decoration
and yeah adding on
and the functionality
of everything.
Piece of cake now.
In the Loire Valley
at Chateau La Perrière,
Karen and Tom are halfway
through up-cycling an old pool
table into a poker table.
It's Tom's last day in France,
so he's busy finishing
the gardening,
leaving Karen to complete
the poker table alone.
And the final screw.
Her final job is to print
classic poker card
markings onto the felt.
It's so tempting just to leave
it because it looks great.
If I screen print on it,
I might smudge it
and make a mess of it.
But it can't be a poker
table if it hasn't got card
demarcations on it,
so I really need to do it.
She's brought their
family poker mat from home
to copy the layout.
Bit fiddly.
Screen printing usually
involves creating
a mesh stencil
and applying ink over the top,
but Karen's taking a shortcut.
I've cut out these sections here
and then the ink therefore
should just pass through
the square borders.
This is a cheats way
of doing screen printing.
So, test piece, worst thing that
can happen is it makes a mess.
Nervous even just
doing that, just doing the test
because I want it to work.
I guess we're going to find out,
okay, it's not too bad.
I'm going to need to put
bit more ink on.
That's okay.
Now to do it for real.
Okay, it's on there,
so it's no going back. Okay.
I think it's smudged,
oh no it hasn't,
just not quite perfect
on that corner
but I don't want to risk putting
it back down and doing it again.
So, I think I'm just going
to have to live with that.
Okay, that's better.
Voila, not bad.
And when the drink holders
are attached...
I don't drink beer,
gin for me all the way.
The poker table will
be complete.
Karen bought the grimy
secondhand pool table
for just 80 pounds and has
completely transformed it.
Husband Paul wasn't convinced
it was salvageable.
-Okay, we'll call Daddy.
-Yeah.
Time to see if he'll
eat his words.
-Hello.
-Hi dad.
We've been working
our little whatsits off
on the sort of baby in here
that you were really rude about
and we would like to show
you what we've achieved.
-Okay... I don't know...
-You won't be.
-There you go.
-Wow it's blue.
It's cool.
-Okay.
-Little bit more Vegas.
-So, we have little buckets.
-Is that my beer bucket?
-That's your beer buckets.
-Does it still smell like it
did when you bought it home?
-No.
-No, it doesn't smell
at all anymore.
I'm going to hate to say this.
It actually looks a whole
lot better than
I thought it ever would.
Yay.
I think you have done
actually very well.
-Fantastic.
-Well done, guys.
-Bye. Bye.
-Bye.
It's been a hard couple
of days work
and with Tom heading
back to the UK for college,
he's been busy hacking
the overgrowth on the hill
to give his mum back her
view over the Chateau.
And that's not the only
surprise he has in store.
Wow. That's so beautiful.
Feels amazing.
It's really good, isn't that?
Vineyards are beautiful.
It's just an incredible view,
isn't it?
-Yeah.
-And you bring me tea.
It looks amazing. You've
worked really hard on that.
Thank you. Now I'm off
to college. How are you
going to cope without me?
-Well, you're going to be on
speed dial on my phone.
-Okay.
Don't you dare ignore me
because it will probably be me
asking how to start
the strimmer.
So, please don't
ignore my calls.
Last minute class, I won't
ignore your calls.
I think I'm going to be okay.
I am going to miss you
desperately.
Now that Karen's
in the driving seat,
it's the start of a whole new
chapter at Chateau La Perrière.
Coming up...
It's time for Ben
and Vanessa to decide...
If their test patch of gold
leafing will be continued on
the entire ceiling mold.
Can you imagine the whole
thing done like this?
-Need sunglasses.
-No, you won't need sunglasses.
And the finish line is in
sight for Ben and Billie.
-Wow.
-Pretty happy with that.
-Well done. [kiss]
-You're amazing.
In central France
at Chateau Joli Bois,
Ben and Vanessa
have just a few hours
before friends arrive
to see their work
so far in the ballroom.
Wow, look at that.
Wow it's amazing.
And the sample area of gold
leafing on the ceiling
is ready just in time.
Can you imagine the
whole thing done like this?
-Need sunglasses.
-No, you won't need sunglasses.
It is the perfect
background for the gold.
Tonight, hopefully
when people come in and
just see the little bits, right,
they see that hope as to
what it can be that they get it.
It's taken six months
to get the ceiling to this
stage of restoration.
There's still a long way to go,
but this evening their guests
will be able to glimpse what
they're hoping to achieve.
Oh look at that.
[gasps]
Oh that's very cool, hun.
It makes the gold leaf look
just amazing.
Tonight will not be
about taking cobwebs down.
It will be about celebrating
with our closest mates.
We should charge
for them to go in.
Only good time, only good time.
We could do this.
Don't break it.
Six months ago,
the ballroom ceiling was
covered in cobwebs and grime.
It hadn't been touched
for six decades.
Now, it's been transformed.
Peter's artistry has brought
the ceiling to life.
Ben and Vanessa's children's
faces are captured
beautifully in the fresco,
adding a deeply personal touch.
The yellow paint they chose
is the perfect backdrop
for the gold leafing.
Once it's finished,
the effect will be dazzling.
The floor to ceiling windows
are now bright and clean.
So, Vanessa can finally
enjoy the stunning view.
And with the cladding
removed, the restored bureau
works great as a bar,
perfect for a party to celebrate
their hard work so far.
I'm just hoping
that they come in
and they see it and they're
just, they're amazed.
Time to find out.
Okay, you can all come in now.
All right. What do you think?
It's the best.
Here is the sample
that was just done.
-Yeah it's stunning.
The gold leaf is fantastic.
-Yeah, gold leaf is fantastic.
The colors match,
the colors match really well.
-Do you see yourself, Matt?
-I can see myself in the middle
naked unfortunately.
[laughter]
Can you see
the grand vision now?
[laughter]
I think I'll be honest, I
thought they were slightly mad
when they first told us they
were doing this project,
but actually seeing some of the
work come to fruition,
you can start to see what
they're actually going to
build here and accomplish,
definitely very proud of them.
[laughing]
My friends' reaction is
exactly what we'd hoped for.
The more that people see of it,
the less they'll think
that we're crazy
and they'll think
that it's amazing.
Maybe another year,
hopefully we'll have
a fully completed
functioning ballroom.
[all] Cheers, cheers.
Ben and Vanessa have
accomplished a great deal
over the last few months,
but now work is calling
them back to the UK.
I know we have to go home
and then it's going to be
a while until we come back.
It's days like this when
you think oh, I just
want to get out of here.
-Yeah.
-But we can't do that quite yet.
-No. No.
-It will come.
Yeah, it will.
Back in Western France
at Chateau la Grande Maison,
Ben and Billie are
in the final stages
of completing their
honeymoon suite.
I think it's time for the for
the big one, the bed crowns.
That's one thing that
every king queen needs,
-I'll carry the train.
-Yeah. While you walk
down the aisle.
The finishing touch for the bed
is an upcycled side table,
repurposed as a crown
and draped with majestic
blue and gold fabric.
Wow. This is great.
Your crowning glory.
Da-da-da- da.
-I like that material.
-Yeah.
That's beautiful.
That's lovely, isn't it?
Perfect.
Big success.
-Really happy with that.
-Well done. You're amazing.
A few months ago,
this room was in desperate
need of love and attention.
A 100 years of neglect
had left flaking plaster
and peeling wallpaper.
Now it's being given
a new lease of life,
taking inspiration from regal
renaissance color schemes.
It's the perfect
room for newlyweds.
And their daughter Ella
is first in line
for a sneak preview.
Oh my gosh.
-We've been busy.
-Wow.
-What do you think?
-That is incredible.
It's amazing.
-Is this what you were expecting
it to end up like?
-A lot better. Fantastic.
That's always good.
Bringing the gold
is just amazing.
-It's very royal.
It's very royal colors.
-Yes.
And wow, that bed crown.
I love it.
It's amazing.
Yes. Looking really, really
good. Really glad to hear that.
Wait a while.
The ensuite bathroom
used to be a shell.
With wonky walls
and uneven floors,
it had to be
completely rebuilt.
Now the transformation
is complete,
featuring two
vanity stations,
a luxury shower,
and an indulgent Jacuzzi bath.
It's ideal for any bride
and groom looking to relax.
What do you think?
Oh my God.
Wow. Wow. Is that Jacuzzi?
-Yeah.
-Yes.
This is amazing.
It's so chic, yeah it's
very chic, isn't it?
It's beautiful. I love it.
It's been a mammoth job.
So, to get to this point
is absolutely fantastic
and really what we've done here.
I think another two weeks to
finish the whole and this will
be ready to put on the website
and we'll be welcoming guests
shortly after that I think.
We have two couples coming
to have a look around the place
for weddings
this time next year.
So, it's great to
get this ready and in
time for them to come.
Next time at this Chateau
an ambitious project
gets underway.
It does scare the
life out of me.
Two new Chateau owners hope
to make a big impression.
-That is Versailles, isn't it?
-[laughs]
And this couple take
on a delicate job.
It's really important
to get this right now
because we won't be having
a second stab at this.
I can assure you.
there are thousands
of beautiful chateaux.
Many forgotten and abandoned.
Look at this.
Now they're being brought back
to life by adventurous Brits.
-Can it get easier
after this, can't it?
-[laughing]
They're taking on
the challenge.
Yoohoo. It's always fun.
To transform these ones
unloved buildings...
It's amazing. Yeah, it is.
...into incredible homes.
The feel of the room is lovely.
And businesses.
[applause]
There'll be triumphs...
Aww well done.
And setbacks.
Don't break the door.
I know, I know.
But however hard
the going gets...
-You got it?
-Yeah.
-All that worry.
-Panic over.
...those who've made the move,
get to live the dream
as custodians
of their very own castle.
Today, we meet some new faces.
Tackling an enormous project.
I hate this, you know,
I hate this.
One owner is put through her
paces in Chateau maintenance.
-Where are you going?
-I was going to try --
And that this Chateau, there's
a challenging situation.
This side has got delicate
things that can break.
In the push to finish
a huge renovation.
Go around me, go around me.
That's it. Got it.
Yeah, I've got it,
I've got it, I've got it.
Nestled deep in
the heart of France,
sits the Magnificent 19th
century Chateau Joli Bois.
Set in 17 acres of parkland.
It boasts 15 bedrooms
and three outbuildings.
It was bought three years
ago for 308,000 pounds
by American born Vanessa,
who works in
financial services,
and her barrister husband Ben,
along with their
nine year old son Max.
This was the first place we
saw. And it was unmatchable.
It was un coup de coeur
as they say they in French.
[laughing]
Effectively grabbed
us by the heart
and we knew that this was,
this was a place for us.
Due to work commitments,
the couple have been
splitting their time
between their home in London
and their Chateau,
but are desperate
to swap their city life
for country life permanently.
The dream is to be able
to leave the rat race behind
and come and live and work
here that's the goal.
Located in Limousin,
an area famed worldwide
for its prime beef cattle,
the couple have spent
the past few years renovating
the outbuildings
into their private
accommodation,
leaving no time or money to
work on the Chateau itself.
The Chateau when we
bought it three years ago
was nearly the
state it's in today
-[laughing]
-which is state of disrepair.
We've done a lot of work
converting the building
opposite,
so that we have our own base.
The view was to get
a place set up
so that we would
enjoy being here.
Six months ago, Ben
and Vanessa finally started
to work inside the Chateau,
starting with a room that
originally stole their hearts.
What I love about the ballroom
is the possibility of
what it's going to be.
We get to do this once.
This is a big deal.
We have to get it right.
To help them bring the ballroom
back to its former glory,
they have enlisted Peter,
a professional
decorative artist.
So, far, he has completed
a stunning ceiling fresco
in keeping with
a 19th century ballroom
with an added personal touch.
It's basically got a cloud
scene with individual figures
and painted around the edge,
with a Lady Justice
in the middle, and our
son as a little cherub.
The two figures on horses
that's my son Jake
and my daughter, Elsa.
Jake and Elsa live with
their in mom in St Albans
and they've been out here I
think every summer since we --
since we got the place.
I think they like
that pictures being up there.
Although they're teenagers now
so they don't let you know 100%
what they're thinking.
The fresco may be finished
but there is still plenty
of work to be done
to complete
the ballroom ceiling.
Today, I've got to start
preparing the band of moldings
around the central painting for
the next phase of decoration,
scrubbing it all down with
sugar. So, getting rid of all
the flaky paint and the old tar
and spiders and cobwebs.
Ben and Vanessa, hope to finish
painting the central molding
before friends arrive in
a week's time to see how
the ballroom is progressing.
It's just very hot up here,
it is much hotter up here
than it is down on the ground.
-How's it going?
-Not bad.
-Do you fancy coming up?
-It's like 25 feet, right?
-Yeah.
-[laughing]
And with Vanessa not
a fan of heights,
Ben has to tackle
the plaster work alone.
I've got to move
the scaffold now already.
You can't reach out too fast
so you're limited to doing
this much at a time.
-Has anything fallen off?
-Nothing serious.
No, that's not funny.
No plasters fallen off
if that's what you mean.
-Okay.
-The plaster is quite solid.
Because it's really quite
rough what you're doing.
I'm being very careful.
-I... [laughs]
-That's the paint,
it's just paint flaking.
-So, what do you think, you're
going to finish it tonight?
-It's taking a lot longer.
Every single thing we do
takes a lot longer. [laughing]
Than you think
it's supposed to.
It's going to take me longer
than I thought to finish it,
but I still should
still be able to start
priming it tomorrow.
Yeah, it is slightly boring,
hot, tiring work,
but it has to be done.
At least it's a start.
One step closer
to restoring this impressive
ballroom ceiling.
In north west France sits
the stunning 19th century
Chateau La Perrière.
With 20 rooms
and 10 acres of land,
it has been lovingly renovated
into a luxury holiday retreat
by interior designer
Karen and husband Paul,
who runs a workplace
design company,
along with help from their
children Katie and Tom.
We dream big,
and our dreams never stop
and therefore I don't
think the renovations here
will ever stop because there'll
always be more today, always.
Perched on a hilltop
in the Loire Valley,
last time we met them,
Karen and Paul with help
from son Tom renovated
a stable block...
Oh, that is disgusting.
...into a space for
parties and weddings.
We did it, cheers,
cheers everybody for coming.
Cheers, cheers.
This year there's
a big change afoot.
The couple they employ
to look after the Chateau
while the family are working
in the UK are moving on.
So, Karen has to take
the reins as caretaker.
I've got to learn how to
maintain the Chateau on my own
because there isn't
going to be help.
Who's going to get to do it?
I guess there's a lots
of anxiety I have
about whether I will be
able to meet the standard
that our guardians have
already set over the years.
I have hopes for you,
I reckon you will.
-Do you?
-Yeah.
Luckily for Karen,
her 16 year old son Tom
is the dab hand when
it comes to Chateau upkeep.
And with Paul busy
working back in England,
it's the perfect opportunity
for Tom to give his mum
a crash course
in Chateau maintenance.
-I'm going to be a really
good student.
-Open minded.
-Open minded, good listener.
-Hopefully.
With Tom heading off
to college soon,
it's time Karen faced
up to the challenge
of running the Chateau
plus its 10 acre estate
and having never operated
any of the outdoor
machinery before...
Ready to learn how
to use a tractor?
The first thing she
needs to get to grips
with is the garden transport.
You're going to be reversing
the tractor backwards through
those two marks there.
-You're joking.
-That's not even big
enough for the trailer.
-Enough space.
-I'm going to need
much wider berth than that.
What happened to being
open minded Karen?
Where are you going?
-I'm going to--
-Target's that way.
No other way, other way.
There you go keep it going.
That's cheating.
Unfortunately for you
if that was a cement wall,
-you wouldn't be able
to just move it.
-[laughing]
Tractors sort of mastered,
it's straight to work on
the big gardening project.
They need to cut back a wooded
area behind the Chateau.
When the family bought
the place 15 years ago,
they painstakingly declared
a viewing point from this area
to gaze over their new home.
So, from here you see
the Chateau, and now...
-You can't.
-You can't see anything.
Karen's desperate
to reclaim her view,
but before
they tackle the trees.
1, 2 and pull.
It's a perfect opportunity
to learn another new skill:
operating the strimmer.
Seriously not comfy. Okay.
[engine whirs]
-Whoo!
-Don't go too close
to the bank.
For her first try
it's pretty good.
With the overgrown
bank to tackle next,
Karen hands over to Tom.
This hills pretty steep.
It's almost like
you're abseiling.
-Yeah, if you say.
-Yeah.
He's very confident at climbing,
so I don't need
to worry too much.
It's very hard
work down here man.
Do you think we'd be able
to chop a few bits off here
-so we can just
see the view?
-Yep.
Tom swaps his scythe for
a saw and takes to the tree.
-So, it's this one, is it?
-Yeah.
Kind of handy.
Having a son that climbs.
Timber.
Whoa...
-The nice noise, wasn't that?
-Yeah.
While I fall with
it down the bank.
Aw! Ow! Ow!
Just sat on
a whole load of brambles.
I've got a bramble in my bum.
With the undergrowth
fighting back,
Karen will have
to wait a while
before she can enjoy
the view once more.
Coming up...
These Chateau owners
could become unstuck.
So, this is the final
one which will hopefully
hold it all together.
Like the famous last words.
And Karen and Tom
take on a dirty task.
It is disgusting.
In Western France sits
the impressive 19th century
Chateau La Grande Maison.
It has 45 rooms,
3 acres of land
and is also bordered
by the stunning River Dive.
Situated near the Loire
valley famed for its
world class wines.
Come on.
It's owned by musicians
Ben and Billie
who run it
as a luxury guest house.
Over the last two years
we've been adding to
the fact we're a boutique BnB,
we're now also an event space.
We've had some fantastic
weddings here
and we're now getting into kind
of the finishing touches
which is adding
a honeymoon suite.
We want to draw in a couple
that again to say why we want
to be in that bedroom,
that bathroom pampering myself.
That's more like it, come on.
They've already made
headway creating
the opulent honeymoon suite.
The structural work has been
completed in the bedroom
and is ready to be decorated.
They've also installed
a new ceiling and floor
in the ensuite,
all set for their luxury
Jacuzzi to be fitted.
But before they can do that,
Ben has to finish off
the mammoth task of tiling.
Choose a tile.
He saved the
trickiest part to last,
tiling the alcove that will
have lighting and shelving.
One of the challenges today
is fitting the tile upside down
and making sure it sets
because the last
thing you want to be
is relaxing in the Jacuzzi
and then a tile falls
from the shelves.
So, I've got to make sure
this works properly.
By sourcing the tiles directly
from a quarry in Spain,
they have managed to pay
just 25 euros per square
meter, rather than 150.
The downside is they
don't have many to spare.
So, a steady hand
is definitely needed.
The idea is this tiles
mainly held up by the backside
and held up a side tile.
Then when there's
a hole here for light,
there's three different things
holding up as well as
the adhesive as well.
The tiles are solid marble,
and with each one weighing
two and a half kilograms,
Ben will have
to handle with care.
Because the tiles are so heavy,
I've actually done a row
at a time,
and I was doing one maybe
two rows a day.
So, I've probably been
doing this five days already.
It's a time consuming job.
Each tile must be measured
and cut precisely.
Tiny little chip there,
but you won't see that.
There's no room for error
when cutting the tiles.
Ben doesn't have a lot
of spares meaning a mistake
at this stage would be costly.
That's pretty good.
As well as one ton of tiles,
Ben's using 100 kilograms
of tiling adhesive.
That is some serious weight.
I'm sure there is
a way of doing this without
getting covered in it,
but I haven't discovered it yet.
Now comes the most intricate
part of the process so far.
What I'm going to try and
do is actually pretty much
assemble it all at once
because everything
supports each other.
So, this is the final
one which will hopefully
hold it all together.
It might be famous last words.
Let's try.
Fairly quick.
I'm making this up as I go
along. Hopefully this will work.
Ben's hoping that the screws
will take the weight of the
tile until the adhesive dries.
So, far, so good.
Oh, this is good.
I've got upside down tiles.
Defying the laws of
gravity with your tiling.
So, they stay upside
down not on the floor.
Gosh, well done.
It's very impressive, Ben.
-Thank you.
-You've created like a Roman
public spa in here.
[laughing]
We'll have to wear togas.
[laughing]
The tilework is a success,
and another job done in their
dream honeymoon suite.
In central France
at Chateau Joli Bois,
the molding around the ceiling
fresco has been scrubbed clean,
ready for Ben to paint
before artist Peter gets
to work on the gold leafing.
It gets one coat of primer and
once it's had a coat of primer,
it has a coat of undercoat
and then after the undercoat
it has two top coats.
That's a lot of painting.
The intricate central molding
alone spans almost 50 feet.
Starting with
the biggest room first.
It can only get easier
after this, can't it?
Ben certainly has
his work cut out
as they've invited guests
over for a drinks reception
in just five days' time.
It's very fiddly because it's
quite deep as the molding
and you've got
to cover all of it.
It's not just slapping it
on with a nice big brush.
Oh, that looks better
than it did before.
Vanessa has a huge
job of her own.
She set her sights on
tackling the ballroom's grand
six meter high windows.
I just really want to know
what it would be like to look at
the view through a clean window.
I think I might have to
take the curtains down then,
but I don't even know how
I would do that. They come out.
There's a massive
hornet out here.
I don't want it to
get too interested.
I'm kind of hoping it goes away.
Ben's not the only one
struggling with unwanted help.
There's spiders.
So, dusty and disgusting.
So, gross.
It's pretty gross. Yeah.
So, you want to help.
Take a break. [laughing]
-That's all right?
-It's all right. Sorry.
If Vanessa wants
the windows clean,
she's going to have to
face her fear of heights.
Vanessa would much rather not
have to do anything at height.
She has been up there and
I think she was up there
for two or three hours
because she hasn't put on the
courage to come back down again.
Don't you see? I hate this,
you know, I hate this.
It's not funny.
Oh, this is horrific.
It's like the dirt
of a 1,000 years.
All right. I don't know
if I'm going to get
any more than this.
I don't like this bit.
I think coming down
is worse than going up.
Because it's just like, all
you're doing is looking down.
There, I'm done. I'm done.
Back on solid ground,
Vanessa can get to work
cleaning the lower windows.
I remember when Ben asked
me to move in with him,
it was the one condition
was that we had a cleaner
and now look me. [laughs]
This is crazy.
All right, I have two really
clean windows now.
And the view is actually
better through them.
So, it's going to be worth it,
it will be worth it.
It's just beautiful.
So, this is probably
about 20 hours per coat,
and there are four coats.
So, that's about 80 hours' work.
-Yeah, you can do that.
-That's easily doable.
Yeah [laughing] It's fine.
That's a lot of time and
paint needed before the gold
leafing can even begin.
It's a huge job, but worth
it to bring this stunning
ballroom ceiling back to life.
In the Loire Valley
at Chateau La Perrière,
Karen's preparing to take over
the running of the place
when their caretakers leave
at the end of the season.
Son Tom's been bringing
his Mum up to speed using
the Chateau machinery.
No other way, other way.
But before he leaves to
start college back in the UK,
Karen has another project
she needs his help with.
much to my husband's
and my son's disgust,
I bought a rather
old disheveled,
stinky snooker table.
I've got some ideas
for making it into a peg table.
I think it's going to look
really smart.
The family play
a lot of poker for fun.
So, this is something
for both them and their
paying guests to enjoy.
So, first, we're going
to take off the bracket.
Seriously, my first screw
and it won't even come out.
-This is why I'm going
to miss you, Tom.
-Yeah.
Because there are going to
be jobs, I'm just not going to
be able to do,
you do that one,
I just can't get that one out.
That's why I can't do it,
because he's got muscles.
There we go.
With a bit of teamwork,
the bumper cushions
are soon off.
It's really satisfying,
breaking up a pool table
-and then putting
it back together again.
-Just trashing it.
This would be interesting.
We don't know the state
of the slate underneath.
Oh, so gross.
It is disgusting.
It has been cracked and I think
they've tried to fix that.
Just as well we're our not
using for snooker, isn't it?
After a thorough scrub down,
the table is ready for
its new felt fabric.
Tom, do you want to do this bit?
You're handing me over
the reins of the garden,
do you want me to hand
you over the reins to
doing your own laundry?
I'll give that a pass
as long as I can.
Well, it was worth a try.
There's no holding him back
with a staple gun though.
Good job. That's nice and tight.
It's lovely and flat.
We have done a pretty
good job at that.
With the hard work done,
Tom's free to get back
to the gardening,
leaving Karen to tackle
the rest of the table alone.
Coming up. Ben and Vanessa
get stuck in
uncovering an old piece
of furniture.
It's lovely.
Why would they do this?
And it's crunch time
for Ben and Billie,
1, 2, 3.
As their bathroom renovation
reaches tipping point.
Square up, I don't like this.
Back at Chateau Joli Bois,
after five days of hard graft,
Ben's finally finished
priming the ceiling mold
and made a start on
the colored top coat,
ready for artist Peter
to begin the gilding.
We bought effectively
a large tester pot
of this yellow paint
so that we could put
it up on the ceiling
and see how it looks.
When we put it up,
it was very strong,
and really difficult to
imagine that strong color
all the way around the painting.
Unsure of the overall effect,
they're keen for Peter
to give them a taster of
how the ceiling might look
once it's adorned in gold.
-Now we're going
to lay the gold.
-So, how do you put that on?
Well, I use a very fine brush,
which just picks up the gold
and you rub it on your --
on your cheek, on your hair,
to give it static electricity,
and that acts like a magnet
to the gold and
you apply that way.
And that's going
to be a lot of gold.
If Ben and Vanessa approve
of the sample area,
Peter then faces
the mammoth task of gilding
the entire ceiling.
This is all of our books have
gold leaf, it's very liked.
The gilding comes
in booklets containing
sheets of 22 karat gold.
To gild the central molding
will take about 300 booklets
which could top 6,000 pounds.
In my wildest dreams,
I wouldn't be in a position
to watch somebody who's,
you know, technically
capable of executing
something like this.
Until Peter finishes
the sample area,
Ben and Vanessa shift
their attention elsewhere.
They're keen to complete another
job before their guests arrive
in a few hours
to see their beloved ballroom.
They've just nailed
into the wall.
The couple want to restore
an old piece of furniture
that's been used as a bar
by the previous owners.
We're going to
detach it from the wall,
take the cladding off
and then see what we've got
because from the other side,
it looks like this probably
wasn't a bar at all.
Probably quite a nice
piece of furniture.
They're hoping that
behind the cladding is
an opulent dresser
that could make the bar
much more in keeping with
the style of the Chateau.
This is kind of the
thing I enjoy. [laughs]
Breaking up bits of wood.
Brilliant fun.
Don't break the door.
I know. I know.
They really nailed
it to the furniture.
-Yeah.
-Oh my gosh.
It's lovely.
Why would they do this?
-That's all going to fall apart.
-Okay.
I've thought about it over
the years as to do we paint it
or and I can't
bring myself to do it.
So, I'm just going
to polish everything up
and I have some lovely wine
glasses waiting to go into it,
which I bought about two
years ago for this purpose,
and we're going to have some
really great parties in here.
Hopefully starting with
tonight's drinks reception,
as long as the bar is
up and running in time.
In western France
at Chateau la Grande Maison,
Ben and Billie are busy
renovating
their luxurious
Honeymoon suite.
Now the tiling's completed
in the bathroom,
they're ready to attempt
the tricky task
of installing
the main attraction,
a very large
and heavy Jacuzzi bath.
These are the kind of days that
are really quite scary because,
you know, things going wrong.
It's very costly either
for personal safety
or for the safety of the things
that we spent a lot of money on.
-Has to get it right today.
-Yeah, it has to get right.
They decided to call
for some extra help from
friends Robbie and Tony.
This side has got delicate
things that could break.
If it scrapes this is going
down that sides delicate
things that could break.
-Okay, so I'm basically
got a look there in there.
-Yeah.
1, 2, 3.
There's only a few millimeters
allowance fitting the bath
is a complex maneuver.
Okay. We can sit in there.
One false move, and they
could chip the expensive tiles,
damage the delicate workings
or even crack the bath.
All right. I'm good.
Where you're going
first on to the wood.
Yeah.
Go around me, go around me.
That's it. Got it.
Yeah, I've got it.
I've got it. I've got it.
I've got it temporarily.
Okay, coming down.
[chatter]
-Yeah, I think that's right.
-Yeah.
Is that all, is it?
Yay, well done.
Woohoo.
-Looks amazing.
-Yeah, it is.
Looks amazing.
Just want to get in there.
That's perfect.
Big success.
Well done.
Yeah, big, big success
and it's looking fantastic.
-Absolutely brilliant.
-Yes, it is.
I've been thinking about
this for seven months,
you know, planning it all out
in the end it went really,
really easy, so fantastic.
This may have been
a tricky job,
but Ben and Billy want to make
use of the extra help
for something much trickier.
One person's down
passing it to two.
We're lifting a 75 kilogram
skylight up onto the roof,
so we can change
the window in the hallway.
The corridor that links
the honeymoon suite is
in need of a new window.
It's the perfect opportunity
to get the new glass lifted
through the bathroom
skylight and onto the roof.
Ready. Good. Actually,
that's not too bad.
Good idea with the straps.
It's a major operation really
heights don't like
heavy glass, risky.
Yeah, you'll be okay.
The glass has taken three weeks
to custom design and make
so any damage to it would
really set them back.
1, 2, 3.
-That's it, that's it.
-It's going to have to
come on this side.
Yes, if you can hold it
up square up --
-I don't like this.
-It's fine.
-You ready guys?
-1, 2, 3.
Okay, now we got it.
Well done.
Well, that's scary.
Nice one Robbie.
Jobs a good. [laughing]
And once the old plastic
window has been removed...
That is fantastic.
Look at the light flooding in.
They can install
the bespoke glass panel.
Okay, back a bit,
back a bit.
That's good.
That's a perfect fit.
Brilliant work.
Now all that's left to do is
secure the glass in place.
I'm really pleased with
that. That was tricky.
Ben and Billie have
completed two huge jobs today,
and are a big step closer
to finishing their project.
That's the end of the
scary construction part
of this project, isn't it?
Everything scary has been done.
And now it's just the decoration
and yeah adding on
and the functionality
of everything.
Piece of cake now.
In the Loire Valley
at Chateau La Perrière,
Karen and Tom are halfway
through up-cycling an old pool
table into a poker table.
It's Tom's last day in France,
so he's busy finishing
the gardening,
leaving Karen to complete
the poker table alone.
And the final screw.
Her final job is to print
classic poker card
markings onto the felt.
It's so tempting just to leave
it because it looks great.
If I screen print on it,
I might smudge it
and make a mess of it.
But it can't be a poker
table if it hasn't got card
demarcations on it,
so I really need to do it.
She's brought their
family poker mat from home
to copy the layout.
Bit fiddly.
Screen printing usually
involves creating
a mesh stencil
and applying ink over the top,
but Karen's taking a shortcut.
I've cut out these sections here
and then the ink therefore
should just pass through
the square borders.
This is a cheats way
of doing screen printing.
So, test piece, worst thing that
can happen is it makes a mess.
Nervous even just
doing that, just doing the test
because I want it to work.
I guess we're going to find out,
okay, it's not too bad.
I'm going to need to put
bit more ink on.
That's okay.
Now to do it for real.
Okay, it's on there,
so it's no going back. Okay.
I think it's smudged,
oh no it hasn't,
just not quite perfect
on that corner
but I don't want to risk putting
it back down and doing it again.
So, I think I'm just going
to have to live with that.
Okay, that's better.
Voila, not bad.
And when the drink holders
are attached...
I don't drink beer,
gin for me all the way.
The poker table will
be complete.
Karen bought the grimy
secondhand pool table
for just 80 pounds and has
completely transformed it.
Husband Paul wasn't convinced
it was salvageable.
-Okay, we'll call Daddy.
-Yeah.
Time to see if he'll
eat his words.
-Hello.
-Hi dad.
We've been working
our little whatsits off
on the sort of baby in here
that you were really rude about
and we would like to show
you what we've achieved.
-Okay... I don't know...
-You won't be.
-There you go.
-Wow it's blue.
It's cool.
-Okay.
-Little bit more Vegas.
-So, we have little buckets.
-Is that my beer bucket?
-That's your beer buckets.
-Does it still smell like it
did when you bought it home?
-No.
-No, it doesn't smell
at all anymore.
I'm going to hate to say this.
It actually looks a whole
lot better than
I thought it ever would.
Yay.
I think you have done
actually very well.
-Fantastic.
-Well done, guys.
-Bye. Bye.
-Bye.
It's been a hard couple
of days work
and with Tom heading
back to the UK for college,
he's been busy hacking
the overgrowth on the hill
to give his mum back her
view over the Chateau.
And that's not the only
surprise he has in store.
Wow. That's so beautiful.
Feels amazing.
It's really good, isn't that?
Vineyards are beautiful.
It's just an incredible view,
isn't it?
-Yeah.
-And you bring me tea.
It looks amazing. You've
worked really hard on that.
Thank you. Now I'm off
to college. How are you
going to cope without me?
-Well, you're going to be on
speed dial on my phone.
-Okay.
Don't you dare ignore me
because it will probably be me
asking how to start
the strimmer.
So, please don't
ignore my calls.
Last minute class, I won't
ignore your calls.
I think I'm going to be okay.
I am going to miss you
desperately.
Now that Karen's
in the driving seat,
it's the start of a whole new
chapter at Chateau La Perrière.
Coming up...
It's time for Ben
and Vanessa to decide...
If their test patch of gold
leafing will be continued on
the entire ceiling mold.
Can you imagine the whole
thing done like this?
-Need sunglasses.
-No, you won't need sunglasses.
And the finish line is in
sight for Ben and Billie.
-Wow.
-Pretty happy with that.
-Well done. [kiss]
-You're amazing.
In central France
at Chateau Joli Bois,
Ben and Vanessa
have just a few hours
before friends arrive
to see their work
so far in the ballroom.
Wow, look at that.
Wow it's amazing.
And the sample area of gold
leafing on the ceiling
is ready just in time.
Can you imagine the
whole thing done like this?
-Need sunglasses.
-No, you won't need sunglasses.
It is the perfect
background for the gold.
Tonight, hopefully
when people come in and
just see the little bits, right,
they see that hope as to
what it can be that they get it.
It's taken six months
to get the ceiling to this
stage of restoration.
There's still a long way to go,
but this evening their guests
will be able to glimpse what
they're hoping to achieve.
Oh look at that.
[gasps]
Oh that's very cool, hun.
It makes the gold leaf look
just amazing.
Tonight will not be
about taking cobwebs down.
It will be about celebrating
with our closest mates.
We should charge
for them to go in.
Only good time, only good time.
We could do this.
Don't break it.
Six months ago,
the ballroom ceiling was
covered in cobwebs and grime.
It hadn't been touched
for six decades.
Now, it's been transformed.
Peter's artistry has brought
the ceiling to life.
Ben and Vanessa's children's
faces are captured
beautifully in the fresco,
adding a deeply personal touch.
The yellow paint they chose
is the perfect backdrop
for the gold leafing.
Once it's finished,
the effect will be dazzling.
The floor to ceiling windows
are now bright and clean.
So, Vanessa can finally
enjoy the stunning view.
And with the cladding
removed, the restored bureau
works great as a bar,
perfect for a party to celebrate
their hard work so far.
I'm just hoping
that they come in
and they see it and they're
just, they're amazed.
Time to find out.
Okay, you can all come in now.
All right. What do you think?
It's the best.
Here is the sample
that was just done.
-Yeah it's stunning.
The gold leaf is fantastic.
-Yeah, gold leaf is fantastic.
The colors match,
the colors match really well.
-Do you see yourself, Matt?
-I can see myself in the middle
naked unfortunately.
[laughter]
Can you see
the grand vision now?
[laughter]
I think I'll be honest, I
thought they were slightly mad
when they first told us they
were doing this project,
but actually seeing some of the
work come to fruition,
you can start to see what
they're actually going to
build here and accomplish,
definitely very proud of them.
[laughing]
My friends' reaction is
exactly what we'd hoped for.
The more that people see of it,
the less they'll think
that we're crazy
and they'll think
that it's amazing.
Maybe another year,
hopefully we'll have
a fully completed
functioning ballroom.
[all] Cheers, cheers.
Ben and Vanessa have
accomplished a great deal
over the last few months,
but now work is calling
them back to the UK.
I know we have to go home
and then it's going to be
a while until we come back.
It's days like this when
you think oh, I just
want to get out of here.
-Yeah.
-But we can't do that quite yet.
-No. No.
-It will come.
Yeah, it will.
Back in Western France
at Chateau la Grande Maison,
Ben and Billie are
in the final stages
of completing their
honeymoon suite.
I think it's time for the for
the big one, the bed crowns.
That's one thing that
every king queen needs,
-I'll carry the train.
-Yeah. While you walk
down the aisle.
The finishing touch for the bed
is an upcycled side table,
repurposed as a crown
and draped with majestic
blue and gold fabric.
Wow. This is great.
Your crowning glory.
Da-da-da- da.
-I like that material.
-Yeah.
That's beautiful.
That's lovely, isn't it?
Perfect.
Big success.
-Really happy with that.
-Well done. You're amazing.
A few months ago,
this room was in desperate
need of love and attention.
A 100 years of neglect
had left flaking plaster
and peeling wallpaper.
Now it's being given
a new lease of life,
taking inspiration from regal
renaissance color schemes.
It's the perfect
room for newlyweds.
And their daughter Ella
is first in line
for a sneak preview.
Oh my gosh.
-We've been busy.
-Wow.
-What do you think?
-That is incredible.
It's amazing.
-Is this what you were expecting
it to end up like?
-A lot better. Fantastic.
That's always good.
Bringing the gold
is just amazing.
-It's very royal.
It's very royal colors.
-Yes.
And wow, that bed crown.
I love it.
It's amazing.
Yes. Looking really, really
good. Really glad to hear that.
Wait a while.
The ensuite bathroom
used to be a shell.
With wonky walls
and uneven floors,
it had to be
completely rebuilt.
Now the transformation
is complete,
featuring two
vanity stations,
a luxury shower,
and an indulgent Jacuzzi bath.
It's ideal for any bride
and groom looking to relax.
What do you think?
Oh my God.
Wow. Wow. Is that Jacuzzi?
-Yeah.
-Yes.
This is amazing.
It's so chic, yeah it's
very chic, isn't it?
It's beautiful. I love it.
It's been a mammoth job.
So, to get to this point
is absolutely fantastic
and really what we've done here.
I think another two weeks to
finish the whole and this will
be ready to put on the website
and we'll be welcoming guests
shortly after that I think.
We have two couples coming
to have a look around the place
for weddings
this time next year.
So, it's great to
get this ready and in
time for them to come.
Next time at this Chateau
an ambitious project
gets underway.
It does scare the
life out of me.
Two new Chateau owners hope
to make a big impression.
-That is Versailles, isn't it?
-[laughs]
And this couple take
on a delicate job.
It's really important
to get this right now
because we won't be having
a second stab at this.
I can assure you.