- 8 hours ago
Chateau DIY - Season 11 Episode 40
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00:00Across France, there are thousands of incredible chateaux,
00:06many now being given a new lease of life.
00:09I'm having a smashing time.
00:12By fearless owners.
00:15Wish me luck.
00:16But nothing's ever straightforward in the chateau.
00:19Who dare to DIY it.
00:23OK, something's not connected.
00:25As they transform them into spectacular homes.
00:31Wow.
00:32It is absolutely magical.
00:35And event venues.
00:37One has to remember to make each detail perfect.
00:42But with delight.
00:44Oh my gosh.
00:47Comes disaster.
00:49But we're a bit hampered by how far we can get it because of the house.
00:53And with great challenge.
00:54It's crazy.
00:55Comes huge reward.
00:58Oh.
00:59It looks great.
01:01As they get to live the dream.
01:03Oh.
01:06As custodians of their very own castle.
01:14Today, one chateau owner fears their courtyard roof is coming down.
01:19You don't need to prove that it's not going to move by pushing it so much.
01:25Oh, no.
01:27Another couple are in deep trouble during their dig for a pool.
01:31It looks like there's a main power connection to the cottage that's been cut.
01:37While others discover hidden treasures.
01:40The chateau is revealing more secrets than I bargained for.
01:50Tucked away in Burgundy, in eastern France, stands the magnificent 13th century Chateau de Chassignol.
02:02Nessling within 35 acres and with its own chapel, inside the long abandoned property boasts 30 rooms.
02:12It was bought in 2024 for £650,000 by project manager Anna and husband Max, a French engineer.
02:27What's exciting about the chateau is the opportunity.
02:29We have the chance to make our mark on it and make it really into our home.
02:34Max is definitely a man of action when it comes to DIY.
02:37I'm basically just the supervisor on these jobs.
02:41Yeah, but we need it, sorry, but you have people doing the job and we need someone to get the
02:48top thing, like the project manager.
02:50Yeah, I like that, project manager.
02:52Yeah, yeah, you do.
02:56Located an hour from Lyon, Anna and Max are expecting their first child.
03:02And after making the chateau a family home, they want to open it for holiday lets and as a wedding
03:10venue.
03:11All right, well you take that end and I'll take this end.
03:14When we last saw them, they had started to clear their courtyard of dumped rubbish.
03:20Yeah, I don't know what it is for.
03:22Cook?
03:23Like a witch potion.
03:27And demolished a mezzanine floor in their barn.
03:31Okay, that's down.
03:34You're so happy with that.
03:36Before starting to reimagine the important outside space.
03:42Today we are digging up the entire courtyard.
03:45Yeah.
03:46My original plan had been a little bit of a clear up and some new gravel.
03:51And with Max, nothing is ever done by halves.
04:24Nothing is simple.
04:31And then we have to go to the courtyard.
04:35We're going to go to the courtyard.
04:55And the courtyard is in the courtyard.
04:55The courtyard is in the courtyard.
05:02with the courtyard now more of a building site expectant anna is inside upholstering chairs
05:10destined for their tower suite i've started stapling the fabric on the corners are the
05:18worst part but the good thing is the fabric is very forgiving it's got a really um busy pattern
05:29on it max's contribution to the chateau is much more the labor side of things but in terms of being
05:35able to put my own stamp on things this is a really nice piece of work to do
05:45i do like restoring older furniture it's actually one of the things that max and i bonded over when
05:51we were first dating here restores old cars and saving things from scrap and i love restoring
05:59furniture giving it a new lease of life this is looking really promising so one down one to go
06:12it's been a productive day all round at the chateau and even though the courtyard is now a pile of
06:20trouble max is keen to show anna the progress i don't think i will get you more than that because
06:27you don't have the right shoes you see we knocked the two steps we were going down into the border
06:31room yes then here there is all concrete alongside here we knock here we remove the stone and knock
06:38the floor so we can access the drain which is actually emptying the water from the house they
06:43used a very old drain from i don't know whatever went the pillars we're going to build three beams
06:51vertical we're going to install them so we can remove the pillars so that these pillars are coming
06:57down yes okay we have to well it's a lot just just be careful okay apart from that that's
07:05that's really a good job that's it max is on a roll with the huge courtyard project there's no turning
07:13back now
07:20in the occetanie region of southwest france lies the charming 19th century chateau de piquon
07:30with 31 rooms an orangery and its own private lake it is home to jane an intellectual property manager
07:43and rory a plumber and actor who share it with their growing collection of animal companions
07:51so we arrived with two pussycats two doggies and two horses we now have three horses three cats and three
08:00dogs they bring new joy and new excitement and uh and so we've got a lovely a lovely family of
08:06of
08:07beasts now just an hour and a half from toulouse the couple bought the property for 470 000 pounds
08:18in 2024 and have been busy renovating their sheet to let out to paying guests i think it's upside down
08:29cheeky and the last time we saw them they'd transformed the jeep's kitchen turning it from
08:37a tired and neglected room into a bright warm space and i definitely think this is the nicest this room
08:45has
08:45looked in at least 50 years yeah definitely today they're taking the plunge on their biggest project
08:55so far creating a swimming pool outside their orangery the plan for today is we're going to mark out the
09:04swimming pool because in a couple of days they're coming to dig a big hole it is really exciting because
09:12it's such a big project that we almost can't believe it's going to happen
09:19we've got these wonderful arches and that will be the pool house
09:22so we'll have hopefully changing room shower toilet in there
09:34we've got a mark which should be the distance of the diagonal uh between the corners so and this one
09:41appears to be pretty much exactly right this needs to be as perfect as we can make it we can't
09:49have an
09:49accidental rhombus where it's got to be a rectangle and a pretty accurate one i believe
09:56pretty spot on great it really is a dream come true the idea of having your own pool
10:04um and yeah it's the perfect location you'll be able to pop in to cool off maybe yourself grab
10:10yourself a drink from inside and then and then you get some shade from the overhang as well so you
10:16can
10:16have your head in the shade reading a book dip in and then dip back out yeah so amazing they
10:25just need
10:26to leave their mark for the diggers
10:39a few sprays closer to a finished swimming pool
10:45with the diggers arriving in two days time jane and rory are about to go in at the deep end
10:58of the diggers coming up anna has precious cargo on the move
11:03i'm petrified um but this is perfectly normal for this family
11:08and will rory's dream of a pool hit a brick wall
11:17well that's as far as a drill bit can go
11:26in the occetane region of southwest france stands the magnificent chateau de montespierre
11:36it boasts 66 impressive rooms spread over three wings and six imposing towers
11:47its owners are former boat builders louisa and roger who are navigating new waters transforming the
11:55chateau into a luxury events venue the dream was not to own chateau never ever this has taken us by
12:03surprise anyway we're actually looking for a small holding with a bit of land to live in the countryside
12:08but the chateau kind of found us really didn't it we stumbled into it and we just couldn't get it
12:13out
12:13of our heads couldn't get past it but our first glimpse of it was just you know you just can't
12:18get
12:18over it it was just beautiful yeah situated between toulouse and the mediterranean coast
12:26the couple bought the chateau in 2023 for 840 000 pounds
12:36the pair are in the south wing racing to get everything ready for a summer wedding
12:42and currently they're working in their jinko suite named after the tree just outside
12:53so far they've begun creating an art deco themed bedroom restored an original safe
13:01they aim to turn into a feature of the turret room
13:07and started work on a super-sized bathroom
13:12there we go
13:15excellent
13:17well today uh i'd like to try and get the paneling back on the sink unit
13:21get the countertop on we're hoping to get painting at the beginning of next week aren't we
13:27the bathroom plumbing now in roger can start to cover the huge framework with the recycled wood panels
13:36i've numbered the panels as i go they're not interchangeable because it's handmade it's all
13:4119th century furniture sort of stuff so the cabinet i've got to make sure now that i use
13:46the right ones that i've already previously measured all right so let's hope i drop that on there
14:00now hopefully i should just push it together and it's all going to work fingers crossed
14:06while roger knocks the paneling into shape louisa is digging into the chateau's past
14:13these documents all of this stuff was found in the safe so i'm just trying to pick out some
14:19choicier bits she wants to make a display of the documents as a historical keepsake of the chateau
14:28some of them are fashion magazines um there's uh envelopes they're empty the envelopes are all
14:34empty but for some reason they've been kept but they're addressed to madame de juge who was the last
14:39aristocrat aristocrat to um live at the chateau the de juge family lived in the chateau for over 350
14:49years and carried out the last major renovation work here way back in the 1880s here i've got complete
14:58detailed account of all the works that were done for the paintwork the window work the wallpapering
15:07the stone masonry all of it and you then have all the various parques they make and there's a little
15:15cross here that's the one they wanted the chateau is actually slowly revealing more secrets than i
15:21bargained for this is great i've taken out some of my favorite ones and uh try and do a montage
15:32that's pretty there with that color there that's nice colorful one that's going to make the paper
15:40pop a bit better that's good really happy that'll do up in the bathroom roger is making progress in
15:48hiding the modern plumbing behind the 19th century paneling i do love it you can see it's all been done
15:55by hand the fact that i've been able to take it apart let's be honest after 130 years and put
16:00it
16:00back together again that says that says everything you need to know i would say rogers made headway
16:06so that's good but it's painstaking work and they need to get the jinko suite bathroom
16:13in working order in time for their first wedding booking
16:21six hours north in burgundy today anna and max have decided to take a well-earned break from the
16:30grueling work on their courtyard restoration so we're going to visit cormattan today um it's a local
16:36chateau it's only five minutes away from us and they have beautiful gardens there and i'm hoping that
16:42i can get a bit of inspiration on the types of plants and flowers that they have there
16:49anna is in charge of all floral decisions but max has laid on the transport
16:56in the shape of his pride and joy an opel capitaine from the 1950s
17:07arriving at the chateau and its spectacular gardens anna gets straight down to business looking for
17:15floral ideas we have a north facing courtyard and obviously the walls are very high so
17:20we need to make sure that we choose plants that will be sustained without too much sunlight and will
17:33still grow
17:34look at those roses wow maybe round by the the courtyard the the arch arch or maybe even the front
17:43door
17:43we could have a climbing rose up against the wall there
17:51this is very pretty i love the way they made the gravel here and the fountain i wish we can
17:57do that
17:57one day you always dream too big and i'm always saying yes to you
18:04the purple flower here for the courtyard coming somewhere like comata it gives you that vision
18:12for how it how things gonna look yeah how it will be in the end which drive us on to
18:18to do good works and get it finished
18:26the floral spectacle of the chateau gardens has fired anna's imagination
18:33so they head to their rental apartment to collect two giant andu's pots she's earmarked for planting up
18:43and is keen to get them back to the chateau but nothing's easy when it's on this scale
18:52we've already got some trees to put in them and planting them so i am greatly afraid that they
18:56will be broken in this process luckily anna's father alistair can help lift the load
19:07do you think it's going to be enough just to have the one strap or do we need one
19:12like front we're leaving five minutes from here it's a bumpy road
19:21i'll meet you at the other end love you love you too
19:30i'm petrified um but this is perfectly normal for this family
19:38it might be a short ride to the chateau but it only takes one pothole
20:06the mission went well um you protected them very nicely in the back of the truck and
20:12you went very slowly to make sure that there was no um any more breakage on it yeah when they're
20:18not broken it's always the best thing because i'm not blamed
20:24anna's prized pots are one step closer to their final destination we have a lot of building stuff
20:32and machinery outside the front so once all of that is moved um ready for summer and the courtyard is
20:38in
20:38a more finished state the pots will come out of storage and go into their pride of place in front
20:44of the chateau to create that lovely welcoming space that we really want to have for our guests
20:50the precious cargo is safely on chateau grounds and tomorrow their attention must return to the mammoth job
20:58of leveling the courtyard
21:06nearly 400 miles away in southwest france rory has some final prep work to do before the diggers arrive
21:15to excavate a hole for their pool this little room here which is within our giant barn is going to
21:23be the
21:24pump room all the gubbins for the swimming pool are going to be housed in here and so i've got
21:29to get punch holes through the wall so the pipes can come in and out i have to get these
21:35holes done
21:35because in two days they're coming to dig the swimming pool and they also have to dig a trench
21:41to the point where the pipes are coming in and out of the building we've got a very very thick
21:47wall
21:48to try and cut through
22:04well that's as far as a drill bit can go
22:10no sign of anything coming through the wall at the minute
22:17so i'm gonna have to do something different
22:21having got as far as he can with the drill rory tries another tool
22:27this is a core drill for coring big holes through solid walls
22:45that might be through go and have a look
22:50ah brilliant x marks a spot i wasn't far off
22:55that's pretty good drilling blind through a wall
22:58having estimated where the hole was going to be oh i'm really pleased
23:05it's been quite a good day overall i think we're through which means i know exactly where to tell
23:10the diggers to dig their trench when they come in a couple of days time well done brilliant thank you
23:18jane and rory have done all they can to prep the pool area and they're ready to roll in the
23:25diggers
23:29coming up will max's courtyard roof come tumbling down
23:38and are jane and rory digging themselves a whole heap of trouble don't want the horses to just fall in
23:45this hole
23:53in burgundy at chateau de chassignol anna and max's huge courtyard restoration has unearthed a problem
24:03but hopefully this morning we can finish the leveling and this afternoon we can start to dig the trenches
24:08the big challenge would be to change the the base of one of the column because it's broken on the
24:13base
24:14and we have to put some support to hold the roofs while we removing that columns it's broken but it's
24:20still holding the uh it's not half of it is not holding but that will be the challenge today trust
24:27me
24:32the precarious process of bracing the pillar
24:36to remove its crumbling base is underway with cousin ludivine and dad laurent giving back up
25:05and to remove this
25:15you don't need to prove that it's not going to move by pushing it so much
25:22max is not going to be defeated
25:32but will the supports be enough to keep this column from crashing down
25:45so it's not going to be defeated
25:46so it's not going to be defeated
25:48i haven't seen a suspended column before but uh it's magic black magic
26:01they could do with a lot more magic to complete this job
26:10we basically make sure that it will hold in place so we can recreate a proper base for it
26:17and change the stone which is broken
26:25with the digger on daily hire they need to forge ahead
26:30and four hours later they've started digging huge trenches for the drainage
26:41we are up halfway that is going to cut the holes there to pass the pipes
26:49and uh you know halfway is done and there is just after it's just straight so it's easier
26:54to get less angles
27:08we still have more to do the earth all the earth is not gone
27:14and i'm a bit scared about it because i will mean
27:17my cousin is living tonight so i will have to do to finish everything myself
27:27we always knew it was going to be a strip down process and then rebuild
27:32so it will be exciting to see what the next step brings when you get a house like this this
27:37is
27:37no surprise i mean if you think everything's going to be small you're an idiot
27:46it's been slow progress and for anna and max the mammoth courtyard project continues
28:04it's a great day for jane and rory
28:07today is one of the biggest days we've had at the chateau because our pool is being dug and it's
28:13still
28:13only june which means we might have a swimming pool to use this summer which will be fantastic
28:25the aim is to dig out an 11 by 5 meter hole
28:35this dig has gone extremely well so far
28:41they're doing brilliantly so it's a learning curve just watching them at it
28:54while the workers take a break jane and rory can take a peek into the depths of their freshly dug
29:02pit
29:04wow i'm tempted to climb in i might go down we had imagined for quite a while that we'd be
29:11able to do this
29:11ourselves we were thinking of buying a digger how wrong that was because it's such a precise job
29:18needs so much skill it's insane how fast one morning and they're halfway dug so by the end of the
29:23day
29:24we will have a swimming pool hole and then it'll all be over to us so we're going to have
29:29to lay
29:30a geotextile sheet the hole everywhere along the floor up the walls so another thing we have to do is
29:37add a bit more fencing just belt and braces because i don't want the horses to accidentally fall in this
29:42hole
29:53with the digger back to finish the job all is going swimmingly until oh no
30:03there looks like there's a mains power connection probably to the cottage
30:08that's been cut i'm going to grab um electrical test to see if uh see if it lights up you
30:14just
30:14want to double check it's not dangerous
30:21no okay there's no power there so perhaps it's just old antenna satellite dish antenna or something
30:29like that i think so we should be okay
30:35crisis averted and it's the final push on removing the 100 cubic meters of clay soil
30:44so this is the last few scoops pretty much
30:54amazing it's brilliant all in one day
31:07we've got to do everything ourselves from now on yes it's a little bit daunting the amount of
31:13of things we have to do that we've never done before
31:17all to make a big swimming pool but i think we're up to the challenge i can't wait to get
31:21on with it
31:23the
31:24having said goodbye to 150 tons of earth jane and rory are well and truly in at the deep end
31:37two and a half hours east louisa is in the tower room of the jinko suite
31:43putting the final touches to the display of historical memorabilia they discovered in their original safe
31:52i think i'm happy
31:56if i grab this edge yeah
32:03that fits quite nicely actually i think it fits
32:06it's almost like we measured it it looks the business yeah that's great isn't it
32:10you know i think people will look at that i would look at that
32:15while roger gets back to work on the bathroom sink unit louisa wants to add a final flourish to the
32:24suite's grand four poster bed so um picked up these curtains and um see see what they look like i'd
32:32like
32:32an overhang of them too sort of like give it a little bit of a romantic feel so see how
32:36we go
32:36i'm doing it all in velcro to start with and then once i'm happy with it i can sew it
32:42on more permanently
32:48i've done it so that this will then be sewn down and give a nice little edge
32:57it's going to come down like that that's going to look very nice good
33:04okay that's a good first effort
33:08carrying the huge worktop for roger's bespoke sink unit is a two-person job
33:15why is it everything in a chateau is so heavy especially everything you buy
33:19okay hey you chose this
33:24well
33:26ready is it the right way around yeah this is the yeah so this is uh we decided on an
33:31oak top
33:35so there's a bit of an art to this now you've got to lift over the top of that
33:40you lift too yeah
33:42and then to me yeah yeah then i should just drop you should
33:48got it just drop yeah good nice very nice so far so good i'm very pleased i think it looks
33:56great
33:56and i i love this sort of thing as well you know i love this sort of tinkering with this
34:01sort of
34:02stuff to make it go in it's right up my street
34:08very nice there you go look that's the best i'm going to do for you
34:14oh doesn't that look nice the jinko suite bedroom is almost complete and the bathroom now has a sink
34:23unit really pleased got the panels back in and they look pretty close to what i was hoping they
34:29were going to look like so i'm starting to feel the end coming thank goodness we'll get to tiling
34:34and wallpapering really soon now so you know i don't think we're too far away from seeing the end of
34:40the ginko suite the finish line is in sight but louisa and roger can't wash their hands of the project
34:49just yet
34:53still to come max makes an unexpected breakthrough do we not need that part of the floor and will
35:03louisa's first ever guests love the new suite i've been slowly collecting eclectic items now they're all
35:11going to be revealed in one big hit i'm really loving it
35:23350 miles north in burgundy max and his dad laurent have downed tools on the gruelling courtyard project
35:33to tackle a job inside making a hidden opening which will lead into a reading room every chateau needs
35:42a secret door so um we wanted to put it into our sort of winter salon come library um so
35:48yeah it'll be
35:50a very discreet access get the wall down make sure that we remove everything to get passing through that
35:58with the ideal it's the first major thing we've done inside the chateau so it's uh finally us
36:05putting plans into place of how we want to reconfigure it slightly and putting our own stamp on things
36:14having previously put lintels in place to support the doorway i am ready to begin
36:25max's dad can't wait to get going it's very dusty because as you destroy a wall like this it
36:34gives you all the time a lot of stone just a tiny hole gives you so much stone
36:41it's heavy going as this wall is over half a meter thick
36:54so please don't tell me you can see the cellar oh dear lord it's not quite the opening they were
37:03hoping for do we not need that part of the floor we're gonna reconstruct one it's easier to get
37:09downstairs i will be quicker to the board just drop through yeah do you want a fireman's pole to drop
37:15through to the cellar i assume it's going back in yes we're gonna put concrete on top of this i
37:22must
37:23admit coming in and seeing that we have no floor was a little bit of a surprise it's going back
37:28in
37:28so and they say it's not a problem so i trust them i think it's a serious hole that will
37:38have to be
37:39dealt with but max has a novel idea yes glass tiles no glass tiles we're not going to have this
37:49debate
37:49again if we had prettier cellars then maybe glass would be fine but we've got a boiler room underneath
37:55so pretty room it's all a room it's a it's like a heavy machinery room it's important only you would
38:04love to see a boiler room from above i think our guests might prefer to have a nice polished wood
38:10floor
38:14with the wall finally opened up along with a hole into the cellar
38:20their hidden passageway to a library is beginning to materialize so play yeah i like it i can't believe
38:29all of this stone came out of that tiny entranceway i suppose it was nearly a meter thick
38:37i think it's looking great and i'm really proud that he's managed to do that so quickly
38:42so now it's just the final finishing steps to creating the doorway and putting a bit of floor back in
38:50yes
38:52it's the first chapter of what will be a secret opening into a library but this chateau's story is set
39:02to run and run
39:06six hours south at chateau de montespieu the new jinko suite bathroom is nearly finished
39:15with tiling now in the sink unit painted and traditional flooring laid louisa and roger
39:24are getting ready to reveal it to friends are you happy with that there i'm delighted thank you very much
39:34we're nearly there just a few things to add to the bathroom and uh just in time for our friends
39:38to turn
39:39up we've got june danielle turning up these are our old colleagues from uh barging days
39:55this is super exciting i've been slowly collecting eclectic items to put in this bathroom behind
40:01roger's back and i've been storing them under covers and now they're all going to be revealed in one big
40:06it i'm really loving it i'm just going to put a few finishing touches myself on the safe so the
40:15first
40:15thing i wanted to put into the safe was this coin that we found a napoleon the third 10 centime
40:21which
40:21we found behind the skirting boards in the ginkgo bathroom so that can be our first piece of treasure
40:28and louise has also found some costume jewelry that we think the last aristocrat madame de juge
40:34may have belonged to her so we polished that up and we thought that would make another nice little
40:37bit of treasure to put in the safe with every last detail in place it's gorgeous their friends julian
40:53and danielle arrived to give the suite a trial run before the first big summer wedding hi guys
41:04hey nice to see you thank you so much for coming amazing i can't wait to see you thank you
41:09so much for
41:10coming i'm so proud let's go have a look
41:21just a few months ago the ginkgo suite was a series of empty time-worn rooms
41:28with gloomy walls and faded decor
41:37now guests step into a plush inviting bedroom styled in rich art deco tones with statement wallpaper and
41:48louise's golden touches gleaming on the four poster bed oh amazing
41:55yeah very nice oh gosh wow you guys i love the gold as well it really pulls it together
42:06behind the secret door in the quirky turret room memories of the chateau's past are on display
42:14with original documents and the hidden safe fully restored and filled with keepsakes once more
42:23through the secret door oh my goodness do we know what's in the secret door in there that's the
42:32safe we we found so we re-papered it in are you kidding no hold on how's it going i
42:38had to change the
42:39lock and it's and so we've given look we put some treasures in fantastic and in the day this is
42:46where
42:46she would have kept all of her valuables and all of the ledgers which we found in the safe
42:51and then we made a display of them on the desk 1882 83. oh look at her ledgers
42:59the final space in the suite is the show-stopping bathroom once a plain tired bedroom
43:09now it's been transformed into a chateau-sized sanctuary with a bespoke double vanity unit
43:17repurposed by roger using original paneling a two-person shower and carefully chosen period lighting
43:26fantastic it's beautiful well done you guys some amazing amazing choices that have sort of brought it to
43:38it has been so exciting it feels like an achievement not just of the suite but of the whole floor
43:45yeah
43:45it does this is actually the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle isn't it for the whole of this
43:49level there is a long way to go but yeah every step that we get completed it's an income for
43:55us so
43:56it is it is great news for next year with another suite finished louisa and roger can get their luxury
44:05wedding business up and running and with the whole floor above still a blank canvas the only way is up
44:19next time i hate for you to undo anything you've already done there's bad news for one couple but
44:26if we can take off this middle bit then the entire thing looks like it's been here since the chateau
44:31was
44:31built another pair gambled thousands on a facelift it's super exciting because this is the thing
44:37that's going to change the entire look of the shuttle today is the big paul and jane and rory dig
44:44themselves
44:44into a deep hole we've got eight and a quarter tons of cement coming i'm going to be in a
44:51bit of a panic
44:52so
45:04so
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