Couple who bought a decrepit French Château for $500k reveal the major lessons
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2018
- Crumbling labour of love: Couple who bought a decrepit French Château for $500k after seeing just FOUR of its 94 rooms reveal the major lessons they've learned while renovating a 300-year-old monument
When Karina and Craig Waters bought the sprawling Château de Gudanes in Verdun, in the south of France in 2013, they had seen just four of its 91 rooms - and had no idea of the scale of the project they had taken on. Almost five years later the couple, from Perth in Western Australia, have published a book about their labour of love journey restoring the vast 18th century property in the Occitanie region, which they paid an estimated AUD$500,000 (£281,600) for. Mrs Waters opened up to FEMAIL about the lessons she and her partner have learned while turning the crumbling château into a working hotel.
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The Chateau is in my Dreams! I Hope to Visit!! FASCINATION!!
Congratulations to the Waters family for being so dedicated to saving this beautiful building and for doing it with such respect of it's history. We look forward to visiting sometime.
You would be surprised how just adding a table, tablecloth and flowers can brighten up any room!
Sounds like that is what Mrs. Waters is relying on. She keeps emphasising how important to keep the old patina and Not how it once looked. Sounds like the two are Not capable of restoring it properly.
I don’t think a table cloth is going to fix crumbling ceilings and walls
I wouldn't stay in a place with no proper bathroom facilities no matter how beautiful it is. But others might.
The couple that purchase the French Chateau and took time and respected the French way of doing it where incredibly bless. I myself just love the history that's behind these homes. Like the photograph in the peace shows an older tub, I might have restored the porcelain inside the tub but I would have kept the outside of the tub old and peeling. That's Beauty 2 me which of course Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. I love anyting a French design especially country French. I would thank them for realizing that 1 r e s p e c t s the process of doing it. I have a book called the French apartment and there's a quote Beauty is eternal but dust is only for time. I love that. It just struck my heart.
Simply gorgeous - how wonderful that a couple with real sensitivity for history were able to rescue this wonderful building and maintain ts integrity for present and future generations.
My salute to the couple 💖
Hire an actor to read the script. Mechanical voice means I stop watching.
I agree, I stopped it immediately. Especially annoying is hearing a robot voice mispronounce words and names.
Ditto. It’s appalling.
Agreed, its horrible. It could be so good...clicked off.
Yup . Assuming a human wrote the script, a human could read it .
It's sooo cheap for $500,000..BUT what follow is EXPENSIVE! Keep up the good work and initial spirit in you😀
I wish them all the success. What an exciting thing to do in life. I would love to spend a night there in its present condition. I love ruins and this beauty is being restored.
Ghost
I live in San Francisco, California. I have restored old buildings for many years. I appreciate your attitude towards the history and the desire to reclaim the original beauty where you can. I hope you never grow tired of the process.
I would have loved to have seen the kitchen there and know how much they have already spent on renovations as I don't recall hearing that amount
BEAUTIFUL!! The chateau stirs the imagination and there's no doubt that it has quite the history. Always in gratitude to folks who see the value in preserving history by taking on renovation projects such as this one and it is definitely a labor of love
on a grand scale.
breathtaking place. i imagine the many who have loved and smiled, thought and recovered after upheavals within it's lovely strong walls. the society to be shared and enjoyed too!
Wow. I watched the first video and is soo impressed with what you have done to that historical place... WELL DONE!!!
Brave couple....there must have been an emotional attachment. Restoration on any house is tough. Love idea of opening it up as a hotel, allowing participants to work. Great idea...good luck.
Living as though they're moronic imbeciles must be tough for them too.
They absolutely are, even I dreamt and love the idea living in a chateau, renovat, restoring everything as such, in reality I don't think I could truly commit spending so many years just to do that, especially such a big project like this.. I take my hat off for the couple!!
They are from Australia.. how would they have an emotional attachment to a French Castle? Do you think at all before you start talking?
@@DrFumesta yes of course a person can have an emotional attachment to anything even though they have not known it before .
What an absolutely beautiful project! It's truly about embracing the process! Enjoy every moment!
I am re modeling my French Normandy home right now....camping in a few rooms while baths and kitchen get special treatment. I am starting to tire....had a crying spell this week but I think I am over it . I have a great GC and subs since we all live in Half Moon Bay and feel proud and productive of our reputations ( I own the swim school in town). BUT!!! IT must be done by CHRISTMAS!!! Bathrooms feature gorgeous tile, marble, new light fixtures' 'boat' sink, special wallpaper while the kitchen shines with the handcrafted backsplash , called Ocean, with mermaid tails.
How blessed to Hood a beautiful home and place to share with happy public events.
Stunning cant wait to see end results
Workman in Europe are never rushed and work on their own timeline and pace...years to renovate plus permits
Having been involved in small restoration projects i can say with some degree of experience that a good deal of money goes into the "unseen." Foundation work, roof, repairing rotting timbers, and then there's the plumbing, electrical, heating, and bringing everything up to code. Deep pockets help, but there comes a point where one gets tired of shelling out buckets of cash.
That's why I would have liked to have known a little bit more about how much work they have left to do and how much they have spent so far but unless I missed something I don't recall hearing how much they spent after they bought the place .
I also would have liked to have seen the kitchen and I don't recall seeing that
1800 euros for a person to work and sleep there for 3 nights, the chateu is not even finished wtf
Just love! Wish I had the Chateau.
So glad there are good people in the world that have the time, energy, money & love to restore these places. They are amazing. Is there a follow up video ?? Oct. 2020
A true labor of love. What a wonderful but almost destroyed chateau. So beautiful.
I love the idea of opportunity to come and take active part in renovation of Chateau.
Yes, I too would love it, although they only offer 7/5/3 day stays. I'd prefer to work much longer. Do you have background in restoration?
@@piedpiper7051 Perhaps if you were working as part of the Restoration Team and had travelled a long way to get there, they would let you stay there as part of your wages? Just a thought...how humbling it would be to bring "her" back to her original beauty...
@@kymmccluney8434 Yes, indeed, that would be lovely although, I don't believe they are set up yet for housing workers. I read that they do plan on that in the future.
I am an ( early retired ) American so yes it's not a quick weekend jaunt kind of trip. Besides, my career was in historic preservation/conservation, so I know that the short stay is quite meaningless in terms of bringing this property back to a stable and long lasting condition. Although, I have done many volunteer "angels projects" along with a large group of others in order to bring a meaningful impact to a project in a short timeframe. Long term success with a project such as this requires long term devotion as a whole.
I may contact them directly in the near future to offer up some ideas. What they need are some interns who can be sponsored for 3,6,9 or 12 months at a time to work daily under the direction of those with expertise in each of the areas of discipline this building's materials are comprised of. It will be a life long project to pass it forward to the next generation. And so on.
Hopefully they have already completed condition reports so they have been able to assess the buildings needs and have developed the scope of plans as to how to accomplish.
I do like their approach so far, rather than turning it into a museum. I spent much of my career, as a private practice conservator, working on artifacts for or even within the museums. I often found it sad that people have to visit museums to enjoy all the works of art, but they became a necessity I suppose. The best stuff is still in the basement's of the museum. Hidden from view.
I grew up renovating a pre-civil war home. It gets in your blood and you either love it or hate it. I loved it.
I wish them grand success and a fantastic journey along the way.
no , not a great deal ...only in my own house = not a historic one = about 100 years old ...but I was thinking ...??? ... myself of getting some old property ( maybe ) in department Lozère or somhere aroud ...
@@arkadiuszpaul Ahh, if you enjoy the work and working with your hands you should do it. It is a labor of love.
I love this place! One day I would love to visit this chateau. I understand how you could fall in love with it. Much success 🏰💖
Me too.! For vacations whit family. Or perhaps if they open a language french course, I will be in, or may help to new subscriptions from USA and Mexico.
Like the program byebyemexico
So beautiful! Most Chateau's today are in terrible ruin-like conditions and only the wealthy can afford to repair them. I've spent $100,000 just fixing up an old farmhouse. We all learn valuable lessons as we repair them.
Hey eva, as some one who live in old house too, i want to see your farm house renovation if possible. 🙂
Wonderful!
This is soooo beautiful. Amazing.
Wow! I'm sure I could take on this enormous task of this restoration!
Wow now we can all visit this beauty.
I'm a little confused, buildind a back building with plumbing would do away with having plumbing in the Chateau...HOw? Are people going to go running across the back garden and up into the staff quarters whenever nature calls ? And do they really think hotel guests would be willing to rent a suite with no loo, no showers and no lights? Is there even heating ?
Raymond Davis classic commodes in closets are not uncommon, just different. Classically built chairs with a removable bowl underneath or a compost toilet put into a classic style chair. Very simple.
From what they said, it sounds like the new building would be across the whole back of the building and up all 3 stories ~ basically facing the whole back. They are probably having difficulty with the French historical preservation society, which probably isn’t giving them permission to add pipes and or make holes in the walls. These preservation societies do just that - they preserve like a piece of static art without caring about how to find a balance so that building can be made usable for the future. We have the same problem here in Italy and many buildings are abandoned or go into decay because you literally aren’t allowed to do anything with them.
@@serenabonini1406 Serena very interesting to know that so thank you for explaining it to us
Reminds me of Chateau du Gudane. They also are using the old things in the Chateau.
I luv this place, mom!
I love hearing they're trying to keep it the way it was so many people try to update the wallpaper and stuff like that but if they can renovate it it's better to keep the old look there's so much stone and antiques it's just so interesting to look at all the fine details.
To me the old and original is much more beautiful than throwing something new & modern up there.
Beautifully put.
I don't recall seeing the kitchen and really wanted to see it .
I also don't recall this saying how much has been spent on renovations so far and I would have loved to have known .
@@gardensofthegods I envision a giant walk-in fireplace with a big iron pot hanging by a handle over a wood-burning stove. I watch this other RUclips channel called How to renovate a chateau (without killing your partner). They're currently redoing their kitchen and it really looks nice. One episode shows where they had to run sewer or electrical lines through the front door and under the stairs - watch that episode you talk about dedication!
God Bless you and hopefully you restore it to your specifications. Would love to sing there for weddings. Let me know when you have that up and running.
ChinaDoll of the Platters
i follow them on IG!
what's their user name
Yes this horrible computer voice IS the worse ... normally I don't listen to anything using it but I was really interested in this chateau
Why don't you have the book title in the video? If it is sold on Amazon there should be a link.
ambition of the poetic variety!
The Property was bought for 2 hundred, and 20 thousand dollars. That is it. Everything they have worked on since they took possession of the property, was from their OWN finances. I have been in touch with the people that own it, as I'm going to be doing some weaving of Tapestry Panels for their Chateau.
Incredible about the tapestry weaving , that is just wonderful .
So then how much can you tell us have they spent so far on the restoration ?
I would love to have seen the kitchen
So beautiful and interesting, I will like to stay there as a guest of the hotel, most importantly is to support the Water’s family to collect more money for the on going remodeling of this magnificent property.
Love the staircase - it’s spectacular
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OIE OIE OIE, haaa I'm a KIWI, nice to see how much you've done. keep up the bloody hard work, cheers Petrina.
Fabulous! May I suggest not using a disconnected voice to conduct the experience. It makes the project souless.
I love all things old and beautiful. Your Chateau has a lovely history and you are amazing to want to restore it’s beauty. I am interested in knowing how your guests feel about staying in somewhat crumbling and possibly moldy rooms. Is this a problem?
Belíssimo castelo, palácio, sei lá! Quem o adquiriu terá que desembolsar uma grana alta para restaurá-lo e bota dinheiro nisso, mas vale a pena.
HORRIBLE RECORDING....let her record it.and tell their own story...not some "bot freak"..
What is the name if their book?
I think they thought with that price and the beautiful building and the overall chateau and land (less the renovation part) is a great bargain (the average cost to buy a chateau in good habitable condition it will cost u around $1-2 millions). But then when they decided to renovated, they realized the renovation has a hell of work that they never expected to come!
The stairwell looks familiar; is it possible that rogue urbex explorers have extensive video of this prior to it's sale?
Also....please keep us posted.
I have been following this project on facebook. Facinating
I can't stand Facebook I haven't been on it in five and a half years at least and it would be wonderful if they could continue also here on RUclips
I would have liked to meet the owners and walk through the Chateau
What is the name of the book they wrote about the restoration?
94 rooms in a single chateau is just TOO much...
Theyre very amazing to preserve the chateau this far .
I'm sure some of them are really small and that might even include large closets and pantries .
But have you ever seen George Harrison's Friar Park I think it's called ... in , I think it's Hemsley England .
That place is massive and makes this Chateau small .
I forget how many rooms were in it but there were a real lot .
Simply gorgeous and beautiful 😍 ❤ 💕, I love it
Pretty sure this is unauthorised use of their footage
Maybe maybe not
Would be great reality TV show
Wooow.good luck.
Nice to see someone with taste get it
Do you have any advice about where to start if someone wants to make surch an investment in a castle in France?
Bobby abandon shutters in France, why did you not do something on the size that was more manageable?
We did a similar project in Stonybrook, NY to a 10 room home. The day we closed we found the town slapped us with condemned status. We spent a few hundred thousands on repairs & replacement items even before any decorating. The house was beautiful, we stayed 17yrs. We learned from a friend of the former owners son the house was haunted & yes it was. My son came to the breakfast table soon after we finally moved in & told us..."something was holding me down in my bed". There had been little odd things happening the whole time we were there. Found out the son of the sellers was into devil worshipping & black magic. He'd try to'' conjure beings'' is what we were told. There were also unmarked graved in backyards along our block. This is all true. People say ''id run & leave everything'' Not easy to do unless you have unlimited money & most paranormal experiences are subtle & many wouldn't notice. The huge instances I'm skeptical of.
Did you yourself ever experience any of the Paranormal at that property that you could share with us here ?
What about if you guys open a summer or season French course
Where the International student can live and learnd there and stay at the some time. ?
If you guys contact other educational institutions arround the glove, like Mexico, surprising students and adults like to travel and learnd culture and language,
Also in US.
You guys can put like two months of the year.... Intense course, where they can study and have Sunday or Saturdays 4 hrs work part of the program.
Or more work hrs and pay less...
It's a internship in Sonora another one in Monterrey Mexico -interships for careers and also they take summer courses, and some other no religious in Guadalajara where you guys can parter (give the institution a percentaje in for student summer sent.)
Money Pit - We know from experience looks can be deceiving and the hidden reveal of structural damage can devastate any pocket book. The true nature of this disease comes from a romantic notion of saving and restoring a piece of architecture to bring it back to its original state. The cost and the labor alone will make many weak in the knees and the back breaking amount of work endless.
I want to go
Mirip mirip ocean house hotel yg d game vampire the masquerade bloodlines 😍
My dream is stay at chateu
Of course you have to be rich like king Luis to be able to make it look like before.
Real chutzpah, more power to your elbow ...♥️
Buying a chateau that is listed or monitored by authorities during construction is not a good idea.
I am not sure why I am having trouble understanding you and it could simply be that I am tired .
Can you explain exactly what it is you are saying
@@gardensofthegods properties that are listed have limitations on what and how you can renovate them. The local government and historical society can influence and rule your project.
@@NA-ij5jy yes I found this out last night reading more of the comments .
💛
Sebenernya biasa aja purinya cmn krn belakangnya ada bukit bukitnya jadi bagus...😍
Xfavor activen títulos en español
Wow, I'm sorry to be a negative Nellie but no way is that place anywhere near habitable or even safe enough to be used as a wedding site. There has to be another way to raise funds to get this chateau truly renovated. Could France help.and the Waters run it?
Right now, it's scary and dangerous and has potential but I'd never want my wedding there in the state it is in.
In a way placing chatou in a hands of rich people who present plan of restoration would give buildings like that future and survival. Plans should be required as part of purchase and owner obligated to follow plans in timely manner or turn back house to a bank. Those are monuments of historical significance and national treasures.
But someone said what happens is there are a number of restrictions for example they sometimes will not even allow them to put a hole in the wall to put in plumbing for the bathroom and so what happens is the building's become impractical and so instead of those buildings being restored and used for wonderful purposes and brought to life again what happens from too many restrictions from the historical commission is that the properties just sit there and rot and fall apart .
Giving them the time frame within which they have to have the place renovated and if not then it rivard's to the bank is not fair .
Anything could go wrong with a restoration where it could take longer ?
... why punish people for the effort of even trying to take on such a massive project
The main problem with old château in France is the cost of heating them, apart of all the restauration .
They installed some radiant heat flooring, restored some fireplaces.
Check out their facebook page.
Elizabeth Harttley yes i m talking about chateaux in general , after what i ve seen in France . Good enough !? Woah
Hineni John3:16 yes ! But somehow didn t see much of solar heating system in France, and well in Iceland , we are very fortunate with geothermal energy , very good heating , and end less supply of hót water, but it s a volcanic country making it easier tó get hót steam.
Astrid Danielsdottir Hi Astrid, happy you came up with this, I actually asked them exactly that a while ago, and suggested a biogas system. 'No space for it on the property', they said. They were still looking into solving the energy problem. In most rooms it's cold and damp at night. It's very much like camping. The electricity bills must be astronomical.
How many acres??
i wonder what is up with the narration?
Why did you choose the robotic voice?
Although the old is beautiful I think it is very unfair to restore this beautiful building and not repair it all the way ! walls are still cracked and falling down and paint looks a mess. It’s beautiful on the pics . But I believe they should really give her her beauty back she deserves it Ijs 🤷🏽♂️
I think they have a long long way to go before they can really say it's totally restored and I think that's why it still looks the way it does .
Why did they not show us a photo of the kitchen .
It would be great if they had told us how much they have spent on Renovations so far
Only extremely rich should be allowed to buy it and restore it for obvious reasons. Tons of money necessary to restore to previous look.
Pipe Dream
Rennovate - and Restore - Oh, but BRING it into the 21st Century with a Truly balanced Decorator that can allow the spirit of the structure to be collectively then and now - in its greatest potential -
This could be beyond stunning - (There are enough Museum Homes in 17th Century Wallpaper - let your you make a signature there to -
It could be so the beat of both - w/o losing details of antiquity - (other than the over-flowery Wallpaper - ugh!)
Beth Bartlett lessons in taste from a middle aged woman who wears a baseball cap? Really?
@@spencerwilton5831 Spencer Wilton , I think you might be the same person who made a nasty remark to somebody else in one of the other threads
Harusan buat tempat wisata bagus,buat lokasi main film lawas 😍
A real voice would have made this video listenable.
Those frenchies are a clever lot. Keep them working for years to come. Why would you want to rush a grand old lady ?
Gotta love the"need permission to renovate" if this couple didn't come along it would be rotting to the ground.
Ill bet they were lawyers ? Australian lawyers love there chateaux.
Close Charlie... doctors couple from Perth actually, with very deep pockets...
This chateau was DELIBERATELY destroyed during the first world war and remained that way...the "before" pictures would have turned off any purchaser and if it weren't for these wonderful people from Perth, Australia, it would probably have collapsed completely. The most important thing was to restore the roof and I believe that was also the most work. Later work was done by the owners themselves and various people who joined them.
@@gisawslonim9716 very interesting ... that World War 1 history you gave us .
I would like to know how much they have paid so far in Restorations
Beautiful and a, dream of mine for so very long 💋
I would question why we need to learn anything about how to renovate such an enormous undertaking. Not a part of normal life. I would have preferred to just see the accomplishments. Some project. Love it.
Don’t like the computer voice
I can't watch it -- I can't listen to that robot voice that some videos use. I'm interested in their story but not that much. Dear couple -- why did you permit yourself to be used for this channel. Make your own one time video if that's all you want to do.
What a beautiful chateaux. Would love to see some photos of what you describe at 1:30, the rooms with fallen floors and ceilings, and trees growing inside.
Check out on RUclips "Chateau de Goudanes" and you will see all the BEFORE videos as well as all those showing the restoration work in progress.
Yes and I would have loved to have seen the kitchen
500k is way to much money for a chateau that is just basically a foundation, there are plenty available for much less with 5 to 55 hectors of land
Someone said they actually only paid 220,000
ahahaha i ll buy it from yall.. doc johnny
sicily
johnny llooddte ;
I like your style Johnny.
Do not like the computerized voice
Let SKILLed people live there chateau.
Haunted
Verdun : le sud de la France !!! toujours comiques ces australiens
major lessons.. you paid about 400k too much ahahahha
What a bloody awful voice-over !!! - Completely ruins what should be a really exciting story - Can you re-do it ???
When you do not own your home but your home owns you. Just a nightmare.
A chateau is not a female person, it's a male thing. Don't say "her" or "she", but say "it".
Don’t watch