That must feel like such a huge accomplishment for yourSELVES as well! You guys are quite unique in that you always mention what the château needs but rarely talk about your own comfort... which is in direct contrast to most château owned channels. I recognize that it's a giant sacrifice and that you're aware fully of the urgent necessity to fix major issues for the sake of preservation... but just like any caretakers (parents seems like an odd word, but probably similar at this stage 😉) you still need to consider your own needs. I'm so pleased that you're finally able to see more of that taking shape as you turn such a stunning work of art into a home the way it was intended ❤
After reading many articles on “biomass” heating systems it seems to me that this fancy name is hiding a wood fired boiler. The chips are fed to a furnace by electric screw feeders so it needs electricity to work. The chips are burned which heats water in a boiler. The water is circulated to the equivalent of radiators. If this is what you are installing then the system is an update of a traditional fire/boiler/radiator set up that has been used for centuries. Please tell me if this is a correct description of what you are installing. Thank you.
Congratulations on successfully installing the new bio mass heating system. Such a sustainable choice. It's a shame other Chateau owners are still choosing to install gas fired systems despite having the timber. Crikey Tim moves those huge sections of wood around with such ease. As soon as the markets improve we'll become Patrons!
Hi guys .. this is Rishi from India.. i have been watching the videos posted on your channel and witnessing the progress that you made together.. for this moment i would take to appreciate and congratulate you both for the efforts and patience, and vision you both have.. keep up the good work ❤
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Thank you so much we really appreciate your support
Well done on the team adapting the plan due to the weather! You must be very excited and feel a sense of accomplishment by having researched and chosen the best heating system, and know that this coming winter, you will be warm, and the chateau wont suffer any further deterioration. I have said this before, but I’ll say it again, you two are so admirable! 🇦🇺 Kelly xx
In spite of the challenges, you guys continue to move forward and in doing so, are bringing the chateau to life as well as safeguarding it for future generations. WooHoo.
Hello from Nashville, Tennessee! I am always impressed with your solutions to your problems. I am so elated to see vast improvements in your Chateau! Your hard work is paying off! I wish I could come help but I am too far away! Best of luck with everything! I love getting to see your videos! Thank-you!
just another day at the Chateau! Like plowing through a 14ft snowdrift with a 6ft tall tractor at 4 am in order to go to work. I feel your pain! It is quite exciting to have the interiors preserved with the heating system. Money well spent.
This was one of my questions as I have watched your restoration. How were you going to heat and afford to heat such a mansion? What an excellent and maybe elegant solution, to chip your own forest and burn it to provide heat. The challenges you face and the courage with which you tackle them is so admirable, and for us, the viewers to be able to join online is a joy! Merci!
5 місяців тому+2
Thrilled that you enjoyed this video. We spent considerable time reflecting on this question and visiting other chateaux to see the solutions they had adopted. We feel that in the long term this is the right solution both financially and environmentally.
Wow guys congratulations to you both on getting the heating on and starting he journey of getting the lady dried out. What you have achieved is no mean feat bravo. I purchased a carriage station in Brittany in 2018, this week after a year on site the men leave after replacing the roof over 3 buildings including new big skylights gutters and down pipes. It's the first time in decades the house will be water tight and dry. I only did 400sqm and know how much it hit the pocket so for you to do the roof and put the heating in, I stand in awe. Congratulations to you both and here's to warm dry winter and many more to come.❤🎉😊
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Thank you so much and congratulations on your huge milestone! Here's to us both having a dryer winter this year!
only started following, sheesh that looks like one expensive restoration, will you be doing a video on costs, obviously no probs if you feel you need to keep it a private matter. Looks amazing!
How great to see the scaffolding now extending across the roof, and the east side is WATERTIGHT! What a huge step! Moving that mountain of charpente was a massive task. And heat before winter YAY!!! at least in part of the château will make your lives so much nicer. Upward ever upward. 🇦🇺 PS Felicity I know you are working madly, but you need a spa day. It will make you feel better able to cope with everything.
i could watch this all day. Fantasic for Purnon and for you all living and working so hard to have heat, warmth. Saving the interior. Saving this entire unbelievable estate is priceless. A dream come true SOMTHING TO LIVE FOR
Love what you said in the beginning, "by advancing in small steps with patience and perseverance we reach our goal" wrote it down and stuck it to my wall this will be my daily motivation. Well done on getting heat for the Château, such an important milestone to reach!
Without being a pro I did some research on heating and I'd like to share my modest findings In summary : - maximum insulation (means massive and deep renovations in a castle that are sometimes not possible because parts can be "classés" ) - as much different source of calories as possible - a way to distribute those calories - centralized and modular - orchestrate all that Some wood burner can have modules that burn logs, chips and palets - chips and palets are better for automation, auto loading logs also exists - wood logs don't need energy (and money) to be created - chips can come from small trees/branches so you don't need to bring down big trees - palets price you depends on the market but you can make them from saw dust or leaves so in a perfect work your wood burner can handle all 3 types and you use every calories you can grab from the wood A centralized system plus a distributed one - from a touristic point of view having a burner in a room is quite charming for the "chateau experience" but it wastes a lot of calories. A wood burner + water boiler ("poele a bois bouilleur") seems to raise the efficiency up to 90%, It's basically capturing calories with water and distribute is somewhere else - in stead of having a blasting hot point and the rest of the room / floor cold, you can distribute in radiators or floor heating - the calories from one room can "help" the main system or if the main system is broken you have a backup - cons : you need pipes and a system smart enough to be able to treat each boiler as a source of calories to be globally redistributed Thermo solar is also interesting (if you have the roof space) : system is quite simple and cheap but you get a maximum of calories in summer when you need it the least, it's good for shower water, swiming pool..etc... Home automation ( domotique) is mandatory to handle all that (on top of lights, watering systems, doors...etc...). The main problem with "big brands" is that they want to lock you in their system. Most of them don't understand that it goes against the nature of home automation itself : you have to integrate a lot of different devices, sensors, brands, protocols to be able orchestrate them all together. The best solution that I know is home assistant but it's a quite deep rabbit hole that sometimes require some IT skills.
5 місяців тому+2
Thank you for your message and for your feedback on the research that you have undertaken. Several of the points that you have raised are addressed directly in the video. By way of summary: We agree with your first point that improving the thermal properties of the chateau by way of insulation is a very practical, cost-effective and sustainable strategy for retaining heat in the building. Our new roof includes an insulation membrane for the first time in the chateau's history. Where possible we are adding insulation in floor and wall cavities while restoring rooms. The restoration of our windows is also removing draughts etc. As you rightly point out, there are limitations on what can be achieved due to the requirement to respect the building's status as 'classé' Monument historique. Regarding the heating system itself you can see from the video that the solution we selected is a biomass system that uses woodchip as feedstock. This benefits from an automated feeder system (as noted in your comments). We selected this fuel stock over wood pellets as we wanted to be able to use wood chip from trees on our estate. We selected Hargassner technology. This decision was based on visits to several other properties of a similar scale where we could view the system and discuss its performance with the owners. We have created 'zones' inside the chateau so that we can customise our heating requirements with our winter living arrangements. All of it can be controlled remotely. Regarding the room by room heating system, we have a legacy system of radiators that work well in one section of the chateau. We will continue to use these. As we restore the interior of the chateau section by section we will install new heating units that utilise our biomass system. This will be a mix of radiators and underfloor heating depending on a range of factors (ease of installation, cost, floor type etc). We hope that addresses your various comments and conclusions and we thank you for sharing your research and for following our journey.
@ Your choices make totally sense. Imo, the heart of the system it's the pipes because they are extremely pricy/desctructive to change. If the boiler is broken or you need to add other systems, there is a cost for sure, but this happens in the technical room, you don´t have to re-open half of the walls of the castle to achieve that. I see that this beauty is in good hands, thank you for sharing your journey and for your passion for french architecture ! ;-)
I'm curious how the wood chips don't rot or spontaneously combust. Many years ago my city chipped tree branches after an ice storm. I looked out my window and saw huge flames--spontaneous combustion from the decaying organic material.
Magnificent and magical. I got very emotional when i saw the stuuning Craftsmanship of roof and chimneys. Thank you another incredible video. A viewer frpm Vancouver British Columbia Canada. Very beautiful Mansion .
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Thank you so much - it is incredible how talented the artisans are. I promise I'll make a video on the full roof restoration as soon as possible!
Every video is fascinating. This one especially. Immediately I thought about the cost of heating 2000sqm. Apart from the fact you’ve been able to achieve it. OMG.
Love what you are doing at Purnon. You were very brave to take on the challenge. Please can I ask a favour ? I have a disabilty where I have difficulty seperating the music & speech. They blend into one so makes the video difficuult to understand. PLEASE turn the music way down. IMHO it does not add much to the video as most people want to see the DIY and the surroundings or the sounds surrounding the Chateaux. I cannot see the subtitles very well either so they are no help. Catch 22 concentrate on the the subs or watch the video with muffled audio. Many thanks. ATB & regards from the UK
In order to preserve parts of the chateau you are not using, or you are using only during the warm seasons, you can use dehumidifiers instead of a heating system. It uses much less energy and it is just as good for preservation. The only points are that you might need some added pipework to collect the water from the dehumidifiers and that, the room that will be dehumidified instead of heated will stay cold...
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Thank you for your message. Yes this winter we will use dehumidifiers as well as it will take some time before we are able to get the heating to each floor
@avec les gros inserts en pierre, très hauts, pour 2000m2 sur plusieurs niveaux, 4 auraient suffit. Retour de + 92% . Les cheminées à pelets, ça consomme une fortune en bois.
Dear Tim and Felicity, it is so funny to see Tim with this "Yakka" T-shirt because you probably don't know that it sounds like the French "Y'a qu'a" (short form of "Il n'y a qu'à…"), which is used as an interjection, meaning "Just do it" 😉
Ich sag es mal so. Wenn es so einfach wäre ein Schloß zu restaurieren und zu "bewirtschaften", könnte es jeder tun. Aber nein, ihr seid außergewöhnlich und habt die Herausforderung angenommen. Ihr werdet alles tun, um sie zu meistern, davon bin ich überzeugt. Ohne "Dachschaden" wird dann auch einges klarer und kontinuierlich sicherer von der Hand.
There's one of these I watched and the guy installed solar panels at the back of the property and it heats the chateau. It's on the channel on youtube American Viscountess. Athelhampton house in Dorchester U.K
Got it. Such a daunting task you’ve taken on. Perhaps next summer I’ll come volunteer. I’m an excellent painter and landscape designer among many things. I’ve spent the past 17 years gradually renovating my little Connecticut beach cottage. And my French could use a good dusting off.
Wonderful to have heating. A great start. You are well on your way to your intended goal of preserving this beautiful monument. Best wishes from Coffs Harbour.
how is the waste heat used from the burning system. Knowing a similar system which heats a castle , quite huge, produces a lot of waste heat. How do you use it?
I'm always interested, as im sure many are, in a rough estimate of what things cost. That biomass boiler, feed bin, auger and underground insulated supply to the chateau looks about, idk, €$40K? And, about the same again for labor? The, absolutely gorgeous, slate roof thats been done so far? Materials? Labor?
7 місяців тому+3
Hi Thomas, thanks for your questions. In relation to costs, you may wish to have a look at this earlier video that we prepared. It answers many questions including some about costs. ua-cam.com/video/x38bWiqkvfw/v-deo.html In order to respect both our own privacy and that of the companies working with us, we don't provide itemised information for each project. But for example, the Stage 1 works (the chateau roof, facades, chimneys, all the chateau window shutters, several statutes that form part of the facades) are costing approximately €2.6 million. We are funding this by committing our life savings, and with generous support from the French Government and from several philanthropic grants. We are very grateful for the support that we have received.
Hi guys, I am trying to become a Patron. I filled out the link from your email address. I am not having any luck with becoming your patron. I will keep trying but if you have any advice, please feel free to help if you can! Thank you!
11 місяців тому
Sorry to hear that you're having issues. We had a look at Patreon and can't see any issues however here is the link again: www.patreon.com/chateau_de_purnon We hope to see you over there and thank you so much for your support
The heat plant is located in an outbuilding some 120 meters away. Why that design? Could it have been located in the basement rooms? Is the plan to use wood on the property? Will it have to be pulverized into chips?
3 місяці тому
No, it could't be located in the basement. The heating system is a biomass system that requires tonnes of wood chip every winter. It is not feasible to deliver this volume of wood chip into our dry moat ad then transfer it into the basement.
Since i suppose you do not have radiators everywhere, where you do not have radiators , you should install an air/air multisplit heat pump system...
8 місяців тому
Thanks for your comment. We have installed a biomass system that uses wood chip (and potentially other organic matter). We installed a system with sufficient capacity to be able to extend this system to all parts of the chateau as our restoration progresses. A heat pump system using electricity for a building as vast as the chateau would have been challenging given the huge spaces involved.
I would worry about the storage of the wood chips, spontaneous combustion is a real possibility. Are their things that can be done to make it safe?
5 місяців тому+1
You're quite right that this is a risk. There are several things we do to manage the risk. We keep them very dry. If the moisture content increases, so does the risk of combustion. it's a very clean wood chip (no leaves or needles and no bits of metal). It's important not to compact the pile. We keep them stored in a cool, dark location. Thanks for your concern and for following our journey!
If you already have water running radiators, I would recommend considering a geoheat pump, you have so much land that you can dig the Geo heating field horizontally (into one meter depth), nice pumps (s-series) for example give an efficiency (scop) of 5, so for one kilowatt of electricity you get 5 of heat from the ground all year around =)
So glad to see another update! Well done. I'm amazed at the amount of manual labor you are both doing, that explains why so few updates through the summer. I would have guessed that you were spending more time on fundraising and hiring out most of the work, but I guess you have to invest some labor yourselves. I have a question....what about the windows? I've seen broken/open/barely there windows. Where does making the place more air tight fit into the master plan? The heat won't do much good with leaky windows.
How amazing! I hope you can revel in your winter warmth and the continued preservation of the chateau. Where is the area you are storing the timber and the large area with the wood chips? So neat and tidy...love it! I am curious about the decision to use timber and wood chips, form an environmental perspective. No doubt you would have done the research and possibly French legislation is different. Thinking from an Australian perspective about leaving old logs for habitat and maintaining forests this is surprising. Understandably maybe the forest isnt an original ecosystem and as you said it is being used with its original purpose I am wanting to understand how you came to this decision. This is not a criticism just a wish to understand knowing that you cant fit and explain everything in a short video:) You are doing an amazing job, its delightful to see.
Umm.... The Radiator's black water is full of Iron, which makes a better job of conducting heat. Clear / clean water ia not as efficient to conduct heat. It'll take aeveral years for your clear water to go dark and act as a good heat conductor.
Having worked for a builder for 20 years as a Realtor I have seen heavy waterproof tarps layered over roofs that need to be water tight until the shingles could be installed. They werer nailed to the rafters. As for the dampness damaging the wood work and other special items ii the Chateau, If you did some single room heating with space heaters on a rotating bases it would have a good effect upon the worod and papers. Also fams can be used to move heat from the heating system to other parts of the Chateau. Doing things right is the only way to preserve this treasure. Best to you, JKC
Strange how they dont try to make it whole heating with renewable energy. They have huuuuge area they can cover somewhere in sun panels or even wind turbine and take care of the heating and electricity for free. As in winter season it will cost huuuge amount of money and labour just to keep the house warm
9 днів тому
The biomass heating system we have installed IS renewable energy.
Yes but you still need fuel, wood or wood pallets, logs etc. I am sure the requirements are different than for any other house, but wonder if they would allow to use solar energy or wind energy for heating.
9 днів тому+1
Our system can use wood chips (from our forest) or elephants grass (that we can grow in our prairies). It's a totally renewable resource. Solar for our heating would require a large number of expensive photovoltaic panels and a battery storage system as the peak generating period would never coincide with the peak consumption period.
I got to tell, you guys are impressive. Such a devotion. I was born in France but I leave far from there now. I come when I can and I would love to help you with the chateau next time i am in the hexagon. I could bring my daughters so they would help too and feel what’s like to preserve and give a second chance to a wonderful place like le chateau de Purnon
Oh heck, I hope working while soaked to the bone didn’t give you a cold days before journées patrimoine, and despite the frantic rush and the hard work on the day you were able to relax a bit and revel in achievements since the last one. Wonderful video as always.
hi....i just discovered you and this content about two weeks ago. i love your content. will you be offering an open house in 2025? Is the open house part Euro Heritage Days? thank you
12 днів тому
Welcome to our channel! Yes, we will endeavour to open each year the European Heritage Days. We would love to welcome you to Chateau de Purnon over this weekend in 2025.
Fantastic. I live in Wooster, Ohio. I am connecting to each of you 100%. Content. Creativity. Preservation of history. Rejuvantion. Value. Patience. Team work. And satisfaction. I'd really love to ask questions about your mental process of grasping the scope of this project without giving up. I look forward to meeting both of you someday. Thanks
I am immensely enjoying following you all on the chateau. It is one of the largest ones out of others that I am following also. But I have to say everything is just so wonderful with the stories. The history and it just doesn't stop. But with this chateau I would also like to say like the Phoenix she shall arise with her beauty and her splendor and all of the future generations to continue to look after her and keep her shining for many centuries to come. God bless you all and continue to success❤
I wouldn’t mind to help out for a week or so in exchange for a place to sleep and food (like Woofing) it would be amazing to be part of the restoration I admire the work you do
If you would post a weekly video here on UA-cam, your channel subscription would grow exponentially! Food for thought definitely!
9 місяців тому
We actually product a weekly video on Patreon for those who would like to follow the project more closely and support the restoration: www.patreon.com/chateau_de_purnon
The Chateau de Purnon is so impressive & very much worth preserving, thanks to a couple of dedicated Auzzy's like you two, I will continue to watch your progress with much interest 👍
3 місяці тому
Thanks for your message. We're thrilled you enjoying our adventure!
It's so heartening to see how well you progress. It may not be obvious to many viewers who haven't see a lot of 18th century architecture and interior design but the French were actually very restrained in how they handled Rocaille ornaments like the overdoors in the grand salon. The details tended always to stay within the bounds. The English tended to do the same thing. For really riotous ornament that seems to defy the envelope of the space it occupies, you have to go to Germany and sometimes Italy and even Russia. Maybe no one enjoyed it more than the Germans? The baroque churches and palaces in Bavaria just defy any bounds as much as they can. There is a difference in the materials too. The Germans and Italians tended to use a lot of plaster and stucco. And that could be modeled on the walls with molds but also with their own hands. If you search stucco and plaster ornamentation here it might bring up a video by a German craftsmen who explains how the barehand work was done. I'm sure it's a technique that could still be used in modern hands in original compositions that may not be historically based. I'd love to at least try something but I don't have the space. BTW - I think I signed up for a copy of your book. I'm not at all sure it went through. When will it be available?
11 місяців тому
Thank you so much Paul. The book will be released at the start of November. I hope you enjoy it!
What about cooling? Is that ever a concern in the summer?
10 місяців тому+3
although it can get quite warm on the first floor during hot spells, generally the inside of the château keeps quite a nice temperature during summer months so we do not require cooling
@ChateaudePurnon Thanks for the reply. I'm interested in restoring a Chateau in Italy. Is there any Discords or a community you know of where I can ask endless questions?
7 місяців тому
Sorry - we only just spotted this. We have to confess to knowing absolutely nothing about heritage restoration in Italy. You should definitely seek some expert advice from expats and locals there who have been on a similar journey. I'm sorry we can't be more helpful;. Good luck!
Mind blowing. Has the topic of the return on investment been discussed on this channel ? Despite the humongous costs to restore the chateau, can it pay off in the end (as room rentals, wedding venue, etc.)?
une grande partie des travaux sont payés par l' état Français, et puis , ils savent trouver de l' argent, mais il y a une chose que tu ne comprend pas,, la PASSION, viver bien , heureux, et toi tu ne pense u' à l' argent.... l argent viendra pour eux, ne t inquiete pas
Pourquoi etre tout de suite désagréable? D’ailleurs la question ne vous est pas destinée. Trouvez vous une vraie occupation plutôt que de passer votre temps sur youtube et de répondre à la place des autres.
Hey, are you guys going to put inductive heating along your walkways and the château driveway? So that you don’t have to get a tractor out to shovel the snow.
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we don't really ever get enough snow that this is an issue
@ ok. Hey, so I got to say thank you guys for restoring this beautiful Château. I grew up, watching people will once again, take care of their ancestral property. As well as for individuals with the option to purchase the properties and restore them to the former glory for future generations to enjoy. And to the other Château owners as well thank you for keeping his lovely properties alive for future generations.
Why not go solar? I guess it would be obtrusive depending on where the large array of panels were situated on the grounds. But with the battery backup systems now available, you could run the whole chateau climate control year round with low cost electric power.
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we assessed if solar would be an option but with the low light and short days in winter it wasn't going to be suitable - we are however looking at solar as the power supply
@ After I wrote my comment, I considered that perhaps you would not be allowed to add the panels on the grounds too. You do an amazing job against such great odds.
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@@ji8044 there is a visual protection area of 500m however we have a spot earmarked at the back of the domain which we are assessing for solar panels
Fantastic news, a major achievement getting hear in the place will not only save the building, but will lift your spirits in the winters...... ide also get s few modern wood burners in your private apartments.... that way you can have heat as and when you need it without the cost of putting on the heating on and warming the whole chateau...... keep up the good work!!! 🎉
While I’m all for preservation, I think the best thing to do for these chateaus is to completely gut the interiors salvaging all the materials that are still good and then rebuilding the entire structure within the chateau walls, making sure that everything is up to modern day codes so that any new work will last hundreds of years. As for all the finish work and things like wallpaper, There’s still artisans in France that can recreate the wallpaper using old school methods. Same with all the milk work, there’s plenty of young men that can recreate what was once there. Also, it would be nice if all the chateaus were turned into five star hotels or bed and breakfast.
donc le chateau de l' epoque, classé, n' existera plus. avec toi , il ni aura plus d histoire, on ne saura plus comment étaient les choses... tu t appelles IKEA?
That must feel like such a huge accomplishment for yourSELVES as well! You guys are quite unique in that you always mention what the château needs but rarely talk about your own comfort... which is in direct contrast to most château owned channels. I recognize that it's a giant sacrifice and that you're aware fully of the urgent necessity to fix major issues for the sake of preservation... but just like any caretakers (parents seems like an odd word, but probably similar at this stage 😉) you still need to consider your own needs. I'm so pleased that you're finally able to see more of that taking shape as you turn such a stunning work of art into a home the way it was intended ❤
thanks for your lovely message
Challenges are met, solutions are found, progress is made. Congratulations on getting heat for half of the chateau.
thank you so much
I am so impressed with all that you have done....well done and am so excited for you!!
Thank you so much!
After reading many articles on “biomass” heating systems it seems to me that this fancy name is hiding a wood fired boiler. The chips are fed to a furnace by electric screw feeders so it needs electricity to work. The chips are burned which heats water in a boiler. The water is circulated to the equivalent of radiators. If this is what you are installing then the system is an update of a traditional fire/boiler/radiator set up that has been used for centuries. Please tell me if this is a correct description of what you are installing. Thank you.
It most feel like a high relief to get the heating system up and running. Congratulations 🎊 😍😘
Good to know you guys know that a forest must be managed in order to keep it going and not cause other issues.
the woods are in pretty poor condition at the moment so it's going to be really important that we manage them well for the future
Congratulations on successfully installing the new bio mass heating system. Such a sustainable choice. It's a shame other Chateau owners are still choosing to install gas fired systems despite having the timber. Crikey Tim moves those huge sections of wood around with such ease. As soon as the markets improve we'll become Patrons!
Hi guys .. this is Rishi from India.. i have been watching the videos posted on your channel and witnessing the progress that you made together.. for this moment i would take to appreciate and congratulate you both for the efforts and patience, and vision you both have.. keep up the good work ❤
Thank you so much we really appreciate your support
@ you guys will be an inspiring couples..
Your dedication to the preservation of this amazing chateau is a testament.
Well done on the team adapting the plan due to the weather! You must be very excited and feel a sense of accomplishment by having researched and chosen the best heating system, and know that this coming winter, you will be warm, and the chateau wont suffer any further deterioration. I have said this before, but I’ll say it again, you two are so admirable! 🇦🇺 Kelly xx
In spite of the challenges, you guys continue to move forward and in doing so, are bringing the chateau to life as well as safeguarding it for future generations. WooHoo.
Hello from Nashville, Tennessee! I am always impressed with your solutions to your problems. I am so elated to see vast improvements in your Chateau! Your hard work is paying off! I wish I could come help but I am too far away! Best of luck with everything! I love getting to see your videos! Thank-you!
just another day at the Chateau! Like plowing through a 14ft snowdrift with a 6ft tall tractor at 4 am in order to go to work. I feel your pain! It is quite exciting to have the interiors preserved with the heating system. Money well spent.
This was one of my questions as I have watched your restoration. How were you going to heat and afford to heat such a mansion? What an excellent and maybe elegant solution, to chip your own forest and burn it to provide heat. The challenges you face and the courage with which you tackle them is so admirable, and for us, the viewers to be able to join online is a joy! Merci!
Thrilled that you enjoyed this video. We spent considerable time reflecting on this question and visiting other chateaux to see the solutions they had adopted. We feel that in the long term this is the right solution both financially and environmentally.
best chateau channel
thank you!
Wow guys congratulations to you both on getting the heating on and starting he journey of getting the lady dried out. What you have achieved is no mean feat bravo. I purchased a carriage station in Brittany in 2018, this week after a year on site the men leave after replacing the roof over 3 buildings including new big skylights gutters and down pipes. It's the first time in decades the house will be water tight and dry. I only did 400sqm and know how much it hit the pocket so for you to do the roof and put the heating in, I stand in awe. Congratulations to you both and here's to warm dry winter and many more to come.❤🎉😊
Thank you so much and congratulations on your huge milestone! Here's to us both having a dryer winter this year!
Happy for you getting the heaters on! That has to be a big relief :)))
only started following, sheesh that looks like one expensive restoration, will you be doing a video on costs, obviously no probs if you feel you need to keep it a private matter. Looks amazing!
How great to see the scaffolding now extending across the roof, and the east side is WATERTIGHT! What a huge step! Moving that mountain of charpente was a massive task. And heat before winter YAY!!! at least in part of the château will make your lives so much nicer. Upward ever upward. 🇦🇺 PS Felicity I know you are working madly, but you need a spa day. It will make you feel better able to cope with everything.
grand old lady is the most beautiful building I've ever seen majestic standing the test of time
i could watch this all day. Fantasic for Purnon and for you all living and working so hard to have heat, warmth. Saving the interior. Saving this entire unbelievable estate is priceless. A dream come true SOMTHING TO LIVE FOR
Love what you said in the beginning, "by advancing in small steps with patience and perseverance we reach our goal" wrote it down and stuck it to my wall this will be my daily motivation. Well done on getting heat for the Château, such an important milestone to reach!
Without being a pro I did some research on heating and I'd like to share my modest findings
In summary :
- maximum insulation (means massive and deep renovations in a castle that are sometimes not possible because parts can be "classés" )
- as much different source of calories as possible
- a way to distribute those calories
- centralized and modular
- orchestrate all that
Some wood burner can have modules that burn logs, chips and palets
- chips and palets are better for automation, auto loading logs also exists
- wood logs don't need energy (and money) to be created
- chips can come from small trees/branches so you don't need to bring down big trees
- palets price you depends on the market but you can make them from saw dust or leaves
so in a perfect work your wood burner can handle all 3 types and you use every calories you can grab from the wood
A centralized system plus a distributed one
- from a touristic point of view having a burner in a room is quite charming for the "chateau experience" but it wastes a lot of calories. A wood burner + water boiler ("poele a bois bouilleur") seems to raise the efficiency up to 90%, It's basically capturing calories with water and distribute is somewhere else
- in stead of having a blasting hot point and the rest of the room / floor cold, you can distribute in radiators or floor heating
- the calories from one room can "help" the main system or if the main system is broken you have a backup
- cons : you need pipes and a system smart enough to be able to treat each boiler as a source of calories to be globally redistributed
Thermo solar is also interesting (if you have the roof space) : system is quite simple and cheap but you get a maximum of calories in summer when you need it the least, it's good for shower water, swiming pool..etc...
Home automation ( domotique) is mandatory to handle all that (on top of lights, watering systems, doors...etc...). The main problem with "big brands" is that they want to lock you in their system. Most of them don't understand that it goes against the nature of home automation itself : you have to integrate a lot of different devices, sensors, brands, protocols to be able orchestrate them all together. The best solution that I know is home assistant but it's a quite deep rabbit hole that sometimes require some IT skills.
Thank you for your message and for your feedback on the research that you have undertaken.
Several of the points that you have raised are addressed directly in the video. By way of summary: We agree with your first point that improving the thermal properties of the chateau by way of insulation is a very practical, cost-effective and sustainable strategy for retaining heat in the building. Our new roof includes an insulation membrane for the first time in the chateau's history. Where possible we are adding insulation in floor and wall cavities while restoring rooms. The restoration of our windows is also removing draughts etc. As you rightly point out, there are limitations on what can be achieved due to the requirement to respect the building's status as 'classé' Monument historique.
Regarding the heating system itself you can see from the video that the solution we selected is a biomass system that uses woodchip as feedstock. This benefits from an automated feeder system (as noted in your comments). We selected this fuel stock over wood pellets as we wanted to be able to use wood chip from trees on our estate.
We selected Hargassner technology. This decision was based on visits to several other properties of a similar scale where we could view the system and discuss its performance with the owners. We have created 'zones' inside the chateau so that we can customise our heating requirements with our winter living arrangements. All of it can be controlled remotely.
Regarding the room by room heating system, we have a legacy system of radiators that work well in one section of the chateau. We will continue to use these. As we restore the interior of the chateau section by section we will install new heating units that utilise our biomass system. This will be a mix of radiators and underfloor heating depending on a range of factors (ease of installation, cost, floor type etc).
We hope that addresses your various comments and conclusions and we thank you for sharing your research and for following our journey.
@ Your choices make totally sense. Imo, the heart of the system it's the pipes because they are extremely pricy/desctructive to change. If the boiler is broken or you need to add other systems, there is a cost for sure, but this happens in the technical room, you don´t have to re-open half of the walls of the castle to achieve that.
I see that this beauty is in good hands, thank you for sharing your journey and for your passion for french architecture ! ;-)
I'm curious how the wood chips don't rot or spontaneously combust. Many years ago my city chipped tree branches after an ice storm. I looked out my window and saw huge flames--spontaneous combustion from the decaying organic material.
Loving your videos! Both you and Tim are so well spoken with lovely voices! The music and editing is incredible!!👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you - we're thrilled you're enjoying each episode.
Magnificent and magical. I got very emotional when i saw the stuuning Craftsmanship of roof and chimneys. Thank you another incredible video. A viewer frpm Vancouver British Columbia Canada. Very beautiful Mansion .
Thank you so much - it is incredible how talented the artisans are. I promise I'll make a video on the full roof restoration as soon as possible!
Wish there was a bit more detail about the system.
Every video is fascinating. This one especially. Immediately I thought about the cost of heating 2000sqm. Apart from the fact you’ve been able to achieve it. OMG.
Love what you are doing at Purnon. You were very brave to take on the challenge. Please can I ask a favour ? I have a disabilty where I have difficulty seperating the music & speech. They blend into one so makes the video difficuult to understand. PLEASE turn the music way down. IMHO it does not add much to the video as most people want to see the DIY and the surroundings or the sounds surrounding the Chateaux. I cannot see the subtitles very well either so they are no help. Catch 22 concentrate on the the subs or watch the video with muffled audio. Many thanks. ATB & regards from the UK
In order to preserve parts of the chateau you are not using, or you are using only during the warm seasons, you can use dehumidifiers instead of a heating system. It uses much less energy and it is just as good for preservation. The only points are that you might need some added pipework to collect the water from the dehumidifiers and that, the room that will be dehumidified instead of heated will stay cold...
Thank you for your message. Yes this winter we will use dehumidifiers as well as it will take some time before we are able to get the heating to each floor
@avec les gros inserts en pierre, très hauts, pour 2000m2 sur plusieurs niveaux, 4 auraient suffit. Retour de + 92% . Les cheminées à pelets, ça consomme une fortune en bois.
Dear Tim and Felicity, it is so funny to see Tim with this "Yakka" T-shirt because you probably don't know that it sounds like the French "Y'a qu'a" (short form of "Il n'y a qu'à…"), which is used as an interjection, meaning "Just do it" 😉
Ich sag es mal so. Wenn es so einfach wäre ein Schloß zu restaurieren und zu "bewirtschaften", könnte es jeder tun. Aber nein, ihr seid außergewöhnlich und habt die Herausforderung angenommen. Ihr werdet alles tun, um sie zu meistern, davon bin ich überzeugt.
Ohne "Dachschaden" wird dann auch einges klarer und kontinuierlich sicherer von der Hand.
congratulations ❣️ your care for the château is outstanding❣️
Kudos to you both for the challenges of body and mind that you face every day. It must be daunting at times. 14:58
thank you
There's one of these I watched and the guy installed solar panels at the back of the property and it heats the chateau. It's on the channel on youtube American Viscountess. Athelhampton house in Dorchester U.K
With all your acreage, you should install a geothermal
Heat pump for heating and cooling plus solar
we assessed geothermal however it would not bring the water up to a high enough temperature to efficiently heat the radiators
Got it. Such a daunting task you’ve taken on. Perhaps next summer I’ll come volunteer. I’m an excellent painter and landscape designer among many things. I’ve spent the past 17 years gradually renovating my little Connecticut beach cottage. And my French could use a good dusting off.
With so much land I would have thought that a ground source heat pump would have been a lower maintenance and more sustainable choice
I would’ve loved to see that, but it would take a massive amount of electricity and probably cost several hundred thousand.
parler de géothermie sans rien connaitre du sol ?? lorque l' on posséde tellement de foret de bois , leur solution est la MEILLEURE
Fascinating and really well presented, but is the background music really necessary?
It’s great to see local businesses working on your project.
Wonderful to have heating. A great start. You are well on your way to your intended goal of preserving this beautiful monument. Best wishes from Coffs Harbour.
Exactly the biggest problem i could see on a project like this😮
Did you include geothermal "preheating" of the water in your heating system?
how is the waste heat used from the burning system. Knowing a similar system which heats a castle , quite huge, produces a lot of waste heat. How do you use it?
Where do you come from with your accent? Are you Australian or English?
Amazing what extreme heat and extreme cold can do to a building. Your chateau already looks loved. Keep going. ❤
So nice to hear that you are getting so many projects completed. That will be fabulous to have heat. Thank you so much for sharing.
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Wood heating. Very 1700s.
I'm always interested, as im sure many are, in a rough estimate of what things cost. That biomass boiler, feed bin, auger and underground insulated supply to the chateau looks about, idk, €$40K? And, about the same again for labor? The, absolutely gorgeous, slate roof thats been done so far? Materials? Labor?
Hi Thomas, thanks for your questions. In relation to costs, you may wish to have a look at this earlier video that we prepared. It answers many questions including some about costs.
ua-cam.com/video/x38bWiqkvfw/v-deo.html
In order to respect both our own privacy and that of the companies working with us, we don't provide itemised information for each project. But for example, the Stage 1 works (the chateau roof, facades, chimneys, all the chateau window shutters, several statutes that form part of the facades) are costing approximately €2.6 million. We are funding this by committing our life savings, and with generous support from the French Government and from several philanthropic grants. We are very grateful for the support that we have received.
Nice heating system, Heat will save the chateau in many ways, Blessings,
Hi guys, I am trying to become a Patron. I filled out the link from your email address. I am not having any luck with becoming your patron. I will keep trying but if you have any advice, please feel free to help if you can! Thank you!
Sorry to hear that you're having issues. We had a look at Patreon and can't see any issues however here is the link again: www.patreon.com/chateau_de_purnon
We hope to see you over there and thank you so much for your support
The heat plant is located in an outbuilding some 120 meters away. Why that design? Could it have been located in the basement rooms? Is the plan to use wood on the property? Will it have to be pulverized into chips?
No, it could't be located in the basement. The heating system is a biomass system that requires tonnes of wood chip every winter. It is not feasible to deliver this volume of wood chip into our dry moat ad then transfer it into the basement.
Since i suppose you do not have radiators everywhere, where you do not have radiators ,
you should install an air/air multisplit heat pump system...
Thanks for your comment. We have installed a biomass system that uses wood chip (and potentially other organic matter). We installed a system with sufficient capacity to be able to extend this system to all parts of the chateau as our restoration progresses. A heat pump system using electricity for a building as vast as the chateau would have been challenging given the huge spaces involved.
I would worry about the storage of the wood chips, spontaneous combustion is a real possibility. Are their things that can be done to make it safe?
You're quite right that this is a risk. There are several things we do to manage the risk. We keep them very dry. If the moisture content increases, so does the risk of combustion. it's a very clean wood chip (no leaves or needles and no bits of metal). It's important not to compact the pile. We keep them stored in a cool, dark location. Thanks for your concern and for following our journey!
If you already have water running radiators, I would recommend considering a geoheat pump, you have so much land that you can dig the Geo heating field horizontally (into one meter depth), nice pumps (s-series) for example give an efficiency (scop) of 5, so for one kilowatt of electricity you get 5 of heat from the ground all year around =)
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So glad to see another update! Well done. I'm amazed at the amount of manual labor you are both doing, that explains why so few updates through the summer. I would have guessed that you were spending more time on fundraising and hiring out most of the work, but I guess you have to invest some labor yourselves.
I have a question....what about the windows? I've seen broken/open/barely there windows. Where does making the place more air tight fit into the master plan? The heat won't do much good with leaky windows.
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How amazing! I hope you can revel in your winter warmth and the continued preservation of the chateau. Where is the area you are storing the timber and the large area with the wood chips? So neat and tidy...love it! I am curious about the decision to use timber and wood chips, form an environmental perspective. No doubt you would have done the research and possibly French legislation is different. Thinking from an Australian perspective about leaving old logs for habitat and maintaining forests this is surprising. Understandably maybe the forest isnt an original ecosystem and as you said it is being used with its original purpose I am wanting to understand how you came to this decision. This is not a criticism just a wish to understand knowing that you cant fit and explain everything in a short video:) You are doing an amazing job, its delightful to see.
Umm.... The Radiator's black water is full of Iron, which makes a better job of conducting heat.
Clear / clean water ia not as efficient to conduct heat.
It'll take aeveral years for your clear water to go dark and act as a good heat conductor.
Having worked for a builder for 20 years as a Realtor I have seen heavy waterproof tarps layered over roofs that need to be water tight until the shingles could be installed. They werer nailed to the rafters. As for the dampness damaging the wood work and other special items ii the Chateau, If you did some single room heating with space heaters on a rotating bases it would have a good effect upon the worod and papers. Also fams can be used to move heat from the heating system to other parts of the Chateau. Doing things right is the only way to preserve this treasure. Best to you, JKC
Strange how they dont try to make it whole heating with renewable energy. They have huuuuge area they can cover somewhere in sun panels or even wind turbine and take care of the heating and electricity for free. As in winter season it will cost huuuge amount of money and labour just to keep the house warm
The biomass heating system we have installed IS renewable energy.
Yes but you still need fuel, wood or wood pallets, logs etc. I am sure the requirements are different than for any other house, but wonder if they would allow to use solar energy or wind energy for heating.
Our system can use wood chips (from our forest) or elephants grass (that we can grow in our prairies). It's a totally renewable resource. Solar for our heating would require a large number of expensive photovoltaic panels and a battery storage system as the peak generating period would never coincide with the peak consumption period.
I got to tell, you guys are impressive. Such a devotion. I was born in France but I leave far from there now. I come when I can and I would love to help you with the chateau next time i am in the hexagon. I could bring my daughters so they would help too and feel what’s like to preserve and give a second chance to a wonderful place like le chateau de Purnon
Oh heck, I hope working while soaked to the bone didn’t give you a cold days before journées patrimoine, and despite the frantic rush and the hard work on the day you were able to relax a bit and revel in achievements since the last one.
Wonderful video as always.
hi....i just discovered you and this content about two weeks ago. i love your content. will you be offering an open house in 2025? Is the open house part Euro Heritage Days? thank you
Welcome to our channel! Yes, we will endeavour to open each year the European Heritage Days. We would love to welcome you to Chateau de Purnon over this weekend in 2025.
Fantastic. I live in Wooster, Ohio. I am connecting to each of you 100%. Content. Creativity. Preservation of history. Rejuvantion. Value. Patience. Team work. And satisfaction. I'd really love to ask questions about your mental process of grasping the scope of this project without giving up. I look forward to meeting both of you someday. Thanks
Come and see us in September, 2025.
I am immensely enjoying following you all on the chateau. It is one of the largest ones out of others that I am following also. But I have to say everything is just so wonderful with the stories. The history and it just doesn't stop. But with this chateau I would also like to say like the Phoenix she shall arise with her beauty and her splendor and all of the future generations to continue to look after her and keep her shining for many centuries to come. God bless you all and continue to success❤
I wouldn’t mind to help out for a week or so in exchange for a place to sleep and food (like Woofing) it would be amazing to be part of the restoration
I admire the work you do
Wow, you are taking on a very big dream. I hope you have good funding and I wish you success!
The new roof looks amazing. I'm sure you will be glad when it's all finished.
You two are remarkable!! Congratulations on your commitment & hard work to save the chateau!
Hugh accomplishment for the future of the chateau….. well done
Warmth! You guys will be in Heaven!
Did you consider ground source heat pumps?
Yes, we did.
I love your videos! Tour of the Chateau please, please, please give us an updated tour of the Chateau!
Do you need a Chef ?
Good on u for keeping this gorgeous Chateau alive . Ps u should up date that track to the shed so the truck can get in over winter .
If you would post a weekly video here on UA-cam, your channel subscription would grow exponentially! Food for thought definitely!
We actually product a weekly video on Patreon for those who would like to follow the project more closely and support the restoration:
www.patreon.com/chateau_de_purnon
The Chateau de Purnon is so impressive & very much worth preserving, thanks to a couple of dedicated Auzzy's like you two, I will continue to watch your progress with much interest 👍
Thanks for your message. We're thrilled you enjoying our adventure!
You should invest in a auger to run the chip from the truck to the the storage.
I love that the entire theme of this show could be titled as "Winter is coming"
I love watching your progress
Hard Yakka is the appropriate shirt for that job!!
It's so heartening to see how well you progress.
It may not be obvious to many viewers who haven't see a lot of 18th century architecture and interior design but the French were actually very restrained in how they handled Rocaille ornaments like the overdoors in the grand salon. The details tended always to stay within the bounds. The English tended to do the same thing.
For really riotous ornament that seems to defy the envelope of the space it occupies, you have to go to Germany and sometimes Italy and even Russia. Maybe no one enjoyed it more than the Germans? The baroque churches and palaces in Bavaria just defy any bounds as much as they can.
There is a difference in the materials too. The Germans and Italians tended to use a lot of plaster and stucco. And that could be modeled on the walls with molds but also with their own hands. If you search stucco and plaster ornamentation here it might bring up a video by a German craftsmen who explains how the barehand work was done. I'm sure it's a technique that could still be used in modern hands in original compositions that may not be historically based. I'd love to at least try something but I don't have the space.
BTW - I think I signed up for a copy of your book. I'm not at all sure it went through. When will it be available?
Thank you so much Paul. The book will be released at the start of November. I hope you enjoy it!
@ - Thanks - Looking forward to it.
Wow such an enormous task.
I cannot wait to see the finished product when y’all are done the place is actually stunning
Thank you. We're thrilled you're following our journey.
What about cooling? Is that ever a concern in the summer?
although it can get quite warm on the first floor during hot spells, generally the inside of the château keeps quite a nice temperature during summer months so we do not require cooling
@ChateaudePurnon Thanks for the reply. I'm interested in restoring a Chateau in Italy. Is there any Discords or a community you know of where I can ask endless questions?
Sorry - we only just spotted this. We have to confess to knowing absolutely nothing about heritage restoration in Italy. You should definitely seek some expert advice from expats and locals there who have been on a similar journey. I'm sorry we can't be more helpful;. Good luck!
Mind blowing. Has the topic of the return on investment been discussed on this channel ? Despite the humongous costs to restore the chateau, can it pay off in the end (as room rentals, wedding venue, etc.)?
une grande partie des travaux sont payés par l' état Français, et puis , ils savent trouver de l' argent, mais il y a une chose que tu ne comprend pas,, la PASSION, viver bien , heureux, et toi tu ne pense u' à l' argent.... l argent viendra pour eux, ne t inquiete pas
Pourquoi etre tout de suite désagréable? D’ailleurs la question ne vous est pas destinée. Trouvez vous une vraie occupation plutôt que de passer votre temps sur youtube et de répondre à la place des autres.
Bonjour, why you don t put plastic under the tiles?❤
as the water is then collected internally and needs to drain somewhere however under the roof there is nowhere for the water to safely drain to
Hey, are you guys going to put inductive heating along your walkways and the château driveway? So that you don’t have to get a tractor out to shovel the snow.
we don't really ever get enough snow that this is an issue
@ ok.
Hey, so I got to say thank you guys for restoring this beautiful Château. I grew up, watching people will once again, take care of their ancestral property. As well as for individuals with the option to purchase the properties and restore them to the former glory for future generations to enjoy.
And to the other Château owners as well thank you for keeping his lovely properties alive for future generations.
@ true, but it is nice to walk barefoot on warm cobblestones in the snow.
Why not go solar? I guess it would be obtrusive depending on where the large array of panels were situated on the grounds. But with the battery backup systems now available, you could run the whole chateau climate control year round with low cost electric power.
we assessed if solar would be an option but with the low light and short days in winter it wasn't going to be suitable - we are however looking at solar as the power supply
@ After I wrote my comment, I considered that perhaps you would not be allowed to add the panels on the grounds too. You do an amazing job against such great odds.
@@ji8044 there is a visual protection area of 500m however we have a spot earmarked at the back of the domain which we are assessing for solar panels
Have any of the rooms been renovated yet
So cool. How long will the wood chips last?
we'll let you know during winter!
Fantastic!
Thank you!
Fantastic news, a major achievement getting hear in the place will not only save the building, but will lift your spirits in the winters...... ide also get s few modern wood burners in your private apartments.... that way you can have heat as and when you need it without the cost of putting on the heating on and warming the whole chateau...... keep up the good work!!! 🎉
While I’m all for preservation, I think the best thing to do for these chateaus is to completely gut the interiors salvaging all the materials that are still good and then rebuilding the entire structure within the chateau walls, making sure that everything is up to modern day codes so that any new work will last hundreds of years. As for all the finish work and things like wallpaper, There’s still artisans in France that can recreate the wallpaper using old school methods. Same with all the milk work, there’s plenty of young men that can recreate what was once there. Also, it would be nice if all the chateaus were turned into five star hotels or bed and breakfast.
donc le chateau de l' epoque, classé, n' existera plus. avec toi , il ni aura plus d histoire, on ne saura plus comment étaient les choses... tu t appelles IKEA?
What happens when you run out of wood chips?
We refill the wood chip storage with.... more wood chips... It's a renewable resource.