A couple who almost had to abandon their DIY project, a French manor they snapped up for €330,000 (£285,763), after a fire left it severely damaged and requiring repairs costing up to €1.3 million (£1.1 million), have detailed the evening of the blaze.
In September last year, Dimitri, 35, and David Petitpas, 28, purchased 200-year-old Egmont Manor, located near Cloyes-les-Trois-Rivières, around an hour from Paris, with grand plans to renovate the property.
The French Chateau had no water, no electricity, and a leaky roof, but using a €100,000 (£86,586) loan, the couple got started on renovations with the hope of using it for their wedding reception within 10 months.
However, on November 20, they received the devastating news that a 14-hour blaze had completely destroyed part of their new home.
Pictures show the burned pieces of the historic roof and attic, which had fallen through to the first floor, exposing the property to harsh winter weather.
The couple say their insurance, which they took out two months before the blaze, has luckily agreed to cover the damage, but they are yet to hear exactly how much of it – and they have been told the work could cost € 1.3 million (£1.1 million).
Frenchman Dimitri, 35, said: ‘We lost the roof and the attic, and everything collapsed on the first floor.
‘It had a huge impact on us. We hope that in the end it will be for the greater good with a new roof and a new opportunity, but we don’t know. We have gone from a one-year renovation to a three-year renovation.’
Dimitri and David Petitpas received the devastating call that their 200-year-old Egmont Manor (pictured), located near Cloyes-les-Trois-Rivières, suffered immense damage from a fire
During the renovation period, Dimitri and Swiss David are living five hours away from the manor in the French Alps.
The morning of the fire, workmen were treating some fungus with harsh chemicals, so they were told to vacate the premises and headed home.
However, at 11pm, the pair received a heartbreaking call from police to say that the manor was engulfed in flames.
Some friends who live nearby were sent to see the fire for themselves and confirmed what Dimitri dreaded to be true.
The blaze began at around 8pm. Investigations are still ongoing, but a workman is believed to have been involved.
Dimitri said: ‘At around 11pm, we got a call from local police, and they told us that it was on fire, and we didn’t believe it at first, we thought maybe it was a bad joke.
‘We got some friends to go to the manor to check if it was true, and when they arrived, it was very true.
‘The fire workers had been called a bit too late so when they arrived the manor was already fully on fire and we had already lost the roof.’
The couple are waiting to hear back from their insurance company, but the repairs could cost more than £1.1million
In November, the couple received the call that their new home had caught fire and the roof was destroyed
The couple purchased the home as a DIY renovation project – and hope to host their wedding there
When the couple finally arrived, the fire had started to go out, but was still ongoing. The flames were finally put out at 10 am the next morning, given it was difficult for firefighters to get up the hilly driveway.
Dimitri added: ‘We had five hours of driving from where we were to the manor, so we were a bit in disbelief. The whole way there, we thought, ‘maybe it is a small fire’ or ‘maybe it is nothing.”
‘It was really when we arrived in the morning at around 6am that we realised it was huge. When we saw the manor we were in shock. Before that we were in a bit of denial.’
‘We arrived at around 6am and it was still on fire. It was very dark, so the sky was orange and blue with the emergency lights.’
The pair have the final meeting with their legal expert today to determine the cause of the fire, and they are waiting on the green light to start clearing up.
They are hoping to have permission by September to start the roof renovation, which will need to be recreated exactly as it was.
Having brought out insurance with Cardif BNP Paribas two months before the fire, the couple are relying on this payout to finish their project – with only a £150,000 budget themselves.
Dimitri said: ‘Our insurance is like ‘rebuild as it was’, so they need to respect and do everything by hand like it was before.
Despite the major setback, Dimitri and David (pictured) are adamant that they will develop their dream venue in the end
The couple, who have no previous DIY experience, were hoping to do the renovations by following YouTube videos
Despite all the setbacks, the couple are determined to renovate their dream home – and make it their wedding venue
‘It is very stressful to be honest. There are constant battles. What we still need to know is to what extent insurance will cover this 1.3 million euros, because they could possibly say they will only cover part of it.
‘That would really challenge the renovation. I don’t know how we can find 350,000 to 400,000 euros. That would really jeopardise the renovation.’
Egmont Manor was built in 1880, and the Petitpas’ are the fourth family to have ever owned it.
The DIY novice couple decided to take on the huge project by themselves, using YouTube to teach them.
The property is surrounded by out-of-control plants, with outdated interior design, dry wood and no water or electricity.
However, they have a dream to turn it into a luxury B&B and use the home to celebrate their wedding – since they never had a reception.
They got started ripping out the damaged plants, trying to move the front gate to create a driveway and knocking down walls to open up the space – with hopes of finishing in a year.
But, with the fire causing a huge setback, they now believe it won’t be possible to open and host the event until 2028.
Though they are not giving up, they are now aiming to renovate one room and one bathroom by the end of the year so that they can finally move in.
Dimitri said: ‘We only have problems. We find some nice surprises, but mainly we find issues. We are having to do so much more than we had planned.
‘We basically only had the four walls, and we had to start all over. We need to take out everything and restart from scratch.
The pair have been posting their DIY journey online and have gained 1.6 million followers who are supporting them.
Dimitri said: ‘When we started, it was just for us for fun, and then it just blew up online. We have now reached 1.6 million followers across all our platforms. It is huge.
‘We have a lot of people supporting us. We have to keep going and share for the people. It is good motivation and we have found our mission and purpose.’
