Renovating an old house in France often starts with optimism, but this abandoned bedroom renovation quickly proves why old farmhouses hide their problems so well. What should have been a simple clear-out becomes a full investigation into structural issues, forgotten repairs, and decades of neglect, because rural renovations rarely play fair.
This video documents a real French farmhouse renovation on a small budget, and it shows the exact moments when things go wrong, improve, and then go wrong again. If you’re restoring an old stone house, planning to buy a rural property in France, or already living the renovation dream, this room will feel painfully familiar.
A Bedroom That Became a Tool Graveyard
The abandoned bedroom turns out to be less of a living space and more of a long-term storage experiment gone wrong, and every box hides another surprise. Tools, donated items, mystery hardware, and forgotten materials pile up, but many of them were never even checked when they arrived.
Sorting through this chaos highlights a common renovation mistake, because small spaces quietly become dumping grounds during long projects. Rural renovations often lack storage, so rooms like this slowly disappear under clutter while bigger jobs take priority.
Old Floors and Accidental Antique Destruction
While clearing the room, a fragile antique lampshade meets an untimely end, but the loss quickly reveals something far more exciting underneath. A hidden pitch pine floor appears, and it instantly shows the craftsmanship found in many old French houses.
Original floors often survive when everything else fails, because older materials were built to last. Discovering these features can change renovation plans completely, so preserving character becomes just as important as fixing damage.
Cast Iron Radiators vs Stairs and Gravity
Five cast iron radiators sit quietly in the room, but their weight becomes very real once moving them begins. Each lift tests the limits of budget renovation skills, and gravity refuses to negotiate.
Old radiators often add charm to French renovations, but moving them safely requires planning, teamwork, and luck. Floorboards flex under pressure, so protecting original timber becomes as important as avoiding personal injury.
Crumbling Walls and Drafty Windows Exposed
Once the radiators leave, the room finally reveals its real problems, and the wall behind them tells an uncomfortable story. Rotten stonework, failing repairs, and a decaying single-glazed window allow damp, drafts, and wildlife inside.
Many rural French houses suffer from cement repairs, because they trap moisture instead of letting walls breathe. These hidden hazards explain why rooms feel cold and damp, so structural repairs move to the top of the priority list.
Plaster Failure, Mould and Bad Smells
Removing loose plaster uncovers mouldy walls that shift and crumble on their own, and the smell confirms long-term moisture problems. Purple furry mould clings stubbornly to stone, but it cannot stay if the room is ever going to recover.
Plaster often hides serious issues in old houses, because surface finishes disguise failing structures. Tackling these problems early matters, so repairs don’t become more expensive later.
Exposed Stone and Lime Mortar Repairs
With plaster removed, exposed stone walls appear in poor condition, and old cement repairs crumble away easily. Raking out mortar joints becomes essential, because lime mortar allows stone walls to breathe properly.
Wire brushing stones restores definition and strength, but it also exposes how badly previous repairs were done. This stage shows why lime mortar matters in farmhouse restoration, so the wall can finally dry and stabilise.
Ceilings Down and a Room with Potential
New double-glazed windows arrive unexpectedly early, and demolition continues overhead as the lathe and plaster ceiling comes down. Dust fills the air, but progress finally feels real.
With prep work complete, the room no longer feels like a failure, because the structure now tells the truth. Planning colours, style, and finishes becomes possible at last, so this abandoned bedroom can finally move toward becoming a usable space again.
This video shows the reality of renovating an old house in France on a budget — the surprises, the setbacks, and the small victories that keep the project moving forward.
👉 Watch the full video: Abandoned Bedroom Makeover Uncovering a Century of Hidden Problems
🏚️ The Abandoned Bedroom Begin
00:00 Flying high above the old bedroom
A first look inside the abandoned bedroom reveals years of neglect, clutter, and hidden renovation headaches waiting to surface.
00:10 Tool Graveyard Chaos in Our Abandoned Bedroom
What should be a bedroom has become a dumping ground for tools, boxes, and forgotten renovation supplies.
💥 Accidents, Antiques & Hidden Floors
01:55 Antique Lampshade Smash Incoming! Oops!
Renovation mishaps strike again, and a fragile antique doesn’t survive the clear-out.
02:05 Hidden Pitch Pine Floor Revealed – Stunning!
Beneath the mess lies an original pitch pine floor, proving old French houses still hide beautiful surprises.
🏋️ Cast Iron Radiators vs Gravity
02:18 Cast Iron Radiator Count – How Heavy Are They?
Five cast iron radiators appear, and their sheer weight raises serious questions about stairs and floor strength.
02:49 Lifting Radiators: Stairs vs Budget Renovation Skills
Moving heavy radiators without machinery tests both nerves and DIY experience.
04:08 Don’t Let Radiators Crush the Old Floorboards!
Protecting 150-year-old floorboards becomes critical during this risky stage of the renovation.
04:42 Shoulder-Deep Radiator Slide Down the Stairs
Gravity takes over as radiators make a dramatic descent through the farmhouse.
🧱 Rotten Walls & Drafty Windows
06:37 Rotten Wall & Drafty Window – Hidden Hazards
Once the radiators move, serious structural problems and window decay are finally exposed.
☣️ Plaster Failure & Mould Mayhem
08:19 Plaster Panic! Mouldy Walls About to Fall
Failing plaster reveals long-term damp issues common in rural stone houses.
08:53 Purple Furry Mould Meets Crowbar – Yuck!
Removing mouldy plaster uncovers unpleasant smells and deeper moisture damage.
🪨 Exposed Stone Walls in Trouble
10:28 Exposed Stone Walls in Dire Condition
With plaster removed, poor cement repairs and failing mortar become painfully obvious.
11:47 Wall Two Begins – Will It Be Worse?
A second wall reveals even more surprises, confirming this bedroom was hiding multiple problems.
🧱 Lime Mortar & Traditional Repairs
12:22 Lime Mortar Repair: Raking Old Mortar Out
Old mortar is removed so the stone wall can finally breathe again.
12:32 Wire Brushing Stones – Restoring Stone Walls
Cleaning the stonework exposes years of bad repairs and neglected maintenance.
12:42 Shovelling Plaster Debris – Abandoned House Work
The messy reality of farmhouse renovation shows just how much material has to come out.
🪟 Windows, Ceilings & Fresh Progress
14:45 Double-Glazed Windows Arrive Early! Surprise!
New windows arrive ahead of schedule, offering hope for warmth and dryness.
16:42 Smelly Lathe & Plaster Ceiling Comes Down
Ceiling demolition uncovers unpleasant smells and evidence of past infestations.
17:36 Mandy Goes Wild With Crowbar – Ceiling Demolition
Full demolition mode begins as the ceiling finally comes down.
🎨 A Room with Real Potential
18:22 Prep Done! Now, Style, Colour & Final Touches?
With the hard work complete, the abandoned bedroom finally feels like a future living space.