Unique Properties Guide To Buying A Floating Home

Date Published:

20/02/2008

One of the problems Tiffany and Johnnie faced when building their Grand Design was water. But water doesn't stop being a problem once the house is built. So what happens if you've found the perfect plot but it's in a high risk area? Do you hope for the best or head for the hills?

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The future is amphibious and there's only one place to go to check out the latest innovations in aquatic architectural innovations: Holland. The Dutch have been masters of flood control for centuries. They've had to be; 30 per cent of Holland lies below sea level and that's home to 60 per cent of the country's population.

The Dutch are great adapters. They've been building their homes on piles and polders for centuries. Now more than sixty thousand of them are bobbing around on houseboats. If you want to keep your feet firmly on dry land you're going to need one of these: a house that floats.

This amphibious house is amazing. It's got the latest in float technology but without compromising on design, individuality or functionality. It's such a simple idea: underneath the house is a huge floating box, its foundation. The house sits on top and it's attached to land by stilts or cables. When the water rises, the house simply rises with it.

Architect Koen Olthuis from Waterstudio.NL says, 'Anyone can have a house like this. If you live in a flood zone it's wise. We can place the foundation on land or in the water, but in a floodplain I would suggest a normal ground work with this concrete foundation on top of it, like a beached ship. And when the water comes, it will rise.

'You can use any material - this one is lightweight wood with stucco plaster on the outside, but it's also possible to use bricks or limestone. If you make the foundation bigger, then you can make the house higher - you could have an apartment building or even a floating tower. It's even possible to have a garden.'

If you're thinking this is the answer for you, prices start at £120,000 for a two bed house, excluding plot or shipping costs (Feb 2008). And because it's a house, not a house-boat, you shouldn't have problems getting hold of a mortgage.