Grand Designs - New Series
Discussion
This is from the Architect's web site with more info on how it works
'The flexible pipes are designed to extend
up to 3m allowing all of the services to
remain clean and operational during
any flood event'
http://www.bacahomes.co.uk/files/Amphibious%20Hous...
'The flexible pipes are designed to extend
up to 3m allowing all of the services to
remain clean and operational during
any flood event'
http://www.bacahomes.co.uk/files/Amphibious%20Hous...
Evoluzione said:
RE. The silt conundrum; presumably they are filtering the water as it goes in, it will be naturally filtered if it's seeping through underneath.
There didn't seem to be any filtering, just a trench around the house.Evoluzione said:
Or am I missing something and does the river get high enough for it to get in over the top?
Yep, pretty much.Having just watched it, have to say hats off to the couple. Loved the dragon-skin finish to the exterior(bet it didn't come cheap) and interesting to hear that although the build cost was a tad higher than expected, countered no doubt by the savings made by having good build management, it was still cheaper than the increasing prices of nearby property.
Who wouldn't want to wake up of a morning to that splendid view - well worth it says I!
Who wouldn't want to wake up of a morning to that splendid view - well worth it says I!
That link to the architects site says the house floats when the water is just below ground level. So how far is it from the top of the floating basement to the water level in that state ? If the water can get above the floating box, even a little bit then they're sunk. Is it going to be far enough out of the water to resist a strong flood with waves on a windy day? Hope the sums have been done properly....
Edited to add that the diagram seems to show its only about 50cm from the water level to the top of the box. That does seem awfully tight, you can get a hell of a "bow wave" in a fast flood.
We live nearby so it'll be fun to see what happens this winter.
Edited to add that the diagram seems to show its only about 50cm from the water level to the top of the box. That does seem awfully tight, you can get a hell of a "bow wave" in a fast flood.
We live nearby so it'll be fun to see what happens this winter.
Edited by outnumbered on Thursday 16th October 21:57
As an Ex NDB Ltd. employee (The first contractor) I have seen this build from both sides.
I was recruited by the senior person shown on the program to cover his central London workload to free up his time to cover that project and the Tower of London project he was also handling along with his Divisional Manager role at NDB. And was the line manager to the second one (Telehandler man). To be fair to him he pretty much set up everything on site from the logistical side of things and to be honest there aren't many manuals to help him there. From buying the ex-Norwegian NATO pontoon barge off Ebay to hand making the chain ferry motor housed in an old van vault. But the Farmers field renting side of things couldn't be helped. We were stung big time, but to be fair their weren't any other options. No wonder he had his 40K's worth of fun.
It was a great program to watch to fill in some of the blanks that appeared while I was stuck in central London while everyone else had a rather nicer view out of their site office.
I can tell you that the blackberries were red hot that morning the dumper was 'dumped' in the drink......pictures were sent while we were all in a meeting. They all went off together and the horror was dropped at once.
So much more to the 60K demand than meets the eye also.
I was recruited by the senior person shown on the program to cover his central London workload to free up his time to cover that project and the Tower of London project he was also handling along with his Divisional Manager role at NDB. And was the line manager to the second one (Telehandler man). To be fair to him he pretty much set up everything on site from the logistical side of things and to be honest there aren't many manuals to help him there. From buying the ex-Norwegian NATO pontoon barge off Ebay to hand making the chain ferry motor housed in an old van vault. But the Farmers field renting side of things couldn't be helped. We were stung big time, but to be fair their weren't any other options. No wonder he had his 40K's worth of fun.
It was a great program to watch to fill in some of the blanks that appeared while I was stuck in central London while everyone else had a rather nicer view out of their site office.
I can tell you that the blackberries were red hot that morning the dumper was 'dumped' in the drink......pictures were sent while we were all in a meeting. They all went off together and the horror was dropped at once.
So much more to the 60K demand than meets the eye also.
A disappointing episode for me, they should have waited for later in the series or next year for it to be finished. An interesting idea (albeit already used in the Netherlands) but Kevin just didn't explain enough about how it all worked, what happened to the silt, where was the pump etc so it didn't make sense for anyone with half a brain.
iiyama said:
Grand Designs has been dumbed down over the years. I'm sure that years ago they used to go far more into the technicalities and explained the overcoming of problems. Nowadays they just don't bother and gloss over a huge amount.
Sadly this is the way most of these programs have gone as the masses get better qualified but dumber. iiyama said:
Grand Designs has been dumbed down over the years. I'm sure that years ago they used to go far more into the technicalities and explained the overcoming of problems. Nowadays they just don't bother and gloss over a huge amount.
I agree. Maybe it's just getting a bit long in the tooth or perhaps the format needs freshening up, but they don't tell you much about the tech side of it any more, and Kevin's getting more gushing. Don't think I've seen an episode where he expresses dislike or disquiet about some aspect of the build. For all that I still enjoy it 
Saw Kevin at Grand Designs live last week, he said they have about 25 projects on the go at any one time (some of which may never actually be on tv) and the programme is commissioned for another 2 years on C4 and they then decide if they want more.
It must be one of C4's most popular programmes and I guess it is made to appeal to the masses, if they got too technical and geeky, not many would watch. I think its about right.
It must be one of C4's most popular programmes and I guess it is made to appeal to the masses, if they got too technical and geeky, not many would watch. I think its about right.
Huge respect for what they are doing, they are certainly committed to living in that exact location. I wasn't a huge fan of the zinc covering, but otherwise it's a nice little place.
I wondered about what happens when the pit fills up with silt and leaves etc, assume they have a means of pumping it out?
I also wondered what happens in the future, can't imagine a property like that would be mortgageable?
I wondered about what happens when the pit fills up with silt and leaves etc, assume they have a means of pumping it out?
I also wondered what happens in the future, can't imagine a property like that would be mortgageable?
SydneyBridge said:
It must be one of C4's most popular programmes and I guess it is made to appeal to the masses, if they got too technical and geeky, not many would watch. I think its about right.
Thinking about it I wonder if they could do a spin off programme, an extra half an hour or so with all the more technical stuff in for each project, would probably cost naff all to make in the context of the main show.Magog said:
SydneyBridge said:
It must be one of C4's most popular programmes and I guess it is made to appeal to the masses, if they got too technical and geeky, not many would watch. I think its about right.
Thinking about it I wonder if they could do a spin off programme, an extra half an hour or so with all the more technical stuff in for each project, would probably cost naff all to make in the context of the main show.I did the technical design of the timber frame superstructure on the amphibious house.
To answer a few of the questions/comments raised:
As others have said, the services connections are via a flexible, convoluted 'umbilical' cord. Main heating/DHW is, if my memory serves, by an electric boiler serving a wet underfloor heating system.
With regards to silt, the concrete basement 'canfloat' doesn't come to rest on the base of the drydock. There are 'ledges' along either side of the dock, which you can see on the diagrammatic section on the link to the Architect's information already given, and there is therefore a void or 'sump' beneath the base of the canfloat itself. If silt builds up in the dry dock, it would be possible to purge it by jetting water under the canfloat and extracting it (and the silt in suspension) using a trash pump.
The canfloat is made out of waterproof reinforced concrete, and there's good evidence to suggest that the lifespan of this won't be a serious issue. The only steelwork that is submerged are the 'dolphin' posts, which as you can see are pretty heavy section steel and are galvanised, but in any case there is sufficient working space between the sides of the dock and the canfloat to gain access to replace them, if it became necessary.
Obviously, structural calculations have been undertaken to work out the amount of restraint required from the Dolphins in flood conditions, but it's worth pointing out that the neighboring bungalows (and the bungalow that formerly occupied this site) have been happily sitting there for years without being swept away. The topography (is that the right word to use in relation to a river?) of the Thames at this point is such that the site, just downstream of a weir, is on the inside of a bend and hence the main flow tends to scour toward the opposite bank. This, and the fact that Lock Island is covered in development and trees, means that the force of the flow across it in flood conditions isn't anything like as terrible as you might think.
Professional confidentiality unfortunately prevents me from commenting on some of the technical challenges and amusing, interesting and (in some cases) questionable early proposals for their resolution, but I'm hopeful that all the important issues have been addressed as the design has evolved.
On the basis of our experience on this project, we're now hoping to be working with another company that is looking at commercial development of amphibious houses, so you can expect a few more in the UK in the near future.
To answer a few of the questions/comments raised:
BoRED S2upid said:
Great build but at the end of the day it's a very very expensive bungalow.
It's actually got three storey's worth of accommodation, so hardly a bungalow: the concrete pontoon forms a basement, containing a study, plant room, shower room and cinema/games room; ground floor has an open plan living room/kitchen and a couple of bedrooms; upper floor has the master bedroom and master bathroom, with the master bed having a glazed balcony onto a two-storey atrium space over the lounge, looking out onto the river.As others have said, the services connections are via a flexible, convoluted 'umbilical' cord. Main heating/DHW is, if my memory serves, by an electric boiler serving a wet underfloor heating system.
With regards to silt, the concrete basement 'canfloat' doesn't come to rest on the base of the drydock. There are 'ledges' along either side of the dock, which you can see on the diagrammatic section on the link to the Architect's information already given, and there is therefore a void or 'sump' beneath the base of the canfloat itself. If silt builds up in the dry dock, it would be possible to purge it by jetting water under the canfloat and extracting it (and the silt in suspension) using a trash pump.
The canfloat is made out of waterproof reinforced concrete, and there's good evidence to suggest that the lifespan of this won't be a serious issue. The only steelwork that is submerged are the 'dolphin' posts, which as you can see are pretty heavy section steel and are galvanised, but in any case there is sufficient working space between the sides of the dock and the canfloat to gain access to replace them, if it became necessary.
Obviously, structural calculations have been undertaken to work out the amount of restraint required from the Dolphins in flood conditions, but it's worth pointing out that the neighboring bungalows (and the bungalow that formerly occupied this site) have been happily sitting there for years without being swept away. The topography (is that the right word to use in relation to a river?) of the Thames at this point is such that the site, just downstream of a weir, is on the inside of a bend and hence the main flow tends to scour toward the opposite bank. This, and the fact that Lock Island is covered in development and trees, means that the force of the flow across it in flood conditions isn't anything like as terrible as you might think.
Professional confidentiality unfortunately prevents me from commenting on some of the technical challenges and amusing, interesting and (in some cases) questionable early proposals for their resolution, but I'm hopeful that all the important issues have been addressed as the design has evolved.
On the basis of our experience on this project, we're now hoping to be working with another company that is looking at commercial development of amphibious houses, so you can expect a few more in the UK in the near future.
Edited by MintSprint on Saturday 18th October 18:55
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