Best Material to float a house, 5 bedroom

Hi I was wondering which material is best for floating a 5 bedroom house in England. Its for a project and I have chosen to design a house which will respond to 6-degee rise in temperature. Obviously sea levels will rise, so I need a solution.

Firstly, is it possible to have house on land which floats when water levels rise, and is it better than building on the water.

And secondly, which materials will allow my house to float best. Preferably low maintenance and long lasting.

I DONT CARE ABOUT BUDGET BTW.

Many thanks...

 

Firstly, it is not obvious that sea levels will rise. However, if your budget is unlimited, Monel metal is a good choice. Also, I would be really interested in a contract to design and build it.

 

Of course, it is possible to do something that rests on the earth and floats when the tide rises. A pontoon-type hull can be suitable, if you want something simple.
The material depends to a large extent on the means you have at your disposal to build it and on your skills. For example, the FRP has a long life and little maintenance but it is necessary to have a mold or similar to build it. Aluminum is very suitable too, but its welding is not easy and requires adequate machinery.
You, who know your own limitations, will be able to decide or, at least, give more information so that some expert builder can advise you correctly.
Be very careful with amateur "designers". Ask for a sample of their designs, boats sailing, not drawings "on paper".

 

TANSL lets suppose I have an expert builder, what would you choose. Also how would I do it when tides rise and its on the land.

Gonzo its only a design project, but thanks anyway. Monel metal rods lying under the building?

 

When the tide is low, the float will rest with the bottom on the ground, for which it will have to be reinforced conveniently. When the tide rises, the float will go up with it until it is free of the bottom and floats freely. Probably there is a jetty next to which can be tied, with ropes or similar, the house. Otherwise, it will be necessary to think of a system of several anchors that hold it to the bottom.
Material? I would choose the GRP but, better, wait for other experts to give their opinion.

 

Yeh ive seen fibre glass mentioned a lot. Im only 16 so I don't really know who I would make it work if it was on land without jetty. Any ideas??

 

You need to specify better the conditions of the environment in which you want to use your home to give concrete solutions or not to launch ideas that are crazy.
By the way, even if the budget is not a problem, using the most expensive material or procedure would be a tremendous stupidity that nobody should advise. The most sensible thing is to use the most appropriate material to the ship's SOR.

 

Best pay better attention to post #1, if budget isn't an issue then that means labor and skills can be hired.

 

That's good advice, but better skip on the word ‘‘other’’ since from your posts on this thread so far it's clear you're only blowing smoke here, and apart from some general Naval Architecture stuff you know nothing specific about the topic at hand.

 

Ted, the Dutch build a lot in and on very durable and nowadays maintenance free steel rebar reinforced concrete pontoons, of which they have over more than half a century experience, and which they have constantly improved over that time period. The steel rebar is very well covered by the concrete, which protect it it against all external influences. The concrete itself is of high quality due to special aggregates used, and it's of a very homogeneous composition, so it has no solely aggregate accumulations of any kind anywhere.

Just a street view in Leiden, and one in Utrecht.

Here's a builder, however their English website doesn't work well for me, the second picture below is on the Utrecht street view location.















Note the above and below picture (and many others) show a two story building, the ground floor is on the bottom of the pontoon, and the parterre's height is about half below the waterline. Usually on the below floor are the sleeping and bath rooms, and also the storage accommodations, since the outside lower windows are inside near the top of the wall of the ground floor.

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Best have it floating right away, if loaded properly then your house will be always level, if it stands on the bottom it can prolapse askew, or it requires an expensive foundation to prevent this. And when floating right away you don't have later problems with your shore connections for power, water, sewage and such when it later starts to float. Also when it floats you don't have to maintain a garden, and you can dock a boat along your house.

BTW, I'm not related to the linked builder, it's just one that came to mind, but there are many.

Good luck !

P.S. - some on their way . . .



In the above picture the bottom windows are boarded up to protect them from possible waves on the way, only by other ships since they pick a nice day for transport.

So note that at the mid section those are three story buildings that have some draft, since the height of the ground floor is for at least half below the waterline.

 

Thank you so much. So I have these concrete pontoons, what else do I need for it to be successful. Are utilities easy to get hold of, or do I need special cables and wires.

 

Err I guess flat ground on grass in England, open space. But if I was building on water, a lake would be easier as hurricanes would have less strength etc

 

Ted, I've enlarged the text in my previous post a bit, and I've made a few additional paragraphs at the pictures.

I'll come back to your other questions later.

Good luck !