{"id":488788,"date":"2026-05-17T05:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488788\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T05:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:57:11","slug":"our-750000-new-build-literally-floated-when-it-rained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488788\/","title":{"rendered":"Our \u00a3750,000 new-build literally floated when it rained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott and Pippa Paton realised their semi-subterranean retirement home might be in trouble when, during a pause in construction, the unfinished structure filled with rainwater and began to float. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur new home literally lifted out of the ground,\u201d Scott says. It was always going to be a quirky project. For starters, it\u2019s upside down: the bedrooms are on the lower level, with the living spaces on the upper floor, at ground level.<\/p>\n

The new home is in the grounds of their larger old house in a village west of Oxford. The family have lived there for 14 years but with one son working in London and their daughter finishing university, the 4,500 sq ft house, set in 4.5 acres, was too large for their future needs.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019d always eyed up the space in our grounds,\u201d Scott says. \u201cWe\u2019re in our early sixties [both are 61] and want something that\u2019s easier to manage \u2014 but we also like where we live. The solution was to build in the garden and sell our family home.\u201d The perfect spot was on the site of a former pigsty.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe site of the former pigsty which was to become the Patons\u2019 new home<\/p>\n

The Patons faced vociferous objections from the parish council, though. \u201cIt was sad to be vilified by our community for building a house that we believed would enhance the community rather than diminish it, but we eventually got it through,\u201d Scott says.<\/p>\n

Work began in August 2019 but, for all their careful planning, they could not account for the weather. As soon as the spades broke ground, the heavens opened. Water filled the excavation, mixing with the soil, a blend of clay and sand, and turning the site into a soggy, unstable mess. <\/p>\n

\"ConstructionThe excavation site was prone to fill with water, which severely complicated the project <\/p>\n

\u201cOur only option was to sheet-pile the whole plot [creating a groundwater barrier] \u2014 it was hundreds and hundreds of cubic metres,\u201d Scott explains. \u201cThat base gave us the foundations. We effectively then built a concrete boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dropping of the sheets and then driving them into the ground caused a mini earthquake. Charlie, a neighbour, called the Patons to say, \u201cNot to worry you, but the mugs on my kitchen shelf are falling off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after that phase was completed, with the mugs saved, and it seemed like things were finally looking up, they weren\u2019t. <\/p>\n

The Covid pandemic stopped all work and while the site stood still, water built up beneath it, so it began to move. \u201cWhen the builders returned they argued about how the building had tilted \u2014 it had literally floated,\u201d Scott says. Water pressure had built up underneath, lifting up the back by three inches. \u201cI couldn\u2019t even face telling Pippa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution required the input of hydrologists and engineers. \u201cWe pumped out the water, put in another layer of concrete on top, and that put it back to its original position,\u201d Scott says.<\/p>\n

\"ConstructionHydrologists and engineers were required to finalise the foundations<\/p>\n

Remedying the problem cost \u00a360,000. Post-Covid price increases for materials added another 10 per cent to the overall build cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cA sheet of plywood that was \u00a312 became \u00a332,\u201d he recalls. \u201cOnce we got past the wobbly, floaty house, the expenses and it was finally dry, the next challenge was sticking to the internal plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

But locking in decisions wasn\u2019t as straightforward as they had thought. Choices like flooring \u2014 resin, tiles or micro-cement \u2014 became one layer of a complex process.<\/p>\n

The lack of straight lines caused further headaches. The house has a curve to the front and the back, a deliberate design which reflects its position on a bending driveway. \u201cThat meant there were a lot of fittings you couldn\u2019t just buy off the shelf,\u201d Scott says. A curved kitchen also meant that standard units wouldn\u2019t work \u2014 there was no alternative but to have it custom-made. \u201cI love that it\u2019s quirky. The kitchen was our biggest indulgence,\u201d Pippa says.<\/p>\n

Power cable rules changed unexpectedly too, causing further issues.\u00a0\u201cWe ended up being three metres beyond allowances and they simply wouldn\u2019t budge,\u201d Scott says. This meant a costly new cable had to be installed, which escalated the cost from \u00a33,000 to a staggering \u00a330,000.<\/p>\n

Costs had to be cut somewhere. The original quote for the external staircase was nearly \u00a330,000, but in the end it was created for just \u00a35,000 by pairing bespoke parts with off-the-shelf ones. <\/p>\n

The Cotswold stone, cladding the curved walls along the driveway, was not so cheap, however. The stone is an essential part of the design as it blends the new-build with the neighbour\u2019s wall, making the home almost invisible from the road. Using an alternative material wasn\u2019t an option. Instead, as Scott explains, \u201cwhat we could do was change the ashlar stone for a composite. You wouldn\u2019t know it\u201d. The total build cost came to \u00a3750,000.<\/p>\n

\"AnInside the Patons\u2019 new home, which was designed to feel light and spacious<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Patons call their new house a Tardis \u2014 though half the size of their old home, its layout feels light and spacious. With three bedrooms and a media room that could be converted to a fourth, there\u2019s ample space for visiting family and friends. They plan to move in after selling their old home. Until then, they are letting it out as a temporary measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d Pippa says of the end result. \u201cIt feels cocooning. It\u2019s painted white but the beauty is that our
artwork and other pieces really stand out on that blank canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honouring the future legacy of their new home was always a priority. \u201cWe were keen to avoid a blot on the landscape,\u201d Scott says. \u201cIf you view the house from 150 metres away, it sits so well with ours and our neighbours\u2019 properties. That\u2019s exactly what we set out to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott and Pippa Paton realised their semi-subterranean retirement home might be in trouble when, during a pause in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-488788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116588383120766970","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}