A couple set up a "floating house" on a barge (2 photos + 1 video)

After two years of work, the couple have completed the ambitious project. They recently showed off the results of the renovation, including their kitchen and outdoor barbecue area.





Rob and Sarah Birch from the UK spent £150,000 to transform one of Grand Designs' most infamous buildings, located on a rusty barge in the middle of the Thames, into their dream home.

The couple, who run a steel-frame construction firm, jumped at the chance to work on the vessel in the Essex coastal town of Burnham-on-Crouch.



Rob, 54, admitted that they paid around £70,000 to buy the barge itself.

"Structurally it was OK on the outside, but someone had already started working on it on the inside. Everything they did looked good, but it was terrible when we did the assessment. For example, when they took apart the steel frame, we saw that there was water under the boards and so on, so we had to do a lot more work. In the end, it all ended up being a complete renovation," the man says.

Because the house was on the water, the Brits faced several other problems, in particular, they had to deal with constant tides and storms. Luckily, they were able to recycle many of the materials that were already on board.