We spent £150k reworking considered one of Grand Designs’ greatest disasters
- Chris Miller and Sze Liu Lai were forced to abandon the Grand Designs project
- The boat later washed up on a beach and has been transformed by a new couple
An ambitious couple have spent £150,000 on transforming one of Grand Designs’ most notorious projects into their dream holiday home.
Rob and Sarah Burch, from Essex, have given one of the show’s biggest-ever disasters a lifeline by snapping up the memorable Medway Eco-Barge – this time having much greater success than its previous owners.
Many Brits will feel a sense of nostalgia when they recall the 2007 Grand Designs episode where Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Lai guided Kevin McCloud and his team through their bold plan to build a two-storey houseboat with three bedrooms.
The Kent couple decided to renovate the rusting Thames barge using only eco-friendly and second hand materials after failing to find a home more spacious and affordable than their small east London flat for them and their two children.
But it was far from plain sailing, with the couple clashing with builders over their demands, including one construction worker memorably commenting: ‘It looks s***.’
The pair, who were both social workers, were eventually forced to jump ship after the project soared to £80,000 – 60 per cent above their initial £50,000 budget.
The Medway Eco-Barge soon became a distant memory until it was found washed up and vandalised on an Essex beach in 2011, where it was being used by squatters.
Completely unfazed by the Medway’s doomed history, Mr and Mrs Burch bought the houseboat in 2020 and have since transformed it into the modern, stylish property that the Grand Designs couple could only have dreamed of.
Grand Designs lovers will remember The Medway Eco-Barge which featured on the show in 2007 – but washed up on an Essex beach four years later
The interior of the barge looked habitable after the Grand Designs team were finished, but the project was abandoned
Host Kevin McCloud was called upon to help transform the barge, but it turned into a disaster
Pictured is Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Laine who failed in their bid to renovate and live in the barge
It marks a remarkable comeback for the boat, which was once described by Mr McCloud as ‘a floating scrapheap challenge’.
The new owners, who own a steel frame firm, had been looking to buy a holiday home and jumped at the opportunity to work on the vessel at their boatyard in the river side town of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.
Mr Burch, 54, told MailOnline that the couple paid around £70,000 to buy the barge from a boatyard in Southend. They then took it back to their own boatyard in Burnham-on-Crouch to start work on it.
Mr Burch explained: ‘Structurally, it was in a reasonable position externally, but somebody had started work on it on the inside.
‘They were doing a conversion, and everything they had done looked okay on the outside, but it was terrible when we started to look at it. So it ended up being a complete refit.
‘The idea initially was to recycle the materials back onto the boat, but because we delved so far into it, it literally became about taking it out and replacing it.’
As the vessel was on water all the time, it created some challenges which meant the transformation took longer than they were expecting.
The father-of-four said: ‘We’re tidal, most houseboats are up against the pontoon, whereas we’re fully tidal.
‘As well as that, we’re three miles from the North Sea, and we have had a few storms. The boat has had a baptism of fire regarding what it is capable of.
BEFORE AND AFTER: The Medway Eco-Barge is pictured on the show (left) and now (right)
BEFORE AND AFTER: Mr and Mrs Burch were given the boat in a terrible condition (left), but have made huge changes including in the bathroom(right)
Pictured is the interior of the boat when they started refurbishment in 2021
As part of the dramatic renovation, the couple have had a new glossy kitchen fitted on the boat
This is a living space in the new Medway Eco-Barge which at one point looked destined for failure
The couple have even installed an outdoor kitchen as part of a complete renovation
The Medway Eco-Barge has had a complete makeover, including new outdoor lights on the deck
‘We were going to put a steel frame on top because that’s what our line of work. And the downstairs was going to be just tidied up because it looked to be okay.
‘But as soon as we started looking at it, there was water under the boards and stuff like that so we knew we had to do a lot more work on it.
‘We did a lot of recycling of the things which were onboard, we used up a lot of that and just tried to clean up a bit and make sure things were robust.’
All in all, the pair estimate the whole work done on the barge has cost them £150,000, although with a big caveat.
Mr Burch said: ‘You [can’t] blanket it all down and get invoices for everything coming and you’re doing it in your own time. You’re doing it with your own lads. It’s a difficult scenario.’
Two years after burying it and a year after the refurb began, in 2022, the family’s labour of love was finally over.
They have been enjoying life onboard their holiday home ever since, dividing up their time between their house and the boat.
Mrs Burch, 47, said: ‘It’s a nice little pad to go and spend time in when we’re not at home.
‘We probably divide the week up, really. For the downstairs level, we’ve got a main bedroom.
‘We live in St Lawrence but it’s very quiet, and we wanted to move closer to Burnham-on-Crouch.
The Medway Eco-Barge has had a new lease of life after Mr and Mrs Burch took on the project
Just when all hope was lost, Rob and Sarah Burch have swooped into to give the boat a stay of execution
The dining area in the renovated barge four years since the work completed
The inside of the barge now even has a small library with a sofa where the Burches can now relax
Many of people who know the couple have shown their excitement at the pair’s work
Many of people who know the couple have shown their excitement at the pair’s work.
Mrs Burch said: ‘Everybody’s been very, very positive. I think everybody’s quite excited about houseboats and boats.’
When asked about the prospect of ever selling the boat, Rob said: ‘We haven’t really got plans for it at the moment., while Sarah added: ‘We are attached to it; it’s like our baby.
‘We’re fortunate to have this boatyard, and I can’t see it ever leaving this site. Burnham is a lovely spot, you know. It’s the perfect location.’
‘We tend to congregate with our family so there’s a lot of us so we come here for bigger family events like Christmas and New Year’s.
‘From our house, we’re a 25 miles round trip and there’s no really anywhere to go in St Lawrence so it’s just nice to have this holiday home where we can come and enjoy ourselves and walk to places and the benefit of having our family here.’
