Lewes

Professional deep-sea diver and former teenage BMX fanatic Adrian is obsessed with concrete. He fell in love with this cold uncompromising material in the skateparks of Scotland. Now he’s convinced wife Megan to build their new family home in rural East Sussex almost entirely out of the stuff – both inside and out. No cladding, no carpets, no plaster or wallpaper, this will be as pure a concrete building as humanly possible. Adrian believes his raw, exposed, modular concrete home will be the ultimate 21st century country house.

 

Construction involves cutting-edge concrete technologies conceived in Switzerland and never used to build a house before. The hope is these new mix recipes will not only overcome the historic negatives of concrete but keep them within their £400,000 budget. However, the perils of being a pioneer soon become evident for project manager Adrian. Installation of the foundations, using a high-tech reinforced mix they hope will save them £40,000, falls foul of building regulations. Another recipe, designed to overcome concrete’s reputation as a poor insulator, refuses to pour properly. With both schedule and budget under strain, Adrian is forced to resume work as a diver, servicing North Sea oil installations,

taking him away for a month at a time. With Megan now left juggling this messy challenging build, all the while looking after three young children, the concrete dream seems a long way off...