Retired couple spend £100,000 putting their riverside home on 12ft STILTS after seeing it wrecked by rising waters 12 years ago
- Dawn, 72, and Sam Ray, 82, have lived close to the banks of the River Severn for nearly 50 years
- They took occasional flooding for granted until the house was flooded by 4ft 6in of water in 2007
- The pair then spent more than £100,000 having builders lift part of the house onto 12ft-high stilts
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A couple who faced losing their home after it was damaged by flooding are in fear no more after putting it on stilts.
Dawn and Sam Ray have lived close to the banks of the River Severn for nearly 50 years, and they took occasional flooding for granted until the house was flooded by 4ft 6in of water in 2007.
Determined not to be beaten, the pair spent more than £100,000 having builders lift part of the house in Walham, Gloucestershire, onto 12ft-high stilts – meaning they are high and dry in all weathers.
Dawn and Sam Ray at their home near the banks of the River Severn which was rebuilt on stilts to raise it up above flooding
The pair spent more than £100,000 having builders lift part of the house onto stilts – meaning they are always high and dry
The home on the banks of the River Severn was rebuilt on stilts to raise it up above any flooding in future
The couple spent six months living in Mr Ray’s ‘man cave’ – a shed nicknamed ‘Chez Ray’ while builders moved up the house
Builders spent six months painstakingly moving the house onto four, 12ft high stilts, and it is now in a much safer position
Mrs Ray, 78, said: ‘We’ve lived here for over 45 years so there’s no chance we’re going anywhere. In the floods of 2007 the front room was under 4ft of water.
‘We could have had it put right by insurance but it would have happened again two or three times since so we decided to go down this route. We definitely made the right decision. We’ve got no worries at all and it’s an excellent place to live.’
The couple spent six months living in Mr Ray’s ‘man cave’ – a shed nicknamed ‘Chez Ray’ while builders spent six months painstakingly moving the house onto four, 12ft high stilts.
Mr Ray said: ‘We lived in the shed for six months while the house was being built. The house is basically a bungalow on stilts.’
During the recent flooding in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, Mr Ray said the house has been unscathed. The couple have even been marooned at the house for up to a week.
The house is pictured in recent years after being rebuilt on stilts, after the area in Gloucestershire was flooded
The house is pictured being rebuilt to avoid being devastated by flooding in future years
Mr Ray is pictured in floodwater. The couple took occasional flooding for granted until the house was badly flooded in 2007
The house close to the banks of the River Severn was flooded in 2007 before being rebuilt – and it is now on 12ft-high stilts
Mr Ray, 82, said: ‘We’ve had a bit of seepage underneath but we would have had a foot in the old house. Now we can just sit and watch the water appear.
‘We do get marooned but the way we look at it is that if we can’t get out than no one else can get in. We stock up with supplies. The longest we’ve been marooned is a week.
‘When we were younger we just used to wade through the water to where the car was uphill. It was an adventure, now we just take it in our stride. Sometime’s it’a bit like living in a castle.’
Mr and Mrs Ray finally moved into their new home early in 2009 – and have been dry ever since. Mr Ray said: ‘It wasn’t sellable and we like living here.
‘The water can’t reach us now. A lot of people say we’ve done the right thing. As we get older we intend to stay at the house. There’s just the one flight of steps so it’s quite easy.’