Spinning house has P.E.I.'s best ocean view

A house that puts a spin on the idea of an "ocean view" is under construction on P.E.I.'s north shore.

Steve Arnold is building Canada's first rotating house in North Rustico.

As a kid, Arnold said he spent his summers on P.E.I. and always wanted an ocean view. Now he'll have one from every room in his house.

"As you might know, we've got beautiful ocean front right here, but if the house rotates, everyone gets an ocean view at least part of the day," Arnold said.

Arnold and his wife, Stephanie, plan to use the house as a summer home.

"The rotating house, I thought it was crazy to try and do," she said "But I try to be supportive and now that I see it coming together, I'm really excited about it."

The inspiration comes from a rotating house in Australia.

The Arnolds contacted the designer of the house and took a tour.

Now, designer Luke Everingham, has come to Canada to help the Arnolds build their dream home.

Everingham said building a rotating house in Canada came with some unique problems.

"The main difference is that, because of the weather conditions here, a 50 tonne house can end up, under severe conditions, with another 50 tonnes of snow on it," he said, "So we had to upgrade the size of the bearings and the wheels and the beams."

The house spins on 24 wheels in the basement and reaches a top speed of 80 metres per hour.

Each of the two motors that drives the rotation is 700 watts, and each is about the size of a large washing machine.

The Arnolds aren't greedy. They plan to share their view.  

They hope to open a bed and breakfast after construction is completed next spring. They also hope to sell rotating houses to others who want the best view going.