Disassembling a small house

[quicksandfarmer]

I have a project to take down a small house. The catch is that it is 42 inches -- yes inches -- from the property line and the other side of the line is national park land. The National Park Service says I can't enter their property for the purpose of doing work, and I can't injure any trees on their side of the line. So any kind of machinery is ruled out, I think I have to disassemble the house by hand. It's not a big house, just a story and a half and the roof has about a 4 in 12 roof that is easy to walk.

My plan is just to do it in the reverse order that it was built. Work on the inside first, strip out all of the fixtures, then drywall and tile and floor coverings. Then take the roof off and the rafters. From there brace all the exterior walls, and cut through the top and bottom plates to cut them into manageable sections and pull them onto the floor, and then break them up. Once the second floor walls are down I'll take out the floor, and then repeat for the first floor.

Any tips, warnings or other thoughts?

If you're wondering how it got built so close to the line, the house was built before the park was created. The Park Service bought the land and the owner sold right up to the house.

 

[4570Man]

It would be bad of it caught on fire in the next lightning storm. If you don’t like that option I think a good operator on a trackhoe could pull it off.

 

[aczlan]

Someone who is good with an excavator shouldn't have any problem putting that house into a dumpster in a day or two without needing to enter their property.

Aaron Z

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I don't think I'm going to be able to have an excavator come in. I'm not allowed to operate in the root zone of any of the Park Service trees. I don't see any way of approaching the house without crossing at least one tree.

Ordinarily, the law is that if a neighbor's tree crosses the line onto your property, you can do whatever you want with the part that's on your land. The law is different with national parks. They own the whole tree, you can't do anything to it. The fines for damaging their trees can be tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[skipperbrown]

I would talk to the park service. They need to cut you some slack on a house 42" from their land that I'm sure they want to see removed. A 100 hp skid steer or track hoe will take that house down in a day.

 

[Ford850]

^^ Wow, I didn't know that! I've seen other houses disassembled just as you described. Takes awhile, but you'll have some reclaimed materials that you wouldn't have if you used an excavator.

 

[PILOON]

I don't think I'm going to be able to have an excavator come in. I'm not allowed to operate in the root zone of any of the Park Service trees. I don't see any way of approaching the house without crossing at least one tree.

What many will do is lay some 3 inch timbers on the soil to run their tracks on and that way they avoid damaging the soil and vegetation.
Even grass will survive as usually a demo is a short term thing.

Heck nearby they have been running all sorts of equipment on a tennis court using sheets of plywood as protection.

 

[MossRoad]

Why do you have to take it down? Just curious.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Why do you have to take it down? Just curious.

The owner wants to build a new, bigger house. I don't want to reveal the location, but it's a place with a notable view. There is a strip of private homes along the park. The owner paid about $1.5 million for the house and will probably pay another million to build a new one, and it will be one of the more modest houses. The rich people who own those houses have chronically encroached on parkland, to the point where the Park Service has gotten tough and is now enforcing zero tolerance. In order to get a building permit the owner will have to submit a "tree preservation plan" and probably post a six-figure bond. The tree plan will likely call for silt fence around the perimeter of the property and a foot of wood chips -- and no vehicles except on the driveway. The new house will be moved back from the property line, and where it doesn't overlap the existing footprint it will be on helical piles. There will be almost no excavation and what there is will be done by hand. In this context $20,000 or $30,000 to disassemble the house by hand isn't a problem.

Before you get upset about the heavy hand of government, understand that the buyer knowingly and willingly agreed to these conditions.

 

[KennyG]

I'd like to see a picture. It seems to me you could collapse the roof into the structure and them pull it away from the park side to buckle the walls.