MOVING HOUSE

[inveresk]

Here are some shots of the house moving exercise we undertook last July. We moved the house 300 feet or so, and have just begun the exercise of remodeling. The house is now adjacent to our new workshop office, the odd shot of which was posted separately.

First shots show the preparation to brace the house for the shock of moving. This involved including diagonals where we had roof overhangs.

 

[inveresk]

Next we had to dig then break out the concrete kerb to allow two long steel support beams to be slid under the house. Once these beams were through, they were tied to a cross beam which was used to brace them and which the hydraulic rams were placed under to raise the house off the concrete kerb.

 

[inveresk]

Once the house was raised, temporary buttresses were built under the beams using railway sleepers so the concrete kerb wall could be broken out.

 

[inveresk]

Wheeled dollies were then placed under the beams at the rear end of the house and the front of the beams supported by a tractor unit used to pull the whole assembly up the hill.

 

[inveresk]

The tractor unit wasn't enough on its own to pull the house. The front of it was hitched to an excavator that helped and the two in tandem inched up the hill, taking about three hours to cover the three hundred feet.

 

[inveresk]

Once at its destination, the house was backed into the prepared excavated area and left jacked up on sleeper buttresses so we complete the excavation and complete the concrete foundations underneath it.

 

[inveresk]

The excavator then got busy breaking out the old foundations, ripping out the obsolete services and levelling the ground ready for final preparation for me to sow pasture.

We completed the foundations in the autumn and got the house lowered onto them. We've stood still over the winter but have just begun the house remodel. I'll post more shots as we make progress.

 

[kwolfe]

Looks like a heck of a process. Why did you move the house. Looked like you had a beatiful view.

 

[inveresk]

The house used to be right at the edge of our property close to a road. It compromised our privacy, meant we heard road traffic more than we wanted and resulted in the rest of the property feeling disconnected from the house.

We've moved it up the hill so the views are even better although I do have to take down some trees and limb others to make the best of it. Also nearer the top of the hill means the sunpath is better in winter. Lastly, the house sits more comfortably within the property as a whole and there's a very sweet driveway winding up to it that lends the place some presence which it didn't have before.

 

[DieselPower]

Lookin good from here. I like the new location. Better view and it looks nice with the woods in the back. Gives new meaning to telling someone your moving doesn't it.

 

[HappyCPE]

If you don't mind saying on a public forum, what did this move cost you?

 

[inveresk]

The total cost of moving was probably in the region of $40k CAD. That includes disconnection of existing services, preparing and laying the road up to the new house location, new water, power, data and sewer connections, the cost of the concrete foundations and underbuilding. If I hadn't carried out most of the work myself that cost would clearly have been higher.

 

[Knight9]

I like the look of the new location. Looks beautiful, and the extra privacy will be great. What's the thought behind putting the house there and trying to do the foundation underneath while it sits? Was it a timing issue (foundation not ready but mover was?) or was that intentional?

Kevin

 

[inveresk]

Excavating for and building foundations after the house has been moved is really the only way the work can be done. If the excavations were completed, it wouldn't be possible to get the house over the trenches into its location. The same applies to the foundations. Kerb walls would prevent the house being towed into its final position.

Working under the house with only about 5 feet of headroom was a real chore and meant we couldn't get a machine into the foundations other than around the perimeter. We'd a trench to hand dig under the centre of the house along it's full length, plus a couple other party wall foundations. Formwork building, concrete pouring, spreading crushed rock and getting the sealer coat of concrete in the crawl space were all hampered by lack of head room.

 

[Egon]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Time for an Ice cream cone in Ganges!!

 

[riptides]

Curious as to any issues with settling due to the move? Pipes, walls, doors, etc. etc. And I guess ontop of the new foundation, time will tell?

-Mike Z.

 

[WayneB]

George, real neat project! I take it you only have a craw space at the new location? Wonder why you didn't go ahead and dig a full cellar?

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Wayne

 

[EddieWalker]

Great pics. I love that show on TV where they move homes to a new location. It's always the same thing, but also totally different each time. I think the best part is when the home owners start to panic!!!

I'm sure your move was planned out to the smallest detail. You just come across as the type that rarely has a suprise come up when you do something.

Thanks for sharing,
Eddie

 

[inveresk]

I'm far from a meticulous planner, Eddie. In fact half way up the hill we hit an avoidable snag and I'd to take the chain saw to part of the cantilever deck on the front of the house. The road was wide enough but I'd set the grade on a crossfall which tilted the house causing the eaves on one side to lower and lean out further than it should have had the road been level. After hacking away a couple feet we got the house through but it was still tight.

Luckily I'd already decided to get rid of the deck in the remodel design but hoped to keep it awhile so we'd have at least one clean outside surface to use as a mud room.

Wayne, the reason I went for a crawl space rather than a full basement is that we don't need the space and, of course, the expense would have been greater. The house when remodeled will be 2300 sq.ft. and we've a couple thousand feet of ancillary space with the office/workshop. That's adequate for the two of us, even given the disproportionate amount of space I take up with machinery and other toys. In exchange for my 1400 sq.ft., the wife got 600 sq.ft. of horse stalls which she considered a fair trade, although needless to say I didn't apprise her of the exact square footage we'd each benefit from when I prepared the design.

 

[bones1]

Very nice place you have there.Beautiful view.