Process of Moving a Home
When presented with the problem of moving a house, there are many things to consider; the first being is the house structurally sound enough to be able to move it and secondly is there a large enough easement around the house that the equipment needed to move it could actually gain sufficient access to it? For this reason, if one waits too long to move a house it becomes more difficult to get equipment positioned to be able to conduct the move. Mike Winkler, who runs Winkler and Sons Crane Co. and Construction and has moved several homes on the Cape of various scales utilizing different techniques, explains why homeowners should not wait to move:
First thing we do is look at the house and what the client [needs], some of these people are moving because they have to move and some of them are in the midst of moving are doing other things… and then of course [we have to decide] whether it’s possible. A lot of the jobs that we’ve done have been marginal as far as whether it can be done at all. It’s best if you have to do it and you can to do it and get it over with, it’s like ripping a band-aid off.
Mike Winkler in his office at Winkler and Sons, explaining how he approaches a move.
In the worst case scenario, if a homeowner waits too long to move the house, the equipment cannot access it, making moving no longer an option. In this scenario other methods can be considered like demolition or selective dismantling and reconstruction in a new location. If there is time, it might be possible to utilize soft solutions like bringing in large quantities of sand to replenish the beach, adding a couple more years potentially to the life of the property.
If a house is not moved when it needs to be and it is left to erode onto the beach it is an involved and expensive process that can potentially cost more then what it would have been to move it. In a typical situation if the house is left to fall and become a pile of debris, a crane has to be brought onto the beach to lift the debris onto a barge that will carry it away. Because of the strength of the near shore currents a tugboat would be needed to stabilize the barge, making a conservative estimate upwards to $100,000, not including fines or any environmental cleanup that may be needed. For homeowners that cannot afford the expensive process of either moving the house or clearing it away after it has been left to erode, the best and least expensive option is to dismantle the house and sell the lot.
If it has been established that the house can be moved there are a variety of methods that can be implemented, determined by the variables of each house. Techniques for moving a home fall into two categories: one type is when the home is lifted vertically with a crane and moved to a new foundation and the other is when the home is moved laterally utilizing a possible combination of rollers, cribbing and tracks. Choosing which technique to use is based on the unique elements of each move, taking into account a possible elevation gain or loss as well as which technique will have the least harmful environmental impact for the site.
Using 116 N Pamet Road, a home moved in Truro in 2009, as a case study, I will explain the process of moving a home when it is located within the National Seashore. This move will provide a framework for understanding the progression of a move from the initial stage of a homeowner being faced the decision to move their home to the final stage of remediating the property and protecting it from erosion to minimize the chance that it will have to be moved again.
