I own a house about 300 hundred miles from where I am employed. There are not any houses here that interest me. I like the house I own. How would I go about moving said house? Just how expensive is it? Is there a website that I can turn to for information?
I bet it’s waaayyyy too expensive. Probably cheaper to hire an architect to make plans for a house that looks like yours.
That’s what I’m trying to find out. Even if it is let’s say $40,000 or $50,000, that’s cheaper than a stick built house even when you throw in property, property prep and the like. Of course, you have to figure probably between $5,000 and $10,000 for repairs, unless that is included in the moving. But I don’t know.
What kind of a house is it? If it’s a ranch style that can be sawn into sections that will fit on a flatbed and then reassembled at the destination, then maybe. Otherwise, not. It takes enormous effeort and equipment to move a two-story, and it all happens at essentially a walking pace, and requires blocked highways in both directions, and the removal and replacement of overhead wires at great expense.
I’ve moved houses before, and I kid you not when I say that in the 1970’s it could easily cost $20,000 to move a house less than a mile.
Check out the IASM (International Association of Structural Movers) for a local member.
Then you have to find a route. Lifting power lines .going under bridges and expressway overpasses. It is a complicated process.
At one time, when houses were built better, lumber was more scarce and there weren’t as many overhead obstructions, it was quite common to move buildings from one property to another. (Pulled by oxen or horses, too.) However, it wasn’t done over very long distances.
I doubt that one would be able to move one 300 miles. Just getting all the permissions to clear the route along the way would be a huge hassle.
You could avoid road issues by using an aerial crane to ferry the house.
Sometimes they have to go OVER the elevated train tracks. I saw one of the shows on Discovery Channel and they blocked up the house to 37 feet IIRC and crossed over the El, then lowered it down on the other side to continue the journey.
House moving here is big business. I’m talking timber framed houses, up on foundations. Not sure if it’s possible to move a house on a concrete slab.
There are many reasons to move a house. Often the section is being sub-divided and the house needs to go to the front or rear section.
Or the owner wants to build a new house, s/he can sell the existing for removal and so instead of having to pay to get it demolished, someone else pays to take it away!
There are places that build houses in their yard, then truck them to your section. These tend to be long and narrow houses though. My uncle had one, it was an ok 3 bedroom place.
In the 70’s a neighbour bought a 2 story house. It was chainsawed in half to make it narrow enough to fit along the road. I don’t know about the height, I guess in those days, they just pulled down the lines as the house went past.
Anyway, some Google links for house movers have these:
2 story
House Movers front page
Another 2 story house
School classrooms
Bottom of page
Trailer manufacturer
Cause it commom here, often the power people have ended up lifting the wires up on frequent routes. The movers have an advance team in front of the truck lifting wires with props, taking signs down on corners etc. The houses have timber runners that start low at the front to guide the wires up over them. The trailers have high lift suspension and a lifting mechanism on the gooseneck so the trailer can lift above bridge guardrails, and also keep the trailer level.
They can only move between iirc 1am and 5am. It can be a bit disconcerting to meet one coming toward you. Often I see a house parked up in a roadside bay.
I know this has nothing to do with the US situation, but just want to let you know what is possible, and I’m sure that while house moving isn’t common in the US, someone must have the tools and knowledge. My brother had a house moved onto his section, but I have no idea of it’s costs, and I can’t ask him til I see him as he’s deaf.
Dave
My sister and her husband did this back in 97.
There were many things to consider including moving overhead power lines and removing overhanging tree branches that would have hampered the move.
However, this was in a rural part of Minnesota, and the move was only a little over 7 miles. The move was equitable in their case for a couple of reasons - the people who bought the original house (situated on a lake) wanted to tear down the house and build a bigger residence. My sister already owned the land that they wanted to move it to, and they essentially bought the house for what it would have cost to tear it down and remove the debris. They had the basement foundation built and did the move.
It was a 2-story house, 3 bedrooms, and about 1500 square feet. Even with a full brick fireplace in the living room they have had no problems whatsoever since (which today still blows my mind that the fireplace didn’t crack… these guys were good). Another thing to consider was the fact that the house was built in the 40’s.
It’s doable, but the question is whether it is financially viable for your situation. 300 miles is a hell of a lot more than 7 miles. Again, it’s doable if you have the money, but you may have to weigh benefits vs. cost.
I’m guessing that this is not a financially viable endeavor…
… unless the house has certain sentimental value and money is no object. 
…besides after you saw it in half, you may find a wallet in one of the walls that belongs to someone who worked on the house 50 years ago.
I used to work for my uncle moving houses. I’m sure it could be done no matter how large the house or how far you need to move it, but at over 300 miles, It’s probably going to be well over $75k. I didn’t get into the finacial side when I worked for him (late 80’s), but I do know that he charged over $20k to lift a ~20x30’ house up one story and move it 30 feet back on top of a new foundation.
Contact a house mover in your area.
It’s probably cheaper to buy land and stick-build a duplicate house, plus you can eliminate any design problems that you don’t like about the current house.
Everyone, very good information. Thank you so much.