Recycling

[xoxoxoBruce]

Recycling on a big scale... house big.

My Grandfather was born in 1880, and as a boy lived with the family that owned this house.



I don't know offhand when the house was built, but it was built is the typical New England manner of the main structure toward the road with attached kitchen & woodshed, with misc sheds, and barn behind. As new fangled ideas like indoor plumbing came along, the kitchen wing was redesigned and rebuilt several times.

Being on the main road into town and surrounded by a fair piece open ground (read farm), it's going to be sacrificed to "progress".

It turns out the woman that now lives in my Grandfathers farmhouse, where he lived and raised his family from 1913 to 1953, is recycling that old house. She bought it, and is having it moved to a spot next door to the farmhouse. Most people would spot in in the pasture, but she wants it on the knoll behind the pasture.
Rumor has it, this is all to lure the kids to move close to her, but that's strictly gossip.



They blasted rock for a solid week to make room for the house... with a cellar.
Only the older main structure will be moved, so a kitchen and bathrooms will have to be built, too.

The move should be interesting. The first mile or so is straight, flat, and lots of headroom, but some utility lines.
A left turn brings about two miles winding along the river, through the center of town, with lots of trees/utility lines, and a hump in the middle of maybe 100 ft elevation change.
Then a right turn, over a brand new bridge, but I heard they'll put down steel plates to distribute the load.
The next two miles consists of a rising eighth mile, short steep hill, short flat, long very steep hill, third to half mile flattish, long steep hill, and quarter mile flat. All this was made by a paving machine, following a cow up the hill, through the woods. Twists and turns, with almost solid trees on both sides, and utility lines.
Oh, and an elevation rise of about 500 feet.

That's some serious recycling.

[casimendocina]

Looking forward to the next installment in this story.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It should be moved before I get back up there, but I'll try to get a picture in the new location. Shouldn't be hard since it's right across the street from my driveway.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It hasn't moved yet. The foundation has been poured, though. Last week they had a meeting with the electric company, phone company, cable company, town officials, moving company, fire department*, highway department and state bridge people. They figure it will take two days and want to park it overnight in my brother's parking lot. The electric company claims it will cost them $16,000, and their wires are the highest on each pole. I noticed this weekend just how many trees are going to have to be cut back.

*During much of the first day the fire trucks will be cut off from half the town, and the second day the road with maybe 100 houses will be isolated.

[TheMercenary]

Wow. That is quite the project. I would love it if you took pics as the project moved on and kept us updated. Interesting.

[spudcon]

All that to move it next door? Next door is how many miles away?

[xoxoxoBruce]

It's about 6 miles. It's the house my Grandfather lived in as a boy, being moved next door to my Grandfather's farm house, where he raised his family.

[xoxoxoBruce]

A year after this move was initiated, it's finally happened. All through the spring and summer they'd set a date, then somebody would bitch to the town fathers, and it would get canceled. In June the town actually rescinded the permit to do it at all, but I suspect (just between you and me ), they did that knowing they didn't have a leg to stand on, legally. Then after her lawyer challenged it, they could say, 'hey everyone, we have no choice but to let them move the house, so deal with it'. It's hard to be the kings.

My brother emailed...

The house move happened this weekend. They did the first leg Saturday morning. I was out of town for the day however when I left at 7 am main street was already closed and I understand it made it to the hardware store buy noon.
Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30 and decided I should make coffee. Got the coffee made but no shower as the lights went out at 4:51.
Drove around Rocky Dundee and parked at the town house where Main street was blocked off about 5:10. I walked down Main Street amongst all the utility crews and cops and it was like a parade. People we sitting in the dark with lawn chairs and blankets and everyone had a camera. Award for best party goes to the Blakes who live between the church and academy hall, who had a big cast iron fire pit in the front yard and were cooking bacon and eggs. I made it to about Hatch's Store before the house starting moving and I followed it back.

I can't believe they pulled that up the mountain with one truck. Of course it was a very big Kenworth tri-axle, but damn.
They must have taken the furniture out first.

It cleared the bridge at 7:15 and they stopped there while the put Main Street back together. The plan was to drop everything on Chapin so the could do the entire road without stopping.

At the top of the road there were 10 or so various utility crew just hanging out.

The house came around the corner by the farmhouse about 11:30 and after some jockeying was clear of the road about noon. Power and cable were back up about 3. They left the house in the middle of the bee lot. Not sure when they are going to place it on the foundation.

Looking through the pictures, the guy in blue is definitely the HMFIC.

And this is what they left behind, the newer additions that had been attached to the original house.


I'm glad they got it done before it got any colder, as most don't have heat with the power off.
So that's the end of the saga, most people made the best of it, a few enjoyed it, and the ones that wanted to be pissed off
were privileged to do so... ain't America great?

EDIT: I just found out the house weighed 27 tons, and is 24 ft wide.

[monster]

Very interesting, thanks

[Scriveyn]

"OVERSIZE LOAD" who'd 'a thunk it!

Now it's time to start building additions all over again.

[glatt]

excellent thread. Thanks, Bruce!

[footfootfoot]

I have that same toilet.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Thanks glatt.
I noticed there's a portable generator attached to the back end of the house. I though that was curious until I saw this picture of them moving in the dark.



I had to tone down the flash reflection from that guy's jacket, it was blinding.

It looks like they have lighting under the bottom, so they can keep an eye on the support beams and dollies, as well as the road. They might have even had it lit when it was parked at night.

[TheMercenary]

Soooooo, does the lady who had it moved still livein/own the part that was not moved? Or, are the owners the same or different. Seems like a strange thing. She lives in a house and shaves off part to move it somewhere else to make a new house. I would have thought it would have been cheaper to just rebuild considering all the legal fees and fights..

[classicman]

Where is the thread with the back story?