House Moving Is A Complicated Process

Now is the time to lay foundation

As Devils Lake in North Dakota has risen in recent years, house moving has joined spring cleaning as an annual rite of warm weather. Along the way, some local people have become reluctant experts on the relocation of structures, while others have found a professional niche.

“It’s easier for me to build a new house than to move an old one, but there’s a lot of savings in the salvage,” said Duane Armstrong, a retired telephone worker. He and his wife, Pam, a decorator, moved their own house and they are among the contractors in the area who help others. He said it’s not too early for those who anticipate flooding in 2001 to start making plans.

Duane Armstrong, who is retired from the telephone company, and his wife, Pam, an experienced decorator, are among the contractors who help others with the many steps involved in moving houses.		Bob Gibson, principal of Devils Lake Middle School, and his family have moved their house twice. He is shown here with his son, Kyle.

First, Armstrong said, people need to consider whether they want to move or sell their houses. To help them decide, they may do well to contact their insurance adjustor, said Bob Gibson, who is principal of Devils Lake Middle School and has moved twice. “People need to know how much money they’ll get,” he said.

For those who decide to move their homes, preliminary steps include locating a new lot and hiring professionals. The latter may mean simply hiring a contractor who does some of the work and subcontracts the rest. Or, it may mean hiring a mover to transport the house and specialists such as an excavator, plumber and electrician.

Armstrong said that for a July 1 move, he would need to be contacted by March. “Contractors are real busy. We’re usually booking out a year in advance,” he said. He added that a good time to contact lenders and line up financing is after locating a lot and calculating the cost of moving the structure.

Vacating the old site

Even when they hire contractors, Armstrong said people often want to save money by doing some of the work themselves at the old site.

Getting ready usually involves packing up glass, china and other breakables, such as wall hangings, and removing them from the house.

Basements must be stripped to the bare walls, Armstrong said. That means removing everything, including sheetrock, electrical wiring, doors and possibly even interior walls. In addition, attachments that the mover will not take, like decks and sunrooms, need to be removed.

Vacated lots must be left in a condition that is safe for others. Policyholders are required to sign a conservation easement before they can collect the first 60 percent of their settlement from the National Flood Insurance Program; to collect the remainder of their claim they must leave the lot in satisfactory condition.

A few days before the move, calls need to be made to discontinue services from the power, water, telephone and cable television companies.

Though the Ken Severinson family made their first move in less than a week, Armstrong said residents generally need to plan on being displaced and staying in a motel or with family or friends for a minimum of six weeks. “We’ve had people in and out in two weeks, but it’s real hard,” Armstrong said.

Like many homeowners, Brad Severinson, shown here with a helper, needed to take out trees in order to move his house.		Having grown up in the area, Ken Severinson said, "The lake was always going dry. I never dreamt that it would fill up like this."

Developing the new site

When moving a house, Gibson said, basically a homeowner is rebuilding one-third of the house, as everything in the lower third of the house must be replaced. That applies to the basement or crawl space and includes electrical, plumping and phone lines. Gibson added, “Everything has to meet code, which in the case of an older house may have changed.”

Armstrong said a house that is moved onto a site needs everything a new home needs, plus a few extras.

After a lot is selected, an activity in which the contractor sometimes participates, plans are made for placement of the house on the new site. Since the house wasn’t designed for the new site but needs to fit there, changes are often necessary. For example, the garage may need to be located on a different side of the house. After drawing up the blueprints, Armstrong gets a building permit, a process that in some locales requires a peitition signed by new neighbors. Even if formal plans are not made, an elevation certificate may be necessary for going forward.

After the plans are made, an excavator can begin digging a hole and building the basement or other foundation. The excavator may also pour the driveway and walkways, and help with laying of pipes. Other landscaping may wait until after the house is in place.

All of the types of services that were discontinued at the vacated site need to be arranged for the new location. This process, which involves permits and help in some cases from licensed professionals, is often costly. Such services may include:

• Sewer, which may be public or a septic tank. In either case, a plumber needs to be hired and pipes need to be laid.
• Water, which may be public or a well. As with sewer, a plumber needs to be hired and pipes need to be laid. If water has to be trenched in a mile, that would likely cost $10,000, Armstrong estimates. A well, dug by a company licensed by the state, runs usually $3,000 to $4,000.
• Electricity
• Telephone
• Gas, which may be public or may be supplied by a propane tank.
• Cable television
• Generally, utilities need to be contacted at least two months in advance. “It’s hard to notify them too far in advance,” Armstrong said.

Transporting the house

For homeowners, this is often the simplest step, in part because, at a cost of about $8,000 to $40,000 or more, it is left to professionals.

To help movers keep their charges low, homeowners can do appropriate work at both sites so that the movers don’t need to wait. Other factors that may influence the cost include tree removal and dealing with power or telephone lines. Gibson estimated that in the course of his two moves, he took out 150 trees. He said moving power lines can add significantly to cost and sometimes moving a house involves two or three power or telephone companies. “Going down the road is not the major cost,” he said.

After the house is in place and all the services have been connected, there is often finishing work to be done. This may include carpeting, carpentry, dry wall installation, wallpapering, painting and staining. “A lot of people want to do their own painting,” Armstrong said.

In addition, minor modifications may go on for years. Ken Severinson is still working on his basement and, after putting in grass seed twice, he advised letting the house settle before doing much landscaping. “I’d recommend that people don’t get too anxious about their landscaping,” he said.

From start to finish, homeowners should expect the unexpected when they move their houses. The Ken Severinsons were delayed in their second move when the semi truck that was going to haul their structure sank into the mud. Brad and Colleen Severinson had furnace problems and some finishing work they hadn’t planned on when the plaster peeled off in sheets following their move.

Web sites with additional information on the topic include http://buildingmovers.com/, which contains contact information for some area movers.

The home of the Bob Gibson family is nowlocated about two miles from the lake at an elevation of 1488.74 feet above sea level.

Steps to consider when moving a house

1. Contact insurance agent
2. Hire professionals
3. Line up financing
4. Purchase new lot and, if appropriate, obtain elevation certificate
5. Vacate the old site
6. Pack
7. Strip the basement
8. Disconnect services
9. Move into temporary dwelling
10. Develop the new site
11. Draw up plans
12. Obtain permits
13. Excavate
14. Bring in services
15. Haul the house to the new location