Dan's Papers - July 27, 2007 - How'd They Do That?

You've probably driven by East Hampton Town Hall recently and seen all of the buildings on the front lawn and wondered where they came from. Guy Davis of Davis Construction House and Building Movers in Westhampton Beach rolled them there in April. Simultaneously moving six historic structures - some date back to the late 1700s - a total of two miles from Further Lane might seem like a great feat, but its all in a day's work for this house mover.

House moving is the oldest and largest form of recycling. All the building materials are recycled and landfill space is not consumed. House moving is also the number one source of low cost housing. Due to flooding or to increase the square footage of a house, many Long Islanders choose to raise their homes. Raising a home to extend the height of the basement or creating a new full basement from a crawl space is the most cost effective way to double the square footage of a home at a cost that is 60 to 70% less than adding on the same amount of square footage.

On Long Island, much of the structural moving business is pulling beachfront houses back from the encroaching surf or saving beachfront homes after a storm. Davis Construction moved the St. Andrews Dune Church in Southampton in 1996 back from the ocean. This historic structure contained over a half million dollars in irreplaceable stained glass that was too fragile to remove. In the summer of 2006, Davis Construction raised the Tangier Island School in Virginia for the installation of new pilings. The school was 22,000 square feet - longer than a football field. Often, to avoid demolition costs, the owner will offer to give the structure away to whoever will move it off the property. However, there are many factors to consider. The first is the height of the house. If you must take the house down a road, it's best to move a one-story house. Otherwise, you must move utility lines. LIPA, Cablevision and Verizon all have their own prices to move the lines out of the way, which can run upwards of several thousand dollars per line and per location. Alternatively, you could move the house in several pieces by removing the roof or the second floor. To do this you must invest in an experienced carpenter and crane company who will take it apart and put it back together. However, if you are moving a house within a lot or to an adjoining lot (not on the road) height is generally not an issue. Also consider the distance of the move. Moving a structure 50 miles is most likely not cost effective. Houses on the beach or very near the water can be moved by barge, but this can be costly. The 165 ton, 3,200 square foot Casino Restaurant was moved by barge from Patchogue to Davis Park by Davis Construction. The size and construction of the house must be considered because the house must fit down the road or you will have to cut it into pieces. Most roadways are approximately 40 feet wide. Also, house movers are not allowed to move houses down a highway or at night and are often required to have a police escort.

So how is a house moved? First, steel beams are inserted through holes in the building's foundation, raised with jacks to the desired height and then cribbing is inserted under the building. Next, it is placed on dollies that are either self- propelled (remote controlled dollies) or pulled by Mack trucks. Guy recently moved three historic buildings at Harvard University down a major roadway all with self- propelled dollies. If you are moving the house on the same lot, steel beams might be inserted under the house to create a rail system to slide your house over using push rams like during the recent Beechnut Farms house move. Davis Construction slid this 210 ft. long, 22,000 square foot house over 100 feet. There is no set cost for moving a house. Every project is unique. At Davis Construction, the price is based on size, weight and height of the structure, distance of the move, time required, equipment needed and scope of work.

Guy Davis is a fourth generation mover who has been moving buildings for over 30 years. For more information visit www.davisbuildingmovers.com or call (631) 288-1881.