Is it possible to move a building

Obviously, the size of the structure matters. The amount of time needed to move an square-foot cottage is very different than a 5,square-foot house. Different shapes can affect pricing as well — a 3,square-foot, rectangular, 2-story house takes less time to move than a sprawling 3,square-foot, single-story house that is long and has wings at odd angles.

The type of structure is important as well. Structure Type. There are many types of structures: frame, frame with masonry veneer, log, double brick, triple brick, block, terra-cotta tile, concrete, stone, steel, post, etc.

Any building can be moved, but each type has its unique aspects that factor into the cost. Structural foundations vary as well. CMU block or poured concrete are the new standards for structural foundation. Older homes often sit on a stone or rubble foundation. Wood pilings and piers are common under beach or shoreline homes. Homes in the southeastern region are usually built on brick piers or concrete slab floors. The crawl space or basement height also is important since that is the area where we install the steel beam platform that carries the house.

If the height under the first-floor system is fewer than 3 feet, it can add significant time to the project to excavate the dirt necessary to install the lifting steel.

Tall crawl spaces and full basements are the easiest to work with, but all scenarios are possible. When a house is built directly on a concrete slab floor, we can either install our steel through the walls to attach to the walls and lift the house up off of the slab, or we can lift and move the entire slab floor with the house Note: This is very expensive and usually only worthwhile if the house is finished with high-end flooring, cabinets, and wall coverings.

We moved this Steamboat Gothic home in Georgia with large, wraparound porches and three fireplaces intact. Garages, additions, porches, decks, balconies, chimneys, fireplaces, and other accessories can almost always be moved with the house, but add time and increase the project cost.

In most cases, if the building can be moved with the accessories intact, it is cheaper to do so than to remove and rebuild. It's enough to give even Atlas a headache -- after all, he never had to carry the world through a crowded downtown corridor. Read on to find out about one oversized building that traveled right through the heart of Minneapolis. The oldest existing theater in Minneapolis, Minn. It was a vaudeville stage that attracted the likes of Mae West and the Marx Brothers, a burlesque theater, a movie theater and even an evangelistic auditorium.

But it became something else in January a world-record holder. The theater had been closed for several years when the city of Minneapolis decided it wanted to redevelop the block on which the Shubert was standing.

Artspace, a nonprofit development agency, bought the building from the city and hatched plans to move it one block over. Though the move was only one-quarter of a mile, it took five bulldozers 12 days to complete the trek. Helping out the bulldozers were hydraulic jacks that lifted the building and 70 dollies that formed a temporary foundation for the journey through the city streets. Artspace conducted research to determine how a redesigned Shubert could best serve Minneapolis, and gained fundraising from private supporters and the state legislature.

The restored Shubert Center, which features a midsize performing arts theater as well as classrooms for arts education, opened in [source: LeFevre]. By the s, however, it was vacant, deteriorating and facing demolition. The space was needed to expand another upscale, modern hotel. But the newly elected mayor of San Jose told developers to find a way to save the Hotel Montgomery -- or there would be no expansion. It seemed like an impossible task, until a frustrated architect asked, "Why don't we move it?

What started as a discouraged utterance turned out to be an inspiration, and in , the 4, ton, four-story Hotel Montgomery moved feet 55 meters down the street. To some preservationists, moving the building wasn't ideal. An elegant ballroom had to be torn down to relocate the structure, and the first floor was gutted to install structural supports. But when it comes down to losing an entire building or modifying it, moving it can be a good compromise. Sometimes buildings are restored to their original condition in their new location, but in this case, the Montgomery underwent additional renovation to become a serviceable hotel again [source: Garboske ].

The Montgomery is now a stylish boutique hotel, so visitors to San Jose can enjoy a modern hotel room in a historic building. While moving a large building takes intense planning and coordination, the process boils down to surprisingly few steps. The builder cuts openings in the building's foundation and installs steel beams for structural support. Hydraulic jacks are also installed under the structure; the jacks are connected by a central control system that monitors the pressure on each jack and keeps the building level.

The building is jacked up, rubber dollies are installed below and the structure begins its slow crawl to its new destination. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina may not be a traditional structure the way some of the others on this list are, but how could we leave out what came to be known as the "Move of the Millennium?

The North Carolina coastline had eroded 1, feet meters since the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was built, leaving some people to fear that the tallest lighthouse in the nation would be lost to the encroaching Atlantic Ocean. The lighthouse, which was years old at the time of its move in , posed a special challenge because it had no internal structural supports to hold it together during the move.

The project even faced a last-minute injunction to stop the move. Apprehensive crowds showed up to watch as the lighthouse, mounted on a foundation of tons of steel -- made up by hydraulic jacks and steel beams -- edged its way down a metal runway. The hydraulic rams took 45 seconds to a minute to push the lighthouse just 5 feet 1.

Usually airports serve as a way to move people around. Aviation luminaries such as Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh traveled through it, and it was the nation's busiest airport until LaGuardia opened four years later in [source: Collins ]. However, as airports modernized and grew to accommodate more passengers, Building 51 became office space and eventually faced extinction so that a runway could be expanded. Foundations provide the support for the building to stand.

Some movers will move the building and keep it on a temporary lift if the foundation is not complete. This is more expensive, however, as the movers will have to come back out once the foundation is completed and move the house again. Consider insurance. While most movers have comprehensive insurance that covers moving the building, you should consider short-term insurance to cover unforeseen problems that the movers cannot cover.

For example, there might be existing structural faults that aren't covered by the moving company. Review the details. Most moving companies will provide a comprehensive outline of all parties and contractors and their responsibilities. It is important to review all steps to make sure that every aspect of the move is handled. Talk to the moving company about any concerns you have. Part 2. Disconnect your utilities at the old site.

Your general foreman should be able to take care of this, but you want to make sure you're not responsible for violating code. Remove or relocate any trees, bushes, or plants that are closely located next to your building. You may need to hire a landscaper or an excavator to cut down large trees and to remove the roots. Clean out your basement or crawl space. There can be nothing left in these areas. Depending on the size of your building, you can leave the furniture and other items where they are.

Move your house. The movers will come and move the house according to the plans. Once they are done, make sure the utilities are turned on at the new site. Check with your general contractor to make sure the old site is cleaned and restored. Be patient. Relocating a structure is a long process with lots of factors affecting it such as environmental conditions, structural concerns, and routes. It's a long process, but if you need to relocate your structure, it's worth the time. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Related wikiHows How to. How to. Buildings can also be lifted, using much the same technique, to allow for the development or reinforcement of existing foundations. A new story can be added in this fashion, which may be cheaper than building on top of the structure in some cases. Before ever considering such a dramatic solution, the costs and benefits of such an endeavor must be taken into account.

Often, it is cheaper to simply build a new building somewhere else, rather than lugging the old one to a new location. Once a decision has been made to move a building, careful planning needs to be undertaken. Local planning authorities and transportation authorities need to be consulted, as well as structural engineers and building surveyors.

Stakeholders, like the mortgage holder and insurer, will also need to be consulted prior to a move. Professional building moving companies will usually manage the entire process, but though not recommended, it is possible to do some of the work yourself. Generally speaking, a masonry building is more expensive to move than a lighter wooden one.

Larger buildings are also more expensive to move than smaller ones generally speaking. One of the most critical phases of the building moving process is planning the route. Buildings are pretty big, and so a path needs to be planned that limits the number of potential obstacles, like trees, powerlines, or other buildings. According to historical records, the largest building to ever be moved appears to have been the Fairmount Hotel in San Antonio , Texas.

It was built around as a boutique hotel but was later abandoned after a multi-million-dollar development project was built on the other side of town. However, the building's fate wasn't yet sealed as some developers realized its potential; they thought, "if only it could be relocated. In order to move the building, bridges had to be reinforced, as the movement team was not entirely sure if the 1,ton structure would cause them to collapse.