House moving can save homes, money

The house moving business is not for the fainthearted, but those stalwart enough to take on the task are in it for the long haul.

Bill Stacey, owner of Bill Stacey House Moving, has been in the business off and on for 40 years. He has brought two of his sons, Kevin and Garry, into the company with him.

Ronnie Howard, owner of Howard House Moving, followed his dad into the business. Howard moved his first house in the summer of 1973.

Howard moves 40 to 50 homes per year, primarily in Springfield. Stacey moves about 15 to 20 each year, mostly in smaller towns including Lebanon, Mount Vernon, Billings and Ozark.

For the home buyer, acquiring a house to move from one location to another makes sense, according to Howard.

"Not everybody can afford a new house," he said. "We should be trying to save houses instead of tearing them down."

Stacey said that in some cases the landowner of the original location, who needs the property for another purpose, will offer a house for free rather than go to the expense of tearing it down. It can cost an average of $6,000 to dismantle an existing structure, he said.

"Sometimes people want to save historic homes from being torn down. They decide to give the house away or move it so the structure can be preserved," Stacey said.

Cost and responsibility

Both Stacey and Howard estimated the actual moving cost to be between $8,000 and $15,000. In certain cases it can run more. Stacey is moving a two-story historic house in Lebanon that has been added on to. An 18-by-33-foot add-on master bedroom at the back of the house had to be disconnected. It will be reconnected to the main structure at the new site.

Both movers said the moving cost in Springfield is more than it is in the outlying regions because of city regulations and because of phone lines, power lines and cable lines that have to be raised or disconnected. Howard said he passes utility disconnection or relocation costs to the customer separately because they can vary so much.

The buyer must also have the new location prepared in advance with a foundation ready for the house when it is delivered. The buyer must have all permits for the new site in place before making the application for the move.

Regulations and requirements

In Springfield, regulations must be met and a route plan must be filed with the city prior to the move. City officials help coordinate with City Utilities and the Police Department to make sure all possibilities are covered. This may include the use of signal crews if the route crosses a railroad track, Howard said.

The city requires that a house can be no taller than 15 feet without notifying utilities. Since most houses are at least 17 feet tall, this means either the roof has to be removed or the power lines have to be temporarily disconnected. Either option adds to the expense.

The state also has strict requirements for house movers. A house can be moved no more than 12 miles in Missouri and cannot be routed onto an interstate highway. The moving company must be licensed and insured. Stacey said tougher state regulations established early in 2002 put a lot of smaller house moving companies out of business.

Missouri requires $2 million in liability coverage plus cargo insurance. Stacey said total insurance premiums cost his business about $1,000 per month.

Equipment

Stacey has a total of five trucks, seven sets of steel beams, dollies, air and hydraulic jacks, and a supply of soap. He uses the soap on the beams to help slide the house from the beams onto the new foundation. Howard uses a similar set of equipment, which includes two pull trucks.

Business has been good for the past two years and both Howard and Stacey have worked the year round. In bad weather, they do maintenance and repair on trucks and equipment.

Time frames

Once schedules and permits are in place, the actual move and setup can take as little as a week or as long as a few months. Weather and availability of subcontractors to hook up utilities are the main causes for delays, both men said.

It can also depend on the condition of the house after the move, according to Stacey. If there are cracks in the sheetrock, for example, they have to be repaired. This can be a worry with a historic house.

"They can be pretty rickety," Stacey said.

In general

Both movers transport one- and two-story frame houses. Brick veneer houses are almost impossible to move, Stacey said. It can be done, Howard noted, but usually it is too costly. Masonry has to be dismantled and reset.

Howard believes in preservation. He said that in some larger cities there are lots, much like a mobile home lot, where houses can be temporarily set up for sale.

With facilities to store and sell houses, he feels a lot more houses in this area could be salvaged.

Of the house moving business he said, "We're the world's oldest recycling business. We're not going away."

In September 2001 Howard moved three houses in one day for Preservation Springfield. Two of the houses were located across from Reed Middle School and one was next door to the school, according to Bill Pierceall, now president of Preservation Springfield. Pierceall was vice president at the time of the move.

"The reason we chose to move all three houses at once was because of the expense of disconnecting utility lines," Pierceall said. "It cost about $25,000 just to have the lines dropped for a day."

Pierceall still remembers the event with awe. "It was a tremendous effort of coordination," he said.

One of the houses, relocated to North Main Street, had already been remodeled and has been sold by Preservation Springfield.

The organization is now ready to begin refurbishing one of the other houses, which was relocated to 1865 N. Jefferson, near the north end of the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge. The Victorian style house was built in the Civil War era. It will be restored as nearly as possible in keeping with that era.