House Moving Story - The Cast

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes an army of good people to make a house moving project happen and I have been so fortunate to work with some of the best!

Friends and Family:

Lindy S. and her family -  I originally looked for property on Lake Murray and Lindy, along with various members of her family, was tireless and generous in trying to help make the plan a reality.  The main reasons I switched to Lake Hartwell had to do with real estate prices since both lakes are beautiful.

Nancy O. and her immediate and extended family - Nancy told me about the lot when it was put up for sale and has been along the journey since the beginning.  She and her contacts have provided all kinds of information and Nancy has been non-stop with her support, advice, generosity and troubleshooting!

Doug and Katie - My brother and his wife have been on this path with me well before I bought property at Lake Hartwell.  They have provided countless hours of support and, most recently, a lot of sweat equity in my project!  Who would help you disassemble a piano and then move it?  These two did that for me!

The Professionals:

Sam Nimmons - Nimmons Land Clearing - Cleared my lot and told he about house moving.  He recommended a great house mover as well.  In fact, Sam is a wealth of information and great to work with. Sam recommended the contractor I am now working with to complete the project so his input has been invaluable.

Dan Ward House Moving - I initially planned to purchase a house from Dan Ward House Moving, but several significant events kept me from completing a project with these fine people.  Dan Ward, Jr. has been awesome and could not have asked for a finer person to help get this project going.  I cannot say enough nice things about this family and all the help Dan provided.  They sold out of the house moving business, but Dan still has ABC Heating  and Air Conditioning business!

Forrest House Moving - George Forrest was recommended by Dan Ward, Jr. and he and his family have been great to work with too. House moving is not for wimps and these guys got the job done.  George Jr. was great to work with and has all the qualities I expect in a professional: experienced, knowledgeable, fair and he has a good sense of humor too.  He was also very patient explaining things to me and I greatly appreciate that as well. I got a very reasonable price and the crew had to brave snakes, small rodents, fussy homeowners along the moving route and some seriously hot weather.  These men earned their pay!  I am happy to recommend Forrest Moving!

The House:

Kevin M. -   It's my sincere hope that the  house move provided a win-win situation for the  owner and for me.  Kevin had recently purchased the property  the house was sitting on and I'm so happy that he gave it to me.  In some ways there is no such thing as a "free" house, but this was a close as anyone can get if you are looking for a house to move.  I've since learned that the house was known as the "old Adams place" and I look forward to keeping some of the history in the renovation.  Thank you, Kevin!

Glenn Construction:

Jack and Anna Glenn head up this quality construction firm and I'm looking forward to a great project now that they are on board.  I'll have lots more about the renovation as it unfolds.

If you add in the very nice, and often anonymous, people from Anderson County government offices who have provided help and advice the total of good people I have worked with would probably be more than 50.  And we aren't finished yet!

The House Has Been Moved For Final Time

The house mover set the house down on the foundation this week and, unless there is a disaster, this house does not need to be moved again!

The moving team  had a lot of steps to complete throughout the entire process and I don't think I could have had a better experience.  Next time you need your house moved you should call Forrest Movers!  

A Solid Foundation

These photos were sent by the contractor and you can see that the foundation is nearly complete.


I am delighted!

View from the back.  Area on right will be screened porch.
Window by the porch will become French Doors!

Working on the Foundation!

Lots of activity with the arrival of more blocks, sand, mortar mixing "stuff" and the mason.  He should finish by the end of the week.

Moving Day ... Again!

George Forrest and his moving team arrived as planned and connected their truck to the house for the last move.  The house has been sitting just across the road from my house, but not any more!

Forrest Movers.  Great Guys to Work With!

The house rolling toward the footers.

They had to back up the house and then turn it 90 degrees and place it exactly over the footers.  One truck driver and four men, basically one at each corner of the house, to guide and be extra eyes.  They had to watch for tree limbs,  the travel route and keep moving big blocks of wood to improve the terrain for the travel.  It was hard work and it turned out very well!

Working to get the house in place.

Looking better with each twist and turn.

All set!  For now.

My house is now sitting over the footers and the mason will soon build the foundation.  The moving crew has to return one move time and place jacks under the house, remove the wood blocks and then set the house down on the foundation.  My move had an extra step because the footers weren't ready on the first moving day.  I was fortunate to have such a flexible house mover!

I did take some video footage, but have not figured out how to get it from phone to laptop.  I keep getting a message that the file is too large to send. It might be just as well since my video skills aren't that good!

I have some "homework" from the builder to pick out a few things before I leave town and I will do that tomorrow.  Friday, I get to head to Atlanta where I will see my great nephew, Graham.  It's been too long since I met him and I can hardly wait to see him again.  (I'll also see his parents and his grandparents.  Looking forward to seeing them too, they just don't change as much. )

Check back periodically for updates!

Wednesday Should Be Another Big Day!

My house should be moved on Wednesday from the site across the street to my lot!

Once it's moved, the builder will have the foundation constructed and then the mover will return one last time and set the house down on the foundation.

I should  have pictures soon!

June 13th

A quiet weekend with no work on the house.  
I worked on some of the projects I brought with me.  Took several naps and went out to breakfast with a friend.

Two mini schnauzers also kept me on my toes.

Hot weather in the upstate.

Today the demo crew took out the old kitchen and bathroom flooring.  I didn't know they were going to do this and thought we would just cover over it, but it's good that the old flooring is gone!

The house mover should be back on Wednesday - weather permitting!    :)  

Like it was never even there!

My house started out here ...

Was loaded on a trailer to be moved...

Rolled down the road ...

And will soon be sitting here.

But this is the mess left behind...

And now it is finally all cleaned up!

Sometimes You're The Windshield, Sometimes You're the Bug!

The house progress continues and I am very pleased.  
The roof shingles are coming off and roof is being inspected and re-papered.
The house mover says he will get back soon to move the house over the footers and then the foundation will be built.  One final trip will be required by the house mover to set the house down on the foundation.

The picture below is for Chris and all the snakes who were living in my house prior to the move...

All the snakes are gone so this will be it for snake skin pics!

My contractor went out today to start clearing away the rubble from the original house site so I thought I would go out this evening and pick up smaller pieces of trash.  The temperature had dropped and there was plenty of daylight left so it seemed like a good idea.  

I was a bit tired after making a repair on a washing machine that didn't go as planned and I thought picking up trash would provide a successful ending to the day.  How can you mess up picking up trash?  

You see, the washing machine where I am staying broke and needed a new "lid switch".   My brother had "helped me" get to the defective part so I could order a new one.  The new one arrived today so armed with tools, YouTube videos and the new part - I was ready to take on the repair.  Since I watched my brother take the part out, I didn't have too much trouble getting the new part into the machine.  It was a little hot and the discovery of dead mouse was a little overwhelming, but I was moving along and soon about to button up the project.  And then... the electrical connection from the new part did not match the electrical connection on the machine.  Nothing was going to make it work; at least nothing that I could do.  I had to take the new part back out and decide whether or not to try to make the old one work. Thanks to more YouTube videos, I was able to "engineer" a fix with some zip ties.  I put everything back together ... again.  I was hot and tired, but feeling OK with the fix.  The lesson here is to always check the connections FIRST.

It was then time to feed my dog and the sweet dog I am also taking care of for a few days.  They were anxious to eat and I got them settled and fed after some neighbors stopped by.  The evening was ticking by so I crated the "guest" dog and leashed up Barney to be my "watch dog" out at the site where I was going to pick up trash.  I needed trash bags and gloves from the garage so I scooped up the remote, locked up and headed out to get my supplies together.  I grabbed trash bags, gloves, closed the garage door and headed down to the truck.  I was on a mission. (It has taken much longer than I had planned to get the original house site cleaned up and I am feeling like I didn't keep my part of the bargain with the property owner. I really want to get a picture to him showing that it's all cleaned up.) 
And then... no truck keys.  I start back tracking to find them, but after about 10 minutes I realized I  had locked myself out of the house and the keys were probably on the kitchen table. My friends who had a key to let me in live about 20 or 30 minutes away and were getting ready to leave on a well deserved holiday tomorrow morning, but I had to call them and fess up to my silly mistake. Fortunately, they are lovely, gracious people and  Dusty arrived quickly to let me inside.  

By this time I was feeling rather defeated and foolish so, after an evening stroll with the dogs, I decided to call it a night .  After all, tomorrow is another day!   :)

   

More Progress!

The crew continues to work hard every day and the pictures tell the story!

Footers poured and curing

Drywall Ceilings Removed
Lots of snake skins

Carpet removed.

Ceiling is Gone!

Living Room Red Rug Removed.

Nice Honey Colored Wood Floor Under Red Rug.

Exterior Shingles - Removed!

Lots of Activity!

Yesterday the demo crew took out all of the old drywall and kitchen cabinets with the ceilings scheduled for demo today.  

In my ignorance, I thought my brother and I could take out the old drywall and I could save some money.  Thank goodness, I asked my contractor about this first because it took THREE young men all day to remove all the drywall and they looked pretty tired after finishing.  No telling how long it would have taken Doug and me to finish.  I'm thinking we would have had to give it up long before completion!

There were LOTS of snake skins (shedding) in the attic so I am guessing the guys will have some stories to tell this evening.  I did give them some commercially available jumpsuits they could wear (think haz mat team type look) so maybe that provided some relief from the mess.  

The contractor also had the footers dug and inspected so that concrete could be poured today.
I watched - from a safe distance.

The next step is laying the foundation, but before that happens the mover has to come back and position the house over the footers.  That should be interesting!

My younger brother and his wife have been here for the last few days and they had to leave this morning. They were both invaluable in with their assistance which included hard labor, meal prep, providing encouragement and sharing insight.  
They were happy to be headed off to see their son and I miss them already!

I'm finally supposed to be getting the old construction debris removed from the original site.  It turned out to be far more involved than I thought and I'm fortunate that the property owner has been so patient.  I'm headed out to take a look in a little bit.

The Piano

We did it!

After two days of hard work, we were able to disassemble the piano and lighten it up a bit.  It was a hard job and I'm not sure I would recommend it or do it again, but the old piano going to make a great desk one day.

We watched numerous videos and reviewed several articles.  Few of them really gave a full picture of the process and we had many trial and error experiences.  

We removed all the strings making up the "harp" and also removed other parts trying to access the cast iron frame.  Every string was held by a small  "knob" that poked through the cast iron frame.  Of course, the cast iron frame had to, somehow,  be lifted over the little knobs and this was very difficult.

After tipping and turning and whacking and hacking on the parts and pieces we got it apart!  The cast iron frame is now ready for the scrap pile and the piano is partially re-assembled and has been placed in storage.

Doug took a nasty hit to the shin, but he assured us he would be fine.  

I could never have done this by myself and I'm so grateful to Doug and Katie for their hard work.

• The footers will be started tomorrow and inspection is scheduled for Tuesday.  
• I think removal of the old drywall might take place sometime this week too.

Saturday Night

Saturday Night

House moving day was exciting!

Doug and Katie arrived!

And the work is underway!

Doug and I spent the day working in the house, mostly trying to deconstruct the old piano that came with the house.  My plan is to turn the wooden part into a bookcase or desk so we pulled out the keys and strings (harp).  There is also a cast iron frame  that we need to remove.  We don't have the perfect tools for the job so it makes for hard work.  

 Big piano - big job.

Katie worked on removing and cleaning some of the old green "tiles" that I hope to recycle into the new plan.  Doug also took out the peninsula and I may repurpose it as well.

My contractor came by today and staked out the house; footers go in on Monday with inspection on Tuesday!  
Demolition of the old drywall may start next week too.  Once the house is on the foundation, I'm sure the new roof will follow.

I love all the progress and I'm so grateful to Doug and Katie for their help.

House Moving Day

House Moving Day!
June 2nd

The move has been scheduled and rescheduled a couple of times, but today was the day and what a day it turned out to be!  Everything went very well even though there was one minor encounter with a limb high up in one tree. Two people also complained about their mailboxes being moved, but I can take care of that so all in all it was a good day!

In South Carolina you must have to have to have law enforcement escorts so we had a sheriff at the beginning and at the end of the procession.  We had a small snag to work out with a water spigot and we had to wait a little bit for one sheriff, but the move was scheduled for 10:00 AM and the house was on the road by 10:45.  It took about an hour to go 1.5 miles.  We even made it onto Facebook when someone stuck behind me took a picture.  That person posted it and, amazingly, she must be friends with my contractor's wife because Anna forwarded it to me!  

Here are a few pictures from today:

Ready to leave Hwy 187 and go to my lot...
George Forrest House Moving
We had George Sr., George Jr., the youngest son in the Forrest family and at least two more hard working gentlemen on the crew.  I lost count as there were a lot of guys working to make this happen.

About to pull onto the highway....

Rolling along Hwy 187

Along Hix Road ...  it was rather tight in a couple of places, but all ended well.

          

The picture that made it onto FaceBook...

Pulling into the hay field where the house will sit until the footers are completed.

There are a few things we can do while it sits and one item on the list is to deconstruct the old piano that is in the living room of the house.  I want to salvage the wood for a future project and maybe we can recycle the "insides".  

My younger brother and his wife arrive tomorrow as reinforcements!  Looking forward to seeing them and tackling some projects!  

I am  taking care of a friend's dog for a few days so I have a pair of mini schnauzer "bookends" with me as I type.  Time to stop and play with these two cutiepies!

Stay tuned!

An Eventful Day

Eventful Day

The lot is now graded and ready for footers and foundation.

Lot after "grading".  

(I think it deserves an A+)

I met with my contractor and his wife today and I'm ready to get going.  Jack and Anna had lots of good ideas so I know bringing a contractor on board was a good idea.

The house mover has the house all loaded up and he actually moved it to the edge of the property.  He originally told me the move would be Wednesday morning, but later called and said he misspoke and the move will be Thursday morning.  The escort drivers are not available until Thursday.  I hope they don't have to change it again, because I am getting anxious for the next steps.

It seems like everything happens all at once on this project.  I can spend the whole day thinking I will see or hear from someone and nothing happens. When I am not expecting any calls I end up getting multiple calls. Feast or famine.  Hurry up and wait. When it rains it pours.

Stay tuned for Thursday news!

Catching Up...

Catching up...
When I skip a day without posting anything you might think I was too busy with house projects to work on the computer, but that was not the case with this past weekend.  Since it was Memorial Day weekend, we also lost Monday as a business day.  However, the house mover did work on Monday and the wheels are now up under the house so we are getting closer to hitting the road.  The mover is awaiting a permit and I hope it arrives today!  The final grading of the lot may happen today and I hope the footers follow soon.  

You may have wondered if some parts of this project are happening a little out of order and you would be correct.  The property owner needs to finish his fence so moving the house tops the list.  Even if my foundation is not ready, we need to get the house off his property so that he can move ahead with his projects.  I am fortunate that the property owner has been so great to work with.  He's understanding of my constraints and I am doing my best to honor his wishes. 
My lot is not big enough to park the house in one area and then move it atop the foundation later, but I have amazing friends in this area and they are going to allow us to place the house in an adjacent field until the foundation is ready.  The house mover will secure the house so that we can get started on some of the demo while it's in the field.

This is a glimpse of my lot. Not a great shot, but more will follow.

The other parts of the process have been delayed because I'm working with small business owners who are probably doing my job on the side.  Yes, I could hire bigger companies with lots of employees and equipment, but there are advantages to using the self employed individuals.  One advantage is usually a better price, but I also like working with the owners because I find that they know a lot!  They have experience and knowledge plus  they know other professionals.  This trade off  in timing works for me.

I have calls to make today and hope to have more to post soon.

In the meantime, here's the floor plan at the beginning.
There will be changes, but this is the original plan.

Proposed plan.  Small changes that may produce a better living space.

The mover just contacted me to let me know that the house will be moved at 10:00 AM on Thursday!  Pictures to follow!
Great news to start of the work week!