Moving an actual House?

Question

This is a bit of an odd question :) but instead of building a new house on my property, couldnt I, say, buy an old craftsman house in Detroit where homes cost $10k and move it all the way to California? So what if it costs me $20k to move it. Id be recycling and have an interesting old home.

#1- is it even possible to move a home that far of a distance.
#2- what would something like that cost? Im not talking about a big house, something like 1000-1500 sq ft.

Answer 1

I don't think it's possible. Technically, you could lift the house, put it on a truck and move it but the problem is that you're going to have to take it over the open road. Even for a small house, you won't be able to fit under bridges and over-passes and there's probably not a reasonable way to go around all of them. Let alone thet fact that when you move a house you probably don't go faster than a couple of miles an hour.

Also, you would have to take it on the interstate which would mean that the highway department would probably shut you down for blocking traffic. It's a neat idea but I'm afraid it won't work.

Answer 2

An air lift with helicopter is feasible for moving large items long distances unless the home is mobile with wheels attached
Depending on the width of the home, perhaps you could purchase a tow truck and do the move yourself...
The question begs further discussion. Why not move to the sunny south and purchase the house of choice for $30K, skip the trouble, and get on with wife. Install a corn stove to keep the firew burning groups.yahoo.com/group/cornstoves
Another option is to do the NASCAR week end, purchase a mobile, and never miss another event. The problem is not moving the house but rather having to reside in either the existing location or the new location under consideration. The earth is large and the possiblities unlimited.

Answer 3

No just build your own house if you want to save money. Moving a house would cost more than it's worst. Or buy an older home and remodel. Good luck

Answer 4

you could move it that far .. but the cost would be alot more then 20 grand... mich to cal is a good 2500 miles without looking it up.. and the cost roughly is about 10 to 20 bucks a mile for something larger then 20 feet wide and 50 feet long
plus any other cost in removing the house and resetting it in place.. cost of remodling... ect ect ect..
would be cheaper to dismantle it and ship it in pieces

Answer 5

Ive seen homes moved over the open road. I seem to recall a PBS, or HGTV special a number of years ago too, that showed a very large move.

Your best bet is to find a company that does this type of work all the time, like this one in NY - http://www.larmonhousemovers.com/

or this one in St Louis Mo - http://www.experthousemovers.com/testimonials.html

Take the time to look at their pics and testimonials... pretty impressive.

Good Luck

Answer 6

you are talking about an impossible task not that it cant be done but the cost to move a house even across town is going to cost more than the 20k you are thinking, but across the country is not cost efficient.

Answer 7

how about buying an old house in California and then moving yourself into it. Or how about building in an older type but energy efficient house and living in this on your property

Answer 8

It would cost an arm and a leg to move it that far if it was possible.