Have house, will travel plan works out

A drone's eye view of the house move from Mary St in Masterton. PHOTO/TOBY MILLS

It was a case of, I've got the perfect house, will travel.

Adam Oldfield, a homeowner in Mary St, Masterton, took his five-year-old house with him and his family when they purchased their dream section at Matahiwi.

The 2.5km move was carried out by Alpha Specialised Movers yesterday. The company took the complete, two-storey house in one go from 7.30am.

Office manager Carol McGhie said it was unusual for the specialist firm to shift such a modern house, but the owner loved it and wanted to keep it.

It was a 70-tonne move with the weight of the house, trailer and truck combined, from a small cul-de-sac, said Ms McGhie. "It was just lucky we didn't have to take it further," she said, because of the height of the building and the danger to power lines. It would have been costly to move it further.

Mr Oldfield said they built the house in Mary St on spare land belonging to his father, with a view to moving it when they saved up enough for a section.

The new location is four hectares, perfect for himself, his partner and two children.

He said it was "hard to watch" the house being moved, but everything went fine.

"I just got to watch and pray," Mr Oldfield said.