Reality check: Relocating a house

Cheryl Munro is front of the villa which Jack House Transit moved from Greenlane to Athenree.

Buying land and moving a house on to it has become a part of the New Zealand way of life.

Many of the stories in this section feature houses that began life elsewhere, such as Rivermede on the previous page.

People relocate houses for different reasons.

Fourth generation house mover Aaron Jack, of Jack House Transit, said there are cost savings
to be made in relocating a house if you are prepared to do some or all of the renovation
work.

Investors relocate houses for rentals.

Old house enthusiasts do it because they like the character-style homes,first and second home
buyers do it because they can often get more for their dollar; houses are moved to the front or
back on one section to make way for another dwelling and some people relocate a family-
owned house to keep the family history intact.

Aaron says nearly every house is removable. Whether every house is viable to move is a
different story.

Structural brick houses are best not moved, however brick veneer houses are fine. The brick veneer is demolished and the house moved and then re-clad.

Houses with concrete floors and two-storey houses are more difficult to move and therefore more costly.

There is no such thing as an average or normal house removal.They are all different, all with their own sets of challenges.

Aaron recommends contacting a reputable house moving company as the first step.

Some companies have houses in-stock or know where a particular style of house may be found.
Newspaper advertisements, public notices, public tender or just word of mouth are other ways of finding a house for removal.

Increased legislation means the building removal company is required to get transportation permits from organisations such as Telecom, LTSA, Toll NZ and every electricity lines company along the proposed route. The local council will require building and probably resource consents to place the building on its new site.

Buildings can only be moved between midnight and 6.30am and cannot be moved in fog.

An average sized house will be cut in half to move and the move would consist of eight vehicles (Class 1 Pilot, Class 2 pilot, 1 truck and trailer (half house), class 2 pilot, second truck and trailer (half house) and a rear class 2 pilot).

Aaron says seeing an old house re-sited gives him a great deal of satisfaction, especially if the customer has saved money, too.

It ¡s very fulfilling to see what people can achieve.

What to do once you have found a house to move:

Get as many details as possible including its width (very important),length and height,type
of cladding,type of roof and its roofing material.

Check egress from existing site (is it on a cliff face,or down a right-of-way?).

Check the distance to its new site and the proposed route.

Establish access to the new site, its contour and ground condition.

Take photographs, especially of special features of the house that might need careful
treatment (such as stained glass, pressed metal ceilings).

Insurance make sure your building removal company has comprehensive insurance for
the duration of the contract and the cost is included in the price.

Allow at least three months from buying a house to re-siting and having it fixed on
foundations.

Get building and resource consents before you re-site.