Moving a house ?!
Carter House was built in 1878 by prominent Des Moines physician, E.H. Carter. The house was moved to its present Sherman Hill location in 1988 after being slated for demolition. During renovation, pocket doors were discovered that had been sealed in the walls and intricate stenciling was revealed on the walls and 12-foot ceilings. Flower-filled gardens greet Carter House visitors.
Why move a house?
An obvious reason is historic preservation, but cost savings, and recycling? Yes, even recycling.
"By moving two houses, we recycled 150 tons of building materials in one night. If the houses had been torn down all that material would have ended up at the landfill," said Porter, former Executive Director of the Sherman Hill Association which represents the residents in this Nationally Registered Historic District in Des Moines, Iowa. "That doesn't even take into account the energy that went into building them or tearing them down."
"In 24 hours two houses slated to be torn down turned into a $120,000 investment on two vacant lots in one city block", said Jack Porter. With new foundations and mechanical systems, the moved home is generally worth more.
One of two Drake-to-Sherman-Hill houses moved was appraised in its new location for $68,000. With 2,191 square feet on two floors and no renovation, that is a cost of only $31.04 per square foot compared to new home construction costs of around $100 per square foot.
Whether it's feasible to move a house or not depends on the point of view of the people moving it. Maybe the house is historic or the owners have an emotional attachment and don't care if the investment is more than the true market value.
"Relocating a house is a big undertaking, but it's entirely feasible with good planning and cooperation between the parties involved," said Jack Porter. "There have been seven houses successfully moved into the Sherman Hill Historic District in the last ten years."
Excerpted from Bob Yapps' column Anatomy of Moving A House.
755 20th, moved from Drake Neighborhood to Sherman Hill Neighborhood in 1992.