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In the
News...
Why build? Move an older house instead
By Marilyn Lewis, MSN Real Estate
Moving and fixing up a reclaimed home sounds like a
real bargain. But it's not a simple job.
Click on this link
to find out how two friends did it and came out
ahead.
Brittingham Boathouse Moves Down The Shore
The
Capital Times :: METRO :: C1
Thursday,
February 23, 2006
The
98-year-old
Brittingham
Park boathouse is standing tall today, following a 200-foot trip down
the Monona Bay shore Wednesday to a new foundation. The historic
structure, new home to the Camp Randall Rowing Club, was put up on wheel
sets and slowly pulled by cable (above) from its old location in the
park to the new site. Mike Peterson (right) of Peterson Movers LLC,
Wisconsin Rapids, kept watch on the rigging as the structure was moved.
The relocation of the boathouse is the first step in rehabilitating the
city park system's oldest structure. New doors are being installed so
the rowing club can store its 60-foot-long rowing shells inside instead
of outside as now is done. The boathouse also will have facilities for
rowers to dress and train for competition. The rowing club has raised
almost $600,000 for the boathouse project.
A new
meaning for 'mobile' homes
7:51 PM
12/26/03
Chris Martell Wisconsin State Journal Chris Martell Wisconsin State
Journal
One by one,
under the cover of darkness, seven dwellings vanished from Old Sauk Road
during the past year…
And because
they were moved rather than demolished, 120 truckloads of rubble did not
go into local landfills…
"We've
never done this before," said architect Frank Maersch, the director of
construction for Flad Development who first suggested the moving versus
demolition possibilities. "Green and sustainable architecture is
becoming a major force in the architecture profession. Reduce, reuse,
recycle are what we're trying to do whenever possible. Recycling is in
vogue, but keeping material out of the landfills is also part of being a
good corporate citizen."…
Three
people took their houses with them, including Richard and Sue Radock,
who gave it to their son, Lance.
The younger
Radock had the 2,500-square-foot ranch house he grew up in moved 12
miles to Pine Bluff. He figures he spent $150,000 on it, and now has a
house that was assessed for insurance at $300,000. The expenses included
$18,500 for the movers, $60,000 for the two-acre lot, $15,000 for the
foundation, $5,000 for the new insulated concrete floor, and $10,000 for
a three-car garage. On its new site, it has an exposed basement; at the
original, it had underground parking.
When his
house was moved, Radock kept ahead of the slow-moving vehicle for six
hours, from midnight to 6 a.m., as the structure moved creakily along.
"I was the
grunt who chopped down tree limbs that were in the way, and I unscrewed
all the street signs and mailboxes that were in the way."
After the
trip, the house dropped down in a field that had been freshly spread
with manure.
"The movers
never flinched. They just rolled around in the manure until they got it
straight."
Other than
a crack in a rock mantel, which was too expensive to repair, there are
only a few cracks in the drywall that need to be spackled.
"This is
one of those 'Don't try this at home' kind of things," Maersch said.
"There aren't a lot of house movers in the state, but these guys really
know what they're doing."
Radock's
house was moved by Peterson Movers of Wisconsin Rapids, and
Child's Contract Movers of Boscobel moved other houses in the Flad
Development project.
How it
happens: After the gas, sewer and other utilities are disconnected, the
movers break holes in the foundation just below the structure, and slide
steel beams along the length of the building, which is then gradually
jacked up on wooden "cribs." At the new property, the dwellings slide
off their supports on giant "skates" and are rolled onto the new
foundation.
"I was able
to save my family home, and it means a lot to me to have the place where
I grew up, and my friends and family, and the people who've passed,
spent their time."
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