Preparing Your Home For Building Moving

Homeowners come to us with a variety of questions, but without a doubt, the most common seems to be: “What do I have to do to prepare my home for moving?”

Whether the home is in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or Connecticut, the first thing that we at  Eastman Building Movers do is caution that the process for moving a home or other structure has several steps and shouldn’t be rushed. This is not a time to be impatient! The whole process ay take several months.

Here is our list list of things that we advise homeowners to consider and plan for when moving your home. 

• Contact your utility companies to learn what needs to be done to shut off services for the structural move. 

• Moving and engineering plans will need to be done to get the proper permits. 

• You will need to know if there are any rules or bylaws in your HomeOwner’s Association that would prevent you from moving your home. 

• Some towns may require you to notify your neighbors and have them sign off on the plan. Neighbor’s will need to give permission to use their property if necessary. This is especially true if your home is very close to the property line. Also, plan for fixing any ruts or damage that might occur from equipment driving on the neighbor’s property.

• Some towns may have a height limit on roads so it is important to call your town hall to learn of any restrictions.

• Chimneys can be moved with the house, but that may depend on the size of the road and if the chimney will make the structure too tall and cause a hazard to wires that are over roads that will be used for the move.

• Valuables or other irreplaceable items should be taken out of the house before the move. 

• The foundation should be ready at the new location of the home, and the installer will need to backfill before the house is placed. This important planning needs to be complete before we begin traveling with the house.

• Don’t forget the outside of the house! If you have any valuable or sentimental plants close to the house, they should be transplanted prior to the move to preserve them. Any landscaping items such as flower bed accessories, rocks, or pavers should be moved so that they are not damaged.

• Mark off the boundaries of underground utility wires, septic systems, and leach fields so they are not damaged in the moving process. 

• If there is an outdoor shower or other utility area, they will need to be removed as well as steps, decks, and porches that are not to be lifted. They must be demolished or removed before the move. Fences around the house will need to be removed as well as any property line fence that is near the structure.

Eastman Building Movers will be pleased to give you a quote for your house moving project. Contact us to learn more.