Curious Iowa: How are houses moved?

In February, a stagecoach inn built in West Liberty in 1841 moved three miles across cornfields to its new home. For most people, it’s rare to see a house inch down the street. For Goodwin House Moving Inc., of Washington, it’s a sight they see 50 to 70 times a year. The sixth-generation family-owned business has been raising and moving structures since the 1930s.

We spoke to Goodwin House Moving for Curious Iowa, a Gazette series that answers questions about the state, its people and our culture, about how they transport buildings from one place to another.

Why are buildings moved? And how much does it cost?

Goodwin House Moving owner Chris Reighard said houses are moved for a number of reasons: a new house is being built, the house sold to a new owner who wants it on a different property, a house needs to be moved for a road to be built, a new basement needs to be built, or the owners want to increase a basement’s ceilings from six feet to nine feet.

“Basically, you can double your living space by [raising the house], which it’s a lot cheaper to build down than it is out because you don’t have the roof,” Reighard said.

Pricing depends on what the structure is made of. Reighard estimated that moving a wooden structure would cost $25,000. Factor in brick, stone, or fireplaces and the cost will go up.

“If it’s a solid brick house, that’s going to almost triple the cost,” Reighard said.

In 2011 — three years after being damaged in the 2008 flood — the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids was moved from its original site on the banks of the Cedar River, to an elevated location about 500 feet away. That move cost $713,000.

For this story, we followed a house move in Elberon. The house is more than 100 years old and was owned by Garry and Rosemary Krutzfeldt before the move.

Three generations of Krutzfeldts have owned the home and four generations have lived there. Last spring, Scott Ledvina, of Cedar Rapids, heard through neighbors that Garry Krutzfeldt was looking to sell the house. Fate would have it that Ledvina was looking to buy a house and have it moved to a farm he and his wife Jan are restoring — located just two miles from the Krutzfeldt property.

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Originally, there was a home on the Ledvina farm but it wasn’t salvageable. So, the Krutzfeldt farmhouse was sold to Ledvina for $40,000.

Moving the house cost $32,000. Beyond that, there are additional costs like reestablishing plumbing, heating, cooling, and septic systems. In all, Ledvina said the project will cost about $225,000. Some minor cosmetic damage came from the move, so siding will need to be reattached and a screen door will be replaced.

Despite the laborious process and anxiety that comes with it, The Ledvinas say it’s worth it.

“We wanted to keep a family farmhouse so future generations can enjoy it,” Scott said. “With all the farmhouses being torn down … I want somebody to go by and say, ‘Boy, that’s a nice farm.’”

The Ledvinas will use the farm property as a small summer home to escape the city.

Doug Krutzfeldt, of Solon, told The Gazette while watching the Goodwin team work, “We’re looking at kind of a bittersweet circumstance, having grown up in this home and seeing it prepared to be moved. And yet, knowing that it’s going to be in a better place and someone will take care of it.”

How are houses moved?

The process of moving a house is surprisingly quick to explain. The act of moving a house, though, is slow.

Houses are moved by inserting steel beams under the structure, jacking it up and getting it on wheels. Think of it like the game Jenga but in reverse.

First, the crew identifies areas to remove to make way for the beams. Holes are knocked into the basement, crawl spaces are dug out and if there’s a garage floor, it needs to be jack hammered and dug out.

Next, the crew builds cribs that will hold the beams and support the jacks. Colben Reighard, equipment operator for Goodwin House Moving, said a crib is a piece of white oak that’s five by six inches and four feet long. They’re stacked “like Lincoln Logs,” he said.

“So we build the cribs in there, put all our steel in, set all our jacks and then we can start going up from there,” Chris Reighard said.

The house is slowly lifted until it’s in place to be rolled away from the foundation and hooked up to wheels that bolt underneath the beams. Colben Reighard said prepping to roll a house over is one of the most difficult parts of the process.

Goodwin has moved buildings down country roads, residential streets and fields. They have to coordinate with power companies so that lines that could catch on the building are moved. Street signs may also be temporarily removed and a police escort must be coordinated. The distance of the move determines how many companies are involved.

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“We’ve done them where there’s 25 utility trucks and 10 or 15 police cars, plus our own.” Chris Reighard said. “But then we’ve also done it where it’s just one police in front and back, our own [escorts] front and back and maybe one utility company.”

Once the building reaches its destination, the Goodwin team brings it alongside the new basement and built cribs inside.

“Then we roll it over, then we could jack it up, pull those beams out and then just lower it down,” Chris said.

After that, amenities can be hooked up to the house again.

Recommended Reading

West Liberty stagecoach inn moves to become museum

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Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com