House move is a major endeavor

Last updated 4/30/2002 at Noon

Owner Jim Newport (left) has put all of Carl Spencer and Dave Sytsma's house moving skills to the test.

Jim and Josie Newport are moving ... the hard way.

The Sisters couple is moving their new home a few feet at a time, from Wild Horse Ridge to a spot off Willow Lane. Moving a 2,900-square-foot, two-story home a half mile cross-country is a huge undertaking.

"There's so much to this, I can't believe it," said Jim Newport.

Carl Spencer House Moving is in charge of the project. A crew cut the house off the foundation at the mud sill, detached it from its garage, jacked it up and moved it down a long slope and across a sandy, sagebrush flat last week.

The crew literally inched the 80-ton house along, moving a little, then resecuring it on an elaborate trailer. They weaved among juniper and pine trees and built platforms to ease the house over rocks.

There were other, man- made obstacles.

Newport had to schedule five weeks in advance to get power lines cut so the house could move across their path. The moving crew barely made it to the lines the night before they were to be downed. Newport was relieved to meet the deadline; rescheduling was not an option.

As of Wednesday, April 24, the house was a few hundred yards from its final destination. Newport reported nine popped nails and one cracked tile. Otherwise, the house was none the worse for its cross-country journey.

Newport's work is far from done. The best homesite on his lot is occupied by a small A-frame house. That will have to be moved out of the way. Then his new home will have to be put down on a foundation.

Newport plans to remodel the house, adding an additional 600 square feet.

All told, the project is costing around $100,000. That's still substantially less than building, Newport notes. And besides, he has the house he wants.

"It's a great house," he said.

Newport noted that the whole project would have been impossible without the generous cooperation of his neighbors.

"They've been absolutely fabulous," he said.

Three property owners allowed him to haul his home across their property.

Newport said he will restore the course of its passage.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.