Need to Relocate? Bring the House, Too

Dao Engle is just one homeowner who has planned and executed a move for their entire house, propping her 10,000 square-foot Nantucket Harbor home on steel moving rails to move it further from the coastline and the eroding bluff. The process requires careful planning and measurement, as well as the funds to cover the cost. More than 8,000 structures are moved each year due to development, environmental hazards, and historic preservation, according to Tammie DeVooght Blaney, executive director of the International Association of Structural Movers. If a home move is logistically possible, the owners then have to weigh the cost of relocation against the costs of demolition and new construction, which vary by region.