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Moving a Metal Building 1/2-3/4 mile???

Sligh1

Sligh1

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Need some advice from the folks who know about metal buildings & construction- which I'm not good at that stuff!!!...
I have 3 buildings on my place, 2 in same spot and then up the road about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile there's a ROUGHLY 30x50 building that's really nice & newer. It's a pain to run back and fourth and want to move it next to my other 2 buildings. It may be a bit smaller than that but that's a guess. It has taller walls (maybe 10-12'???). Can get specifics if needed.

OK- could I hire some guys to move it? Or is it going to be way too expensive? It sits on a gravel patch right now, no concrete, I'm sure it has footers down deep I'd assume. Not sure if it had to be dissembled or just moved like I see Amish doing often with houses. If it's really expensive, heck- I'll just leave it BUT wondering your thoughts, how to get it done and if anyone had a GUESS on how much it'd cost to do it or how I go about finding someone who would do that? Can I have this done reasonable? I mean, let's say I hired some guys at $20 an hour for a total of 60 hours- obviously that sounds reasonable BUT not sure if there's massive equipment needed too or whatever. I have a medium size tractor, tahoe, dual axle trailer, access to track-bobcat if needed & access to big tractors, etc.

random scenario and questions but any help greatly appreciated! (pry do this in spring right?)
 
Is it a pole building? Do the poles go down into the ground? If so it will be hard to move. If it is sitting on a footings it would still be hard to move a building that big intact. Drive down your road and look at the sides of the roads and what will have to be taken down. Then look for power lines that will also cause problems.

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Is it ALL metal or just the exterior? What's the framework made of? How tall is it to the peak? Any powerlines between where it is and where it goes that will be in the way (consider it to be another 3ish feet taller if it can be put on a trailor as is. Soiunds like a big job to do CORRECTLY by yourself without potentially damaging the shed. And I bet you'd be a lot higher than you want to hire it done. Try looking up some house movers in your area and give them a call. Quotes are free.
 
I suppose it's what would be considered a pole building. The interior has wood with 2x4's. It basically was put up to store equipment- it has the 2 big doors on both sides that slide open & the one door that is like a normal door that locks with a dead bolt.

the metal is the exterior, the interior has wooden 2x4's like I said. I would say it's 25' to its peak. I think the power lines are a non issue. There's one line that goes to the building and that could get pulled down.

I'll look closer at the power lines soon. And basically to find guys who would do this- just talk around for house movers, etc? And/or google them for that area? Thanks!!!
 
I would talk to house movers and also people who put up grain bins. Up here in the NE corner they are moving grain bins often. Not the exact same, but same principle and would require much of the same machinery.
 
Sligh1 said:
I suppose it's what would be considered a pole building. The interior has wood with 2x4's. It basically was put up to store equipment- it has the 2 big doors on both sides that slide open & the one door that is like a normal door that locks with a dead bolt.

the metal is the exterior, the interior has wooden 2x4's like I said. I would say it's 25' to its peak. I think the power lines are a non issue. There's one line that goes to the building and that could get pulled down.

I'll look closer at the power lines soon. And basically to find guys who would do this- just talk around for house movers, etc? And/or google them for that area? Thanks!!!
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Sligh,

If it is a pole building usually the 6 x 6's around the perimeter run down below the frost line.
You would have to set it on a new wall or something to get it back on a foundation. I do not know if they could splice them to new ones ran below frost. Might be a little tricky.
 
Interesting problem, a couple thoughts...

1. One soild option would be to disassemble the whole building and rebuild it on the site you want. The skills to do this would be available to you in the form of DIY or just about any general contractor. FWIW, the 24' x 24' steel sided building on my farm that is my cabin was taken down, moved and rebuilt this way.

You obviously have some labor costs to consider, but you should have nearly all your materials in the form of your current building, so it shouldn't be terrible. That being said...you may find a decent contractor hungry for some early spring work that could throw you a good deal.

2. I agree with whoever said it is likely that your vertical 6"x6"s are probably buried about 4' deep. Therefore, if you move it as is, you really need to think about how you would make sure where you move it would be secured. If you did move it as is I would approach the Amish make them an offer, it is amazing what 30-40 Amish guys can do, they could definitely move a building like that pretty quickly.
 
The hard part of moving a 50 ft long building is going to be getting it to turn.Even going a half hile you still have 2 driveways to get in and out of.Ive seen them move houses and smaller buildings around here and Ive built a lotta pole barns before.If you dont put your extra bracing in properly when you jack the building up you will run into a lot of problems with a pole building wanting to twist and buckle, the poles are just further apart then a normal wood framed building and all the strength runs lengthwise with little support running up and down.

You need to brace it very well lengthwise and widthwise, plus run braces through the center from wall to wall to keep it from spreading out.You would need to have help and make sure to jack it up fairly level using a series of jacks and blocking.Once its up you need to have a trailer thats long enough to hold the entire building, and capable of making the sharp turns required to get in and out of a driveway.If you have to cut the poles off to get them out you will need a new foundation to sit the building on, either a solid slab or a footing thats below the frost line.This will require more equipment, probably a trencher.

Youre taking it out on a public road so there will be permits needed for moving it, (if youre feeling lucky you can do it at night and hope theres no traffic and everything goes well}.

Basically you need a lotta free time, some friends, lumber, and a little specialized equipment to do this, ideally you would just have friends with the right equipment lol.
 
Get the amish to take apart and re build it. Diffrent bunches of amish some are expensive others are actually not bad at all . Shop around.
 
Because of the type of construction, i suspect the most viable option is to disassemble and move the building, I would say you could get a contractor that would dis assemble and move the building for about $9300. The cost to have a new building put up that size would run you about $27,000 +/-.
 
If you could dig your post holes before you move the building in place, cut your old posts off.
They make some nice precast concrete posts with a bracket on top to connect to the wooden 6" X 6".

Then you would just need someone to move the building.

I agree if you were down southern Iowa I would say get local Amish to tear it down and re-build it on site.
 
+4 on Amish assistance. Moved a 100x100 Morton bldg in a weekend for a friend in NE Iowa.

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There should be a post frame contractor in your area. Depending on how long the posts have been in the groound you want to replace them. Also if the metal is nailed on it will be hard to salvage it. Nails are hard to pull with heads breaking off many times with denting and scratching of panels often occuring. If screwed on your in better shape.
The bottom splash plank which should be a 2x6 or 2x8 treated should also be checked for rot also.
 
My dad moves buildings, im betting you could have it moved for probably around $2000 if there isnt any power lines and its fairly easy to get at
 
tracker said:
There should be a post frame contractor in your area. Depending on how long the posts have been in the groound you want to replace them. Also if the metal is nailed on it will be hard to salvage it. Nails are hard to pull with heads breaking off many times with denting and scratching of panels often occuring. If screwed on your in better shape.
The bottom splash plank which should be a 2x6 or 2x8 treated should also be checked for rot also.
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Lot of great ideas from everyone. I forgot about the skin and roof possibly
being nailed. Ringshank nails would be tough pulling out.

The slab on grade to set it on I think would have to have some kind of footing under it also.

Check with a local licensed, insured contractor. They will need work as soon as it gets nice out. They can do the work as well as the Amish.
 
sligh1 you got the money build a new one and stop messing around just take it apart sell the metal use the money to put down on a new one then let whoever puts it up hunt your land for a year for the cost of putting it up
 
Check with Ron Holland House Moving, they moved a 48 x 88 metal building for the city of pella when I worked there several years ago, took it right down main st as that was the easiest route.
 
I'll be looking into all these options, read them all and really appreciate it!!!
 
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