Moving a timber Summerhouse to a new location

[ricardo.sueiras]

I have a timber summerhouse measuring approx 6m x 5m with a heigh of

2.5m. It is currently resting on a concrete foundation, and as far as we know, is not physically attached to it.

Q. We want to physically move this summerhouse approx. 2.5 m from the current location to free up the space for a garage, but do not even know where to start. Does anyone know of any company that offers this as a service, or can offer any advise?

So far I have submitted planning permission and we have plans to create the concrete foundation for the new location, but thats as far as we have got. We have lots of ideas, but do not know how realistic these are. Have searched these news groups and not found any relevant info.

Thanks in advance.

[Rob Morley]

Jack it up, stick rollers under it and push/pull it onto the new base.

[ricardo.sueiras]

Thanks for the advise. Are there any specific jacks i need to consider?

[david lang]

Raise it with some simple levers and use rollers - worked a treat on the Pyramids, Stonehenge etc.

Dave

[John Anderton]

Just a word of warning, if you haven't already considered it. A building with a floor area greater than 30 square metres is subject to building regs as well as (possibly) needing planning permission. Given my experience of bureaucracy, I'd guess that there's a fair chance that the building control department could become involved if you move the summerhouse.

The argument I've heard in the past is that because the building has been moved it's treated as though it were a new building and therefore has to meet all the requirements of a new build. I don't agree with that argument, but then, I don't work for the council :-)

Cheers,

John

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Have a look in Halfords, etc. You can buy scissor types which will lift a couple of tons for a few quid. Two should do.

[Rob Morley]

If you have a few people available then give them each a length of

4x2 for a lever and a concrete block (or similar) for a fulcrum - this technique is good for locating the shed accurately on the new base as you can also move it sideways a bit, whereas a "proper" jack will only lift straight up and down. Having said that a couple of regular car jacks (either scissor or trolley - bottle-type probably won't fit underneath) will probably lift it as you only need to lift one side, but do be careful to locate the jack somewhere that will take the load - it's probably a good idea to use a thick piece of ply to pad the contact point. Apply lifting pressure as evenly as possible otherwise you could end up twisting the frame. If you have enough people with bits of 4x2 you could dispense with the rollers (which can be hard to steer) and just "walk" it to its new location using the levers. Another consideration is whether you will have a use for the timber afterwards, be it round fence posts or lengths of 4x2.

[Hzatph]

We moved a summer house of this sort of size. Not too difficult. Ours was resting on timber frames with bricks providing the key support.

The way we moved it was to use jacks to judiciously lift the summer house. The put round wooden rollers underneath - they were offcuts from tree stakes. We probably used four in total. The rollers enabled us to move it easily and then we reversed the process to extract the rollers and put bricks in for it to rest on. It was surprisingly easy. The key is to get the timbers and rollers underneath in place.

Hope that helps.

[The Natural Philosopher]

A tractor with a fork lift loader can generally move a shed.

[Ian Stirling]

Can I watch? I've never seen a fork lift with 5m forks :)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Only need about 3.5m... as long as its past CG...or you can load up one side of the shed and use even shorter..You can also rope the thing onto it. Sheds do not weigh a GREAT deal..

what I've seen used, more or less.

[Roger]

The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

Maybe too flimsy to do that. ISTM that most modern sheds and summerhouses are very flimsy indeed which would of course make them light as well but this shed is quite large and the larger they are the more likely it is that lifting it will damage it beyond repair.

If it is strong enough to be jacked up then it would be relatively simple to do that, stick some modest rails under it and slide it sideways. It hasn't got far to go. If the bearers happen to run the wrong way (and sods law says they will) then a second layer of rails would be needed to sit the shed on first.

The alternative is to take it to pieces and reassemble on the new site. It would have almost certainly arrived as a kit of parts in the first place so that shouldn't be impossible.

[Dirtbox]

Look why don’t we stop be silly, it’s rather simple you just need to eat 3 weetabix and lift it yourself 👍

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

A response to a 15 years old post!

[Fredxx]

The only one looking silly here is the one who answers a 15 year old post without any context.

You are welcome to post through a portal but I implore you to read this first:

[Nick Odell]

What's more, referencing a thirty-seven-year-old advertising campaign[1]

Nick [1]Wrongly.[2] [2]It was Shredded Wheat

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Yes I've given up telling people about home owners club broken interface when they send stuff to usenet. Brian