Like Magic, a Shed is Moved!

Not the most exciting slug line....but then again, it sums up this story!

Friday morning!  What's with this blanket of white stuff?

Can't motorcycle, can't golf, can't RV....cause there is a bit of snow on the ground, and we can't leave for the sunnier US southwest till post Christmas.  Hey, why not move a shed?

This rig will have to move from here today!

Although we live in a rain forest, we do get the occasional skiff of snow.   This little skiff is almost gone now.  We really do not shovel.  As the saying goes here, the rain will wash the snow away.  And it does!

THE OBJECTIVE:  Why not move a garden shed!  Nothing better to do!

The garden shed. (Left the camera at home so all photos were taken with my iPhone)

That's right!  Several blogs back I wrote about the impending move of an 8' X 10' garden shed from a friend's yard to our yard.  I had busied myself with leveling a site in our yard and placing concrete blocks for supports.  The crane trucking firm I retained chose the one snowy day for the move.  Go figure! It offered a pretty fair deal on the condition that the shed would be moved when it best suited them. It suited them this Friday past when the firm had a cancellation, called me, and within 30 minutes, I met the truck and operator at the lift site in White Rock.

Lifted clear over the fence and onto a trailer.

You might ask why the operator chose to put this shed on a trailer rather than on his truck deck?  Good question!  On his truck deck, this load would have been over-height and that would have required moving power lines and obtaining innumerable permits. That was a non starter!

In less than one hour the shed was sitting on the trailer.

Once loaded, I headed for home to hitch up the 5th wheel and move it out of the way to accommodate  the crane truck access to the back yard. By the time the driver secured the shed and drove the 30 minutes to our home, I had our 5th wheel out of the way.

This is a 90 ton crane truck with a Hi-Ab boom reach of 75 feet.

The driver/operator assigned to this task was a great guy.  He had a calm demeanor and was very methodical. That is of critical importance!  He made this job look simple.  And it is, with careful thought and the right tools.  I sure enjoyed watching him go about his task....with a tiny bit of help from me.

This shed is well built - and framed 16" on centre.  It's built the way I would build it.  It is worthy of this move.

Fiver is out of the way and parked down the street.  That's about the extent of our RV adventures till after Christmas!

Crane truck arrives with the load.

Once on site at our place, the operator had to detach the trailer and lift the shed on to his truck deck before backing into the side of our home towards the back yard.

He made quick work of this.

Turned the shed around while on the sky hook.

Shed door is now facing the right way.

With little effort, the load was driven to where the 5th wheel had rested earlier. Notice the driver side mirror had to be closed in to avoid damage to the eave troughs.

Once his truck support jacks were properly placed and the truck was stabilized,  the operator proceeded to lift the shed towards its rightful place.

This is when you really pray that the operator will not damage yours or the neighbour's home.  He had to lift the shed hi up to clear both roof lines.  Easy work with a 75 foot reach.

Projects like this attract the neighbours.  How can it not!  A large crane truck shows up, things get lifted and moved, trucks maneuver into really tight spots and this amazing sky hook makes simple work of moving  a structure. The curious - at both ends of this project - enjoyed the distraction.  It's always fun to exchange thoughts and expressions from the sideline audience.  Hey, I provided some entertainment for friends, neighbours and the curious.  What's not to like?

It's so easily accomplished with the right tools!

It did not take much effort to place the shed on its supports.  My concrete blocks were precise and once the shed was placed, it proved to be level too.  That's kind of important!

Almost done!

Appears to have always been here.  From start to finish - driving to and from both sites - it took exactly three hours to complete the job.  Not Bad!

I took one more photo before moving the 5th wheel back in its rightful spot.

The shed will get new shingles to match our house roof, new siding and soffits to match, a new window on the right side, and once completed, it will match our home.  By early next spring and with attention to proper detailing, it will be properly finished and the back yard will once again be organized.

It will look nice, once the exterior is finished.

Some may wonder why we moved a shed when we could have purchased the lumber and built one?  Well, those who know me know that I love to build things.  I have saw dust in my veins - having grown up in the home hardware, lumber yard, cabinet making operation and construction family business. My intentions were to build a shed from scratch.  When our friend asked to have this shed removed from her yard, I compared the moving costs to a materials package for a new build.  This unit is very well built and it made sense to move it.  It's just that simple! 



Only about 40 more sleeps before the RV Voyageur gang gets to hitch up for the journey south to the sunnier climes of the south west US.  Can't wait!

Uhmmmm, what else can I move while Jeanette is away???????

Thanks for dropping by.