On moving day, it's the house that'll go

The 48-foot-wide, century-old Belcher house will be transplanted from Largo to Pinellas Park.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 12, 2002

LARGO -- That's right, Pinellas Park.

A 90-ton, 48-foot-wide, century-old house is headed south on 66th Street. It will take with it the cherished memories of the pioneering Belcher family, which lived there for generations.

And what will be Largo's loss will be a gain for that city to the south -- yes, Pinellas Park.

But don't worry about the house. House mover Taylor Bingham does this sort of thing all the time.

Just not this big.

Bingham, owner of T&B House Movers Inc., is moving the 4,000-square-foot house 6 miles south from its spot on Belcher Road. The move is scheduled for the early morning hours toward the end of this month.

"I certainly could have built a new house a lot cheaper than the move is turning out to be," said the house's owner, Nancy Sparks, who married into the family. "It's not cost-effective. But the house has soul. You cannot justify it any other way."

The move alone will cost $120,000, Sparks said. She is placing the home, which has been vacant for five years, on 6.5 acres off 94th Avenue.

But how do you move a house, especially such an old and big one?

"Very carefully," Bingham said. He has moved hundreds of houses, but not many as big as the one at 1776 Belcher Road. He can think of only one bigger.

There are two obstacles, he said: Getting the building off the ground, and then moving it down the road.

To get the house on a truck, workers will dig a trench around the perimeter, then use steel beams to fashion a temporary foundation. Workers will then dig under the house and prop it up with more steel, Bingham said. Next, huge hydraulic jacks specifically made for houses, will lift it. Finally, it will be positioned on the truck.

When that work is done in a couple of weeks, Bingham said, the house will be ready to roll.

"We'll start driving with it at midnight," Bingham said. "It's going to take every bit of six hours to get it there. We might have a big caravan by the time the thing's over."

Maneuvering a truck with a 48-foot-wide, 70-foot-long and 18-foot-tall house on the back isn't like parallel parking a minivan, Bingham said. A lot of prep work is required.

For starters, workers will cut off the roof. Strange as it might sound, that cuts down on costs. When tall houses are moved, utility companies charge fees to ride along during the move to safeguard overhead lines, Bingham said. With the roof off, this house can avoid the need for that. Once transplanted, the house will get a new roof.

Workers also will remove additions to the house, such as the front porch and a back room. That will make the move easier.

Already, Bingham knows the route he will take: south on Belcher, east on Bryan Dairy Road, south on 66th Street, then east on 94th Avenue.

Six miles in six hours.

"It's going to be slow," Bingham said.

Workers will walk alongside the truck, removing street signs and anything else in the house's way. The house is nearly five times the width of a traffic lane.

But because this move will occur on large roadways, Bingham said, his team will be able to keep the original house intact.

Sparks said she hopes to be living in her transplanted home next spring.

"It'll be a great final resting place for it," said Sparks, 58. "I didn't want to live on Belcher Road and I don't want anyone living in the house, either. The first time I visited was in 1962 and it's basically been my house since then. It's so charming. And there's so many memories there. It's home."

With a new address.

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