He Used Caterpillars To Move His House

He Used Caterpillars To Move His House BUILDINGS Houses 25-2-23 "I thought FARM SHOW might be interested in how I used a D8 Caterpillar to move our house from some Illinois River bottom ground up to a nearby 250-ft. high bluff. From the front porch I now have a birds-eye view of my farming operation," says Clair Wilson of Winchester, Ill. Wilson and his family had been living next to a limestone quarry, which was inching closer to their home. "I could see we were going to have to make a move," says Wilson. "I had always wanted to live up on the bluff, so we decided to move the house up there." To get the house up the steep bluff, Wilson first had to make a roadway up it. Once that was done, he began the move. "We lifted the house onto a conventional moving gear. A D8 Cat pulled the house up the hill while two Cat 988 end loaders ran behind. They never touched the house but were there just in case the house worked loose and slid along the beams. However, it never did even though friction was all that kept it in place. At one point the D8 dug into some crumbly soil and slowed down, but it didn't stop." The house had originally faced east. In its new location, it was turned around so it would face west, looking out over the river bottom. Wilson set the house on top of horizontal steel beams raised high enough to make room for a two-car garage at the back side of the house. He also added a 1,400 sq. ft. addition to the house. "During the move all the kitchen appliances stayed put. We didn't even take the furniture out of the house. We started out at about 11 a.m. and by 1:30 p.m. we were up the hill," notes Wilson. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clair Wilson, 132 Hillview Rd., Winchester, Ill. 62694 (ph 217 742-3809).

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