What is involved in moving a house?

Moving an entire house is a complex process and you'll need a number of experts to do the heavy lifting.

First, you'll need representatives from all the utility companies to come out and properly disconnect your home from all its utilities. Next, the movers will need at least a 10-foot (3-meter) clear zone around the house. So if you have any trees or bushes in that area you want to save, you'll have to ask landscapers to remove them [source: Expert House Movers].

Once all this is done, the movers will dig around your foundation and cut some openings in the foundation's walls. These openings are for the steel beams the movers use to bear the weight of your house. Your movers will know what the proper size and placement of these steel beams are for your house. The movers may also use wooden cribs to provide support for the house, both inside and out. After the braces are all put into place, hydraulic lifts are inserted beneath the steel beams so they can lift the house off its foundation. The hydraulic lifts are all connected into a unified hydraulic jacking system that is managed by a central control. A unified system ensures that the entire house is raised and lowered while remaining level. This is what allows you to keep your furniture in your home as is, while it's being moved.

Now that the house is lifted, it's moved along sliding beams that pull the house onto specially constructed dollies and rubber tires, which will do the actual moving. Of course, this dolly/tire combination needs to be connected to a truck strong enough to pull the house. As it moves, the house isn't traveling alone. The truck moves slowly with work crews moving in front of, alongside and behind it to clear the way.