How to move a house in South Nyack

Around 1991, local builder William Bosley fell in love with what was at the time a decaying, abandoned carriage house between Piermont Avenue and Washington Avenue in South Nyack. But Bosley's plans to restore the structure stumbled when the village told him it was too close to neighbors and property lines. 

So Bosley came up with a solution: move the 70-ton building about 80 feet forward. The idea worked, and the village board granted him the necessary side yard variances to convert the home from a carriage house into a charming residential dwelling. 

Using 52-foot steel I-beams, hydraulic jacks, large wooden sleds, a mesh of chains, thick ropes and heavy steel cables and vises, the building was budged. Eventually, the home was hoisted onto eight-foot high, 20-foot long railroad-tie cribbing ramps.

Once in place, Bosley and his crew were able to get to work restoring the home and adding a front porch. Much of the materials were recycled and salvaged to keep the home as authentic as possible. 

Moving a home isn't easy, and you don't see many builders doing it anymore; that's because it's usually less expensive to just knock it down and start from scratch. Fortunately, in this case, the owner felt it was more important to preserve the local treasure than tear it down.

The price tag to move the home in 1992? About $15,000. 

This wonderful Carpenter Gothic home is now on the market again and is listed at $649,000 with Bonnie Kelly of Wright Bros. Real Estate.