by Bethaney Phillips

On June 4th, the Tiger House was moved from its building platform north of CCCHS to its permanent location, about eight miles southeast of Clay Center. The approximately 30-ton home made the journey via gravel roads, a short stint on Highway 24 and Broughton, then back to gravel roads until it was taken home for good. 

Along the way, Bluestem Electric was there to unhook and reattach power lines after the home had passed, police officers were flagging drivers, and an entourage of trucks followed the home as it rolled along.  

Once loaded and underway, the journey took about 40 minutes to its plot of land, owned by USD 379 School Board President, Tracy Claeys, under his LLC, Pigskin Holdings. 

The path – 19th Road to Quail Road, to Highway 24, to Broughton, to Redwood Road, was chosen for several reasons, including the width of the road and its proximity to trees, the number of power lines that have to be disconnected, traffic, and approval from the state of Kansas. 

Co-owner of Unruh House Moving, Inc., Duane Mastre, said the route has to be submitted to the state in advance. Some highways allow more leniency, while others are completely off-limits, he said. 

“They won’t let us do any Interstate and some places with a state road, we can hardly touch so it’s all country roads,” he said. “The rule is we can only go on a state road for 15 miles, but they bend that, I think they base it on traffic.” 

This is just one of the preparations that has to be done before a house is moved, he said. In addition, Mastre talks with the city and/or county, power companies, and other utilities to ensure everyone is on the same page. He’ll also communicate with the contractor pouring the foundation and discuss their needs for a basement, if applicable. 

For instance, with Claeys’ recently purchased home, the basement framing needed to be set up; once the contractor gave the go-ahead, the crew returned June 5th to put the place on its foundation. 

However, the Tiger House was about “as easy as it gets” when moving homes, Mastre said. Because the house is up off the ground, a compact size, and doesn’t have porches or additions, it’s straightforward. 

The crew – Mastre, his three business partners, and one employee – placed steel beams under the structure, which were bolted onto wheeled dollies, each with eight wheels. From there, they hooked up their semi-tractor for the move.

“We don’t really have a trailer,” Mastre said. “Or you can say that our trailer gets made at every job.” 

Mastre said weight, shape, and size determine how many steel beams and what length are needed for each structure. Claeys’ house took two, however, their largest move – a house weighing 350,000 pounds – took 12 beams and six wheeled dollies.

The powered dollies are controlled via a jacking system and can be raised or lowered with a remote. On each job site, Unruh owners circle the home, using a controller to manipulate the building into place. 

Mastre said these specialty structure jacks are used only for moving buildings and are extremely hard to find. Just three companies make this type of equipment in the U.S., located in   Pennsylvania, Iowa, and North Dakota. 

“It’s always been a little frustrating, you can’t hardly find the equipment,” he said. While ordering means a lengthy wait time. He said they often build their own pieces as needed. 

“That kind of drives the cost up, too,” he said. Adding that in previous years they’ve ordered, though it’s a long wait before the equipment comes in. 

Unruh House Movers also uses skid loaders, a truck to pull the steel beams holding the house, a truck full of different-sized beams, and a truck with a tool trailer – all of which are on-site for a move. 

“We get every length of house  or barn, so we just have stacks and stacks of beams.” 

Located out of Galva, the company has been around since 1979, with Mastre joining in 1996. Two other owners have been in for 20 and 33 years, while their newest partner, a second-generation owner, has been in for four. 

In his nearly 30 years, Mastre said the industry has changed greatly. From 12 companies in Kansas to just three. In addition, the company used to stay busy with prefabricated homes and vocational builds, moving annual houses from McPherson, Newton, Halstead, Hays, Beloit, Chapman, Abilene, and more. 

“That’s gotten less and less, people are looking for older houses and that’s just gotten to be a bigger part of our business.” 

Mastre said a lot of that has to do with the cost of building, which has also led them to move sheds and barns of all sizes. Another change has come from lenders – it’s become more difficult for homeowners to get lending for their moves, he said. 

“It’s been a real problem that we didn’t use to have,” he said. “To them, it looks and it sounds risky.” However, Mastre said the company has never damaged a house while en route. 

“Knock on wood, but we’ve never dropped one or rolled it over or anything like that.” He added that the company’s largest expense is insurance for the moves. “That’s another thing that drives the prices u,p but we have to have it. We can’t work without it.” 

On the low end for a move, Mastre estimated between $12,000-$15,000, while a larger building moves can cost up to $40,000. 

“A lot of houses have additions or porches. It’s a lot of excavating to get to them; a lot of concrete that can break,” he said. Pointing out that they visit in person before providing a formal job quote.

“I’ll explain everything and we’ll go over it in detail,” he said. “It’s just how much they want to spend from getting the house from point A to point B.”  

Top: Tracy Claeys’ “Tiger House” about to be moved onto its foundation. 

Middle: Unruh Home Movers’ oldest structure to date, an 1870 one-room schoolhouse. It was moved from rural Eureka to sit next to the town museum. 

Left: The crew’s second-heaviest load at 250,000 pounds, dubbed The Broadway Beauty. 

The company’s furthest move spanned 587 miles when they took a double-wide trailer from Inman to Fort Collins, Colorado. 

Their most unique move was a 100-year-old bridge. It was likely the longest, with the bridge measuring nearly 100 feet.