Overview of back yard before and after move of smokehouse.
We reached a major milestone on the smokehouse renovation today. We were able to move the structure about 60 feet to a new location where it will be come a garden shed.
The old smokehouse in our back yard was built in the early part of the 20th century and was past the point of being useful. We used it for storage, but not much else. The sill was rotten and the floor was one big trip hazard. The only good thing is that the roof doesn’t leak.
Rather than tear it down, we decided to restore it and convert it to a gardening shed. We wanted to move it further back on our lot to improve the overall layout options for our driveway and parking.
The picture gallery has images of our progress on the restoration and moving. The first step was to empty the building, remove all the junk and tear out the old floor. After that, we shored up the structure by jacking it up, tearing out the rotten sills, replacing them with new wood and preparing it for the move. Rather than taking the simple (and more expensive) route of getting professionals, we decided to move it ourselves without any heavy equipment.
Under the sides of the building, we laid a “runway” of planks and lowered the building on a series of 4″ PVC pipes. As surprising as it may be, the plan actually worked. Once the building was sitting on the planks with the pipes for “wheels” it was very easy to move it with the pickup. The actual moving of the building only took about two hours this morning.
The building is now in its new location. Next, we’ll pour some footings and build some piers to set the building on a solid foundation. Then, we’ll be ready to build a new floor, repair some of the siding and start using it as the gardening shed.
(I’m actually in favor of calling it the “still house,” but I’m not sure if I can make that stick.)
Stay tuned.
Here we are -- Steve, Andi and Tim -- in front of the smokehouse at its new location.
