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Back in 1885,
when the illustration above was published in The American
Agriculturist, moving a country building was pretty easy.
You’d have a Moving-Bee, invite all your neighbors, ask them
to bring their oxen, and serve refreshments. Old timber-frame
buildings were strong enough to be dragged from one spot to the
next.
Today, things are
a bit different. With concrete foundations, hookups to septic,
plumbing and heating systems and utility wires to avoid, moving
a home or barn can be a very expensive proposition. It can cost
half of what the construction of the building did, and I’ll
bet that there isn’t a contractor in the country who’ll take
payment in cider and doughnuts.
Most communities today have
strict zoning laws that limit where you can build on your
property. In addition, construction codes require distances
between buildings that vary with what those buildings are going
to be used for and their construction type or combustibility.
Modern environmental laws protect waterways and wetlands by
enforcing set-back distances for all new buildings. To further
confuse things, state health laws often regulate country
buildings. As an example, most state health codes require a 75' to more than
100' distance between a home and a horse barn or other animal
shelter, and those buildings usually have to be a distance from
any well or water supply.
It's important that you get it
right before you start to build. You could face stiff fines and
could actually be forced to move or tear down your new building.
That happens more often than you'd think. If you're not sure,
get help from a local architect or construction engineer who is
familiar with the codes in your area and with the type of
structure you're building.
When you’ve determined the
ideal position for your new home within those limits, have a
surveyor draw it on your survey or plot plan. Then, before you
build, have your contractor stake out the actual corners of the
building on the ground. Measure to your property lines and
existing buildings and check that those measurements match the
ones on the drawing.
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