How small is too big?

[FrankInWI]

I got more good news at the county regarding my "shed / day room".  The free minor permit is free, but that limits me to 200 sq ft.  I want 12 X 20 instead of 10 X 20 and for that I need a regular permit...for $60.  I can pay that. So, that will be the dimension for this day-living space.  QUESTION:  I'm still building it so that it can be moved....but WILL I be able to pull a 12 X 20 X 1 1.2 story?  The half is some loft space above.....I'd imagine height will be 15-18 feet.  Will a 4X4, or a tractor, or a skid loader be able to pull this thing to it's new spot in 2 years when I am going to build my house on it's spot?  I sure hope so.....or it's back to square 1.  
Thanks

[glenn-k]

I just moved about a 12 x 16 but it wasn't really made for moving so was a bit hard.  The river moved it about a half a block a year or two ago.  It was a bit too heavy for my crane to just pick up and carry away so I lifted one end with the crane, backed a flat bed trailer under it then set it down and drove it to where it was to be set - put blocks under it and set it back down by lifting the same one end and driving the trailer out.

Planning and skids should make it easier but may require a healthy rig depending on weight.

[Dustin]

Why are mobile homes the size they are?
To fit on the trucks that move them, and under the bridges and on the roads.
Unless it's a shed you can fit on a trunk and can fit it under bridges and on the roads, you probably won't be moving it. Having said that, I have TV shows were people move whole houses before, but it's some major bux. (I know there are many mobile homes out there that cost more to move that they'll sell for). You might also damage your home by moving it.

Wouldn't it be prudent to build where you're going to be?  
Alternatively, you could buy a yurt. These are meant to be moved.
Or build a very cheap structure you don't mind leaving, like one of Mike Oehler's designs (www.undergroundhousing.com or just  look at Glenn's underground mansion)?  Can you part with $500? You can build a pretty cool place for that.

[Amanda_931]

Dustin is right if this has to go on the road (for any distance), Those guys get lots of money, sometimes have to have the state police post a moving roadblock so they can move--generally in the middle of the night.

But if you just have to move it across the yard a bit--what Glenn said, or roll it on a series of logs--or bypass the moving by putting the shed/temporary living space into its permanent place, plan on building the real house across what is now a yard, will then be a courtyard?

[cre90602]

Sounds like you are planning to keep this on your property if you don't plan on going on any roads all you need to keep in mind that you wil need a solid road base to move from one location to another

[Doug_Martin]

I think it was mentioned somewhere else before but I'd really think about building your "shed" on top of an old mobile home frame.  Just drive around the country a bit and I'm sure you can pick one up for free or nearly free (from either a burnt out trailer or a rotted out one).  I don't think the frame integrity would be compremised in a fire but you might want to check that out first.  And if you are lucky maybe you can salvage some stuff from the junked trailer like the HVAC system or some kitchen/bath fixtures.

Building on the frame give you two bonuses: the first is an easy and proven way to move it and the second (at least in Illinois where I grew up) "mobile homes" are not subject to property tax.  I believe the one my brother owned in college cost him $60 per year as a title fee.  He did have another $100 or so tax on the attached screened in porch which was on a foundation.

Of course putting it on a frame will probably really hurt the resale value.  Maybe build it on skids on top of the frame so that it could be slid off it in the future and put on a permanent foundation?

[MikeT]

I moved a well- built homemade shed (8' x 8') from the back of my property to the driveway so someone could haul it away.  I had no trouble using a jack and blocks to raise corners to a height where I could put long, straight logs underneath (the kind you can get PT at Home Depot).  Then I had to use 2x4s as a surface over which the logs and the shed would roll.  Otherwise the logs got caught on the irregularities of the bare ground.  Once on the logs and the skids, my father and I had no trouble moving it.  Two to get the shed moving, then one to keep it moving while the other person moved the last log into a new first position, etc.  

[Amanda_931]

Steel frame not compromised in a fire?  would depend on how hot the fire was, and where it was--underneath the building would mean it would be more likely to be damaged.  Might be fine if the flooring in the kitchen was still OK.

See all the propaganda from the wood products people about why their frames are safer than steel.

e.g. this for Finnish wood utility poles--(NB People on Guam and the Western Pacific use reinforced concrete, despite their typhoons--I did say it was propaganda):

http://www.finntrepo.fi/alasivu.php?s=1

Resilient
"In storms a concrete pole breaks, a steel pole bends and remains bent, but a wood pole resists without damages." This is the opinion of one of our major customers about poles delivered by FINNTREPO. His experience is based on the fact that a wood pole with its combination of strength and elasticity has superior properties compared with the two alternative materials.

[FrankInWI(Guest)]

OK, thanks for the feedback folks.  I think I'll be ok...be able to move the "shed / day-room".  I want it in the prime spot now, where the house will be in a few years.  When that happens, I will either move it about 100 ft down the line into the woods to be a real shed, or a detached mini-apartment..... or I might shimmy it up and attach it to the house as one of the rooms. .... a little "wing" on the real 1 1/2 built from John's plans already purchased.  Anyway, it's being built with a strong enough base to drag, and PEG gave me some great ideas to strengthen the base.  
thanks!