Moving a home

5,077 Views | 43 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by p_bubel
p_bubel
How long do you want to ignore this user?
msechelski said:

It is. I've talked to the Sipe Boys, Larry Jollisant, and Yoakum out of Brenham. Still waiting on a quote from Yoakum. I reached out to a company in Houston also, but I'd appreciate any other company to contact.
I don't know if they will work out that way, but Dodson in San Antonio is well know for moving structures around here.

http://dodsonhousemoving.com/

Removing that side addition probably wouldn't be a great loss if it's newer.

It's an awesome project, I love the idea of giving these places a new life and purpose.
cavscout96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I thought this might be the place you were looking at. I've often wondered about it myself. Went in about 4 years ago when it still had the antique shop in it.
cavscout96
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
are you taking it toward Brenham, CS, or Hempstead
dead zip 01
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I hope it works out for you, that would be an awesome project. I'm glad that you appreciate the building for its history.

I have a guest house that was originally an army barracks at Fort Sam Houston during WWII. The guy who built my house bought it at a government auction after the war and moved it onto this property to live in until he built the main house. Once he built the house he used the barracks as a woodshop and somehow managed to use one room as his smokehouse for decades without burning the place down.

I finally got around to completely gutting and rebuilding it into a guesthouse/party barn a few years ago and love the fact that it has more history and more stories than if it had just been built where it's currently sitting for the sole purpose of being a guesthouse. My favorite example is the smokehouse room has hundreds of hooks on the ceiling in rows to hang sausages. I kept them and just painted over them because it's a great story and you can't replicate that kind of history.

I wish I knew more about the buildings history and how it was used during the war. I know that some Nazi POWS were held at Fort Sam Houston during the war, specifically some of Rommel's Afrika Korps were held there in barracks. I always hoped that when gutting it I would find some writing behind the walls or an old newspaper or something in the wall to help trace the buildings history but was disappointed to find nothing of significance.
p_bubel
How long do you want to ignore this user?
dead zip 01 said:

I hope it works out for you, that would be an awesome project. I'm glad that you appreciate the building for its history.

I have a guest house that was originally an army barracks at Fort Sam Houston during WWII. The guy who built my house bought it at a government auction after the war and moved it onto this property to live in until he built the main house. Once he built the house he used the barracks as a woodshop and somehow managed to use one room as his smokehouse for decades without burning the place down.

I finally got around to completely gutting and rebuilding it into a guesthouse/party barn a few years ago and love the fact that it has more history and more stories than if it had just been built where it's currently sitting for the sole purpose of being a guesthouse. My favorite example is the smokehouse room has hundreds of hooks on the ceiling in rows to hang sausages. I kept them and just painted over them because it's a great story and you can't replicate that kind of history.

I wish I knew more about the buildings history and how it was used during the war. I know that some Nazi POWS were held at Fort Sam Houston during the war, specifically some of Rommel's Afrika Korps were held there in barracks. I always hoped that when gutting it I would find some writing behind the walls or an old newspaper or something in the wall to help trace the buildings history but was disappointed to find nothing of significance.

Ugh, just spent the past couple of hours reading about the POWs in Texas when I should have been working.

It looks like most of Ft Sam's housing was tenting, but I'm sure there were some auxiliary buildings sold after the war.

This is the best photo of the main structures up on that section of Ft Sam following the war. Most, if not all, are gone now. Maybe it was one of them?



The article states that the remaining structures of the camp is just at the curve in the road. (All of it is now covered by the National Cemetery.
dead zip 01
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
P_bubel,
I've gone down that rabbit hole too looking at those old photos trying to find a building that resembles it. I haven't ever found anything that looks exactly right but there aren't all that many good pictures to begin with. All of the information I have comes from some of my older neighbors who knew the original owner and I'm sure that some details of their stories aren't exactly correct. I think it might have come from some other base or camp besides Fort Sam but since that's the base everyone knows around here that's the name they always say.

I have come to the same conclusion you proposed that it was some sort of auxiliary building, not a housing barracks. It originally only had a a few small windows, there's no way you could live in there in the Texas heat without more windows to open.
Also, it originally had a big sliding barn door as the only entrance so I think it was probably some sort of storage building or something along those lines. I would assume those types of buildings would be in the best condition after the war and would be the most desirable if you were looking to buy one.

I did discover while working on it that it used to be longer and was cut in half at some point, it is 20'x40' now. The back wall that was added after it was cut is sheathed differently and doesn't have the tarpaper between the sheathing and siding that the rest of the building does.
Missouri Boat Ride
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
depending on where it will be located and your intended scope of remodel, it is not uncommon for cities to view a relocated building as new construction. What that means is that your MEP systems would have to be brought up to current code, i.e. re-wiring (likely a new power panel, etc.) and re-piping along with with retrofitting the mechanical system. Again, not definitive, but worth checking with your AHJ, if within city limits.
JeepWaveEarl
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
No input other than a curiosity.... does your first name rhyme with the word spark?
MoreCushing4thePushing
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Not within city limits. Regardless, the deal fell thru. On to the next one.
p_bubel
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Too bad. That could have been a great thread to follow.
Refresh
Page 2 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.