Over the time  Romanesque I  has been available, site visitors have asked questions.  Below is a synopsis of questions and our replies.  The answers may seem a little repetitive, but are our responses to the question asked at the time.

Question:   What are the fundamental economics of ReLocating mansions ?

Answer:  We are only interested in completely moving magnificent gilded age stone buildings.  Buildings whose value will increase 10-20 times by relocation to beautiful sites in suitable vibrant communities.  The original building has to have been a mansion in the 19th century to be worth moving.    We disassemble and deliver a house for between $ 150 and $ 300 per sqft.  High end reconstruction with architects and top construction firms often build ultra houses between $ 700 and $ 1,500 per sqft.  We deliver all of the material to reconstruct the original building, so the expenditures on the reconstructed house are for interior, high end features, extra additions, and the site.   This means that buyers could easily spend $ 400 and more per sqft to reconstruct and still be less expensive than the ultra modern McMansion.  We create a great deal for the buyers, the sellers, the doers, and the public.

We bring professional architectural and engineering professionals togerther to deliver to the buyer a modern authentic reincarnation of beautiful historic American castles. We gather together trained, experienced people with expertise and passion for saving these magnificent structures. Prices suggested for each castle are the expected costs for documentation, disassembling, shipping, and supporting reconstruction by the buyer's professionals. All of the firms involved will participate in the selection of subcontractors and analysis of the ultimate costs of the project. With the exception of the cost of the new site itself, we would expect the reconstructed cost of the building to be less than twice the cost of delivering the components to the buyer's site, so the reconstructed cost of these mansions should be around $ 4 million.

Comment:  There are scores of magnificent endangered houses in formerly industrial revolution cities from New England thru the Midwest.  “The problem is national in scope. In historic centers such as Philadelphia, it's particularly acute— In 2000, Pew's Heritage Philadelphia Program discovered more than 300 historic house museums in the Philadelphia region alone. Fewer than 10 percent of those have endowments of any size, and more than 80 percent are facing preservation and maintenance costs of about $1 million each, while their operating budgets average only $100,000. If nothing changes within the next decade, the research suggests, dozens will be left with no caretakers, no money and no plans for rescue.”

Question:   Does the price include reassembly ?

Answer: Reassembly has to be done by the buyer’s architect and local construction firms to modern construction standards. We cannot predict what gold bathtubs the new owners might want, and the interior layout could be very different than AS-IS. However, all the details and materials of the shell of the house and interior components that are laser scanned and saved are preserved.

Question:  Is it hard to find an architect firm that can reassemble the building using the system your company does?

Answer:  No … The architect needs to use industry standard software .. AutoCAD, Revit, BIM and other packages. We have a list of 15,000 architectural firms nationwide that can do this work, and can refer you to several in your area that can handle .. and would be most glad to handle it.  The architect works for the buyer.  The entire effort to move this house will be done under the professional guidance of the rebuilt house owner's architects and local construction professionals. What you get from us is all of the material used to rebuild the mansion, with every stone , beam, joist, 2/4, etc. identified where it needs to go, with the dimensions of all exterior and interior surfaces defined by Laser Scanning to the nearest 1/7th inch. RFID tags are applied to every pallet of sticks and stone.  Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the wireless non-contact use of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and locating tags attached to objects.  These are the tiny tags you see attached to items in stores.  Each house moved will be several thousand individual pieces.  Detailed inventory item control is crucial to reconstruction.  This house will contain about 8,000 individual components. We are heavily computerized, so it comes with Terabytes of data, thousands of photographs, video tapes ... everything we can do. 

The buyer is responsible for the cost of reconstruction, as this is a matter of taste and meeting local construction and municipal code standards … that is why local architects and construction firms are necessary .. mandatory.  95 % of the materials required for reconstruction is included in our delivered price, the cost of materials for the reconstructed house will be far less than built from scratch with new materials. Many of the components of the house are unique, and cannot be reproduced with modern materials. Houses constructed in this manner will be environmentally superior, and qualify for US Green Building Council’s superior LEED standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).  

There will be substantial work for the buyer's architects at both the current location and future site.  ResErections will collaborate on the disassembly methods, and integrate LIDAR, RFID, and other digital information into AutoCAD and BIM software systems.  

Question:  Is it really possible to move these massive buildings ?

Gregory P. Luth, Ph.D., S.E., SECB ... GPLA Structural Engineers & Builders.    "ResErections saves 19^th and early 20^th century stone mansions using modern laser scanning and BIM technologies to facilitate deconstruction and reconstruction, moving these magnificent edifices out of the now-decrepit surroundings to sites where their grandeur can be an asset. 

This is the sort of development that utilizes creative destruction to save some of our historical architectural heritage, fosters a rebirth of craftsmanship, and mobilizes demand to create a new market.  If one were to design one of these houses from scratch, I am sure the wonderful stone would be cost prohibitive. 

With HD BIM process combined with their scanning and deconstruction, we can rebuild these wonderful structures anywhere in the country, including in high seismic areas.  With modern technologies such as base isolation and fused shock absorbers we can make these virtually earthquake proof, able to survive multiple great earthquakes with minor structural damage.

But that isn’t the best part.  Using modern gravity structures, we can replace the interior bearing wall and wood floor with long spans that would enable modern open floor plans inside the classic stone façade."

Question:  Will you find new sites for these awesome buildings ?

Answer:  Most American cities have neighborhoods of high value homes. There are hundreds of ultra high end communities with existing homes of comparable value where one of our houses would be welcomed, enhance the neighborhood, and sustain the multimillion dollar value of the property for future generations.   These castles can also be the centerpiece of rural estates.  A significant portion of the increase in real estate wealth that these houses capture comes from of moving them from areas of weak value to those of strong value.   Arbitrage from smaller cities in the Midwest to the Boston/Washington DC,  Seattle/San Diego,  Chicago/Houston corridors, make it possible to realize 10-20 TIMES (not PERCENT) increases in the value of the real estate asset.   The key is the ability to relocate the mansions.

We anticipate that most potential buyers would have preferences of where the house should go.  We can assist in the finding the new location if necessary, and connect with the local architecture community to handle the design and reconstruction for the buyer.

Question:   Why must it be moved ?

Answer:  The neighborhood is rife with drug activity and violent gun crime.  In 2008, there were 19,331 calls for police service, 1,703 crimes including 11 murders, 19 rapes,  237 robberies,  92 assaults,  440 burglaries, 776 larcenies, and 144 car thefts. 

The chance of being a victim of a crime is 1 in 11.

The chance of being a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 75.

The chance of being a victim of property crime is 1 in 13.

The violent crime index is 41% higher than its city average and 218% the state average.

Crime is up 16 percent from 2000.  Many residents have grown complacent and fearful of reporting criminal activity for fear of reprisal.  Gunfire is so frequent that some residents say their dogs stopped howling.

Comment:   Hello, I have no idea how I found your site but your work is amazing.  I don’t need a castle moved today but wanted to share. There are so many fascinating aspects of what you do.   Watching the video I felt like I was being transported through generations to actual people and their lives and how architecture affects our lives even though we are unaware of it. I’m just so excited to see what you do!  I mostly just wanted to say that what your doing is amazing!!!

Question:  If I buy this U won't send anybody that disassembled to supervise the reassembly ! The price is ridiculous for me to buy a bunch of blocks with no no idea of were these blocks would go!

Answer:  We will be heavily involved in the reconstruction. We document the house with laser, photography, and video with close supervision with the buyer's architect.  Every stone must be relocated in the same spot it came from.  Every pallet of sticks and stone is individually permanently tagged with RFID chips.  The buyer's architect and construction contractors do the reconstruction. Laser scan data accurate to 1/7 inch imports directly into leading architectural software which produces detailed drawings for the reconstruction of the house in the manner desired by the new owner.  The buyer's architect provides the established local construction capabilities, subcontractors, building departments, local craftsmen, equipment vendors, and other agencies involved in these big jobs.  Working together ... as professionals with heavyweight computers running awesome software ... we can deliver a stone house that is identical to the original magnificent mansion.  Its relocation to a complementary site will immediately increase the new owners real estate wealth by at least the invested money.

Question:  I'm an AIA Architect.  Very, very interesting.   Ok, so the area is so bad it would be a must to move. I have never bought and moved and reconstructed a house.  This is certainly something that I will research.  Let me look into the process.  I have clients that can afford this house.  The cost is in the range of custom designed residential homes we are building now.   We provide professional architectural, engineering, & surveying services in multiple states. 

Answer:  With professional architecture and structural engineering at both the source and destinations, backed up with laser scanning, RFID inventory control, BIM and AutoCAD, and skilled craftsmen, it can be smoothly accomplished. It is expensive, but returns are immediate relocated to an appropriate setting.

Comment:  Fabulous - this is just the kind of preservation education we like to offer our followers.  We specialize in historic millwork, so renovating historical buildings is the source of our work.  Thanks for the great inside look at how these particular preservation projects happen.   We will highlight your project in the e-newsletter we'll be sending out at the end of the month.  You guys are doing great work ! Visit our site at historic-renovations.com

Question:   What is the location of this beautiful mansion?

Answer:  Thanks for your appreciation ... Because it is going to be moved, and transportation costs anywhere in the US are paid, its current location is irrelevant. However, it is within 200 miles of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Question:  Very sad story - Love the house - Glad someone is actually trying to preserve the history - Shame the neighborhood is so bad ... Great effort, Sir

Answer:  Thanks for comments .. actually, this house's situation is common, but most of them have been destroyed. This one is still beautiful.   We want to see it in a beautiful setting.  

Question:  I went to your website and also watched the you tube video. My question is you would also pack and ship all furnishings? And I saw how you take apart the roof and outside, but what about all the plaster work ? The ceilings alone are a work of art. Not to mention the molding and all the decorative little pieces. I am guessing I would need a master plaster? Also you number the stones and wood framing, do you also number the brick and ship it also. And do you clean all mortar off the stone and brick before shipping? I love the work you are doing.

Answer:  With the exception of family heirlooms, almost all of the furniture in the house can be shipped to the new buyer. The period furnishings  were the best money could buy and are in immaculate condition.  The plaster work will be scanned, photographed, and molds made so that it can be reproduced. Over the years, as members of various historical craft groups, we have identified master plasterers who are able to restore the ceilings, and many other artisans and craftsmen who specialize in masonry, carpentry, restoring, painting, stone cleaning, architecture, construction supervision, and so forth.  While we recover and clean the brick, it makes no sense to ship brick which can be purchased at the new site far cheaper. Brick used in interior walls of these older houses is soft, extremely heavy, and low quality.

Question:  Does the home have to be moved ? Can it be purchased and left at current location. I understand there is high crime in the area. However with proper security and we are from Texas and are well armed. So for us the crime it not a huge issue. We really love the home design.

Answer:  Hmmmm ... I suspect you are kidding me, but an offer of $ 1,000,000 As-Is-Where-Is would deserve serious consideration. I hope you are well armed.   Our understanding is that crack makes users feel invulnerable, so you would get lots of live target practice.  Also, this state does not have the aggressive Texas armed self defense laws that would protect you from having gun fun.  Unfortunately, you would not benefit from the increase in your wealth that you would experience by relocating it on your own suitable site.

Question:  Thank you for showing this dream of all dreams. I wish I could buy it. Thank you. I just love this place.

Answer:  Thank you ... We are so pleased with people's reaction to this beautiful window into the 1890s.

Question:  Why is this being moved off the lot it is on now ? I'm curious. Wow - what a beautiful home.

Answer:  It is time to start finding a new home for the house to make sure that it stays together in prior anticipation of an estate liquidation.

Question:  Just clean up the neighborhood there.

Answer:   Move the thousands of subsidized housing residents .. retired social security recipients, old veterans, drug dealers, little old ladies, children, gang members, and other disadvantaged people living in the surrounding Section 8 neighborhood elsewhere .. so they can be somebody else's problem ??   Why do the self-righteous  think that the 16% of  Americans who live in poverty and need assistance are all undeserving ??   Neighborhood prices are a function of subsidized incomes at taxpayers expense.  There is little chance of improvement in an economy increasingly reliant on an aging workforce of low wage workers.

Question:  Will the reconstructed building qualify for national historic registry listing ?

Answer: No ... Our effort moving this building will not meet the bureaucratic and time consuming technical standards of professional historic preservationists and conservators. This building is being offered as a reconstructed work of architectural art, not a representation of history.  It is not located in a historic district.  No historically notable activities occurred in this building.  The rebuilt building will be a work of construction art that recovers and represents the best architecture of the Gilded Age.  The moved building will be no longer "historic" in the purist's sense of the word.  Standards of work performed by modern artisans and craftsmen will be of the highest quality justified by the significant investment.  The buyer and architect will have complete freedom in reconfiguring the house exterior, interior, and new site.

ResErections will not tie the buyer's reconstruction efforts to bureaucratic qualifications for government tax credits or require employment of certified historic craftsmen and archivists or seek protective covenants or finicky rehabilitation agreements insuring that the buildings will be protected from changes. We do not offer cultural resource management, historic preservation planning, historical research, litigation encouragement and support, and academic grantsmanship.    You Buy It ... We Disassemble It ... You ReBuild It ... You Own It.

Comment:  This is a great project idea and I'm assuming you misspelled Resurrections deliberately.  To what purpose ?  ...   Resurrect + Erections (new buildings) ?  Clever!!

Question:   I understand why it costs millions to disassemble and ship a house, but I guess that it would cost many more millions to reconstruct the house.  I suspect that it would be outrageously impractical ?

Answer:  Not so.  Basically, we deliver a house for around $ 200 per sqft.  High end reconstruction with architects and top construction firms often build ultra houses between $ 700 and $ 1,500 per sqft.  We deliver all of the material to reconstruct the original building, so the expenditures on the new house are for design, craft labor, interior, high end features, extra additions, and sites.   This means that buyers could easily spend $ 400 and more per sqft to reconstruct and still be less expensive than the ultra modern McMansion.

Question:  If I connect you with a buyer, will you pay a commission ?

Answer: Yes, ResErections will pay non-owner individuals who connect us with a buyer of structures valued at more than $ 1,000,000 a finders fee of $ 25,000 upon closing.  An additional $ 10,000 fee would be paid to non-owner individuals that identify additional endangered houses and provide local support services such as photography and current owner connections that we market on closing with a buyer.  You must contact us to establish your role as an initiator source.  A Confidentiality Agreement will be necessary. 

Question:   What is the actual address?

Answer:   We will disclose the actual location to a serious interest with a signed Confidentiality Agreement.   Please Understand ... the house is located in a very tough neighborhood.  For the sake of security and privacy of the owner, and for the safety of the questioner, it is not unreasonable or impolite to ask for a confidentiality agreement. Especially since the location is irrelevant ... it is being sold to relocate anywhere and the cost of domestic transportation is included.  Leaving it where it is ... is not an option.

Question:  What a beautiful house ! I have read many time to make sure what you saying to relocate to my Site. If I buy this can you ship to Brazil where I own land ? Will it still cost same amount ?.

Answer:  You would be responsible for shipping costs from a US port and taxes of the foreign country.  We would containerize and ship to the US port for the same price.

Question:  Very sad story .. Love the house.  Glad someone is trying to preserve our history.  Shame the neighborhood is so bad.  Great effort sir !

Answer:  Great credit will go to the person or institution that steps forward to save these houses.  It will be a notable architectural achievement.

Comment:  Salvaging and recycling of building materials from homes and buildings that may have outlived their original purpose has been going on for a long time. The quality of hand cut stone and old growth wood  cannot be found today.   

Question:  Thank you for showing this dream of all dreams.  I only wish I could buy it.  Thank you,  I just love this place.

Answer:  We have seen too many of these majestic houses hauled to the landfill so that apartments, parking lots, or wider streets can be constructed. I am glad you could share our enjoyment. I hope you looked at the video.  Makes tears come to my eyes.  Beauty is so rare.

Question:  Thank you for your reply.  I’d be more than willing to sign said disclosure.  Please send it to me at my email address.

Answer:  Attached please find a Non-Disclosure Agreement  ... Please sign and return to me, and I will send you the address of the property you wished to see.  Contact me if you wish to see the interior of this private residence if your interest is serious.

Question:  The place is beautiful but seems gloomy. Are there ghosts and spirits in the place? I have a hunch there is.

Answer:  Nope ... No Ghosts, etc. ... but the rooms really are not lived in ...  though the house is big, and occupied all the time.  The owner's inventory of decades of selecting highest quality antiques, especially art vases, paintings, and other beautiful objects make the rooms appear crowded ... which they are ...  Everything must stay inside or disappears.

Question:  Just wondering why you are selling this house? it seems like a major reconstruction job to even think about moving it. 

Answer:  Not really ... the value of the reconstructed house would far exceed the cost. Failing to sell will result in plundering and ultimate demolition.  Because of its architectural merit and quality, it is worth the moderate cost of reconstruction on a site that replicates the quality of the 1890 neighborhood it was built in.  The house is art, and retains its original beauty.  Its current environment is blighted.

With highly skilled careful disassembly, accurate 3D laser documentation, and RFID tracking of every piece, the house can be rebuilt precisely.  It is expensive to pay for the professional engineering and craftsman skills, but worth the cost because the result is worth far more than the dollars spent.   We believe that it will take 30 man years of labor to do the entire work.  At an average of $ 100,000 per man year, a lot of talented architects, engineers, building inspectors, construction workers, truck drivers, lawyers, bankers, governmental permit(tax) collectors, insurance companies, equipment rental firms, and material and tool suppliers will get a chunk of work.

Interestingly ... The reconstructed building will meet the highest environmental requirements, saving the resources that would be spent creating a modern McMansion of the same size with far less quality materials.   All of the original house materials are saved and reused.

Question:  How do you find buildings ?

Answer:   We select buildings that are endangered … located in undesirable neighborhoods, in the way for development, converted to inappropriate uses, abandoned, unoccupied, condemned, and so forth. We are not interested in preservation for preservation’s sake or fighting anyone. We do not hide our efforts, and work with the municipality, historic commissions, local enterprises, etc.  Moving endangered structures is appealing when demolition is the alternative. The idea that a mansion would have a new life often gains support from preservation opponents.

These houses have worn out the efforts of amateurs to remain useful. Big houses with antiquated systems are very expensive to operate.  It makes sense to save something that has outlived its usefulness with a newer, more efficient version of itself, and even more sense to select houses whose value on the new site justifies the high expense of precision disassembly and reconstruction.  

Planned demolition sneaks up on buildings, as desirable redevelopment efforts function subrosa (secretly) until the demolition permit is issued. Then, the window for saving the building is a matter of weeks and can only be changed with cash in hand or lawyers. Developers do not want fights with preservation advocates (some of them nuts) before the axe is already falling. The buildings are going to be removed for good reasons by seasoned construction and development firms with institutional and government support.

We are trying to break this mold by applying engineering and technology to moving wonderful structures. It is expensive, so finding a buyer is the most difficult task. The house has to be worth it. We focus on advertising to architects and developers, relying on creating a great profit opportunity for all the parties moving high value mansions from low value sites to be reconstructed on high value sites hundreds of miles away.  That is our business model.

Question:  I understand that the stone shells of the houses can be retrieved without damage, but what about the elaborate wooden interiors ?

Answer:  We employ experienced carpenters and cabinet makers to carefully disassemble visible surface wooden components ... wainscotting, mantels, pocket doors, windows, baseboards, cabinetry, stairsteps, etc. with limited or no damage.   Then, as the shell is disassembled, carpenters map and recover the rafters, studs, floorboards, and joists as disassembly moves from the roof to the basement.  There may be repairable slight damage of smaller boards due to nails and other fasteners.  Some boards may be ruined.  Some of the visible wooden components will need to be refinished before reconstruction as directed by the buyer's architects.  

Question: Cleaning up the neighborhood doesn't protect them from vandalism and theft and often also includes turning these marvels into group homes.  How has the owner managed to keep it intact in such a high crime area (the windows expecially)?  And, if no one stands to inherit, why the exclusion of family heirlooms.  We have many pictures of similar homes that have not survived the area crime, so good luck and beautiful video.

 Answer:   Protected by good dogs ... As you probably notice that the interior of the house is a bit crowded with artifacts, vases, art, etc. because the only way to keep things safe in the area is to keep everything inside.   Many items, such as great old wrought iron fencing have disappeared.   Anything visible outside from the street is gone.   Fortunately, the house is owner occupied, and mostly hidden, explaining why the stained glass still exists unharmed.  The owner has exquisite taste, and has been collecting antiques and art for many decades.   He is in his late 60's, and has no intention of leaving the planet prematurely, but it is clear what will happen when the house becomes an estate, and he wants to avoid this.  Most of the contents can stay with the house, but he wishes to retain selected items for his retirement residence.

Question:  This building has SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!  I just want to say that this is a beautiful home and it is certainly a NATIONAL TREASURE.  I can tell that you are very interested in preserving this architectural master piece and that is both noble and wonderful.

Why not turn the large mansion space into a public place that could be used to rehabilitate the neighborhood?  Why not turn it into a museum, children's art and learning center, restaurant etc. You could employ people from the surrounding neighborhood as cheap minimum wage labor for the conversion and then afterwards continue to employ them as restaurant workers, museum employees, or care givers. Or whatever else you could think of!! This would serve to both protect this priceless national treasure AND breathe new life into a forgotten neighborhood.

Comment:   I am an AIA Architect.   I have checked in to your website from time to time over the last few years, and have been impressed with your mission and your work.  Congratulations on the salvage and restoration of these great stone buildings – and “Thank You”.   Wherever they are reconstructed, they represent the preservation of art, craft, and history, and they are adding beauty and value to their environment.   Again – the work looks like a lot of fun, and it’s very much worth doing.   Good luck in the future.

Question:  The price is way beyond my means.   Will you lower the price if it does not sell soon ?

After 4 years of battling and hundreds of thousands of legal fees, preservationists failed to save the Gamble house.  Moving these grand old mansions is better than demolishing them.

Comment:  So glad you are doing this.  It is fascinating.  I am an AIA architect and have been looking at your site for a couple of years.  This is really fun to watch ... Keep it up.

Assertion:  $ 2.9 million is not asking too much for Romanesque I.  The house structure and  period content is magnificent.  It is a work of high architectural art.  It is a beautiful estate house.  It is actually a small house compared to the McCastles being built today, but it's wonderful living, dining, and library rooms and seven bedrooms would suit a large family quite well.  Rebuilt to modern architectural engineering standards, it will be a very efficient residence.  It really makes a statement .. there will be nothing like it down the street.    It will add wealth.   Doing well while doing good.  The new owner will have done something memorable.

Comment:   Hi ... i was thinking that the asking price for the property was too high, but after reading the listing twice and viewing your website i think this is amazing what you are doing and i am "HOOKED" after viewing your website. This is truly magnificent.   One needs a great site for these properties.  They need to be in beautiful settings ... a lake in a great area ... a hilltop with a view.    The asking price is spot on ... it takes a ton of work and one cannot build or buy such a great massive building for less  ...  and a historic architectural beauty.  

Answer:     If one had to move the mansion and all is redone to its proper state what will the property sell for?   It depends on  Location ... Location ... Re-Location.    A lot more than it cost to move it.  I would not be surprised at a value 4 times its cost in an awesome location.  It could be priceless.

OverView:  ResErections is a pioneering twelve year old - new kind of business linking independent local architecture, engineering, and construction businesses with similar firms in other localities nationwide.  We move houses from Ohio to Texas or New York to Pennsylvania.  Every project is new - from and to different towns with different professionals at each end.   Architecture firms in the source city know their city's design/construction/permit/taxation et al structures, as do the architecture firms employed by the new building's owner at the destination site.   We build the supply chain that make this work for each house.  ResErections creates the contracts, documentation, coordination, payment, marketing, transportation, legal, insurance.  At both ends, local firms handle local commercial  relationships and municipal entities to assure that the new owner's property is professionally built. 

Location .. Location .. Re-Location !!

 

ResErections has several American Castles for relocation  -  click the image.

 

         

          

      

            

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