Future
Plans
As of December 3, 1999 our insurance
company has FINALLY settled. We received a check reflecting our insurance
limits for the house. This has been a long, hard-fought battle and we are
extremely pleased to have received settlement from them even though it took
quite some time to accomplish.
Johnny has located an exceptional lot
in the Turtle Creek subdivision on the island and we have closed on this
lot. The lot is about 600 feet deep and has 500 feet of wetlands between
the portion that is buildable and the ocean. This means we have an
"ocean front" house that is more than 500 feet from the water's
edge. This will make a walkway to the beach extremely expensive, but
should allow us to keep the house out of harms way for
many many years to come. Johnny has drawn up
plans for the renovation of the house and we have contacted a house moving
company and a construction company about getting this project underway.
As of late January, we have acquired
all necessary permits and have had the new lot cleared leaving as many trees as
possible. The main problem we face now is getting all the separate
contractors we have hired together for a few days to move the house. In
order to complete the move we must conduct something akin to a symphony in that
the mover, pile driver, general contractor, and demolition contractor must all
work together simultaneously to accomplish the move. The mover's
schedule is somewhat backed up from all the damage on the island and we are
anxiously awaiting his commitment to the project. Stay tuned as this page
will contain new house plans, photos of the move, and any more information I am
able to post in the coming weeks.
February 13,
2000:
The moving company has begun work on the house. It is my understanding
that both porches have been removed in preparation for the move and that the
house now sits on steel and is on wheels. Our mover is being very
uninformative as to his progress and we are of the opinion that this is because
he may not be "following all the rules" associated with moving the
house. This is a guess on our parts, but he refuses to give us a firm
move date and simply says he'll call us when it's done. Frankly, we don't
know what he's doing and don't care as long as the house ends up where we want
it with no further damage.
February 22,
2000
After many phone calls to the mover
with no success I contacted our contractor for landscaping as I had
heard through several sources that the mover was
waiting on him to complete his work before beginning. Though I could not
reach the mover, they were eventually able to and as it turns out there is some
debris in the way of moving the house. This should be straightened out
within the week and we hope the move will take place shortly. It is our
understanding that the house is to be dragged down the beach at low tide which
sounds as though it will be a rather dangerous undertaking knowing the
extremely high tides experienced along this section of beach. All we can do is
hope the mover who has been doing this for better then 40 years knows what he's
doing.
March 19,2000
Johnny and I visited the beach this
weekend. The house is ready to move and all preparation for this has been
completed. The new lot has been cleared and all site work is
complete. The house now sits on steel and has been dragged back from the
ocean approximately 20 feet.
March 22,
2000
We got word late this afternoon that the house . It now sits on the new lot awaiting pilings to
be driven and of course extensive renovations. The house made the move
with no apparent damage and is resting comfortably after a long hard
journey. We are all breathing a sigh of relief after so many months of
work and planning. Please see the "Move" section for photos.
Thanks for stopping by,
Jim