The Reard House is Moving This Weekend

115 years after it was built, a decade after it was dragged to the edge of the property it used to dominate, the Reard House is ready to move to its permanent location on future parkland at Pigott Parcel B near SE 20th Street.

The house will hit the road around at 4:00 AM on Sunday (6/3) morning and will probably take until 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning to get situated. Starting at its present location, the route will be:

• South on 212th Ave SE
• East on SE 20th Street
• North on 216th Ave SE
• East on SE 16th Place
• North on 220th Ave SE

Set your alarm and come by, it’s not something you’ll see every day.

The physical moving of the house will be handled by Nickel Bros, a northwest company that specializes in moving houses slated for demolition. Judging by the past projects described on their web site, it appears that moving the Reard house may be the smallest and easiest job they’ve done in a long time.

I had assumed that the Nickel Bros would move the house in the same way as I’d bring a bag of fertilizer home in my pickup. Actually, they jacked the house up another foot and slipped two large I-beams under it. After they were in place, the workers bolted them together and attached wheels underneath. Ta-da, house trailer. In case they encounter tight turns or obstacles along the way, the wheels can be steered independently and raised hydraulically, so getting out of the current site and into the new one shouldn’t present any special problems.

The final step in preparing the house for the move was wrapping it in plastic to prevent flakes of possibly lead-based paint from coming off as it passes through the streets. I suppose this is good for public safety but it ruined my plan ride inside and stand at a window with a big steering wheel like the old codger in “Up”.