Remove a roof from a shed non-destructively (or other ideas)

Back in highschool my bestfriend and I built a tiny house as a senior project. We never quite finished trimming it out, but it's framed, roofed, sided, wired and has most of the interior. After graduation we had a local tow truck company move it up to his parents' house. Now 12 years later, we haven't finished the house but his parents are moving so we have to move the tiny home. Issue is, we don't have a trailer low enough. The lowest a cable line can be crossing the road is 14' and we're over that when sitting on a car/equipment trailer. He wanted to only cut the roof down to the top of the window and somehow hinge it. That seemed implausible and I suggested removing the roof from the top plate. However, that's a lot of weight and I don't know how we could do that without heavy equipment.

Anybody have better ideas than us? He has until May 1st to have it moved, and I'm at my winter home until at least the end of March so I'm useful only as guidance until then.

Shotgun?

That job looks either crane-ey, or quite destructive.

Sell it, and leave the height problem to the new owner?

I moved a shed about that size recently about 500 miles. 
 

I dismantled it. You won't be able to save the shingles. Take off the plywood. Cut the rafters carefully (label all the pieces). Then cut the four wall panels from each other (without dismantling) and stack them flat on a trailer. Mine had a metal roof, so I was able to reinstall the metal. 
 

But honestly?  Don't do it. If getting the project to this state took 12 years, then the truth is it will never be reassembled. 
 

Your best bet is gonna be to sell it to someone local as-is, and let them move it. It's probably worth up to $10K. 
 

Be honest with yourself. It was a fun project, but that season has passed, and it will never be completed. 
 

BTW... Yes, you can do it easily with a small crane or boom truck. Expect it to cost about $400 at each end of the trip. 

What would the clearance be if it were laid on it's side, and how feasible is that?

In reply to STM317 :

I was gonna suggest that, but safely laying it on its side still seems like a job for a crane or boom truck. 

I'd rent a reach forklift to do that. It should be able to handle that weight/height, and you could also use it to load the trailer.

When I rented one to assemble my garage, the cost was about $500 for a 24-hour rental, including delivery and pickup. You can save a few hundred bucks if you use that big shed-moving trailer you have to pick up the forklift yourself. 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Yes, it could be done with an extended reach forklift. 
 

The advantage to a boom truck is they can have 2 cable reels, and can handle the shifting weight. One cable lifts the weight while the other takes the load from the roof as it begins to tip over. Eventually, both cables have half the weight. 
 

You can't do that with a forklift. At some point as the weight shifts, there is a lot of risk of damaging the shingles, etc as the forks drag across the side. 
 

They are comparably priced, so I'd do the boom truck instead of the forklift. 

Thanks for the ideas guys. I got the message today, "I think it's a good memory" but it sounds like he's coming to terms with getting rid of it. It's hard to put that much time into a project, get it 95% finished and then walk away. That takes some strength. I'm not much for material sentiments but Ted is, so I am trying to help him in every way possible.

Insure it. Accidentally have a fire. Collect insurance proceeds. It's already insured under your parents homeowners insurance as an "additional structure" on their property.

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

 

Your best bet is gonna be to sell it to someone local as-is, and let them move it. It's probably worth up to $10K. 
 

10k holy E36 M3. I'd take this option so fast...

The new purchaser of the house offered $500 for the tiny home but that was an insultingly low enough number that it motived the idea to move. I think we could put it for sale for a more reasonable price and probably sell it before May 1st, and have that person deal with the move.

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

You'd be suprised how much little houses go for, it's kind of insane.

Someone around here is trying to sell 8x24 semi finished for 45k

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

Note that the key words were "up to...". I haven't seen it, and have no idea of the finish level or build quality. Think of it like a project car that's got the motor in place, been sitting for years in the weather, and is "95% done, all you've got to do is the final connections and wiring"

Having said that, yes $500 is an insult. If it's sitting in NC, I'll offer $2500 sight unseen (assuming no rot and reasonable finish) and I'll do my own dismantling and hauling. 

Yes, that was a legit offer. 

Unfortunately, since I'm not local it's not worth top dollar to me.  You built it too tall, and that makes hauling difficult.  (DOT regs say max of 13'-6" tall when on the trailer. Most tiny houses meet that criteria)

If you really cant stand the though of the shed living on in the hands of new owners, then give it a Viking send-off. 

Is the roof vaulted or trussed? If vaulted, cut the gable ends out. Cut the roof down the peak. Lay the roof panels flat to get under the height requirements. The tie straps should bend enough to do that.

On the other end, stand the roof back up, refasten the ridge, and replace the ridge cap. Reinstall the gables. 

This will not work if the distance from the peak to the top plate is longer than the width of the building. If that is the case, one roof panel will have to be removed and with shingles on it, it's going to be heavy.

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

I'm not sure I understand...

If the roof rafters remain attached to the wall, how is the 2nd half of the roof gonna lay down on top of the first one?

Also, I think you are assuming the rafters are secured with tie straps only. I've never seen that. They are generally secured both with toe nails to the top plate AND tie straps. If you lay the rafters down without pulling the toe nails, they will split the crap out of the rafters. 

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

Also...

The gable walls would be in the way of that working. 

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

Step one was cutting the gables out.

Yes, things are going to split and bend. The top roof section will not lay flat, but it will move enough to get under the 14' height.

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

Gotcha. 
 

It would be pretty hard to get it to reassemble (and I'd bet the gable walls are continuous studs). If there is no top plate in the gable ends, the whole thing would collapse if he tried that.
 

It's a lot of effort for a shed that took 12 years to build. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

Gotcha. 
 

It would be pretty hard to get it to reassemble (and I'd bet the gable walls are continuous studs). If there is no top plate in the gable ends, the whole thing would collapse if he tried that.
 

It's a lot of effort for a shed that took 12 years to build. 

Agreed, but he was looking for ideas on how to do it, not if it should be done. If it was my unfinished shed, I'd have taken the $500 to not have to deal with it. 

The last one I moved was a little over 14' tall on the trailer. I moved it early on a Sunday morning. When we came to a low cable across the road, that we couldn't get under, I used a hot stick to lift it over the peak. Anything that low is going to be TV, phone, or entrance cable and insulated. That was in the late 80s. These days, that would probably get you in pretty major trouble with the bad guys so I wouldn't recommend that route. 

In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :

Agreed. You're right. 

How high would it be on a low boy equipment trailer? That might be an alternative to a regular car trailer.

I'd take a chain saw to it and remove 3 feet off the top.  Figure it out later. 

Since we are throwing out every idea, how about tipping it onto it's side? Makes it shorter than the roof line.

I've moved a few houses, sheds and a log building once. It's a massive pain in the butt for less reward