The approach itself · D
Grounds, gravel and outbuildings
On a larger property in this district the fabric most at risk is outside the building. A drive that rutts, a verge that marks, a path bedded on sand and a gatepost with a measured gap — all of them can be damaged before anybody reaches the front door.
The house is frequently the easy part. The first hundred metres is where the thinking goes.
What a large-house move involves
Measure the gateposts
The clear gap between gateposts is the commonest reason a full-size vehicle cannot reach a house in this district, and it is a number almost nobody has. It takes a minute with a tape and it changes the whole plan.
Where the gap is too tight, the answer is a shuttle: the load is transferred to a smaller vehicle at the road and run up to the door. It costs time rather than drama, provided it is known in advance.
Gravel, grass and what a loaded vehicle does
Loose gravel rutts under a heavy vehicle and a thin base can give way entirely. Grass marks in dry weather and is destroyed in wet. Neither is dramatic and both are expensive to put right on a property where the grounds are part of the point.
So the standing point is chosen for the ground rather than the shortest carry, boards go down wherever a wheel has to cross turf, and where we are not confident the base will take the weight we carry further instead.
The outbuildings hold more than the house
Consistently, and they are the reason large-house quotes move. A garden store, a workshop, a double garage and a stable between them can hold more volume than three bedrooms — and much of it is heavy, dirty and slow to load.
They are all opened at survey, and so is the question of what cannot travel. On a property of this kind there is nearly always more fuel, more gas and more old paint than anybody remembers.
Carrying distance is a real cost
A hundred metres of gravel between the vehicle and the door changes a day materially, and it is sized for honestly in the crew rather than absorbed and rushed. It is one of the few things about a move that a survey can measure exactly.
Grounds, gravel and outbuildings
Questions about grounds, gravel and outbuildings
- What do you need to know about the drive?
- The surface, the width, the gradient, the turning space at the top, and the clear gap between the gateposts. Photographs and a tape measure beat any description.
- Will you drive on the lawn?
- Not without boards, and not at all where the ground is soft. We would rather carry further than put a wheel through turf.
- What is shuttling?
- Transferring the load to a smaller vehicle at the road and running it up to the house. Normal on this kind of property and entirely manageable when it is planned rather than discovered.
- Do you count the stables and the workshop?
- Always, and they usually hold more than expected. Anything with fuel in it comes off the list, which is worth sorting before the day.
- Can you handle a piano or a large antique?
- Usually, with the right crew and sometimes a hoist. Raise it at survey rather than leaving it on a general inventory.
- Is a rural lane a problem?
- Only unsurveyed. Width, overhanging branches, passing places and any weight-limited bridge are all established before a vehicle is sent.
What is the house made of?
Both addresses, and roughly when the one you are leaving was built. That second answer tells us which category you are in and what the day needs.