Front & Center: House mover Jude Doty give new life to old homes
Most of us divert a few ounces of aluminum, paper and plastic from the waste stream each week.
Jude Doty diverts 60-ton homes from the landfill, lifting them off their foundations and relocating them on vacant lots many miles away to begin life anew.
During the past quarter-century, Doty and his family have rescued hundreds of residences from demolition, first in Yakima, and since 2005 in North Idaho.
If you haven’t seen one rolling down the highway, it’s because he’s frequently required to move them between midnight and 5 a.m.
During a recent interview, Doty discussed how he got into the house-moving business, and how little the process has changed during the past 25 years.
S-R: Where did you grow up?
Doty: On a small farm in Indiana. We had chickens and hogs mostly, and a couple of cows that I milked when I was young.
S-R: Did you envision a particular career?
Doty: My dad was a pastor, so I had a really strong faith background, with an emphasis on reaching out to the homeless. So after I graduated from high school, I moved to Ellensburg and ran a shelter for the homeless for nine years. We called it Jude’s Hostel, and served 50,000 meals.
S-R: Was there a moment or event that changed the direction of your life?
Doty: While I was in Ellensburg, I met a man who moved homes in a very primitive way, and he introduced me to the business. After I married I needed more income, so I gradually got into house moving.
S-R: What does it take to move a house?
Doty: A little grit and the grace of God. It’s actually much easier than you’d think. I’d grown up around machinery – tractors and trucks – and I’d been doing a little long-hauling at the time. So I invested in some steel beams and dollies, and began moving homes.
S-R: Did you have to get licensed and bonded?
Doty: I did in Washington. Here in Idaho we don’t have to be bonded.
S-R: Is there a trick to lifting houses without damaging them?
Doty: It’s pretty straightforward. We slide steel beams underneath the house, perpendicular to the floor joists, and typically jack from three points – never four. You can tilt a building without hurting it. You just can’t rack it.
S-R: How big a house can you move?
Doty: You’d be surprised. We can lift an 80-footer with no flexing. We can even move brick homes without any cracking whatsoever. We just run angle iron around the bottom row of bricks. I’ve never had a loss in 25 years.
S-R: How many people does it take to move a house?
Doty: On moving day, I need three flag cars, and a spotter on both sides of the building. Frequently my whole family joins in to help. The more eyes, the better.
S-R: Most jobs have evolved because of technology. Has yours?
Doty: Nope. I’m still using the same jacks I made 25 years ago. Hydraulics has been around forever.
S-R: What does affect your business?
Doty: New development, which pushes out old homes. If you don’t have development coming in, there’s not much work for house movers. I used to get 30 houses a year given to me. Now, half my jobs are raising houses for new basements or foundations. They might be on a lakefront and sliding, or the owners want a new daylight basement.
S-R: More than a decade ago, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries prosecuted you for violating child-labor laws by allowing your two oldest sons – ages 13 and 11 at the time – to help you move houses. And nine years ago, two of your teenage sons caused a stir in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene by openly carrying firearms to raise awareness of Second Amendment rights. Did that notoriety affect your business?
Doty: No. I always got a positive response from it – no negative response ever. And sympathy.
S-R: What’s the biggest house you’ve moved?
Doty: I’ve done a number right around 100 ton (roughly the weight of 50 pickup trucks) – six-plexes, four-plexes, a lot of duplexes. Once I raised a whole train station for a new foundation.
S-R: What’s the longest distance you’ve ever moved a house?
Doty: Last year we moved a 28-by-60 double-wide in one piece 134 miles. But the average distance is around 10 or 15 miles.
S-R: How fast can you move a house down the road?
Doty: Twenty-five miles an hour on state roads. It took us two nights to move that double-wide last year.
S-R: Do you have to scout the route and get power lines lifted?
Doty: We scout the route, but power lines usually aren’t an issue with one-story houses, which is what we mostly move.
S-R: Who are your clients?
Doty: A third of our customers own double-wides (manufactured homes) that they want relocated, and don’t want to take apart. Most of the other houses are standing in the way of development. If they’re not moved fast, they’ll end up in the landfill. So we’re recyclers.
S-R: What does it cost to demolish a home?
Doty: About $5,000 or $6,000 – a third of what it costs to move. I usually get the house for free – which saves the developer demolition costs. I then sell the house, delivered to the buyer’s lot, for around $20 a square foot. We recently sold a 1,600-square-foot home, which is loaded and ready to deliver.
S-R: Do you have any competition?
Doty: Not in North Idaho. They need more movers in Washington, but I haven’t worked there since I moved to Idaho in ’05. Their rules and regulations are different than Idaho’s.
S-R: What about your business surprises people?
Doty: Customers are always surprised their house doesn’t get torn up. We’ve never even broken a window moving a home, although a tree branch did break one.
S-R: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever found in or under a house you moved?
Doty: You always imagine you’ll stumble across something someone hid. One time we found two boxes strapped tight with metal banding, and I thought, “I finally found someone’s treasure.” But when we opened them, they contained nothing of value.
S-R: What’s the career outlook for house moving? When you’re done, will your kids be able to take over the business?
Doty: They’d better. (laugh) I have a couple of boys who will stay with it.
S-R: What do you like most about your job?
Doty: The fact that I can work with my family. It’s all an in-house thing, and we keep close to home. I also like working with the public.
S-R: What do you like least?
Doty: Dealing with the authorities is a bit of a challenge. Everything else is beautiful.
S-R: How do you relax?
Doty: We have a strong family unit. We spend good Sundays together.
This interview has been condensed. If you’d like to suggest a business or community leader to profile, contact Michael Guilfoil at mguilfoil@comcast.net.