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We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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Posted by reads_n_writes Zone 5 (My Page) on Mon, Nov 14, 05 at 11:24
| We moved to our house almost exactly a year ago and planned to stay here "forever". Well, now my husband got a job offer than he can't pass up and so we'll moving an hour away in the spring. One of the saddest things about it all is that we've been working so hard on our gardens and I've been building dry-stacked raised bed vegetable gardens and have many other plans for the large rockpile gold mine that has been in the back corner of our overgrown orchard for many years. I don't know if I'll ever have another rock pile like it and frankly I want to take it with me when I go! The company that has hired my husband is paying for the move and we can choose our moving company. I know this is probably a long shot but do any of you know of a company that would help us move rocks and boulders to our new location? We may have to pay them seperately for that but it would be nice if a moving company would do such a thing.
Then, of course, we also have the problem of buying land to build on (we'd like to build a variation on the Maple Forest Cottage which incorporates a lot of rocks) and deciding what to do with the rocks in the meantime until we have a landscaping plan (pile them up somewhere?) I know this may not be feasible but I wondered if anyone here has ever faced a similar situation and figured out a way to manage it all.
P.S. I'm the type who makes a weekly visit to nearby construction sites to scavenge for rocks so the thought of leaving any of my big, beautiful rocks makes me want to sob.
Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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| I totally sympathize, but there seem to be so many variables in your immediate future that I'd be hesitant to weigh down your flexibility with tons of rock. In the first place there is a possibility the job won't work out or that you'll find your dream home already built and landscaped and won't need the rock. I suppose you're selling your old place so leaving them there to pick up later if needed might not be an option. Now some people would consider it nutso to pay money to store rocks, but probably not the people here. You might be able to find someone who would rent you a patch of property to store them, either on the ground or in a trailer (for smaller ones, a trailer sounds more practical). |
RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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- Posted by JillP 5/6 OH (My Page) on
Mon, Nov 14, 05 at 14:07
| Maybe you could have as part of the sale that the rocks are yours, and can stay there for say 6 months and then you will take them away? Now if I were buying your house, the rocks would be one of the reasons I would want to buy it! But nonrock people might look on them as a liability and nuisance. I know my m-i-l would look at all my stone and say whoever buys your house is going to be cursing your name. |
RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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| Thanks for your responses! There are a lot of variables in our future, that's for sure. And you're right KarinL that we may just find the right place and not "need" them. But we're looking for 5+ acres which in my will surely leave a lot of room for rock walls and rock gardens! :o) I need to look into it more and after looking over Gottagarden's posts about moving boulders I at least think it "can be done" so now it's just a matter of working out all of the logistics (easy-peasy, no?) Jill, I'd love to have that written into the contract, but I know from past selling experience that anything the seller says "will not stay" is automatically desired by the buyer regardless of whether they really want it or not. If they know somebody else wants to take something then it has to be "good" and if it's "good" then it has to stay. I'd rather the potential buyers never knew that the rocks were here in the first place because I imagine that anyone who would buy our house (a mini-farm) would be the type who would want to keep them, but they can go out and collect their own rocks darn it! I may have to see reason, however, and give them up for the greater good in the end. We'll see. ;o)
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RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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| Will a dumptruck work? For my load I thought dumptrucks might break the rocks. Call a company with dumptrucks and ask what they'd charge for truck and loader. It could be a bigger number than you expect, but you won't know unless you call them. |
RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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| Well, of course you want to take your rocks with you! This is a hypothetical dilemma we have debated many times. We are not intending to ever move, but the thought of what would happen to all of the rocks we worked so hard to get here is devastating if we were forced to leave. (I was born here and the land's been in the family for over 100 years, hopefully they'll take me out horizontally) I can completely understand your sorrow over leaving your rocks behind. Do you have any idea of the approximate distance the rocks would have to transported? (i.e. will you be in the same state?) There may be some quarry related trucking companies in your area who will haul them for you; we hired a semi 'rock truck' last November to bring in our last 120 tons of flatrock from the nearby quarry for $60 an hour. Hauling cost for the six loads was $300, however the quarry was only eight miles away. Due to the sizes of the stones involved in our project, we were not able to hire a 'normal' dump truck, as huge rocks are hard on the boxes of the dump truck and their owners don't like holes punched thru them when the rocks are loaded. Rock trucks have rounded reinforced beds much better able to withstand the abuse of hauling the truly big stuff. There are also flatbed semis such as Gottagarden hired for her project. I don't know how big your stones are, but there has to be someone somewhere who would work with you, it's probably just going to come down to the expense. We have also hauled many tons of rock ourselves with our car and trailer, and it can be done (we also scavenge construction sites and road cuts!)depending, of course, on the size of the rock and how far you have to travel. I wish you luck with this and hope you will let us know what you decide to do. Karen |
RE: We're moving and we want to take our rocks!
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Have you considered staying in your present house with your beloved rocks, i know how you feel, and just allow an hour additional travel time for your husband to go to work?
I made the same type of decision 30 years ago and never was sorry except for a couple of winter trips home in blizzard conditions. I'd give it serious thought.
John |
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