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The LA fires earlier this year left thousands of homeowners at a crossroads - rebuild or move somewhere else? But a few people have been choosing a third option. LAist's Cato Hernandez has more.
CATO HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: When I first meet Altadena resident Evan Chambers, his new home is getting cut into pieces.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRILL WHIRRING)
HERNANDEZ: His wife and their two kids lost their original house in the Eaton fire, but now he's helping dismantle their new two-story 1911 craftsman home. Contractors are taking apart the house piece by piece and storing it in preparation for its move from another part of LA County to the Chambers' lot in Altadena. The house will need some work, but Chambers wants the challenge.
EVAN CHAMBERS: You know, the thought of moving a house, even a house that's, like, super beat up, it's like, oh, yeah, bring it on.
HERNANDEZ: He says their insurance payout wouldn't cover the full cost of a new place, and while it will cover only about half the cost of moving and renovating this home, he hopes it's going to be cheaper. Plus, working on it reminds him of working on his old house.
CHAMBERS: It felt good to me, and I loved living in it. I was, like, intimately acquainted with my house. You know, I knew every little nook and cranny and splinter on the wood floors.
HERNANDEZ: That's why the Chambers are partnering with a historic house relocation project, an effort from an architecture firm called Omgivning. Morgan Sykes Jaybush is the firm's creative director. He's identified dozens of homes slated for demolition across the county and is pairing them with people whose houses burned down. Their goal is to bring houses with character back to the charred neighborhood.
MORGAN SYKES JAYBUSH: We just started cold calling those property owners to see if they would allow us to relocate the house in lieu of them demolishing it and throwing it into a landfill.
HERNANDEZ: The project works by arranging a deal to transfer ownership of just the materials before the home is torn down. You could pay a buck for that or tens of thousands of dollars. The new owners also pay for moving, reassembly and any customizations they want, like fire safety upgrades.
JAYBUSH: We know this isn't a solution for everybody, but really, the reason people should be doing this is because they want an old house.
HERNANDEZ: Right now, it's not totally clear how much cheaper an option this is compared to building a new home. It can vary. One family expects to pay 700,000 all told, while another a million. That's about the median cost to buy a single family home in LA County. Jaybush says that's because the homes are in different sizes and are in different conditions. They're working to help homeowners get a better sense of the costs upfront.
JAYBUSH: We're hoping that we can wrap all of those different variables up so that it can be more clear for every homeowner.
HERNANDEZ: House moving is rare, but it's allowed under California building code. Inspectors check the structure to make sure it's safely moved, and a lot of permits are involved just to drive it on the streets. A handful of families have elected to do this, but only two have moved their houses so far. I tagged along to watch one of them.
RICK ELLISON: Yeah, we're back here by the tool truck, going to do a little safety meeting.
HERNANDEZ: That's Rick Ellison, who's the owner of Dinuba House Movers, one of the contractors helping transport the pieces. He told me by phone ahead of time what to expect.
ELLISON: You ever seen grass grow? (Laughter) That's about how exciting house moving is.
HERNANDEZ: He says crews put up wooden frames and plywood walls to keep the pieces sturdy during the drive. Those get chained onto a flatbed truck. From afar, it looks like a mobile home. Then they drive across from one part of LA County to another overnight with a city escort. That home's new owner is Gwen Sukeena. She says it's been a tough journey to get here, but she's excited.
GWEN SUKEENA: It's a lot to handle in a few months, so, yeah, it's a huge range of emotions.
HERNANDEZ: The drivers pull onto her dirt lot right before sunrise.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOOD BOARDS CLANKING)
HERNANDEZ: They put the pieces on an elevated platform where it'll sit as the home is put back together. Sukeena and her partner should be able to move in a year from now.
For NPR News, I'm Cato Hernandez in LA. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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