Removing a couple of storm-damaged homes sounds like a bread and butter task for an experienced home relocation company, but two homes in Blockhouse Bay had more than their share of challenges.
Firstly there were two sets of major transmission power lines overhead – one directly above the Margate Road houses and one between the houses and the road. So the operation had to be precisely timed in a window when one of the transmission lines was in a scheduled shutdown.
Secondly the two houses being removed (located down a narrow driveway) had to be lifted over a home on the roadside that was remaining.
A tricky operation
The three-day operation undertaken by Auckland House Lifting and Clear Site Demolition involved lifting the homes one at a time onto a truck, moving them into a safe zone between the power lines, and then lifting them over the house at the front during the power shutdown window.
And then late in the evening the homes were driven off down the road to a storage facility where they will be sold to a new family.
Auckland House Lifting’s Reuben Turvey says this certainly isn’t a typical house relocation.
“The challenge on this project is working under the live lines, which are the ones at the back of the property, and getting the buildings forward of that and staying in the safe zone between the two [power lines]. And then highloading (lifting using blocks) the building, and coming out over the top of the houses.
“This isn’t a typical project, but we like a challenge. It’s not overly difficult but we just needed to spend the time planning to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Hundreds of storm-affected homes being removed
Nearly 180 Category 3 homes have been removed across the region since the 2023 storms, with approximately 30 per cent of the houses being relocated. The aim is to remove 350-400 dwellings each year, with the home removal programme expected to be completed in November 2027.
Auckland Council Home Removals Programme Manager Kris Bird says the challenge of removing 1200 storm-affected houses is not to be underestimated.
“We’re trying to do things differently by maximising the number of houses we can relocate, which sometimes means it takes us slightly longer but relocating houses is the most cost-effective and sustainable way.
“It would have been easy to say relocating these two houses was too complicated but the team took the time to find a workable solution which gave these homes a second life for another family in need.”
Check out the Blockhouse Bay home removals in the above short timelapse video.
