Man crosses his fingers as his 60-ton house goes across the lake

The guy paid $40,000 to have his 1880s-era house moved on ice that's 2 feet thick. Many onlookers expected it to plunge into the water; it didn't. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Comments

I'm from California and don't even know how to relate to this...
ice?
frozen?
huh?

[NitroPress]

Man, and you thought you had water in YOUR basement!

[Mikey]

Good one, Nitro! LMFAO!

[twerp]

I would have been one of the onlookers chanting in my head, "crack, crack, crack..."

[msgelter]

Haven't you guys ever watched "Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel? They do this up in Northern Canada every year (transport things across frozen lakes, that is) that weigh a LOT more than this house, and on ice that isn't as thick.

[cherie]

It said the water underneath the ice was about a foot deep with another foot of muck...it would've been a b*tch to get it out if the ice would've broken but its not like it would've sunk 100 ft into the abyss.

1880 House: $40,000
Movers, Insurance, new lot, permits, etc: $100,000
Necessary updates: $45,000
Knowing your saving a piece of history: Priceless

[A.V.]

Either stay out of the basement or cut a hole in the kitchen floor and drop a line.
Nice bluegills in that lake.
Here in WI, there are ice shacks, cars & trucks all over the ice.
They have to be off by March or donated as artificial reefs.lol

[A.V.]

What is going on with the comments not showing up?

My wonderful comment was:

Either stay out of the basement or cut a hole in the kitchen loor and drop a line.
Good bluegills in that lake.

Here in WI, there are ice shacks, cars & trucks all over the ice.
They have to either be off by March or donated as artificial reefs.lol

[RockyMtnMac]

Big Deal! On the news I saw houses blowing across the ice covered streets in Kentucky...

[Lou Sussler]

I don't recall IRT ever moving anything that weighed 60 tons.

It was a great show however. Interesting and Informative.

[troschne]

No kidding, RMM--some localities there are not going to get power back until mid-February!

[MONKEY JERK]

LUCKY GAMBLE FOR SURE

[merkin4]

I used to be the foreman at a bean warehouse in southern Idaho. Pintos, pinks, reds, black beans, you name it. Maximum legal weight for a semi truck hauling agricultural items, at that time, was 80,000 pounds. That comes to 40 tons for a fully-loaded bean truck. So, a 60 ton house isn't a huge stretch of the imagination, and I would have thought the house would weigh more than just 60 tons.

The old Boy Scout Handbook used to show safe loads for frozen lakes and ponds.
1" - showed idiot falling through ice. 'Keep Off'
2" - showed one skater. 'One May'
3" - showed three skaters. 'A Few'
4" - hockey teams, a pickup, and a horse. 'Safe for all'

[Elroy]

The depth where they moved the house is about 2.5'. I fished the lake last spring and I had to raise my motor almost out of the water to get through. I'm anxious to see what they're going to build on the site!

[troschne]

And now, he lives next door to Sarah Palin, and he, too, can see Russia from his kitchen!

[primus]

Idiot woman's comment at the end; praise the lord? NO. Praise the commonsense people running the move who used human intelligence to get the job done. Nothing to do with any deity (aka imaginary friend)