One of the real advantages of a portable building is that it is portable, but people rarely think about what a move actually involves until they need one. Here is the practical version.
The building has to be empty
Completely. Not mostly. A building is designed to be lifted and hauled as a structure, not as a loaded container, and anything left inside becomes a projectile against the walls and the door. Shelving that is bolted to the framing can usually stay. Everything on it comes out.
Access at both ends, same rules as delivery
Roughly two feet of clearance past the building width along the entire path, about 13 feet of overhead, and ground firm enough to carry the equipment. That applies at the site the building is leaving and at the site it is going to. People plan the destination carefully and forget that the building has to get back out of where it is, which may have grown a fence, a tree or a deck since it went in.
This is also the argument for thinking about width when you first buy. A 16 wide building that fits your current spot but will not thread the gate at the next place is a constraint you built in.
The new pad has to be ready first
Do not move a building onto unfinished ground with a plan to level it later. Build the pad at the new location the same way you would for a new building: level gravel, about a foot larger than the building on all sides, standing a few inches above the surrounding grade, compacted properly. A building set on a poor pad after a move will settle unevenly and the doors will tell you about it within a year.
Expect to re-level and check the doors
A building flexes slightly when it is lifted and hauled. After it is set, check that the doors swing and latch cleanly and that the floor reads level in both directions. Small adjustments are normal. Doors that will not close are telling you the pad is not right.
Disconnect everything first
If the building has power, that feed needs to be disconnected properly by an electrician, not pulled. Same with any water line. And if there is a ramp, a skirt, a deck or a lean-to attached, those usually come off before the move and go back on after.
Utilities and permissions
Call 811 before anyone digs at the new site. If you are moving a building on or off leased ground, have the landlord’s written permission in hand, ideally the same document that said you could put it there in the first place. And check whether the new location’s county or city has setback requirements that affect where it can sit.
When moving is not the right answer
Be honest with yourself. If the building is old, if the floor is soft, if the siding is failing at the base of the walls, or if it is already out of square, the cost and hassle of a move is money spent on a building that is near the end anyway. Worth saying plainly: we do not take trade-ins and we do not buy back used buildings, so if you are replacing rather than moving, plan disposal separately.
Buying with a move in mind
Set it on gravel rather than concrete, which keeps the building genuinely portable and costs a fraction as much. Think about width against the tightest access you might ever face. And buy a building worth moving: ours carry a 10 year guarantee covering acts of nature such as storm damage and settling plus our craftsmanship, with LP SmartSide siding under a 50 year warranty and AdvanTech flooring under a lifetime warranty, all handled by us. Sizes 6×8 to 16×60, starting at $1,900. Rent-to-own has no credit check, 24 to 60 months, from $75.44 a month, no early payoff fee.
Get Started on Your Adams Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for Adams.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
