Historic home begins its move into the future

VIRGINIA CITY - Supported by two 30-foot metal beams and a stack of wood, one of the city's historic homes is slowly being rolled on to more stable ground.

Passing motorists stop to look at the house partially balanced over a 12-foot-deep pit. A horse-drawn open carriage rolls past, full of tourists who crane their necks to gawk.

For more than 40 years, the front portion of the Rule house has sat above a gaping hole, created by the previous owner who decided he wanted his own garage beneath the home. Kenny Rule was an experienced excavator and as crazy as he plan sounded, it worked. He dynamited under his home and dug out enough dirt to store his children's motor bikes. He then built a cement wall foundation. But before the new owners can do any work on the home they need to put it on a stable foundation.

Leisa and Pat Findley purchased the 1870s house from Kenny and Mary Jane Rule in July 2004 for $200,000. The 1,600-square-foot house is on an incline beside the couple's 416 S. B St. bed and breakfast. They started acquiring the properties next to Edith Palmer's Country Inn back in 1997, and have, one by one, added them to the business.

House moving is risky work. The workers' compensation is often five times that of a regular construction site, Pat Findley says.

This is the first time Scott House Movers, of Sacramento, has ever moved a home from over a garage created by dynamite blasts.

Brian Scott, project manager, says every project comes with its own problems. And this house happens to be in a precarious position. The home is lifted by jacks and pulled into place by a Bobcat tractor and a heavy chain. The workers scurry in the tight space beneath the house, as if it weren't supported by just two iron beams.

Standing in the yard of the square, beige-sided home, the Findleys look down into the pit beneath the home and can still see some of the holes Rule drilled to place the dynamite.

"There was no damage to the house, he knew what he was doing," says Pat Findley, a general contractor in Carson City.

Leisa Findley, a former Carson High math and science teacher, says purchasing this home came as an unexpected opportunity. The couple had always wanted to buy the historic home to add to the bed and breakfast, but they never thought the Rules would sell it. Pat Findley mentioned it off hand to Rule, and he agreed. It was a handshake deal. Findley said he was sure about five other people were itching to buy the place.

The land came with a surprise: A mine was found behind the home while they were digging to put in parking spaces. The first thing they found was a track made of wood, topped with metal for running the mining carts.

Ralph Arista, the contractor working on the mine, says it was either a very early excavation because of the type of track used, or the owners had a low budget.

Ardi Shaw, who lives across the street, nervously watches as her beagle, Houston, runs up the hillside and under the house.

"We're always happy to see an old building improved," she says, before chasing after her beagle, who is looking for a squirrel that lives in the rock wall near the home.

The house will sit on the neighboring lot for about four weeks until a foundation is complete at the home's original site. The garage door will be made to resemble carriage house doors, where the Findleys will store their two antique cars, a 1929 Model A Ford and a 1949 Plymouth. The entire project will cost them about $50,000.

Despite the worn carpeting, layers of old wallpaper and water stains in the dining room, Leisa Findley said the home is in good condition. Her husband estimates it'll cost about $100,000 to restore.

"This one is in the best shape," says Leisa Findley during a tour inside the home. "We've remodeled and restored four buildings in Virginia City and this one has started out looking the best."

She plans to name the five guest rooms after the three generations of the Rule family who have lived there.

By 2 p.m., the house is sitting on its temporary lot. Leisa Findley walks around to where the house had stood, looking over the Virginia Range and the Sugar Loaf Mountain.

"Look what you guys did - you created a view," she says to the workers.

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.