Chapter 3 of 513% of exam

Building Moving

CSLB weights Building Moving at about 13% of the C-21 exam: moving preparation, determining weight and structural integrity, raising and lowering, and support and transportation. This page is a short survey; the PrepPass C-21 study guide teaches the section with worked examples and a full practice exam at CSLB's weights.

Prepare the move

Permits, route, receiving foundation and the building itself are all ready before the lift.

Permit to move
A permit is required to move or demolish a building or structure.
2025 CBC §105.1
House moves on state highways
Caltrans treats house moves as variance permits and does not permit them on freeways and expressways.
Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual §201.25

Weight, lifting and cribbing

Weight sets the equipment; cribbing carries the load between lifts; underpinning follows a planned sequence.

Jacks
Jacks needed equal weight divided by rated capacity times the allowed fraction, rounded up.
Arithmetic (engineering practice)
Underpinning
Underpinning is installed in a sequence that protects the neighboring structure and the site.
2025 CBC §1804.2.1

The trip

Over the legal limits the load needs a permit, a route that clears, and the curfew and weather rules.

Legal limits
Width 102 inches, height 14 feet, single-vehicle length 40 feet.
California Commercial Driver Handbook
Clearance and curfew
Keep at least 3 inches under overhead structures; loads wider than 10 feet face peak-period curfews.
Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual ch. 5

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