According to the Straits Times, the relocation of the Elmwood building in the city of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was carried out by construction company S. Rushton in early December.
“After weeks of preparation, the 9m move for the building went smoothly. About 700 bars of soap were used,” S. Rushton company shared on Facebook with a time-lapse video of the building moving process.
The Elmwood Building was built in 1826 as a residence. After 70 years, it was turned into a hotel, and later became an apartment building.
Elmwood was planned to be demolished in 2018. However, real estate company Galaxy Properties bought the building the same year. According to Galaxy Properties, they want to move the building about 300m to be closer to the road and close to the 9-storey apartment project.
Mr. Sheldon Rushton, owner of S. Rushton company, understood the challenges of relocating a nearly 200-year-old building, and decided to use Ivory soap bars . His wife, Leanne Rushton, had to go to 15 supermarkets to collect 700 bars of soap.
The weight of the building crushed the soap and made the beams more slippery.
Instead of using traditional rollers, S. Rushton Company placed bars of soap on more than a dozen steel beams at the base of the building. The weight of the building crushed the soap and made the beams more slippery. With the help of 2 excavators and 1 tow truck, the building was moved to a new location.
This is not the first time soap has been used to move structures. The Utah Department of Transportation used soap to move bridges. The most recent time was in April this year, 60 liters of Dawn liquid soap were used to move the 2,400-ton bridge.
In 2016, construction workers in the US state of Missouri also used dishwashing liquid to put a bridge into place.
