A former hotel in Halifax City in Nova Scotia, Canada, facing demolition was rescued by relocating it to a new site using a unique technique involving 700 bars of soap.
The Elmwood building, which was originally constructed in 1826 as a house and transformed into the Victorian Elmwood Hotel in 1896, was about to be demolished in 2018.
However, a real estate company Galaxy Properties stepped in to avert the demolition. The company purchased the Victorian gem, with plans to move it to a new location and link it to an upcoming apartment complex.
However, the Elmwood building is a massive 220-ton structure. However, the team from S Rushton Construction successfully undertook the challenge.
They shared a time-lapse video of the move on Facebook, showcasing the creativity involved.
Instead of using traditional rollers, the crew decided to employ unique solution bars made of ivory soap. The soft soap bars allowed the building to glide smoothly, pulled by two excavators and a tow truck.
The owner of the construction company, Sheldon Rushton, shared that the Elmwood was smoothly pulled 30 feet, attributing the ease to the softness of ivory soap.
Plans include another relocation once the new foundation is finished, underscoring the meticulous efforts to preserve and reposition the historic building for the future.
“The historic Elmwood hotel in South End Halifax, made its first journey in almost 200 years, but not its last. After weeks of preparation, the move of approx 30 feet went as smoothly as..... soap. About 700 bars of it,” read the post on the company's Facebook page.
“The Ivory soap, combined with two large excavators and a heavy-duty wrecker, quietly and slowly pulled the 220-ton building to its desired location to allow room for a new foundation,” it added.