A labour of love: 1912 heritage home moved by barge to new location in West Vancouver

A 113-year-old heritage home in Vancouver that was saved from being torn down over a decade ago has been safely moved to West Vancouver—via barge.

When Susan Walker moved back to Vancouver from the U.K. 11 years ago, she knew she wanted to buy and restore a heritage home to live in.

She found an arts-and-crafts-style house built in 1912 at 43rd Avenue and Larch Street that was slated for demolition, and immediately fell in love.

“It’s extraordinary from the outside, because there are actual beams which are made of real logs,” Walker said. “Inside, it’s rather miraculous. It’s totally intact. There is original dark wood paneling, there’s steel radiators, which were totally innovative for the time. There’s these crazy plywood bird and fish light fixtures, there’s a built-in clock.”

She bought the home and intended to move it to another lot in Vancouver, but after years of back and forth with the city, that plan fell through. So she turned to West Vancouver

“They were very welcoming of heritage. So for the past five years, I’ve been working directly with them,” Walker said.

On Sunday afternoon it was finally time to barge the house—now cut into multiple pieces—from a holding facility in Vancouver down the Fraser River and across Burrard Inlet to its new waterfront lot in Caulfeild Cove in West Vancouver.

“They’ll draw the house backwards by truck up the lot, and an excavator will help pull from the other side up the lot,” said Walker.

The home will be suspended in the air while a foundation is built before it can be lowered into its final resting place. Then the restoration will begin.

“Because I’m an architecture and heritage purist, everything will be restored back to 1912. So original cabinetry, original sinks, tubs, showers, original fridges, original stoves, everything will be of that period,” said Walker.

When asked how much the entire 11-year process has cost so far, and how much more she will spend on restoration, Walker says she doesn’t know.

“You know, I’ve actually never done the math. I don’t want to do the math because it’s not done for the cost. It’s done for the love of this particular house and the passion for heritage,” she said.

“Old homes matter,” she added. “Whether it’s a heritage house, a special home like this, or an existing home, we should never be in a position to demolish these homes. They should be moved.”

Walker and her partner hope to move into the home in about 18 months, but the entire restoration process could take another decade.

“This is going to take the long haul,” she said. When asked if it’s all worth it, Walker replied: “Yes, definitely. Absolutely. Every penny.”