Bus barn ideas

[luvrbus]

In the cold country keep the roof as low as possible in the hot country have it as high as possible here 18 ft is the norm 

I have never cut the insulation from my 6 skylights because of the heat factor here most box stores like Walmart follow that type of construction their roofs varies in height across the nation to save a nickle on the power usage  fwiw   

[Ericbsc]

I have two roll up doors in mine. Both are 14' tall. One is 14' wide, and one is 12' wide. My bus is well over 12', 12'-6" best I remember. As I said the barrel door is mounted righ above the opening with no tracks to deal with. I have no problem getting in either but 14' wide is nicw to have. Done over I would have made both 14' wide. I also have a 16' shed on each side for storage. The pole barn was a no brainer after I priced the metal building!! Like Clifford said higher in hot climate!! I have windows overhead that open to let heat out. I have 1-1/2" rmax in the walls, and 4" rmax overhead. On a 90 degree day I can walk in and it feels like its air conditioned.

 

[Oonrahnjay]

Here's a shot of my garage (old photo, before I finished framing the door, closed in the siding on the front, installed the door tracks and hung doors).  It's 50' long (my bus is 33') by 24; it's 15'9" inside height at the top of the arch, 14' 9" for 16' width across the top of the arch; the door is 14'tall and 12' wide.  I bought it, had it delivered and put it up (most of the labor myself, paid a helper $600 to help install the top arches) for $8000.  It's PE-certified and accepted by the county inspector, is rated for 151 MPH winds (we're in Hurricane Alley in eastern NC), and seems watertight.  Foundation (16" deep channels for edges, 6" thick floor, double-rebar) cost $9500; driveway is 6", cost $9000; this was when concrete was sky-high during Iraq-war construction.

The 24' width is less than I'd like but OK for my purposes; going wider would have increased the cost a lot.  We see 1 1/2 inches of snow about once every 3 years - dunno how this kind of building would work for snowy areas.

[Emcemv]

Eric and Bruce

Beautiful set ups, thanks for the photos.  Bruce, I have seen that type of construction, it's nice and simple and I think is snow load rated up here.  Eric has got me thinking that a pole barn without a slab may be the least expensive way to go.  I would have a small slab for the 2 post car lift and use crushed stone for the rest of the area.

I've got a lot to look into now, thanks to you all!

Bruce

[Liberty]

our shop in Kansas is 30 x 50. I have plenty of room. 16' side walls with 2' of polycarbonate clear material along to top of both walls. No lights needed in the daytime. 14 x 14 door on the bus bay and a std. car door on the other one 7 tall 9 wide I think. When we are gone in the winter we rent the bus side to a family to keep their RV in. If we would have put in 2 tall doors 1. the building would look more balanced and 2. it would give two rental stalls. This building is wood timber construction. my builder told me the 40' wide building would be almost twice as much over the30' due mainly to the cost of the trusses. The trusses were only made about 6 miles from the site. We could always extend the building out the rear if more room is needed.
LeRoy

[B_K]

Eric and Bruce

Beautiful set ups, thanks for the photos.  Bruce, I have seen that type of construction, it's nice and simple and I think is snow load rated up here.  Eric has got me thinking that a pole barn without a slab may be the least expensive way to go.  I would have a small slab for the 2 post car lift and use crushed stone for the rest of the area.

I've got a lot to look into now, thanks to you all!

Bruce

Bruce,
May I make a s suggestion? (doesn't matter I'm going to anyway)

If you go this route I'd suggest you actually pour a footer all the way around the bottom of the barn while pouring your slab. (you could even set your poles into it) that way later on if you decide to you can pour the rest of the floor and it'll already be under the walls!
  BK 

[Oonrahnjay]

Eric and Bruce

Beautiful set ups, thanks for the photos.  Bruce, I have seen that type of construction, it's nice and simple and I think is snow load rated up here.  Eric has got me thinking that a pole barn without a slab may be the least expensive way to go.  I would have a small slab for the 2 post car lift and use crushed stone for the rest of the area.

I've got a lot to look into now, thanks to you all!     Bruce 

       Yeah, I was thinking about a small pad without a slab (that's how my hangar at the airport is) but the soil here is very sandy and fine -- it wouldn't give much support to a small pad and it would be very unreliable to park on in rainy season.  My building has U-channels that bolt to the slab so that it's water/animal tight.  So, the full floor gives me load support (i.e. six big ole heavy bus tires), a clean floor, and weather/animal/break in security.  But that slab sure was a big expense that was hard to swallow; on the other hand, when I'm too old to bus, I can sell the whole building or just the land and slab as a pre-laid floor for another person to build what ever building suits his purpose.

       But what I learned for this is that everyone has different needs, different wants, and different wallets/payback plans.  I think I did OK, but if I did it was more by chance than by smarts.

[bevans6]

just a pic to show my place off...     the garage is just a garage, but 28 by 32, fully insulated and heated.  I am restoring the race car in that shop.  The left hand building is the boat shed that has 12 foot ceiling height, it currently has three boats, a horse trailer and my bus in it, plus my heated machine shop and an unheated workshop.  The right hand building is the bus shed, it has a 45 foot poured pad, is basically 40 by 60, and a local business is redoing a 40 foot lobster boat in it this winter.  It has a 15 foot high door, for scale.

Brian

[HB of CJ]

Lots of legal, code and engineering concerns.  Also do not build it too small...think 30 years down the road.  Can a full size 18 wheeler combo fit?  Is the door and roof tall and wide enough?  How about a full size bus/truck lift?  How high will that go?  What about a dedicated pit?  240 three phase power.  Heating.  Etc..  Lots of stuff to consider.  HB of CJ (old coot)

[belfert]

I'm jealous of those of you who have buildings for your bus.  I wish I could find a place to build ANY building for my bus that is within reasonable driving distance of my employer.  One city allows a garage up to 2,000 sq feet, but my commute would be at least an hour each way and more in winter weather.  One city closer in allows 952 sq ft, but there is a 18 foot roof peak height limit plus it can't be taller than the house.  The city I live in now allows only 750 sq feet of garage space and I already have a 600 sq foot attached garage.

One city doesn't allow RVs more than 20 feet long unless you have 2.5 acres!  I saw a really nice house with geothermal heating there, but I wouldn't be able to park my bus because it is just an acre lot.

[Emcemv]

BK I like your idea of pouring the footer around the edge.....I keep thinking that I might not be able to afford the full slab in the beginning and if I poor the footer around the outside I can always finish the slab later.

Brian, I'm not there yet, bus is still outside right now but I'm trying real hard to get it inside. We will be moving to a small coastal town with only about 2000 people in it so the zoning laws are pretty minimal.  I do need to check all this, it was good that you brought that issue up, thanks.

Bruce

[Lee Bradley]

I would add a 2 or 3 foot concrete stub wall on that footing and build the wall on top of that. The next time your working and the sparks roll up to the wall or when your washing the floor and the water is against the wall; which material do you want there?

[Oonrahnjay]

I would add a 2 or 3 foot concrete stub wall on that footing and build the wall on top of that. The next time your working and the sparks roll up to the wall or when your washing the floor and the water is against the wall; which material do you want there?

    Yes!  Even with my structure, I'm sorry that I didn't do this!   

[Ericbsc]

When we put the pole barn part up, I ran a 2 x 8 around the bottom. The top of it was placed 2" above what would be finished floor height. We used treated lumber that was approved for ground contact. ( very important!! All treated lumber is not the same. The metal outside was attached to it. I finished all the work inside then poured the concrete to the 2 x 8 at 2" from the top. A metal bld in this area requires a monolithic slab with an 18" x 18" footing at edges, with rebar. Can't put the building up without that first. With the pole barn construction, you have the option of pouring the floor anytime. I actuall put rock dust down and parked the bus on that for several months before I poured it.

[luvrbus]

Here and other areas I have been in we can do a metal building with piers,spot footings or a beam the size perimeter of the building then come back and pour a slab in this area all the metal building for storage units are built on piers with rock base floors, mine is a slab and beam with 8 inch thick concrete in the center then 10ft on each side is 6 inches but mine is a drive thru

good luck