Ok, since the tribe description said "anything", off-topic posts welcome,etc... . ;)
I've always been intrigued with those redneck "2-story" structures that are made of something-weird-sittin-on-top-of-something-else. You know, a mobile home (excuse me, I mean "trailer") sitting on top of a house, a car or other vehicle stuck on top of a structure to form a 2nd floor, even cars welded onto giant signs or to the roof of the building to advertise junk yards, etc. Haven't seen many of 'em, ever (maybe a couple of dozen in my lifetime) but they always make me laugh, and I really do appreciate the ingenuity as well as the overall "F*%$ you if you don't like my taste!" mindset. Over the years this fondness has evolved into a plan, i.e. "I think I might do one of those". I like the idea of art-meets-recycling-meets-dwelling. I liked school buses as a kid, and have always wanted to own one. Somehow the notion of climbing up some steps to get to a "school bus room", with a view of the trees, and all those windows... . Makes perfect sense to me. :0
Seems like an older bus would be great as a 2nd floor art studio, sunroom/plant room, meditation room etc. [I have a secluded spot for it, and what-the-neighbors-think is a non-issue, as are building codes, I think---- they'll never know it's there]. For whatever idiosyncratic reason, I prefer that my future skoolie be "up high" rather than just sitting on the ground (I know, I know, whatever I can do to make my life more difficult....). The idea is for the first floor area to be storage, or maybe open (sort of like a carport or shed), or maybe enclosed. That part of the plan is flexible. Whether the bottom floor served as another full room (fully enclosed), or was sort of open-patio-like, etc, the main focus of the structure would be the bus, accessible via a short set of stairs. I'm thinking that the bus would only need to be raised enough for minimal headroom underneath (7-8 feet would be just fine), and for it to feel like it was truly "off the ground" a bit.
Anyone ever see anything like this anywhere? What sort of foundation/structure could I set the bus on for this purpose? How much would an average size bus weigh, minus engine, transmission, axles (?), and tires? 70 to 80 foot mobile homes are routinely set pretty high in the air (4-5 feet is not uncommon) on nothing more than unsecured stacks of cinder blocks. They're tied down via a few metal straps anchored into the ground. Yes, they blow all over hell in tornadoes and hurricanes, but so do lots of other structures...and I'm not in tornado country. There must be a fairly easy and totally safe way to do this...yes?
I see buses going for $350--$700 all the time on Ebay-- running. If I don't need the bus to run, I'm sure I could get one ultra-cheap. How much do you think it would cost to get it hauled? Do rollbacks handle these things? Of course, there's the matter of getting a crane to set it, but I recently found out there's a crane service near me. Surely it's be a straightforward job, a no-brainer for a crane crew.
Ok, feel free to poke holes in this idea, or tell me what would/wouldn't work. :)
I've always been intrigued with those redneck "2-story" structures that are made of something-weird-sittin-on-top-of-something-else. You know, a mobile home (excuse me, I mean "trailer") sitting on top of a house, a car or other vehicle stuck on top of a structure to form a 2nd floor, even cars welded onto giant signs or to the roof of the building to advertise junk yards, etc. Haven't seen many of 'em, ever (maybe a couple of dozen in my lifetime) but they always make me laugh, and I really do appreciate the ingenuity as well as the overall "F*%$ you if you don't like my taste!" mindset. Over the years this fondness has evolved into a plan, i.e. "I think I might do one of those". I like the idea of art-meets-recycling-meets-dwelling. I liked school buses as a kid, and have always wanted to own one. Somehow the notion of climbing up some steps to get to a "school bus room", with a view of the trees, and all those windows... . Makes perfect sense to me. :0
Seems like an older bus would be great as a 2nd floor art studio, sunroom/plant room, meditation room etc. [I have a secluded spot for it, and what-the-neighbors-think is a non-issue, as are building codes, I think---- they'll never know it's there]. For whatever idiosyncratic reason, I prefer that my future skoolie be "up high" rather than just sitting on the ground (I know, I know, whatever I can do to make my life more difficult....). The idea is for the first floor area to be storage, or maybe open (sort of like a carport or shed), or maybe enclosed. That part of the plan is flexible. Whether the bottom floor served as another full room (fully enclosed), or was sort of open-patio-like, etc, the main focus of the structure would be the bus, accessible via a short set of stairs. I'm thinking that the bus would only need to be raised enough for minimal headroom underneath (7-8 feet would be just fine), and for it to feel like it was truly "off the ground" a bit.
Anyone ever see anything like this anywhere? What sort of foundation/structure could I set the bus on for this purpose? How much would an average size bus weigh, minus engine, transmission, axles (?), and tires? 70 to 80 foot mobile homes are routinely set pretty high in the air (4-5 feet is not uncommon) on nothing more than unsecured stacks of cinder blocks. They're tied down via a few metal straps anchored into the ground. Yes, they blow all over hell in tornadoes and hurricanes, but so do lots of other structures...and I'm not in tornado country. There must be a fairly easy and totally safe way to do this...yes?
I see buses going for $350--$700 all the time on Ebay-- running. If I don't need the bus to run, I'm sure I could get one ultra-cheap. How much do you think it would cost to get it hauled? Do rollbacks handle these things? Of course, there's the matter of getting a crane to set it, but I recently found out there's a crane service near me. Surely it's be a straightforward job, a no-brainer for a crane crew.
Ok, feel free to poke holes in this idea, or tell me what would/wouldn't work. :)
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