Operation Bus Barn

[Jamie Bradford]

Hi All,

I am in the process of building a Bus Barn. I would welcome any tips and/or advice that anyone has to offer!!! I want as few " I Wish I Had Thought Of That's " as possible.

Also , I live where the structure must be the same as my house - the bus will need to be driven in and backed out. The garage will be at the end of my driveway.

This is where I am so far - I think ????

22wide x 54deep x 16high

Concrete Floor 6"

Block Construction

14 x 14 roll-up door

5 windows - 2 on each side 1 in the back

1 walk-in door at the rear on the side towards the house - near the roll-up door


I was wondering about sky-lights? Do I really need windows?

Thanks for your input…………...

Jamie

[Gil_J]

My neighbor has the sky lights that based on tubes from the ceiling to the roof. I'm amazed at the amount of light they conduct. You should consider putting your lighting high, about 9 feet, and on the walls rather than the ceiling. You'll be glad you did.

Why can't you back in? That will put your RV electric on the same wall as the sub panel. The good thing with driving in is that you don't get exhaust in the garage. Is the door going to face the road?

Put in a dump connection, if you are allowed to do so. A work sink is a nice option.

Are you putting in a roll-up door or standard garage door. The standard door comes in insulated form. And yes, they have automatic openers for standard doors of the size.

If you go for windows, consider placing them a bit high to deter bad guys.

Make it wide enough so mine will fit too ;-)

[dreamchasers]

Bus Barn, humm……

I really did work this issue when I built mine. Mine is 30 x 60, 13.5 feet high at the walls, with a 14 x 14 automatic roll up door.
I love the door being automated. As I recall to put an opener on the door cost $2800 for the heavy insulated door. No regrets.

The bus barn has a 4” brick wainscoting, with vinyl upper and a metal roof. Building construction is metal building roof structure and 2x6 framed wood walls.

I am glad I sized it 30 x 60. I have plenty of room on the side to work on the rig, plus store things. I have since built a 10 x 30 “man cave”, hobby room, with overhead storage. It has worked very well.

There are those that think a pit is necessary. It would be nice, but I live in Texas and our water table where I live is too high and a pit would be problematic, plus every pit I have ever looked in seems to collect all sorts of things from oily rags to water. So I think mine would be the same. Also, with a pit installed, you must park over the pit, thus eliminating the possibility of parking to one side to allow for other projects.

I would be sensitive to size. Bus barn, bigger is always better.

I do have sewer installed in mine, but not for the bus. I remember I visited a friends bus barn when I was thinking of building mine and he had a sewer dump built in. Walking in, sewer is the first thing I smelled. Just a thought.

I would say the best thing about my barn is the electric door and plenty of room. Well worth the cost. Lifting a 14 foot high garage door if for younger guys.

I think there is a post on POG, with pictures when I built it.


Good Luck,
Hector

[jack14r]

Jamie,I used 6 inch concrete and I would demand 8 inches or more if I could do it again.

[Pete]

Good for you! A bus barn is a great thing to have. Make it plenty big. mine is 1800 sf, and I wish it were larger. I have two 14x14 doors, one with an electric opener, and one man door. I installed an extra 50 amp plug that is near the bus door that we have used numerous times when someone visits with an RV. I back into my barn, and have a a hose system to run the bus exhaust to the outside of the barn (but when I bought my present bus, the hose will not fit the flat exhaust tip), but is nice to have. I have A/C and heat which makes it nice to work in all type of weather (when E.J runs me out of the house) and TV, and refrigerator. I was not able to put in a dump, because of the distance to my septic system, but would really like to have a dump available. Try and keep your lighting at a height that is easily accessable to change. I have one row of lighting in the center of my barn, and have to have some one come change the bulbs because of the height. Also keep room for a nice work bench with ample lighting and storage.
You will not regret building your bus barn, it is one of the best things I have done.
Good Luck

[JIM KELLER]

Make it larger than mine ! Also, sure would be nice to have a pit in that baby so all your friends could come over and use it !

[JIM KELLER]

Bus Barn, humm……

I really did work this issue when I built mine. Mine is 30 x 60, 13.5 feet high at the walls, with a 14 x 14 automatic roll up door.
I love the door being automated. As I recall to put an opener on the door cost $2800 for the heavy insulated door. No regrets.

The bus barn has a 4” brick wainscoting, with vinyl upper and a metal roof. Building construction is metal building roof structure and 2x6 framed wood walls.

I am glad I sized it 30 x 60. I have plenty of room on the side to work on the rig, plus store things. I have since built a 10 x 30 “man cave”, hobby room, with overhead storage. It has worked very well.

There are those that think a pit is necessary. It would be nice, but I live in Texas and our water table where I live is too high and a pit would be problematic, plus every pit I have ever looked in seems to collect all sorts of things from oily rags to water. So I think mine would be the same. Also, with a pit installed, you must park over the pit, thus eliminating the possibility of parking to one side to allow for other projects.

I would be sensitive to size. Bus barn, bigger is always better.

I do have sewer installed in mine, but not for the bus. I remember I visited a friends bus barn when I was thinking of building mine and he had a sewer dump built in. Walking in, sewer is the first thing I smelled. Just a thought.

I would say the best thing about my barn is the electric door and plenty of room. Well worth the cost. Lifting a 14 foot high garage door if for younger guys.

I think there is a post on POG, with pictures when I built it.


Good Luck,
Hector

Hector, I remember watching the pictures of your Bus Barn when you were building. You did it right.

[coreygrubb]

What everyone has said is true but, they all forgot about the 70 inch tv, wet bar with Bud on tap and the stirpper pole!!!

LOL, Corey

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Jamie,I used 6 inch concrete and I would demand 8 inches or more if I could do it again.

Why? Did you have a problem with the 6" concrete? What bag mix did you use?

[jack14r]

The shop was on ground that was filled with sandrock and was not compacted as well as it should have been,so I do have some cracks,we also have the transporter in the building and there are some cracks around it.