SpongeBob's New Home

[davidbrady]

(05-11-2014 15:57)mhughes01 Wrote:  We'll, if you're going to all that trouble, don't forget the full length mechanical pit with fume ventilation and sump

The guys that put mine in made it about 3" too wide so I'm doing some mods so as to be able to install a safety bar and not have to worry about rubbing the tires.

Fully equipped with electricity, compressed air, etc. The compressed air downstairs is handy for lots of thing, including purging the drain tank that one dumps oil into when changing it. There is no way I would crawl under a bus, no matter what kind of support it has. You have to do some clever measuring to get the height just right for you when you're standing down there. You can always use a couple of step stools to get up into suspension components.

Thanks Mike. I'm with you on not wanting to crawl under these behemoths. I don't have room for an indoor pit but I am thinking of an out door facility. Although my land is at 2000', It's flat, doesn't have good runoff, and has a high water table. Any pit I build will quickly turn into a swimming pool. Instead, what I'm thinking of doing is to build a concrete drive-up pit with concrete ramps; i.e., a shallow pit above ground. This is the best I can do.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  Hey David,
New coach looks great.
I’m sure you have considered all these things but since you asked:

Hi Gregg, thanks for the great set of questions. I'd love to see some pics of your Morton Building.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  1 looks as though the addition is going where the coach is sitting in the first picture

The previous owner kind of messed up the utility of the building for me by building a 2200 sq ft house inside it. The house has 10' ceilings, hickory woodwork, and beautiful tiles and windows. It has two bedrooms and two baths, a full kitchen, dining room living room with fireplace. My wife fell in love with it and doesn't want me tampering with it. If I value my marriage I'll heed her words! LOL!

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  2 assume Morton building is doing the addition

Yes, this is where the addition will be built.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  3 what will your rafter height be? In our building, I can stand upright on top of the coach but we didn’t put a ceiling, therefore I have to duck under the rafters which are about waist high

If I can achieve what you've done then I'd be happy. You're familiar with these buildings so you know just how much precious space those rafters can take. My building uses 60' raised-chord trusses. The sidewalls are only 14'. The inside height at the center of the building from the floor to the bottom chord of the rafters is 15'. This is adequate. If I can build the side dormers using 37.5' trusses and if I can maintain 15' of height at the center then I'll be happy. I want it all insulated so I'll have to find someway to insulate above the bottom chord so I can stand, or at least kneel, in the manner you describe. This is all still in the air pending word back from my Morton Bulding rep. My calculations show that the side dormer gables will maintain a 15' dimension from the floor to the bottom edge of the truss's lower chord.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  4 we had skylights put in for increased daytime lighting; I think they can do that now on the top of the side walls

This is a great idea. I'll see about availability from my rep. Of course, everything I do has to be approved by my architectural committee... the missus!

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  5 will you be putting in new concrete or using existing? If you are putting new, consider heating the floor as your heat source

I'm going to see about pouring a layer of concrete over the existing driveway. Although I'd love to have radiant heat this may not be an option. If we go with a new slab, then I'll do radiant.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  6 since you are adding 37.5 feet, did you consider increasing to 50 and doing back in bays, that way you could add a pit in one of the bays and have other bays for future rolling stock

Again, my architectural committee has put a stake in the ground at 37.5'. We know who wears the pants around here!

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  7 my rule of thumb is, if I think 2000 sq feet is enough today, then I better make it 4000, looks like you are just starting to think about the kid’s cars, we are keeping a 2004 BWM 330ci convertible for Jane’s three year old niece, HA

The best I can do is to steal a little bit of space from the existing building as shown here. This way I can use the newly installed 10' sliding door for good access: This will give me another 750 sq ft.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  8 make sure you have plenty of room or access doors, so you can move things around without having to start the coach

Really good point Gregg. I'll probably have entry way overhead or sliding doors installed on the long 60' side. I neglected to show these in the drawings, but they will be there.

(05-12-2014 10:09)Gregg Wrote:  9 one nice addition to the coach would be a Featherlite tall trailer, for carrying stuff, kids room at the campground, etc

That sounds great; as long as it's polka dotted! Hahahahahaa