Bob's caboose build

[luneywan]

Well here I am in a crunch for time to finish the caboose and here comes the boss with a real nice semi shag (or maybe they call it plush ) carpet about 14 x 9.

Shag carpet, couple of lava lamps and hey...

Bob's Caboose of Love

[Nansplace]

No lava lamps but he's got some really nice recycled beverage bottles (sounds better than booze bottles...lol) that he has made into lamps, that are really going to look super in there. With or without the shag carpet.

[bobhenry]

Yep here is the latest creations.............



I had shown these lamps to one of the shop formen Monday and he told me he had just pitched 6-8 strands of christmas lights.

The next day he carried in a hugh coffee can full of bulbs. He said he got home and rescued them before the trash guys arrived

Did I mention I love free

[S. Heisley]

Yep here is the latest creations.............



I had shown these lamps to one of the shop formen Monday and he told me he had just pitched 6-8 strands of christmas lights.

The next day he carried in a hugh coffee can full of bulbs. He said he got home and rescued them before the trash guys arrived

Did I mention I love free

Those are really nice!

[mezmo]

Hi Bob,

I just wanted tp give you a heads-up on your 'new-to-you' bathtub.

Years ago, my late Mom had a Mobile Home that had what your find
sounds like. I'm guessing it is acrylic and not necessarily very thick
walled in its construction. That is what she had in one of her two
bathrooms [it was @ 4ft6in x 7ft6in OA]. It cracked within a very short
time of use. So I volunteered to replace it it for her - Can you say "Not
Fun !" ? We got a replacement tub at a local mobile home parts place,
near where she lived.

The problem with both of them [the old cracked one and the replacement]
was that there was no real support under the bottom of the tub except
for a few pathetic squares of foam block, and that wasn't really that
resistant to compression. Over time, the tub flexed enough during use
that it cracked at the floor on the ridge around the drain.

My solution was to put heavier, hard-to-compress, foam sheets under the
whole tub floor. The new tub felt much firmer when I was done and didn't
noticeably flex any and it didn't break again the remaining time she owned
the home. Although it didn't get heavy constant use either.

If your tub is a heavier walled fiberglass, say ~ 1/4 in thick walls - at least, then
you probably would not have any problems. If it is the acrylic kind, and with thinner
walls, I'd recomend you do something similar to what I did to shore up the
tub bottom and try to minimize any flexing. I've heard of plumbers using cement
under steel bath tubs to provide more rigidity in them, but I'm sure a high density
foam, from the underneath of the tub bottom to the floor, would work better
for your circumstances [Ya gotta be able to move it !].

'Just tryin' to prevent a future problem for ya...

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

P.S. 04-28-13 I meant to mention that Lowes, down here, has a green colored
extruded foam 3/4inch thick 4x8 sheet that was quite dense. I could barely
make an impression in it when I did a squeeze "test" in an inconspicuous place
on it. I don't recall the price, but it was reasonable in my view.

[lancew]

I lived in a mobile home in my younger days. I to noticed the same problems that mezmo had stated. I treated mine a little different I didn't use foam. I just used a 5 gallon of drywall mud dumped it, spread it around, placed tub. stood in the tub wiggled it around and leveled it out. hooked up the drain. wah lah. worked great for the 6 years I lived in it.

[bobhenry]

I am sorry I failed to expound on my tub find ! It is a nice porcelin over steel tub. I got it set in place this weekend. Despite notching the wall studs as deep as I dared it still extends into the aisle way a bit but not enough to be a hazzard. I walked thru the rear doorway 15 - 20 times this weekend and other than being visually undesirable is is not a navagation problem. I will dress up the exposed end with a dress cap of some type or other.





I got busy Sunday and between rain events I was able to get my old camping A/C unit installed in the front wall.

Here is another example of why my drywall is not yet installed .....I now need to add another duplex
outlet to power the A/C unit.





and if you remember I was planning on the let down wall mounted desk over the tub

WELL...........................

It was 2" too long so rather than cut and rebuild a very well built cabinet I repurposed it.........



I will find another candidate for the let down desk top another day


After mounting the skate board trucks on the unfinished end I stood it up vertical and made a skinny version of
my other roll out storage wall. It needs cleaned reshelved for being used vertically and a splash of new paint.

In this picture the wall between the tub is not yet installed. It will mount as the other 3 and a short wall will be built underneath I will most likely let the short wall extend to cap the raw tub end that is now showing.

I loved my old hand forged handle but it needs to be removed so the doors will meet tight enough for privacy in the bath area should company ever arrive.

What the picture doesn't show is the fact there happens to be less than an inch difference in the heights of these two totally unrelated cabinets, Just another happy accident.

[S. Heisley]

Another step closer to being able to live in it!

[mezmo]

Good to hear the tub is Porcelain over steel. There is no problem to solve now !
I was just going by what I've seen in recent mobile homes [the last 20 yrs or so].
That should serve you well. And it was well worth the effort you expended to get it.

It's great to see the sliding cupboard-doors in actuality. They are a positively
great space saving device for a tiny house. I've seen pics before of sliding
bookcases used in the same manner [I believe they used barn-door hardware
for them]. The skateboard trucks are a much more direct approach. I've also
thought that one could also use the taller-n-skinnier urethane wheels, like they
use for inline roller skates, on the bottom of pocket doors - let a couple of them
in on each side/corner of the bottom of the door and cover that with a thin ply or door
protector type metal sheet as skirting over the installation. And maybe use some
on the top too as a guides, mounted as on the bottom, or use a couple of the regular
smaller skate/skateboard wheels mounted horizontally as the upper guides. That
should be much cheaper/more-economical than the pocket door hardware they sell.
If one was worried about it tracking, just do a very shallow groove in the threshold
like they do for the Japanese Shoji screens/panels.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[bobhenry]

Well it's offical I have the 30 x 50 storage building.

The owner has implied he has no problem with the caboose on site if I can get the blessings of the County zoning board so I took time today to state my case and plead for a zoning exception. I will keep you updated !

[lancew]

Best of luck to you. I hope you plead well to get this to work in your favor.

[bobhenry]

Well Tippecanoe County Indiana don't like tiny houses.

Flag this messageSmall homeThursday, May 2, 2013 2:00 PMFrom: "Ken Brown" <[email protected]>Add sender to ContactsTo: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]>Mr. Henry



The Unified Zoning Ordinance does not allow citizens of our County to live full time in RVs or travel trailers, unless they are located in RV parks that have been allowed to have full time residents. To my knowledge there is only one of these in our County.

Mobile homes or trailers as they were called are allowed only in mobile home parks or areas that they are zoned for, but they must have a State tag identifying them as a mobile home that can be used as a residence.

Back to your structure, it is neither a RV or a travel trailer or a mobile home nor does it meet the minimum requirements set by the State for single family residences which is 750 sq. ft.

Those Counties that do not follow the State mandated building regulations are subject to having their charter dissolved and are subject to suite by the State. I for one do not want my department dissolved as my position along with 5 other hard working professional County employee would no doubt be eliminated. And most important, the State mandated jobs of permitting and inspection that protect the citizens of our County in all areas of the building process would also go by the wayside. Loosing 17 years as a devoted County employee for allowing someone to live in a space not recognized as adequate by State law is not a path I would choose to take.

You are welcome to your own opinion, just as I am, but my position and responsibility dictate I follow the State and local Ordinances.

If I were you, I would continue to pursue a place somewhere outside of Tippecanoe County for your structure,



Ken Brown

Tippecanoe County Building Commissioner

20 North 3rd Street

Lafayette, IN 47901

765-423-9225

[email protected]

[crumbruiser]

The only thing I can say is THE GOVERNMENT SUCKS!

[lancew]

that sucks Bobhenry !.......WIll you pursue this in another county ?

[aggie79]

Bob,
It's time to fight fire with fire. Ask him to reconsider by written letter. Mention that you are thinking of filing a Fair Housing Act complaint with the federal government. The Fair Housing Act is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The Fair Housing Act is intended to eliminate indirect discrimination that result from setting artificial housing standards that "price out" classes of people. I would also CC: the county legal staff.
Tom