Hey o1marc and HamSkoolie, thanks for keeping me honest and clear.
We base the cost on the length of the roof, front to back, not square foot or linear (each side) distance. In other words, a 40-foot flat front bus would be $8k. But a conventional bus...aka a dognose...has less roof length, so it costs less. If you have a mid-sized conventional bus, for example, with 24 feet of roof it would be $4800.
We base the price on a 12" below-the-windows raise. The roof is raised below the windows, except for the front (driver's window, entry door, windshield) and the rear window. In the front and rear, we raise above the glass. We include the "tallification" of one emergency exit door...so, we'll cut and make taller one door. If the bus has two emergency doors, we'll raise above the second one (owner chooses which) or we can make both doors taller for an additional charge. If the owner wants a taller raise, up to 18", we just charge the extra materials cost with no markup. If the owner wants a raise with all the windows deleted, we'll do that too...the only price difference being the difference in material cost for the taller sheet metal panels...and we'll install three RV windows (supplied by the owner) in that, with proper framing included on a 40-foot bus. If the owner wants more than 3 installed, we'll do that for an extra charge.
We use closed-end stainless rivets - closed end rivets are closed on the back (tail) end so they're not open on the back, like a standard pop rivet. They still have the hole in the front, though. We can use Olympic rivets, and shave them to create a solid rivet look, for a bit more...just because they cost more and require the shaving step. We do spray prime inside, when done.
The above presumes the bus arrives with the seats removed. We'll remove the necessary interior wall skins. We can remove and dispose of seats, too, but would charge a bit more for that. And, this is all based on a "standard" metal bus. A Crown, with a wet wall, is more complex and would have to be custom bid. And a bus with a fiberglass cap may, but won't always, be a bit more depending upon how the owner wants it done.
I hope this makes sense now?!
