An idea is born...

This is the sketch that Chris came up with after deciding that he would like to build a house out of two grain bins. The thought was that it would be more efficient because of the shape. Plus, it was just plain cool. Chris has been a carpenter for almost 20 years now and he has been able to work on some pretty unique jobs so curved walls have always appealed to him. Now I, on the other hand, was not convinced that this was going to be "cool" but I trust Chris...so here we go! The original plan was to set two 24 foot grain bins that were tall enough to put two stories in and build a living room in between them. That plan got modified a little over a year ago, my dad died unexpectedly and my disabled brother's health has taken a turn for the worse (he lives with my mom), so we have added an area for them to move in with us. This almost doubled the size of the project but at least we were still in the planning stages when it happened.
We were able to purchase the grain bins at an auction for $1200...the catch...they had to be taken apart and moved 30 miles. That was done in a few months with some help. Then once we got the grains bins here we were able to sell the equipment out of them and recoup our cost completely. So far we have all of the supplies to put up the exterior of the house. We have invested about $3500 more in collecting all the doors, windows, siding, exterior framing,and roofing. We were able to get most of the windows,doors, and framing wood at auctions. We purchased the roofing from a home improvement store on clearance because they had a builder who ordered it and then never paid for it or picked it up.

This is the plan for the first floor of the house.  The area that is 16x48 is the back of the house and was added for my mom and brother. The left side grain bin will be the kitchen and above it two bedrooms with a bath.The right side grain bin will be the "library"(because I have always wanted one) and above that the master bedroom and bath. There has been furniture added to the plan just to help visualize it but you would have to look at these pictures closely to see.

This is the plan for the upstairs. The grain bins will have two stories. The rest of the house is all one story. Also, we were having a very hard time finding do-it-yourself house plans that allowed you to create a round room. Therefore, we had to settle for an octagon.  So, that is the plan.
After figuring all of this out, Chris then decided to look into a tire footing for the foundation. ( more on that later).