The main reason the mausoleum was built was to give our Flying Crank Ghost, Eleanor a home. Since the ghost is about 5 1/2 fee tall (6 - 6 1/2 feet when hovering) we needed a life size mausoleum for her. I also needed extra ceiling clearance above for the drive mechanism. The pitched roof accomodated for this as well as kept with the look I wanted.

The design was inspired by actual crypts/mausoleums in a local cemetery. I took a trip down one afternoon and took a bunch of photos. I think some people wondered what I was doing. Then I looked at each of them and combined the elements I wanted. I think what made it look good is the false raised front with the steps. I didn't want to extend a false floor through the whole piece, plus this gives our ghost extra floor room to move.

The overall dimensions with the roof and front steps are 10' deep by 8' wide, and just under 9' from the top of the roof. The walls are 7' to the base of the roof. It was framed out of 2' x 3' lumber and covered in 1/4" plywood sheets, except for the front step block which I covered in 3/8" CDX. The piece was designed to be framed in sections so it could be disassembled. I store mine in the unfinished basement. Each wall is essentially made up of two peices no larger than 4' by 7'. They are assembled together with carriage bolts. The roof supports are screwed to each of the front and back triangle pieces when used and the plywood is then attached to the top. The whole thing goes together pretty easily with the exception of the roof.

Below are links to GIF images of the plans for the framing:
(Remeber that each of the side and back walls are 2 separate pieces allowing for easier storage)

    Left & Right Sides   Back   Front   Top   Roof & Front Step Block



Here are some photos of our mausoleum...

This is a photo near the end of the contruction on October 6, 2001. You can see here how the front block is faced in the thicker CDX sheets. You could use this everywhere as it was cheaper than the 1/4" plywood. It would be sturdier, but heavier too. You can also see how I made the false columns out of the cardboard tubes used for pouring footings.
Here is another shot from a different angle. Here you can see how the roof supports are just 2' by 3's running from front to back. The other thing the plans don't show are the two smaller steps in front. They are just framed as a separate piece that just sits in front.
This is me and my father-in-law assembling the pieces. You start at one end and work your way around.
Here you see one of our hard working helpers tightening one of the nuts on the carriage bolts from the inside front corner.
This is prety much the finished product ready to go (once we put the drill away). The columns were wrapped in contact paper from Home Depot, and the lights were added as a final touch with flickering candle bulbs.
An updated photo from 2010 with the mausoleum in action. More photos can be seen in the Photos section.