A MAN has revealed how he and his two sisters transformed a double-decker bus into a luxury home – which he now rents on Airbnb.
The McCarthy siblings – Anna, 28, Thomas, 26, and Rachel, 24 – undertook this original renovation project after purchasing the bus for $ 2,500 in September 2020.
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The trio, who are all farmers from Cork, Ireland, say they were inspired by a friend who did a similar project with a single-decker bus, but were delighted to have twice the space.
“When we bought the bus we left it untouched for a few months and in December we were really stuck,” Thomas told Jam Press.
“We first emptied the whole bus and planned our site, then moved it to the site where the real fun began.
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“We started by insulating and installing new flooring and planning the rooms to go.
“The half-timbered walls went up and we wanted to keep all the windows, so we had a lot of waterproofing to do on the exterior windows.
“The plumbing and electrical came quickly into play and then before we knew it we were planning our kitchen units and choosing the tiles and wood floors.
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“We kept the interior very colorful and playful throughout and we did some graffiti on the exterior and chose a farmhouse theme.”
For the outdoor space, Anna’s partner Aiden created a tiled patio and they installed a pallet bar. Finish with a hot tub, before covering the area using boat sails.
Thomas added: “We like to improvise and try to use second-hand materials as much as possible and come up with original ideas. “
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While the team was renovating the bus, they also had another project in hand: a renovation of their father’s 170-year-old farm after his death.
Thomas said: “You can imagine we had some productive days and days where we wanted to kill each other but we wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
Originally they planned to spend $ 20,000 but went over budget and had to dip into their savings.
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In the end, the renovation took six months and cost around $ 30,000 for the bus, site preparation, electricity and interior work.
Thomas said: “We got a lot of corporate sponsorships in exchange for exposure on our social media, which kept costs down!
“Upstairs probably costs us around $ 7,000. The biggest cost was the kitchen, outdoor space and electricity.
“The plumbing cost about $ 1,000.
“It’s a big investment but it will pay off so we are delighted!
“We also had a lot of help from family and friends and did a lot of the work ourselves, which drastically reduced the costs. “
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The bus has a spacious master bedroom with a double bed on the upper deck and a bedroom with four single beds, two of which can be pulled out. This room also offers a full panoramic view of the farm and courtyard.
On the first deck is a salon with a U-shaped seating area for socializing, a kitchen and a restroom.
The bus has been supplemented with a state-of-the-art ventilation system that circulates cool air throughout the bus.
Thomas said: “I think we were in a state of shock that this was over, we couldn’t believe how amazing it turned out. It was better than we expected.
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At the end of June 2021, they set their listing on Airbnb Live, priced at $ 200 per couple, with the bus accommodating six guests at a time.
Thomas said the bus has been “fully booked since!”
When it comes to advising hesitant renovators, Thomas added, “Do it, be patient and definitely look for inspiring pages on Instagram or Pinterest.
“Now there are some fantastic information pages that will show you step by step what you can do. “
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