Man Turns A School Bus Into An Insane Dream Home, Take A Look Inside And Try Not To Gasp
Like many people, Michael Talley of Austin, Texas, was sick and tired of high rent costs. Unlike most of us, he did something about it. Michael got creative and purchased a used school bus for practically nothing, then converted it into a tiny home anyone would envy.
Before you think that this transformation was a snap for him, just wait until you see all the hard work he faced before finally seeing the finished product of Michael's labor. Wait until you see what the rundown old bus looks like today.
The High Cost Of Living Forced Michael To Get Creative
Over the years, Austin, Texas, has become one of the most desirable places in the country for young people to live. As a result, rental prices in the area have been rising at a rapid pace. Michael Talley lived in a studio apartment in North Austin, and he was fed up when his rent topped out at $1,500 a month.
As a graphic designer, Michael was creative. He decided to look into the tiny house trend and work up a plan for a new home of his own.
This Should Be A Snap, Right?
Michael had seen some buses that had been converted into impressive tiny houses and figured he could do the same thing. "Ultimately I decided upon a school bus because I thought 'Hey, there's already four walls and a roof,'" he said.
Not so fast! Michael didn’t know it yet, but he was about to get in way over his head. He started his search for the perfect bus to serve as his new home.
Michael Wasn't A Handyman
It wouldn't be terrible to assume that someone who started a project to convert an old school bus into a comfortable home probably had a good bit of experience doing handy things. However, in Michael's case, that assumption would be incorrect.
Sure, he had dreamt about doing this for a long time and even had some designs sketched out. But "I have never built anything. Ever," he confessed. But that didn't deter him.
He Lucked Out In His Search For A Bus
The Austin School District sells its old buses on an auction site called PublicSurplus.com, which also sells police repossessions and other government items. Michael found the site and was surprised that there weren't many bidders for the 10 school buses listed for sale.
As Michael describes it, he "made out like a bandit." He got one of the district's old buses for just $2,200. Oddly, the other nine school buses were sold to the same person.
His Plans Expanded
Now that Michael had the school bus in his possession, his plans changed. Rather than just using the bus basically as a frame, Michael wanted to create a masterpiece of a tiny house. He envisioned a fully livable space with separate areas for a living, sleeping, bathing, cooking, and eating.
He had drawn up a few different options for floor plans, including one that was based on a motorhome featured in the blockbuster 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Although that would have been an interesting choice, Michael went in a different direction with his bus conversion.
Practical Issues Dictated Michael's Design
You might not be able to tell from the earlier photo of him, but Michael is a tall guy, standing at six feet six inches. This posed a problem for his home plans because the inside height of the bus was only six feet one inch!
This wouldn't do if Michael wanted to be comfortable in his own home. He decided that he needed to raise the roof of the bus, even if that meant a lot more work. He was determined to build the tiny home of his dreams, and this obstacle wouldn’t deter him.
The Final Plan
Although movie fans would probably vote for Michael to go with the Jurassic Park vehicle plans, he didn't. Instead, he opted for a layout that would put the living and entertainment spaces of his house toward the front. That would make having friends over easier.
Amazingly, Michael’s plans would give him a bigger kitchen than the one he had in his $1,500 a month studio apartment! He’d also have room for a large bed and some handy storage space.
Making Sacrifices To Reach His Goals
During his journey to repurpose the old school bus into his dream home, Michael was willing to make any sacrifices necessary. He decided to dump the $1,500 per month apartment he'd been living in and switched to sparser accommodations.
"I moved into a tent in order to save money while working on the bus, commuting 40 minutes to work every day, just to afford more steel and more wood," Michael said. A friend allowed him to park the bus at his farm just outside Austin during construction.
The Seats Come Out (With Some Difficulty)
Obviously, one of the first things on Michael's to-do list was removing the rows of seats from the school bus. While this might sound like a simple task, it wasn’t. In fact, Michael called the procedure "grueling," since each bolt had to be removed individually.
Where did the seats go? "A nice man came with his 7 months pregnant wife and 8-year-old daughter to cart away all these seats to the scrap metal yard," Michael shared. "I was super impressed his wife was lifting these heavy seats into the trailer!"
A Mistake And Some Regret
Next up was taking down the paneling from the bus ceiling. Unfortunately, this was a task that Michael regrets doing. "Removing these panels was the absolute worst," he said, mainly because he didn't know how to use (and had never even heard of) an impact drill.
“I wish that I had ended up keeping this insulation in," Michael said. “It was in remarkably good shape and would have saved me a few headaches if I kept it in.”
It Wasn't All A Headache, Though!
Fortunately, Michael's ambitious project wasn’t all hard work. There were some fun breaks along the way, which he documented on social media. This sticky note, for example, brought a smile to his face.
"Found this actual Kick Me sign while cleaning out the bus," he wrote. Hey, kids will be kids! That simple note is a fun souvenir… we hope he kept it to display once the bus was completely renovated.
Completely Stripping The Bus
The rubber floors and ceilings were the next things that Michael removed. He said that taking that heavy-duty floor out was not a fun project, adding that it was "hella gross."
The windows also came out and weren't so hard to remove. "Part of me wanted to keep them, but I knew they would rattle, provide little privacy or insulation, and look weird with my roof raise and design," Michael said.
Making Room For Michael
As mentioned earlier, Michael was quite a bit taller than the ceiling of the bus. "As soon as I stepped onto the bus for the first time I knew me being 6'6″ was going to be a huge problem," he said. "I was going to have to do some MAJOR work to get this thing comfortable for [me]."
Next, he built a scaffolding system from 2x4s in order to elevate the roof and ceiling to a more appropriate height.
The Scaffolding Is Up!
After the framework was in place, Michael shared this close-up illustrating exactly how the 2x4s were attached to the ceiling. "Scaffolding ready, screw jacks in place, all that's left to do now is cut my bus in half!"
Before he could install metal ribs, Michael was faced with the unusual task of cutting his bus in half horizontally so that the roof could be raised. First, he cut the sides.
The Roof Is Raised
To raise the roof, the bus was cut in half. "Used a Sawzall to cut the roof from one end to the other," wrote Michael. “Have I mentioned how nerve-racking it was to basically destroy my bus by doing all of this?”
After cutting his school bus in half, Michael and some of his friends used screw jacks to lift the roof. Although Michael had originally wanted to bring it up an extra two feet, everyone thought that would be pressing his luck. They still managed to get it up 20 inches, though, and then removed the scaffolding.
Enclosing The Bus Ended Up Being Painful
After the roof was lifted up an additional 20 inches, it felt much more spacious. Now, Michael needed to enclose the bus. He closed up the open areas where the windows had been with large metal panels.
Unfortunately, he suffered a pretty bad injury in the process. In an update, he wrote, "First side done. Easily the most painful and bloody part of the build. Got a sweet permanent scar on my forearm from when one of these steel sheets fell and sliced my arm open. Don't worry, I'll spare you the gory photos!" Ouch.
That Texas Heat
Now that Michael had finished covering the bus with metal sheets he had an unexpected problem on his hands. The Texas heat was relentless. "The bus is basically an oven right now, what being solid steel and in Texas," he shared.
Michael and his friends installed new insulation everywhere and celebrated afterward. "Bus is insulated and me and my friends decided to get very drunk and relax on our make shift lounge area." Sounds like they needed a break!
Bring In The Light!
The newly-enclosed bus was dark inside. To give the construction site a bit of light and personality he hung a strand of lights. "Steel walls complete, with a festive Christmas motif going on"
The next step of the renovation was to cut out the new window holes and bring some natural light into the space. The holes shown here would eventually become the windows for the bathroom and living room.
During His Time Off
Michael worked hard as he converted an old school bus into a tiny home, and he was still commuting to his job in Austin. He managed to carve out some R & R when he could.
He later wrote of this time, "Before the roof raise I moved the bus to a friend's farm in Manor, TX for $0 a month. I would regularly go sit on the roof of the bus and drink some wine and watch the sunset over the Texas farmlands." Work hard, play hard.
The Interior Begins To Take Shape
Now for the fun stuff! With the walls and roof completed, Michael got to work on renovating the inside of the school bus. The kitchen was one of the first areas he tackled. He hit up IKEA and got a steal!
"IKEA phased out their old kitchen line and I got a hell of a deal on these drawers and cabinets," he shared. "I paid $30 for everything! The butcher block was also a great deal. All the butcher block in this bus was bought on clearance for $120."
IKEA Comes To The Rescue For The Living Area, Too
Always one to save money and repurpose things, Michael used his existing furniture to carve out a comfortable living area in the converted bus. "I took my IKEA Karlstad couch from my apartment and took off the back, arms, and feet so I was left with the cushions and the box spring base," he shared.
He then built a new frame for the couch, as well as a storage area for water next to it and began to frame out the bathroom. Michael found the American flag at a Goodwill.
Well, This Is Unexpected
Anyone undertaking a major construction project like Michael's is bound to run into some unexpected snags. This is probably not one that he had in mind! While he was applying insulation to the ceilings, Michael accidentally got some of the stuff in his beard.
"Fun fact, while spraying insulation I got a bunch in my beard and didn't noticed until an hour or so later, and had to shave the whole thing off," he wrote. This photo was presumably taken quite a while after the incident.
He Took Advantage Of The Texas Climate
Thanks to that same Texas sunshine that made the newly-walled bus so hot, Michael can live off the grid. He installed solar panels on the school bus roof in order to harness the power of the sun. It wasn't easy, though.
"This was the most frustrating day of the build," he said. “I was doing it myself, it was very windy, and things kept falling off the roof.” He captioned this photo, "Desk walls and sneak peek at my Solar panels and batteries."
Behind The Walls
Michael installed the wiring seen here, now hidden behind a wall. "Most likely not perfectly up to code, but a peek at the wall behind my desk. I have 300 watts of Solar panels on the roof, a 3000 watt Pure Sine Wave inverter, and six 6v batteries wired in series."
"White is 12v which powers all my lights, my vent fans, and my water pump. Yellow is standard 110v that powers everything else."
He Needed A Large Office
Having a large and functional office was a must for Michael's new home. "Being a graphic designer I need a proper workspace. Most tiny houses have these little dinky desks that flip up from a wall or are tucked away in a small alcove," he said.
“This desk is 5 feet wide and 2 feet deep, the largest desk I've ever owned!” A skylight provides some natural lighting to the work area.
Fully-Functional Bathroom
Though small, the bus has a fully-functional bathroom that's hidden from view with a restored wooden barn door. Although he can use the bathroom any time he wants, Michael confided that he prefers to take his business outdoors.
"I can use the bathroom in it, however, I rarely do. I pee outside like the good Lord intended," he said. “As for showering and stuff, I built an awesome little outdoor shower or I shower at the gym.” Thanks for letting us know, Michael!
Time To Paint
Michael didn't want his masterpiece to be mistaken from a "regular" school bus, so he decided to paint it. But what color? There was one choice that made complete sense.
"White is best for the heat here in Texas, and leaves me open to add colors down the road," he explained. “I also couldn't think of what colors would go with my wood interiors. I park it in South Austin, in someone’s shady side yard and pay less than $100 a month in rent and utilities.”
The Grand Total
So just how much did this project cost Michael, in addition to the labor and the rough times along the way? We knew he spent just $2,200 to purchase the old school bus, and it turns out his total cost wasn't all that much more.
Michael estimates that he spent around $15,000 to convert the school bus into his dream tiny house. Even better is the fact that he pays less than $100 a month for rent and utilities together. This project really paid for itself.
Heartache Along The Way
We've read about all the mishaps and snafus that Michael encountered during his bus conversion, but there's more to his story. While he was involved in the renovation process, Michael experienced some deep heartaches.
His beloved grandfather and his dog both passed away, and Michael and his girlfriend also decided to end their long-term relationship during the bus project. It was certainly a trying year for this ambitious young man.
What's Next For Michael?
Now that he's all settled into his perfect tiny house, what does Michael plan to do next? Travel, of course! So he's in the process of renovating a van so that he can tour around the country in comfort.
Speaking of his school bus home, he said, "I have a composting toilet that works great, and it just so happens that I get by using the one at work. The bathroom is mostly used for storing materials for my current van conversion project."
