A COUPLE who are converting a double-decker bus to live in after being unable to afford a house say it will be there dream home.
Carpenter Ed Gunner is transforming the orange double-decker, which cost just £7,000, into a flat on wheels.
Ed, 25, and his partner Heidi Smith, 23, decided to make the radical change after being chewed up and spat out by the housing market.
Instead, they have set themselves a budget of £65,000 for the entire project, roughly what they would have had to put down for a deposit.
The bus originally worked a London route and sported the iconic red paintwork, before being refinished in green for a stint on the roads of Manchester.
But by the time the couple found it on eBay, it had been decked out in bright orange.
They snapped it up almost immediately, only stopping to check that it was the tallest model so that 6’1″ Ed could move around it comfortably.
He recalled: “It wasn’t a drastic idea for us. I’m a carpenter by trade so I’m used to builds of all shapes and sizes.
“We would need £50,000 just for a deposit for a house so rather than trying to save up for that it made more sense for us look at building our own home over time.
“I went on eBay and searched up double-decker buses. I picked ours because it was running, taxed and MOT’d and it didn’t need anybody work to the outside.
“The owner was still driving it, he took it off the road a couple days before.”
Eventually, the bus will come complete with underfloor heating, a full-sized bedroom and a lounge.
However, it could be a while before they are able to enjoy the fruits of their labours, as both Ed and Heidi work full-time.
As such, they expect the build to take around five years, spreading the cost nicely.
They are documenting their journey on social media, accompanied by their trusty German Shepherd, Otto.
Ed added: “The first job is to completely gut it and turn it into a shell…then we want to rebuild it as a home.
“Every piece of it is going to be a learning curve. It will be challenging but I like to put my brain to use.
“The hardest bit will be making it look like a bus outside but a house inside. I didn’t want to sacrifice any luxuries.
” I want to build it to our dream spec.”
