The Indigo Escape

Building Something Massive On Our Homestead!

We are taking another major step toward total homestead self-sufficiency by building a heavy-duty, predator-proof chicken run from scratch! Because the sloped ground near the eucalyptus woods gets so damp during Portuguese winters, we scrapped our original wooden plans and decided to build a welded galvanized steel framework built to last a lifetime. In this episode, we tackle custom metal cuts, grind off zinc coatings to ensure clean welds, and struggle to maneuver and flip the massive steel frame down the muddy slope! Plus, Simon heads inside to finish our living room threshold with a custom mortar blend connecting our gres floor tiles to the stone wall, before we concrete our main support footings into place. What do you think of going with galvanized steel over wood for this damp ground? Let us know in the comments below! In This Episode: 00:00 - Starting Our Off-Grid Steel Chicken Run 00:27 - Why We're Using Steel Framework 01:05 - Grinding & Welding Box Section Metal 02:15 - Uncovering Buried Debris on the Land 05:30 - Why We Grind Zinc Off Steel Before Welding 07:03 - Simon's Custom Mortar for the Living Room Floor 08:48 - Weather Shifts & Prepping the Damp Slope 12:14 - Struggling to Move the Heavy Steel Frame 15:20 - Rethinking Frame Connectors & Brackets 17:46 - Leveling & Aligning Heavy Metal on a Slope 19:36 - Marking Post Positions & Digging Footings 22:24 - Propping Sacrificial Support Legs in Place 25:06 - Welding Support Posts & Power Station Upgrades 28:50 - Omar's 21st Birthday & Door Frame Alignment 30:21 - Mixing & Pouring Concrete Footings in the Hill 31:47 - Structure Locked In & What's Coming Next! LIKE and HYPE this video if you enjoyed it! SUBSCRIBE! It's FREE! https://www.youtube.com/@TheIndigoEscape?sub_confirmation=1 Catch up on our build: 🍿 Watch from Episode 1 (Full Series Playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoYmd1VIt5GNtMJfKzNgI-_L1F2aO5OZb ⏳ 4 Years in 1 Video (Multi-Year Timelapse): http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vpj8ByaQtmQ 📺 Catch up on the current season (Year 6 Playlist): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNCLBHnYwF60 🌱 Stay connected: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theindigoescape/ Visit our travel website: https://www.indigotravel.co.uk 🎥 About this project: We're Omar and Andrea and we bought this €32K abandoned stone ruin in central Portugal and with the help of our brother in law Simon we are turning it into our dream off-grid homestead for us, Andrea's mum and our three cats Tony, Luna and Iggy and our dog Canela Welcome to The Indigo Escape #PortugalRenovation #FarmhouseRestoration #StoneHouse #OffGridLiving #DIYRenovation #Homesteading #ChickenRun #Welding #TheIndigoEscape