Prioritising Building Projects for an Off-Grid Homestead

Despite owning my piece of land since September 2020, actually living there still seems like a far away dream. As I fall asleep each night I seem to spend my time counting projects instead of counting sheep which tends to lead to a sense of overwhelm. It’s a magically wonderful sense of overwhelm, but overwhelm, nonetheless.

Basically, in around six months of work I’ve managed to clear an area for parking, dig and install a French drain around two sides of my building, plant a bunch of trees and vines, and start working on a timber framed bed/mezzanine (‘bezzanine‘). As I think of this list of four accomplishments, it certainly doesn’t seem like much, and the dreaded sense of having bitten off more than I can chew comes to get me. I guess there have been lots of smaller jobs I’ve been working on – I’ve spent a good amount of time sourcing and buying building materials, dug some garden beds and planted berries, done a bunch of computer work for my business in Rwanda, helped on several work days at other people’s places, and I’ve spent loads of time watering. But when I make a tally of the major tasks I’ve accomplished at my own place, it feels like a rather meager little list, if I’m honest.

I’ve already made my list for things that I need to finish before I feel like I can move onto my land, and I’m working through that as quickly as I can, but I can’t help but think about the bigger picture and all of the other building projects on the horizon. I’m hoping to buy some building supplies to keep me busy for the rest of the year, so figuring out which other structures I’ll need and the order I should build them seems like a good list to make (and I do love making lists!)

Stone Ruin Renovation

My stone ruin is priority number one and I’m lucky that it’s already a sturdy, mostly water-tight structure. The roof is sound, the concrete floor isn’t my ideal choice of materials but it’s functional, and the walls will be fine once I fix a couple of spots on the outside where water is creeping in. So instead of having to work on building or restoring an actual structure, I’m really only fixing a few small issues and focusing on a renovation. There’s still a zillion things to do and getting the house ready should be my number one priority so I can move in. I seem to be very easily distracted and I’m spending a lot of time in the garden and on landscaping, but I really do need to focus and get stuck in on this project.

I’m hoping to install the bezzanine in early April and I should have my solar electricity set up around then as well. Then the only other major thing to do before I’ll move in is some sort of a window. I think I might focus on putting a window in the door for now which will be a much smaller job than finishing the one through the half metre stone wall, so hopefully that will speed things along. Ideally, I’d also like to have at least a plywood floor down in the corner where I’ll eventually put my kitchen and buy a small fridge.

Once I get those things finished, I think I’ll be ready to move in and focus on all of the other building projects… and there are many!

Compost Bin

When I finally move into my place I’ll need a compost pile to toss my food scraps. I don’t know much about making compost but I have plenty of experts around to ask. It’s common for people to create a one meter cubed compost corral using discarded pallets, so that’s what I’ll also attempt to do. In many countries, pallets can be found for free outside large stores and factories, but here in this part of Portugal they can be hard to find and can cost up to €5 a piece. A friend has a source who can get them more cheaply, and I’ll aim to get a few and build a simple structure to get a compost pile going. I think the idea is to eventually have three one meter cubed sections so that flipping the compost is more easily done, but I’ll likely start with just one (or maybe two sections) and then go from there. Luckily, the most difficult part of this build with be sourcing the pallets and the rest should be a quick bish bosh bash with the drill.

Water Pump House

This is one of those things that I never would have thought of before I actually bought a place and started to think about day-to-day life. I currently have a concrete tank type thing that stores water from a spring that runs all year round. I can get buckets of water from it but it’s a level down from my house and the stairs down to it are mildly frightening and not really even stairs. Pumping water up a level to a tank next to my house will be a big improvement to daily life and a water pump generally has to be sheltered from the elements, if it’s not submersible. I think my tank is too shallow for a submersible pump so I’ll need to make a little house for my water pump to live both for security and, I assume, to keep the electrics dry since it’ll be hooked up to my solar system.

Fences Around Water

I’ve got a cistern on my second terrace that could, with some effort, be fallen into from the terrace above, from the stairs besides it, or even tripped into. It’s reasonably treacherous. Then there’s the well on my bottom terrace that’s around 3 metres deep and usually not filled to the top. so if someone or something were to fall into it, there would be no getting out. I need to get these things fenced off asap. I think I’ll fence the cistern and put a trellis above it for plants to grow to give it shade. For the well, I’ll either put a fence around it or maybe it’s safer to have a metal grate made that can go across the top. I need to give these both a bit more thought but they’re both a high priority for peace of mind.

Storage Shed/Utility Room

When I bought my place there was a small lean-to structure off the side of the building that seems like it might have been used for wood storage or an animal shelter. It was rickety and terrifying so I disassembled it piece by piece and cleared the area. It wasn’t possible to use that structure without fear of being crushed to death each time I walked under it but that spot will be perfect for a storage shed and storage is something I’ll need almost straight away.

The stone house is only 4 x 5 metres on the inside and I seem to have accumulated a lot of stuff in the four years I’ve been coming and going to Portugal. I’ve got a small army of hand and power tools, a bicycle, lots of random things, and I’ll want to eventually move my solar system and generator out to this shed. It will also be a good spot to store a gas tank for my future hot water needs and a spot to put my toilet box until the permanent compost toilet is built. Storage will be an issue, so if I want to move fully ahead with finishing the inside of my barn, I’ll want to get this structure completed so I can make space.

Porch

I’m a porch-sitter. I love sitting out front on a porch with a coffee and a book in the nice weather and having an awesome porch/patio type thing in front of my house is key. I want to make a porch large enough to host a few people for dinner, sheltered enough so that people passing by can’t see in, and covered with at least a canvas from the brutal summer sun and winter rain.

I got some stone-laying experience when I worked on the compost toilet at Keela Permaculture Farm where we built a bunker-like area to contain the poo with rocks and concrete as mortar. I’d much prefer not to have to put it all together with a mortar, whether it be concrete or lime, so I’d like to have a crack at making dry stone walls where it all stays up because of the care taken to lay the rocks, not because you slap on a load of mortar. This could be overly ambitious, but I’d like to try to get at least a few sections of the wall done using the dry stacking style. Then the plan would be to pay flat stones of some kind as a floor and, voila! Porch! Well, that’s the idea anyway.

Pergola

I’d like to use pieces of round wood sweet chestnut to make a frame that grapes can climb up in order to give shade in the summer, then the leaves will die back to allow the winter sun to shine in. In theory. I’ll probably attach a removable canvas above for shade while the grapes grow and as protection from rain. I’ve already bought the wood I’ll need to make this thing but I can’t get started until the stone porch section is done. I took a short round wood timber framing course a few years ago in the UK and it’s tough! I’d like to try to improve these skills and practice joins while working on a small structure like this that won’t have to bear much weight and I’m looking forward to designing something cool.

Compost Toilet

My current compost toilet is a box with a bucket in it that I empty after use into a larger bucket that lives outside. I don’t mind having a bucket in the corner to use for myself, but as I have guests and visitors it might not be the most ideal solution. Plus emptying buckets of crap isn’t the most enjoyable use of my time so a more permanent solution will be required.

My plan is to make a ‘long drop’ style compost toilet where the pooper enters the toilet area from my top terrace and then unleashes their fury into a bucket that lives on the terrace below. From up above it seems mostly like a regular toilet, and the poop bucket is stashed out of the way and only needs to be dealt with when it fills up, which can take many months, depending on poo traffic. Because this will be built to span two terraces the construction will be a bit tricky but I’ve got a few ideas. If the pergola goes roughly to plan, I might even attempt to do all or parts of this building using round timber as well.

Walls for Privacy & Security

Even though no cars drive past and very few people walk by, my place still feels quite exposed. I like to be cozy and, right now, my land doesn’t quite have that feel. I’ve got four terraces and my plan is to attempt to cozify (totally a word) them one at a time. First up will be the very top terrace right next to my house, with my plan being to make a cob wall that eventually becomes part of an outdoor kitchen and hangout space.

I could fairly easily whack up a wooden fence and be done with it, but cob walls look awesome and give so many opportunities for creativity, so I’m doing things the hard way. Of course. To make things even more difficult and time-consuming (but super sexy-looking), I’m planning on building the wall on top of a dry-stacked stone stem wall. I’ve already laid large rocks down on top of a gravel trench to mark out the very base of the wall and then I’ll need to build that up as high as I can before going even higher up with mud. This will be incredibly time-consuming especially when I get to the cob stage since I’ll be doing the mixing by feet, but it will be a major feature of my place and a labour of love and I’m sure I’ll enjoy every moment of it.

Fencing & Gates

Once the water features at my place are nice and secure from dogs, children, and wobbly people, I’ll want to think about more fencing the rest of my place. I’ll likely start just with the top two terraces and try to get them closed in… more for friends with visiting dogs than for security, but I suppose feeling more secure is a nice bonus. I’d really love to take my time and make some beautiful fences from sweet chestnut round wood, but I’m sure reality will set in at some point and I’ll just want to get anything up and have it done. I suppose there’s no massive rush so I could work on a nice fence more slowly, let’s see. I do know for sure that I want to make some awesome entry gates, so maybe my creative focus can be directed at those.

Outdoor Kitchen & Party Terrace

There’s an area beside my house that has become an ever-expanding terrace because of all of the dirt I’ve been moving around. As I dug out the French drain I piled it up in a mini-mountain that has now taken on a life of its own. I don’t think my initial intention was to make a whole new terrace space, but that’s what has happened and now I’m totally sold on the idea. The space is right beside the house and it’s probably twice the size of the footprint of the house itself. The back part will make a good spot for my water tank and a storage shed and the place right beside the house will be some kind of a utility room in the future. That leaves me with the side and front part of this new terrace that will become an outdoor kitchen and a bit of a party area beneath the shady fig tree.

I seem to still be expanding the terrace with no end in site, but once I finally decide the shape of the space, I’ll get to work designing a cool space. It’ll incorporate the cob wall and I’m hoping it’ll also have a stone wall to hold the terrace in place and I’d also love to use more stone and cob in interesting ways. I guess space for a large table is key and I’d also love a spot for a grill. Some sort of outdoor dishes-doing area would be good and I feel like no self-respecting natural builder designs a space without a cob oven, so I might also look into that. I would like some sort of a pizza and bread oven and I’d prefer something made of stone but that might be beyond my skills.

I’m thinking of ideas and, as I get to the end of the soil-moving mission, I’ll know the size of the space I’m working with and will start trying to visualise what cool things I’ll be able to do. One thing I know for sure is that I love hosting people and I love awesome outdoor spaces, so I’ll want to put a lot of thought into making a functional and fun space to hang out.

Workshop

With so many building projects to work on, I should probably put a workshop at the top of my list of structures to make. Having a secure place to leave my tools and a proper work area that I can leave set up would speed all of my other projects along and make things way more enjoyable, too. But I want to build a workshop to a high standard and build it just once, so it’s not something I want to rush. Plus I definitely don’t have the budget for a workshop at the moment. Because I feel like this building is along way off, I haven’t given it too much thought. I had chosen a location for it but it seems like the spot I want might be waterlogged in the winter so I’ll need to give that a bit more observation.

Greenhouse

I’ve already got a small army of seedlings waiting to be born in my friend’s greenhouse and I’d love to eventually have a space of my own to be able to look after plant babies in the future. I think I’ll just hope this year’s spring seedlings germinate then stick them into the ground and forget about anything greenhouse-related until next year. As a temporary solution I might whack a few pieces of wood into the ground and attempt to make something with plastic sheeting, but I guess that will depend on how far along my seedlings are by the time I move into my place in (hopefully) a couple of weeks.

I don’t have a plan for a permanent greenhouse but I’d love to experiment with some natural building techniques when the time comes. For now I’ll likely just decide on a space for a future greenhouse and then forget about it until I have the time and budget to make something interesting. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to be creative with a greenhouse and this is a project I’ll aim to come up with an awesome design for.

Garden Shed

I suppose my greenhouse could double as a shed for my garden tools, but I also like the idea of having a separate spot nearby. I was thinking of building my garden shed off the side of the bottom of my compost toilet, but the more I think about that the more weird it sounds. Do I want to be fetching my shovel from the shed as someone uses the toilet right beside me? I’m going to give that one a ‘probably not’. So this needs a bit more thought. I’d like a separate spot where all of the garden tools, hoses, extra seed trays, bags of compost, and all that fun stuff lives. Maybe a small lean-to off the side of the greenhouse is the answer, or maybe I go back to my original idea of tool storage in close proximity to poo. Time will tell.

Chicken House

Eventually I want to have chickens scratching around on the bottom terrace keeping my grass down, giving me their gloriously nutrient-rich poo, and of course, providing eggs. The thought of being responsible for chickens right now is rather overwhelming, but somewhere down the line when I’ve checked off a few more major things from my ‘to do’ list, I’ll considering becoming a chicken mom. In order to keep them safe and happy they’ll need a house and this will be another project where I experiment with timber framing and building with clay on a smaller scale. I have no ideas for the type of building I want and, to be honest, I’ve put the idea way to the back of my brain, but sometime in the years to come a chicken house will become a project. Several friends of mine have interesting designs and I’ll look to them for a bit of inspiration!

Summary

This, my friends, is an overwhelming list to say the least! But the good news is that having this many building projects lined up will keep me going for years and that’s perfect because, for me, this whole off-grid land in Portugal thing is about the process of setting it all up, not the act of moving into a place that’s already been completed. I love building and designing and I’ll get a huge amount of joy taking these projects from concept to reality.

Nothing will be done quickly, though. In fact, it will all probably be done at an infuriatingly slow pace because I’ll want to do everything possible by myself and I’ll want to add in as much care and artistic flare along the way as I can dream up… plus I barely have the budget to finish the inside of my house, let alone all of these other projects. For me, making a structure or a wall or whatever isn’t just about creating something to serve a function, it’s more about the process of the work, learning along the way, and above all, having something that the end that I think is beautiful and that I’m proud of. And that stays standing up, of course.