Off-Grid Living: Building A Roof Over Our Caravan In Bulgaria | DIY Project #11
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- #bulgaria #offgrid #offgridfamily #farm #movingtobulgaria #renovation
This week we pick up where we left off. Phil finishes the roof over the caravan and takes you for a walk around our property, discussing the plans for the year ahead.
We're Phil and Kayleigh, a husband and wife living in rural Bulgaria with our two children, Alex and Ember. It's always been our dream to live a more self-sustainable life off grid. So, we've sold all our belongings, escaped the rental rat race and bought a plot of land. Complete with a derelict house and 3 barns, we hope to create our new life mortgage free. We've faced lots of hurdles already, so hang on tight as we show you highs and lows of moving abroad and starting again.
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Super video, the new Bulgarians. For the rats consider having a cat, there are many many cats in Bulgaria similar to Turkey and then obviously hunt rats. Bulgaria is full of bees, cats, especially bats, bears and migrating storks and generally high diveristy of birds. Do not forget that we are a country full of nature and biodiversity and warmer. God willing, the recovery goes well. Yes, your future plans sound very cool, but the most important thing is that you are in peace of mind and it will all be yours. Regarding the solar panels, they are slowly being introduced. When we travelled via Kazanlak (Bulgarian rose valley) saw so many of them and close to some lavander, sunflower or rose fields.
Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Yes I have a Bulgarian friend who also highly recommended getting a 'working' cat for this reason. Solar panels are very popular here now mainly on bigger sites but I'm seeing more and more houses with installations. Thanks for the comment.
Bulgaria today is like England was over 50 years ago perhaps even 100 years ago in some parts. Lets hope it doesnt get overrun with people and cars etc etc.
Yes it feels like it's back in 'the good old days' haha, yes we will see what the future holds.
Glad to see your homestead did well in your absence and very happy to see Kayleigh is recovering so quickly. For your driveway, as someone else touched on, the problem isn't the water it's the mud. That whole area is full of mud, not just your driveway, but also the road and surrounding area, so if you do small pipes, eventually they will fill with mud over the years. A forded drive presents a similar problem as the mud will creep over your top surface with the water and cover it up. The most ideal way would be to install/build a large culvert for the water to flow through and let the mud settle at the bottom of the culvert and build the drive over top of it. Until that becomes more feasible, my vote would be with building a solid drive using a porous material at the bottom to allow the water to flow through, and build it high enough that the mud won't encroach on it. But for the immediate... you've got a Landie, that truck sees your driveway as nothing more than a puddle, rock on.
As for the big house vs the little building. I'd personally like to see you do the house, but really it's up to you. However, if you shore up the roof of the house in a temporary fashion, refit the missing tiles just enough to keep the water out, the house will stand for a lot longer and buy you time to practice on the little building. In fact, I know it's not your plan, but the house hasn't even gone beyond being able to be rehabbed yet. It will be soon if the roof keeps on going though.
Yes agreed on both accounts. The mud is everywhere and travels! Both options would need on going maintenance that's for sure.
And I think you're right if we do start with the little barn a day or two to patch up the house first to keep the water out would be time well spent.
Thanks for the comment 👍
Hi fella, it’s Chris Payne.. 4x4 response! Great to see you seem really happy. It was a bold move, but if anyone can do it you guys can. So keep up the hard work, keep them videos coming and if you ever get really stuck I might just point our camper van towards Bulgaria.
Hi Chris. Hope you're doing well mate, it is a bold move indeed but nothing ventured nothing gained. Really appreciate the support! Cheers 👍
The black membrane looks fantastic .. well done and its lovely to see and be inspired by your epic journey ❤️👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you. Yeah it's been a huge gamechanger for us all having a covered and secure decking area ❤️
I used to be a property manager in Brighton. I had up to 25 houses under my control. Some of them were in a very bad state. And the Landlords were struggling. So have a simple realistic plan and take it one step at a time. It works and I can prove it. 😊. It takes time and discipline. Even with little money available its doable. You have one property to live in and you can do it.
Thank you. Yes we believe we can achieve everything we want even on a tight budget. Everyday a step forward. 😀
So true. In Bulgaria we have a saying :
- How can a man eat a bear?
- One bite at a time
😆 Obviously that's old-timers jokes but that's still very true for many things in life. Any big, difficult task becomes feasible when divided into smaller, more manageable chunks.
As a Bulgarian, I will give you a very important piece of advice. Before you start making your driveway, IF IT IS OUTSIDE YOUR LAND, speak to the mayor first and tell him/ask him what your intentions are. For example I’m pretty sure you will not be allowed to concrete your driveway. Good luck with your project mate!
Absolutely. We actually have a new mayor in our village and hope to speak with her upon our return. ❤️🇧🇬
small one makes more sense
My vote:
Harvest and stockpile the usable materials from the house.
Then proceed with tiny house.
Good idea 👍 Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Hi buddy, regarding the water across the road, personally as a builder I would dig out a collection pool before the road, run the pipe through as suggested. The pool will collect the water, sediment will settle and clean water will run through the drain. It's about slowing the rate of flow down in high flow, I hope that makes some sense. Good to see you back. Best of wishes tonthe family.
100% what I was thinking. Like a 'sediment hopper' that the pipes come out of about 150mm off the bottom of the pit was what I was thinking. Was thinking of making a form and concreting it with the pipes in the side. Thanks for the comment and advice mate really appreciate it. 👍
@@OffGridWithTheUdens exactly mate, you know what to do.
The roman empire declined in conjunction with "The migration period". Lots of tribes moved around during several hundreds years. Apparently this is now happening again.
An interesting comment. 👍☺️
Good evening, glad to hear Kayleigh is on the mend and will be joining you in the near future.
The ford across the drive sounds like a good solution, but so does the trench drain. I can't give advice but it all comes down to cost, a trench drain would only need a grill to stop rubbish blocking any pipe work. Hard core on top would be inexpensive, but a stone ford would also be inexpensive as you could get a lot of stone from the house that will eventually be demolished and rebuilt (just my assumption of what you need to do)
I have a son who lives in NZ and he has a metal roof on his home which makes a right racket when it rains hard. Perhaps some insulation would stop the noise, keep the heat in during the winter and keep it cool in the hot summers we have here in Bulgaria.
I'm only an outsider looking in. I do wish you success, I do enjoy your videos. Take care young man.
Thank you very much! I'm pleased you enjoy the videos. Yes both options will work I'm sure. We have so much work to be getting on with here Im leaning towards the drain pipes and hardcore over the top as it's so much easier and quicker. And you're absolutely right a grill would be a great solution to the potential blockages.
In first place you must try to put and spread some sacks of small white stones in this muddy place where wather gather in winter and in rainy time, and to dig drain this place down towards where whater flow. Smalls stones will stuck in the mud and there will no be more mud there. The road thru the forest to Muldav monasteri saint Petka Muldavska is that way paved form nearest stone quarry. It's works.
Thanks for your suggestion. We've decided to go for the drainage piping and will build the level up with crushed stone to allow any other water to pass through 👍
Fill the driveway with type 3 crushed granite hard-core it's permeable and no dust in it. water can pass through it
Yea absolutely, what I'm thinking. The problem is trying to find that graded stone in our area... I've had no luck yet.
Also nice to see your progress etc. Gives us inspiration and hope for our potential purchase and move later in the year.
Thank you very much😁. Best of luck with your plans!
The Elm trees (if we talk about the same tree of course) spread via root system, so if you want to get rid of them you will need to pull out all the roots, otherwise you will never get rid of them. We have removed all the big Elm trees, with most roots but saplings still pop up around the spots where trees used to be.
Interesting. When we start to think out I'll have to dig them up and see! Thanks for the comment.
Special regards from one bulgarian in Birmingham 😊
Благодаря ти много!
Go cheap drain pipe across and a channel made of concrete to the pipe about 20ft of a concrete channel wide enough to catch most flow and sand and gravel underlay for drainage with nice river stones as the Rd with concrete curbing
That's pretty much what we are thinking but not sure on the final finish just yet 👍
If you make a culvert, dig a trench, and lay your pipes deep to flow over to the trees in the background and try make a pond there, if that was possible
There is already a kind of pond where the waterfall is slightly downstream from the drive. We don't really have the space in this area for a pond sadly.
I would do the ford way phil it’s much easier to maintain and looks a lot nicer. Well to me it does. Hope you are well there and I look forward to the family videos again.
Thanks Robin. Yes I prefer the look too, will have to work out the amount of work and expense involved. The family will be back again soon 😁
Ok. Here’s my two pennyworth.
I think the drive an old fashioned ford and maybe a foot bridge would be the way to go yes it’s more work but in long term less maintenance. Streams feeding: if at some stage when you had a digger on site maintenance of stream bed so blockages are minimal.
Now buildings you have big conundrum there . I think both, in as much rescue tiles and usable materials from house which maybe needed for tiny house/ barn. So just a material rescue but not a rebuild then recycle if necessary in your tiny house refurb.
🤷🏻♀️
Well done Phil x
We have definitely got alot of work ahead of us and a digger would help with ALOT of it! Annoyingly we have only been able to find diggers on hire over here that come with a driver, there are no self drive options. Frustrating when we know Phil would be able to get so much done with one 🫣
Appreciate your thoughts 💭 So thank you for taking the time to watch and comment ❤️
Brilliant, thanks for vidio, from a scouser ,all the best
Thanks very much 👍 new video out every Sunday
For the drive, I'd go with the Ford idea, we lived in a house with a forded drive and it was no problem, our neighbours tried to divert it with pipes etc as went through the end of their drive, it cost a fortune and they had no end of problems.
Thank you, I appreciate it. Not many people have had a forded driveway so it's good to hear an opinion from someone who has!
Absolutely brilliant x best wishes and luck to you xx
Thank you so much! ❤️
Yes pipes can block up. We have had some serious damage caused by blocked up pipes in Sussex. Better to play safe and keep it simple.
Yes I like the idea of keeping it simple. But we should be here to maintain them to be honest.
For the driveway, I'd suggest paving the whole thing. Gravel, sand and pavement on top. I'm not sure if you can find the right stones (hopefully you can). Building a roman style road would probably be the best thing for this nightmare of a driveway. Some side drainage might also be a good idea. Good luck! :)
Thank you very much. Id love to build a Roman style stone driveway but the size of it puts me off a bit. I think we will end up going for a crushed granite type of gravel as the final finish as it's so easy to do such a large area.
Hi from Spain. Only just found you, great video, your a natural. Hope all goes well with your wifes recovery & your all back there again. Beautiful place ❤
It's so great to see where in the world others are watching us from! Thank you for following along 😊
Just came across you guys and loving your blogs.
Im busy going through all that I’ve missed. Wish we were younger it looks idyllic, ❤
Thank you for watching - we originally started them to share our journey with friends and family but the community we have built with our viewers has been incredible. ❤️
I’m no expert but i think the first option you presented on the drive way sounds right. Love your bloopers. combo project if you’re planning on taking down the old house, then take it down and use materials in the small building rebuild.
Yes we love the outtakes at the end too 🤣🫣 Thank you for your continued support.
It’s lovely! Your land is going to look beautiful.
Thank you - we really see a lot of potential in our plot ❤️
So glad you're back and all is well with your family. 😊
I can't wait for us all to be back out here together ❤️
I bet you can't, nothing like being together ❤️
For the solar, you have a monster frame prime for solar now over the caravan
Yes it would probably be able to hold panels, but our next phase involves a bigger system and it is important that they are angled correctly according to the sun for the best efficiency. ☀️🔆 We would need a much bigger roof for our plans 🫣
@@OffGridWithTheUdens 👀 will be watching 👌👍
Nice to see you back and in good form, a few more weeks for me to wait....
I will using the tin roofing so nice to see how you used it...
Take care
It comes in a variety of thicknesses out here. We love the sound of the rain on it ☔
👍👍
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Great update, enjoyed the video. The new roof is MEGA!!! 😊
Yes mega is certainly the word for it 🤣🫣
Get your main house going hun, good luck to you all xx
We've got lots of hurdles to jump through first with the plans etc, especially as we want an eco build. But we've never been shy of the hard route ☺️👍
What a great video, you guys are incredible. It's great to see such a close family. All the best for the future 👍
We've been through alot over the years and it's certainly made us a solid family unit. ❤️😊
Glad to hear Kayleigh is doing well 👍 The roof looks great and the felt gives it a good finish. It’s a bit of a dilemma deciding which project to start next. I would be inclined to do the small building as it’s something you can get done which will make things easier for you. The size of the task with the house may wear you down with how long it’s going to take and the expense is another issue, don’t know how well off you are so that may be irrelevant 😂. All the best with whatever you decide,I’m excited to see what’s coming
You're absolutely right with the size of the task - the house project is going to be full on and we have alot of legal hurdles we would need to get through before starting. As for finances, the whole build is being completed by us and we do not have any savings or other income. So it's a case of reusing materials and using any leftover money at the end of the month for each stage. It's going to be a very slow process but we know we can do it 💪👍
@@OffGridWithTheUdens that’s such a positive attitude, that will take you a long away on its own. Well done and all the very best with the build. Whatever you choose it will make great viewing I’m sure 👍
17:00 :D verry well structured. it manage to suport your weight
🫣🛠️ Yes we did go a bit overboard but it's built to last 👍
Just knew this structure would be part of your families long term play area, it's gorgeous, greetings from Dublin Ireland
Thank you so much. Great to know where people are watching from. 😁
Demolish the house first. Then start building your new home. The tiny home can wait til last. It's not a priority.
Yes we keep going back and forth with our options. The house will take some planning and legal paperwork before we can begin building. We do not have any savings so everything would be done with whatever income we have left over each month - tricky decision! We just want to get stuck in now 🛠️
If the structure is sound then renovation is better option.
Welcome back home mate! Glad to hear the lady is better and you all coming back soon as a family! Big plans ahead , and spring will help with that 🤞🏻
Thank you so much 😁. Yes she's doing so well, not long now. We can't wait! ☺️
Do you have space or plans to grow veg, trees etc. If you can use a permaculture ditch and berm (Swales) method to keep the water on the land to prevent crops/trees drying out it is a useful resource if you can store it in the ground. Can you direct the water to where it will be useful on the land rather than it just passing through. Either of your ideas otherwise, seem good solutions if you just want rid of it. Happy days!
Thanks for the comment Liz. I actually spoke about this on camera but it didn't make the edit😆. That's absolutely our plan. Loads of fruit trees and veg I'm hoping to do at least one swale on the land and a pond too. 😁
I’d put the pipes down and lay the concrete over them so will be dry all year
Yes I also feel I'm leaning more towards this route it also keeps access to all vehicles such as low cars or odd wheeled things like tipper lorries and cranes etc. we need to think about everything in the future as I don't want to have to re-do it!
@@OffGridWithTheUdens and of course when walking not to get to dirty
Why not make the whole road with crushed stone, also level the valley with crushed stone (maybe use the pipes just in case). It will still let the water pass, but you also have a road...and no mud everywhere. It's actually very common way of doing it here in Bulgaria.
I was going to suggest very similar, dig the area out a little and back fill with old bricks/large stones and build it high enough that it won’t flood and the water can flow underneath as long as the flow it’s too great but that’s just my thoughts, I’m definitely not a drainage engineer
Maybe I didn't explain that brilliantly well in the video but that's pretty much my idea the pipes at the lowest point to take the worst of the water and build the level up with hardcore and crushed stone.
@@OffGridWithTheUdens Btw I just found out this: watch?v=J-PPBBYau84 maybe will work here.
My suggestion is to build a simple single lane bridge of sturdy wood. Leaving the water flow as it is.
Thank you. Yes we did also debate this but not sure if we will ever need heavy lorries or cranes etc on the land so was put off the idea as it would have to be a pretty serious structure to support such weights.
French drains, you've got the pipe and gravel for it.
Yes this is the route we feel we are leaning towards now! 👍 Thanks for your thoughts 😊
You guys are doing all the hard work, cant imagine moving out the UK, never mind starting a whole new life. We really enjoy your videos and hope you guys are doing well.@@OffGridWithTheUdens
But also would love a second home in Turkey somewhere. Never going to find a home in that price range lol@@OffGridWithTheUdens
@@hamzarehman2848 yes alot of hard work and as we are doing it ourselves it will take a while but we are up for the challenge!
Make a french drain all the way to the the right where the big trees are on the right as you look down the drive. Level is with some top soil to remove dip, and then hard core the whole drive if you can which will raise it.. probably cheapest way. Good job by the way roof looks great with the black and keep caravan cool during the summer
With reference to the main house make sure the roof is water tight quickly as the damage to the building structure will be huge in Bulgaria with the harsh winter/ hot summers. Same with the smaller building, that looks like it has the traditional mud bricks, and unless the water kept out of it with good roof overhand the walls will disintegrate quickly. For me if you keeping the structures, ROOF, Guttering, water flow far away from the properties are all key points in european houses good luck
Thanks for the comment, we certainly will need some kind of drainage for the driveway itself and I think a french drain would be the answer to that. I'm keen to try and keep the natural stream though. I think if we start on the little barn then we will definitely spend a couple of days patching up the house roof for dry storage if nothing else.
Just some sand and ciment and start making good the walls , you pay less money in counsil tax in a old ruin than if you apply for permisdion for a new build.
Both buildings will require a bit more than just sand and cement 🙂
Why don't you build a small bridge for the vehicles to go over and have a pond etc 👍🏼
The driveway is technically not on our land so we don't have full flexibility in what we do, but we think we have an idea now. The stream runs right along the edge of the village so a pond wouldn't work. 🫣🙃
Nice plans with the roofing mate, 1 question i have tho, how is the wind? iff there is wind wich could ripp of the roof you will need siding under the roof of wood and cover all under else it can catch alot of wind and easyer to be ripped of, yes its structural very good but never forget wind with roofing and for the drain, im dutch u need them pipes to get rid of the water, not use concrete, but use loose stones, water flow will get rid of it, concrete will hold, but use the pipes on them sides to distract them to a pool on the left and right. but use loose stones alot stacked to drive over, no concrete, im dutch trust me on this, iff questions np iff you want contact about the water situation. and iff ever my dream come true ill be in bulgaria very soon aswel, and who knows we might be able to help each other but im looking in a way different Reagan tho (batak) more south close to greece
Thanks very much for the comment. There's over 30 roofing screws per sheet of metal so I don't think it's going anywhere to be honest we've also sealed in the ends so the wind will struggle to get right under it. My plan was to concrete in the drainage pipes and then loose stone everywhere else to allow water to pass through and not get held up anywhere.
@@OffGridWithTheUdens yeah good plan for watering dig sides where u want the water to flow too and put in gravel as u said and u should be fine managing the water
Hi, just a question about your battery bank, is the 3 frogstar batterys enought to provide enought energy in winter ?
Top vlog also have a house in bulgaria what was the cost of leaving the car in Sofia thanks Gordon
We used Park and Fly at Sofia Airport and it was really reasonable. They have a price calculator on their website which we would suggest using for up to date prices - it's ALOT cheaper than UK Airport Parking fees that's for sure.
@@OffGridWithTheUdens thanks for the info 👍
have you considered going for the Fogstar 15.5 kwh Batter?. I'm waiting for mine to arrive. It's good price for the capacity.
It's a great price and looks a great unit. The initial outlay is an issue for us so we're adding to our server rack when funds allow. Also makes sense for us to grow what we already have
@@OffGridWithTheUdens yes it maybe good value but still alot of money. Have sold off my Plyontech batteries allow me fund Fogstar one .
I think that was a good choice to be honest. I know a few people that have had big issues with plyontech and their customer service. 👍
@@OffGridWithTheUdens funny you should say that one of mine went faulty and it's taken ages to get the replacement. Only arrived yesterday. Will sell it when eBay have 80% off fees to fund new battery. That's going very well for me. Such great 3x capacity compared to what I had .
If you increase the height of 1 meter the water will not go over it. Get trailer load every time you go to town
Yes if we go that route we will be building the levels up with the pipes at the bottom as the water still needs somewhere to go.
Brilliant work - very impressed. Where did you get your brilliant looking, straight wood from snd your black membrane. I haven’t been able to find either. Looking forward to future videos.
Thank you very much I appreciate it 😊. The wood was from a wood yard in a nearby town. I have built a good relationship with them now and he knows I only like good straight timber 😆. The roofing membrane was from our local builders shop, they had 2 different quality fabrics in stock, I'm surprised you haven't found any to be honest.
Hi there where is the property located? We are close to Burgas in a village close by.
We are in the South of Bulgaria not far from the Greek and Turkey border. ☺️🇧🇬
Must be nice to built your own dreams with your carpentery skills. Can you work as a carpenter in Bulgaria? Or is different visa required?
Thank you. Not sure about visas for a carpenter. I am not a carpenter but self taught in woodworking.
Tidy
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I would do the house first
It's a tricky one as we have no pot of savings, it's just whatever money we have left at the end of each month. We also need to do a lot of research regarding the permits etc before we touch it..
Finally found your channel! Hello instagram friends. Great job on everything and goodluck!🙌
Aww hi guys! ❤️😁 Thank you for finding us x