Digging into the mountain to build our dream home - Installing our new battery Bluetti EP500Pro

[@bettyferguson2815]

That baby boy BO {?} is all boy! He was so fascinated watching the digger. He is adorable and favors his beautiful mom.

[@dannybrown1955]

Beautiful views of the mountains from the site of your new home. It must be immensely frustrating dealing with the excavator. ❤

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We’re excited to move up there :) The digger has caused lots of headaches this year, but we keep hopeful!

[@afrlala3593]

The children just give me so much joy watching how they contribute. They are so grown up. Cheers to all your efforts making this work for your family. Wishing you always the very best. Despite breakdowns of equipment and overcoming the problems. I started to watch your first videos and you certainly are making so much improvement. Thank you for your content.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks :) I'm really happy with the quality of our content at the moment, not posting weekly has helped a lot!

[@Daniel_QWERTZ]

Was there any problem to get a building permission and approval from your architect for using earth-bags instead of classic materials? How much will the change from rustic to urban land cost for this size of plot?

[@keithbrandon8540]

Great to see your progress despite the set backs but you have managed well. Beautiful setting for your future home too.

[@rnggall9640]

Things move down the priority list as the days unfold. So glad you are getting back to the house!

[@lieuwina]

Wow that was quiet a bit of rock removal. I am glad the new jack hammer is helping you. Even though the digger broke, you both have accomplished so much. Well done. As they say 'if there is a will there is a way'. Well done Maarten and Leah.

[@hakankucukbaskan120]

Hello from Turkey, I've been watching you since your first videos years ago. You are an admirable, patient and hard-working exemplary family in my eyes. I appreciate you and your entire family and wish you success.

[@permissiontoshine]

Wonderful to see all of you together on your land. Puck's hair grows more amazing by the month. Great to see you making such progress, with a lot of hard work, towards the start of your new home. WOW, that view from your new home is awe inspiring. Glad to hear there is 'some' progress on the digger. Early await, as usual, your next installment.

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

Eagerly await?

[@Cate7451]

@@manolisgledsodakis873sure. Ha ha. Spell check

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

That Bluetti will make such a difference - it's an impressive piece of kit.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

It really is!

[@monalingan9523]

I have to tell you how impressed I am with your beautiful family. Your children are growing and are becoming adorable little productive beings. Your view from your future home is magnificent. All my best wishes to you.

[@beeheart6324]

Bo looks just like his mom: super cute boy! And his sister is also very cute ;-)

[@janp7943]

Fun to see the beginnings of your house build. The view is spectacular! I was surprised Maarten cut his hair! Though I have noticed it in the past videos but this week seeing how long his hair was reminded me. Bo is getting so big. I still love watching them too. Take care and thanks for sharing.

[@richfiryn]

I have tremendous respect for both of you for your tireless efforts since making the purchase of your land. And of course documenting your experiences here on KZbin too. You're a great couple, partners in this life you have chosen. And of course passing on to your children endless great and important life lessons along the way. All the best in the upcoming year!

[@monikacarless_wordwitch]

Will you be sharing a concept picture of the house you're hoping to build?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Hopefully :)

[@juanitakauffman6336]

Your view is beautiful. You are an example of if there is a will there is a way.

[@donbachand7967]

Such a great video. You both work so hard. So good to see you starting on your new home. I also loved the music.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Glad you liked it :)

[@AlongThePathsOfNature]

Excavator problems aside, you're doing an awesome work! Well done!

[@evelinedebakker61248]

wauww guys indrukwekkend allemaal, ik volg jullie vanuit schotland als een oma die wat jonger zou willen zijn om ook zoiets te doen, fantastisch wat jullie allemaal bereiken daar:)

[@andypayne1571]

Your family is certainly not worried by a bit of hard work and set backs. You just seem to find another job or approach it from a different angle. It will be an amzing veiw from the front of your house and well worth the work.

[@deehalpern8988]

You two make a great team. So much hard work but lots of progress so far.

[@hardyvonwinterstein5445]

Two? I see four workers and an overseer dog.

[@ArtistMartinaP]

What a site! Gorgeous views. I am looking forward to witnessing this build. You have been very patient. May things go smoothly.

[@tenpennyguy]

cheering for your progress and the digger's return to full health

[@Cheery1964]

Its exciting to watch your dream anventure take shape!

[@debrandw246]

Love your new Blueddi. Very nice. So nice you are starting your new home.

[@aurick861]

get normal, full length shovels, your back will thank you. glad to see you're back

[@SonyaTainton]

If it's at all possible, I am probably just as excited as you are. The views are absolutely phenomenal! Your patience, diligence and determination (especially in the extreme temperatures you've been experiencing) is admirable. I do believe that you and your family are achieving everything you set out to do in terms of lifestyle. This much is evident in watching the unity of the family as a whole.

[@paisleyjane9606]

It's so exciting that the opportunity has come to get back to work on the house site and access to it!

[@rosemaryvp]

Thanks for being a muse!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thank you so much for your support Rosemary ❤️

[@saeedandalusi7579]

Wow, that thing could power a bus😁

[@mikeduda3173]

Nice to see you back on the build again. I hope the digger is up and running soon. It's a very daughting task but the foundation is always the hardest part

[@melindataljaard2753]

Wow, you are working so hard. What a beautiful sightseeing its going to be! When the house is finished. 🎉🎉

[@TanyaBobr]

Would be very interested to learn how did you go about planning&construction permission...

[@piawal]

Wow, so much work but so worth it for your future home with this wonderful few!

[@sarahnd]

What a view from up there! Definitely worth whatever it takes 💪👍🏻

[@rosemaryvp]

You’re an inspiration guys! Keep up the good work.

[@joreggelt442]

Bluetti looks so goood! The hard work is paying off - everything marches ahead, the plateau is almost levelled now thanks to you two! I keep my fingers crossed for the digger and for the home building.🥰😙😄

[@joyguthrie964]

So admire your hard work! Love seeing the kids helping out, too!

[@aquilinorodrigues726]

Olá bom dia. A Terra é muito dura e com a pedra é difícil de travalhar. Desejo para vocês muita coragem e que a vossa casa comece a ser construída o mais rápido poxivel para vocês a poderem habitar.

[@elisabethbenders-hyde5286]

Maarten is so cute, love his ending of the video. Being Dutch and not a native English speaker I sometimes grapple for the right words too. I understand him completely.

[@SiviVolk2]

I was waiting for a bit more general update for a very long time, I am happy to finally see it :)

[@dannyray1950]

Exciting! If it's worth doing, it's worth waiting for.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Well we’ve waited a lot 😂

[@Cate7451]

@@ourportuguesehomesteadha ha ha, I am totally with you. Had so many problems with my kilns and having to wait for service. If you don’t fire you can’t tell if your methods are working. So magical when machinery works. Hurrah for no mechanical failure. So happy to eve you starting your house.

[@hakankucukbaskan120]

Considering earthquake resistance, you should make the subfloor of your house very strong. This is a recommendation. The choice is up to you .

[@johnsonr9]

Tough job but nice weather at least. Good video!

[@catherineH4785]

You are a very hardworking couple who work together well. I admire your persistence in following your dream and goals.

[@BreakingBarriers2DIY]

You guys remind me of my dad. The work needs to get done, the tools just determine the speed…BUT…the work needs to get done. You can see that you have selected a long vision…because when you see obstacles you step sideways and go around. Simon Sinek talks about that kind of thing. That view for the long term means you won’t stop short of an obstacle because a short term goal was what you had focused on…just beyond the obstacle. Great content and yes I’m a bit biased to construction themes! Lol

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We hope to be here for the next 50 years, so some side steps and extra steps don’t matter :)

[@BreakingBarriers2DIY]

@@ourportuguesehomestead It is what i love most about your approach.

[@clickbaitnumberone1403]

So as an old construction worker I would highly recommend to lend some appropriate machinery, for instance a large hammer for a few days instead of spending months with this tiny one. Thats not worth it and my guess is you will find some in Castello Branco. So save your time for more nicer things 😃

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I’ve asked around whether it was possible to hire a bigger jackhammer, but the bigger ones are fairly expensive to hire here and often use more than 2000W (our limit with the bluetti). I understand that as a hired contractor speed/time is an important factor, but my own day rate is unbeatable ;). Cheers Maarten

[@athena7042]

It's midday. I haven't eaten breakfast. I'm watching this video. I've moved some clothes 3 feet within my apartment. Martin has actually been learning how to do all this stuff in front of us. It's impressive. In my mind, my imaginary Portuguese mansion would be Spanish style arranged around courtyard with 2 foot thick walls. THINK ABOUT a system that exhausts hot air out the roof, maybe with a solar powered exhaust fan. THINK ABOUT a thick insulated roof & wall facing the afternoon sun, or a shade tree.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We're definitely thinking about those things :)

[@cazicature]

Another wonderful video, thankyou for sharing, sending you all best wishes ❤

[@fertiledirt7708]

I'm so excited for you guys. Awesome

[@assuncaomeireles198]

Estou muito feliz que vai construir a sua casa nesse vale tao bonito. Ainda bem que comprou outro bluetti parece ser muito bom e potente. Gosto muito de ver as suas adoraveis crianças ajudarem é muito bom para elas viveram ao livre e muito saudavel. Desejo a todos uma boa semana e vou adorar ver construir a casa nao vou perder nenhum vidio God bless you all Thank you very much 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[@suepittel426]

Thank you for another outstanding video.

[@maodonimega]

Much joy and endless fun to your family. You're doing great! The real thing...how most of us do it...with real problems and real successes. It's not easy but it is worth it. Kudos.

[@debbiealleva5959]

Best education your kids will ever get ❤

[@Annazelfvoorzienendleven]

Hoi, mooi hoor, leuk om Maarten ook aan het woord te zien, respect voor jullie harde werken, mooie plek waar jullie nieuwe huis komt, prachtig uitzicht, leuk dat tentje voor de kids om in te spelen.

[@junco477]

Hard work.Patience. More hard work. Harder more work. Patience. Progress !! Well done.

[@ChristineKelly1000]

Good luck with the build. Hope you get the digger back soon.

[@lidijafichtner7080]

I like the music choice ❤

[@billiegutierrez2506]

Lots of hard work your really go getters and what a view glad you got the bigger Blueetti that will make it better for you have a good one be careful stay safe

[@rickardenstedt]

Lovely hill to build a house on... remember to make a good space for turning around a car up there because it'll be hard walking that hill when you get older....😅 Regards Rickard from Sweden 🇸🇪🌺🚐🎸

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I agree! Turning circle is one of the first things on the list for when the digger is running again

[@mareepeters5717]

Will be exciting to see you build your home. I'm sure the journey will have the highs and lows and i wish you all the very best along the way. Love the veiws from your new site. Love from New Zealand

[@raymondgijsen6882]

Kregen jullie zomaar een bouwvergunning? Dat schijnt nogal een ‘dingetje’ te zijn in Portugal, toch?

[@Daniel_QWERTZ]

The elephant in the room... Seems questions about this topic will be ignored and won't be answered?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

@danielr41, never have and never will talk about that. There’s already enough misinformation floating around on this issue and we don’t want to add to that. We always advice people to research the possibilities for their own particular situation with local professionals.

[@tonypereira1484]

Marvellous Martin is such a “POWERFUL” salesman and brings much “ELECTRICITY” to that Bluetti ad lol 😂

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

He’s always happy when he can fit in a few solid dad jokes 😂

[@tonypereira1484]

I prefer to call them “Martin” jokes lol 😂 ​@@ourportuguesehomestead

[@didisalyers4460]

Wonderful to see how much you got accomplished.

[@deboracarpenter1103]

Looking great 👍

[@siobhanvanderlinde5401]

Lolz Maarten, "ok bye"😂. Thanks for a video guys. Always keen to see what you've been up to. Wishing all the best on the build. Everything seems to be an exercise is patience and in Afrikaans we say "deursettingsvermoë" I can't think of the English word now. Looking forward to the next video. Greetings from South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤

[@JasonLockwood87]

Super impressive work. You must be knackered after that. Well worth it though. You guys are fantastic. Keep it up 👍

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We sleep well!

[@teedub1990]

I'm so pleased for the progress you are making on your home. The view is going to be spectacular. A very inspirational start to every morning.

[@hakankucukbaskan120]

Make sure your house has a large square meter area. Because when your children have separate rooms, their development and creativity will be better. Considering that other families will come to visit you in the future, you may think that it should be a guest bedroom. I think these recommendations will be useful to you in the long run. I wish you good luck, may God help you.

[@srenloe43]

Erosion on the fill side is going to be a problem if your winter is as wet as last. A cover of grass will solve the problem and is manageable.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Much of the hillside is already grass :)

[@karentrokey3852]

Frank is an artist on his machine.

[@LindaSchreiber]

Ye gods, the work!!! But the progress is amazing!!! You're really on track with the house and the road. Congrats!!! Maarten's office is coming along swimmingly ;) I would say that the kids are getting so big, but everyone will. So I won't. But I love the shade rig on the building site, and I bet the play structure gets a lot of good use. Nice. And YAY Bluetti! I don't need such a thing, but if I did, they would be my choice. Glad you are all doing well. Keep on keepin' on, y'all!

[@tracytanasiychuk8253]

Hard work is rewarded with progress and looking forward to the completion of your dream. Blessings from Canada 🇨🇦

[@greggmcclelland8430]

Its impossible to be an expert at everything. The digger diesel engine is a good example of needing a good mechanic and machine shop close by to help out when needed. The Problem is good mechanics and machine shops are busy with their repeat steady customers. So the occasional customers are lower on their priority list. I have a track loader that should have been repaired a year and a half ago. When I was willing to use the dealer for the repair, they were busy. Now I want to do the repair myself, but I don't have the skillset to do it easily. So I need to learn the skills to do it.

[@RidecarsKinderautos]

Did you think about safety regulations regarding emergency cases, like if for example an ambulance or fire truck, which can not reach your house through that road? Did you get a permission for to build your house there? Wondering about that!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We’re close to the road, so I’m not worried about that

[@soniawoolley366]

Great progress - slow and steady wins the race !

[@dubsen33]

use a jig saw with long blade to cut the roots with less digging

[@lindamaldonado6807]

You will have a lovely view from your new home!

[@AnneHeyns]

Love your videos and following you has always been a pleasure - hope you get to build your house soon.

[@morganleticia2316]

That’s going to be a beautiful view to wake up to great job

[@athena7042]

Beautifully produced. Good pacing.

[@horta-mansan6972]

Leuke Video, lekker druk bezig daar. Maar hebben jullie al een bouw vergunning gekregen van de gemeente? anders is het ook zonde van jullie tijd.

[@Sillie69]

Diep respect hoor Leia en Maarten, zeker met het warme weer van de afgelopen weken! Jullie verzetten echt bergen! Wij kunnen nog veel van jullie leren. Morgen rijden we weer richting Nederland maar zodra het kan reizen we weer terug naar Portugal. Tot snel :-)

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Dank, goede reis!

[@briansmout6734]

Great Work done. Congratulations to this PAIR.

[@ralphsullender2474]

Your home site has a beautiful view. The build will be something I will be sure to watch as well as delivery of material to site.

[@skaraborgcraft]

More power to Martins back, mine hurts just watching. That road still looks pretty narrow for "truck delivery", so im wondering what exactly your new house is being constructed with. I was close to building an "earthship" type with rammed earth walls, but local planning said no. I got spoilt as i got older with mini-diggers and JCB 3X, that i dont want to ever pick up a shovel or pick again, I hope your digger comes back to life with no further problems. Spectacular view for your new home! That Bluetti is a nice bit of kit, how big was your panel output?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

It's big enough for the guy who delivers the gravel and sand :) We'll be building with earth bags, so we don't need to accommodate big cement trucks. We were also spoiled with the digger, it's a great tool when it's working. All the smoothing out was always going to be jackhammer work though. With full sun we get about 900 watts now, will talk about it more in the next video.

[@keithjefferies9862]

Well done Maarten

[@srantoniomatos]

Good to see the family back and well. Seems like the road is ready for a small truck to deliver materials (sand, gravel, cement, etc). After 1 year fully into constrution business may suggets you consider using sandwich panels in the builds. Great insulation, easy and fast built, ends up being cheaper too. If you go the tyre or bag earth way...good luck, i see for the next very labor intensive years 😊

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We'll be building with earth bags, so you're in for some years of content ;)

[@srantoniomatos]

@@ourportuguesehomestead ahahah i will. Good luck.

[@gracedossantos2136]

Congratulations on your progress for the house. It looks amazing.

[@daffs0]

Great video Wow your house is going to have such a beautiful view Thank you for sharing 😁

[@karronlaneNOLA]

is there a drawing of the house we can see? i don't see how a house will be built there although i'm sure you know what you're doing. thanks for the video.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

It won't be a square house :) Maarten is working on drawings that we can show in the future

[@AnnNortham]

Just love following your story, well done

[@RupertsPortugal]

Awesome video. It’s coming along amazingly!

[@MyPlayHouse]

Lovely video,, I do enjoy the building stuff videos,, that is a beast of a power station 🙂

[@beckyheidi625]

So excited for this!!

[@davidbroughton7599]

Great job you two.

[@sonjamarchello9625]

Beautiful views!!

[@RolandvanOuwerkerk]

Heerlijke video weer. Erg tof ananas shirt :-)

[@piero.visconti]

So inspiring ❤ we are a family of 4 living in Norway. We are dreaming to create similar lifestyle. Where is the best part in Portugal in your opinion, to buy land?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

That depends on what you want, Portugal has lots of diversity of regions :)

[@williamburns9731]

Big bushfire country is Portugal or not. Ahwell

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Exactly, that’s another reason why we can’t work much with machinery during summers. (And why we want to build with earthbags)