8.4 Kw Timber Framed Solar System Part 1 The Frame 

Just three years ago this project would have taken you 3x longer to build and cost much more. It is a joy to watch your continuous improvement in efficiency and economy. You inspire me every week and I'm a 65 year old geezer!

I am fully impressed! It’s just a complete ru-vid.comUgkxGqOCINHE0Z0E5gxzSdNi9NWGugRY5Hm2 plan with the best resources and step by step instructions . These shed plans are so satisfying as if the sheds build themselves on their own. Worthy work Ryan!

Just remember that old saying ''A man that has never made a mistake has never made anything'' , forty years a carpenter and i am still learning.

Mate I cannot express how much you inspire me. I realise this is your home but if you’d ever consider doing an open day, or tour sort of thing I think that would be amazing

Found your channel a few days ago and I have been obsessed. What an amazing existence you live and what an amazing person you are. Keep up the great living!

Kris out here using three saws together, brilliant! Thanks for the video, it's always a joy to watch you work and develop your property

Kris, don't beat yourself about the solar panels. You made half a barn for this new solar array. Great job!!! Can't wait to see it done and operational.

Neat trick with the reciprocating saw! Always look forward to your uploads.

You sir are the epitome of ‘Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world. '

Joy to watch, combining exceptionally good carpentry skills with a renewable project. It’s not just functional but beautifully made.

grown up in a family where entire houses were sealed and renovated, a tractor build from a car and two motorcycles, every car repaired in house, it is a relief to finally see one combining crafting skill with renewables thus selfsustainablitiy. Even if it didn't got second hand charm.

Name and shame. This is nothing else but sharp practice and needs to be called out. Companies will either get the message and honour a deal or get less and less business until they deservedly fail. Service these days IS bad. It will get worse unless bad practice is made public.

I can remember watching you some years ago when you used to say, "If it fails in the future, I will just redo it." It used to make me smile. Congrats on your evolution to "I'm getting to the age where I don't want to redo it." You will thank yourself over and over years down the line! Nice work all along the whole journey Kris.

Honestly man, I think that brand new kit for something as important as your power source won't be a regret. Plus, with that cathedral you built to hold them, you need some new shiny stuff on top! :D

I used to be a crane bandsman around 15 years ago and when I used to lift the concrete shutters for the chippies they would always oil up their shutters before and after. That way they would just pop off the next day leaving a perfect wooden pattern. They very rarely stuck and I am talking 4 by 5 meters at a time, sometimes bigger. Watching all the trades on site as you lifted their stuff around you pick up little tips here and there:-)

Remember when you started to make these video's, so much has happened, so good to see it all. Congratulations.

Another great build Kris. I can understand your frustration on the panels but ultimately the new ones are likely to be more efficient, last longer and create less waste as a result. Couldn't agree more about the service industry. Just non-existent these days sadly.

I can't tell you how much I love that your computer controlled tools live in a structure built from natural materials milled and assembled by your own hands. THAT is just superhuman of you.

Howdy Kris!! Your vision for projects always amazes me! You're certainly correct that you just can't get good service anymore. Corporate greed is crippling the entire world with the price of everything sky rocketing for no good reason. The excuse that the Ukraine is the cause, it doesn't float. I wish you & Dot well & may your little "Hobbiton" continue to grow & flourish!!!!

Kris your attention to details is growing exponentially ...I knew when i saw you build the harp you were going to be the man to watch as you developed your farm stead...and now you are even projecting your time management knowing you will age and do overs will not be as easy or possible ...

Another great project, that frame is so solid it won't be going anywhere for the next 50 years. Thanks for the upload Kris.

Kris, You are one of the most skilled guys I know. Your knowledge of the principles of the past combined with the innovation of present so utterly satisfies security of the future. What a magnificent structure. And the way that lap joint squeeked together! Best to Dot and Puss!

Your skill, ingenuity and perseverance over the years, is 2nd to none. Amazing. 👏👏👏👏👏

I tutor in Design & Technology. One of young students is ASD, with ADHD. I have just been showing him your videos and explaining what you do. He sat mesmerised for an hour, without being distracted or losing focus.

In the beginning I was thinking "Wow talk about overkill!" but then I've noticed the rather strong wind throughout the whole video, and now I understand why you made it so strong. Great job mate. 👍

This mate has no idea how genuine and how amazing he is. The value he holds individually is stronger than anyone I can reoccur or have ever meet. Cheer brotha love your content.

I’ve got to be honest Kris, I have never, ever ever seen hand saws used that way. Brilliant! 👍

I miss my cat. Not sure if I'm ready for another just yet, but I appreciate seeing yours whenever she decides to grace us with her presence.

good to see the energy upgrades going in. Your going to need that with the top workshop. Your really making good progress. thanks for the posting....

Watching the wooden beams slide into each other like butter is satisfying to watch. It brings back fond memories of childhood, watching my Dad build things. He had the same ability to think outside of the box and build whatever his mind saw. It’s so wonderful to follow you building your dream.

Looks great. Kinda miss you drilling holes and holding everything together with pegs, but, work smarter, not harder. Also, that was the most creative use of a saws-all I've seen in a while. Vibrating concreted down. Simply brilliant.

This is proper business scaling your skill set is beyond impressive

Never seen the 3 handed saw trick until today haha thank you really enjoy your channel been watching for years

amazing you built all this on your own, got to respect the grind to achieve your dream

'Looks good', No Kris, it looks bloody amazing and you should be bloody proud of this, most people don't even have enough skills to sharpen a pencil properly

Hi Kris, nice framing. You could stack dry stone around the concrete feet to stop the concrete from weathering. You could also char the post's feet to stop any weathering from rain splash back. Cheers

We live in Wales too, and our house has flooded twice in recent years. After researching how to keep the water from seeping in through the base of the rendered exterior walls, I used tanking slurry all around the base of the house. Its awesome stuff.

Kris, I'm really enjoying how you are tapping into the universal knowledge that we all can have a connection to. You are becoming a Master in all the trades that you attempt. You give us all encouragement to tackle things that we were reluctant to try. That is a beautiful structure, even if it is just for supporting solar panels, looking forward to watching you build your house in the future.

Chris, not sure if you get to read all these comments but I hope you know how much of an inspiration you and your channel are.

Your work ethic is great. Good idea to make storage under the solar panel frame. New panels hopefully will last a lot longer and more sufficient than used ones. Your attention to detail is very skilled. Thanks for sharing. Take care.

Hey dude , been watching years . Just a thought about you mentioning about using the space underneath for firewood drying and how that could be a heatsink under the panels . It’s really important that the void underneath is cool for efficiency. If you can possibly let some plants grow in the shade underneath the evaporative effect is really beneficial. One of the solar hybrid farming videos explains it really well . Love the craftsmanship as well . Thanks for the distraction .

I was taught to build it bigger, better and stronger and it will last. I am a bit older than yourself and if I do anything now it will definitely out live me. Your rant was quite justified and yes the service you get nowadays Is 💩. You sir are an inspiration for us old fogies and the younger generation, total respect and keep the vids coming 👍

Kris, can you please show more, love the little cat taking you for a walk, surely with your whistling you can get the chicks to tag on too, just place the camera and let us enjoy your amazing journey, even the odd few minutes is worth waiting for. From Lancashire lad age 73. Take care.

10:30 “Don’t know what I would do without it, now that I have it.” That’s the way with all tools; you design your work around the tools you have. The thing with Kris is, he keeps on upping his game to challenge himself with more ambitious builds. Love to see your work, inspirational.

This looks like a compelling way to build the house: framed like this with straw bale and lime mortar walls, warm, sustainable but most of all really really quick.

Love that trick with the reciprocating saw as a vibtration device to settle the concrete in the footings, genius. Great build as always mate, cheers from Oz.

Form V. Function Function V. Form the fine art of compromise I think you're nailing both of them Kris.

Damn Kris your growth as a builder is inspiring, but your prowess at filming is brilliant. Anyway I’ll stop fawning now, the plasma table is an incredible piece of kit.

It is great to see your skills grow with all your projects. You are living your dream and you have a great partner that shares your plans

All of the work for making the 'forms' is, in my viewpoint from my chair and from behind the camera, makes this look FANTASTIC. Also, btw, for little 'mistakes' I always sign and date them. An artist signs their work, after all.

Totally, totally agree about customer service! Since the advent of social media and the way people are so absolutely horrible to other human beings, companies just don’t care about their customers any more. When you find a company that does care, god, it’s like a big hug! I’ve actually had a company tell me ‘tough’ and put the phone down on me!

Nice looking structure and very sturdy. Quicker job using your plates and as you said a little more expensive, but more easy on your body. It seems every thing is just coming together. I am so happy for you because you have grafted and suffered injury as a result. Great work Kris watched all your videos all over again and you have come a long way and done so much, yes pat yourself on the back, credit where it is due.

I liked the metal bracketry you added, I do miss seeing the detailed all wood connection's, but as a retired master carpenter, I do know how long it takes making them and all the dry fitting and tweaking to make them perfect, so using the metal brackets is a much faster and also makes a strong structure.. With the newer panels you will be able to produce more power and they will last much longer then those that were 5 years old.. I just replaced all of my panels, they were like 7 years old and my new ones produce almost 4 times the amount of power (with the same number of panels) Thank you so much for sharing...

How insanely cool is it that you can make all your own brackets now. Looks great, well done. I had a nightmare experience buying a 2nd hand laptop on ebay recently. Their behaviour just enabled the dodgy seller, have sworn off them altogether now.

Kris...mate...you are so efficient now, your setup, workshop, tools - inspirational dude! The best solar frame we have seen yet on RU-vid. You are setting a high benchmark! Oil that frame. It will last forever...you will be long dead and that frame will still be standing.

Kris, beautiful job and beautiful brackets, it should last years and years.🧡🧡🧡🧡

The way you work and how you roll with the punches on a project is inspiring to me. Worked with my dad all growing up on building sheds fences chicken coops dog houses and everything else under the sun. Whenever somthing went wrong it ruined his day and he would be cranky the rest of the day making work horrible. Its nice to see that it doenst have to be done that way. Your channel is my favorite on RU-vid. And I look forward to your videos. Keep it up!

You are honing so many skills Kris! Building a timber framed house is going to be a doddle eh! 👏👏🥳👍

Excellent! This is exactly the design I had in mind for myself. Now I have no excuse not to do it this summer. Great prototype! I'll post a pic after I'm finished. Start: July 2023 End Projected: August 2023. Thanks again!

I love your life and don't like mine. I'm so unhappy in this society. The way you live gives me hope, I'm so impressed by all you do. Well done.

Kris! You are one of the most talented people I've ever seen! Your builds are amazing! I'm really enjoying your channel!

Brilliant pice of engineering. Beautifully executed. Lots of work. Isn't an over kill, but then may be your part of the world you experience a lot of wind. Beautiful

Awesome Kris! With the wind you get, that structure not going anywhere! Thanks Dot for your part in helping! He could not do it all by him self!

Stacking those hand saws to widen the slot is, in my opinion, brilliant outside the box improvisation.

This structure is a monument to the Kris Harbour "Do It Right Or Don't Do It At All" ethos! Excellent design and fabrication! Your CNC plasma table pays off! It's a thing of beauty! And in 50 years, it'll be standing there when we (well lots of us) are all gone! Looking forward to seeing the panels fitted. What are you going to do with all that power?

This is truly the stuff they should be giving the knighthood for. From now on you are Sir Kris to me! Amazing work!!

You over engineer and over build everything and this is yet another prime example of it, especially for it being just for solar panels. But I have to say… it’s truly AMAZING to witness!! Your attention to detail, and the thought you put into everything is so admirable. Can you imagine if most structures/buildings were built to this precession and longevity in mind? Every house, barn, building or frame for solar panels, if built this way, would last a million years! Serious kudos to you, I’d be willing to bet there are not too many people out there that put this much effort and thought into something, and it’s inspiring to see how you’re doing it. Well done, and another well done video. Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦 🤠

I remember my reluctance at first to watch your videos because I'm a professional carpenter. Fuck me, the things I've learnt from you in this field are so many, I'm embarrassed. Embarrassed for ever having looked down on you in a way... You're amazing and I'm happy to have stumbled over your channel, having overcome my stupid pride and looked at all the things you've done.

Having to absorb unexpected costs is always a pain in the rear end. But I think this will be fantastic in the long run. If this was on my property, I would have this big beautiful structure with only a couple panels on it for a few months LOL. It's looking fantastic Kris!!

Kris, this is the sturdiest and most beautiful solar panel frame I have ever seen. You are a genius.

A substantial build. No amount of wind should ever cause concern . Very interesting Chris. A real pleasure to watch.

I always love how you innovate and imagine new ways to do things economically as possible!

Beautiful work as usual

Kris that is one superb structure. It's a shame about the solar panels but the new ones will be the latest tech and far more efficient. You saved yourself a fortune milling your own timr so I reckon its a win win. Just think of all the extra machines you can buy now you have all that surplus power. Brilliant job!!! Great workmanship!!! Love the channel !!!!

Kris, thought you'd gone totally OTT with that utterly gorgeous frame. Then realised that the sail area of the panels would exert enormous forces on the frame in high wind/storm situations. Over the expected lifespan of your new/modern solar panels there will be plenty of storms, so I now realise the wisdom of your design. And using the space underneath as a wood store - pure genius! 8.5 KW of power is insane - well done, but are you planning on selling it to your neighbours/ the grid? That's pretty much all the power the on-grid connection to my modest house gets, and we've never been short of power in over 30 years here. I know it's subject to sunshine, and your hydro is subject to rain, but if the sun aint shining, good chance it's raining (especially in Wales!), so you seem to have it covered whatever happens. Genuinely in awe of what you're doing there, and so thankful that you're sharing it with us. Thank you.

Incredible, terrific, beautiful work, as always! That's a shame about the solar panel supplier screwing you. "Cats aren't much help with string lines," LOL. Yeah, they can be a bit of a nuisance with laser distance-measures too! 😁

Yes service has got very slack recently from suppliers. New and more efficient is a better way to go in my opinion. Could have used less panels and put a bit of roof on the structure if you think you have too much solar but I guess in the winter the extra will be better for you. Great vid thanks for sharing.

Nice to have that supervisor there keeping track of things and keeping you working!

Hi Kris, Dot, Snoop, hope you are all well. Great video as usual and another step in your plan. Enjoyed watching and learned a lot. I think you're right, quality service, in many areas, seems to be a bygone thing in our 'disposable' culture today. Despite trying to build a slower-paced existence, we're at the mercy of the providers, and if they can't/won't review their efforts we're having to settle for second best in many areas. Sad, really. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe and keep up the awesome work. PS. I think you should call your drone, 'Bumble'. :)

Fantastic video Kris! So satisfying watching you turn your projects into reality. Can’t wait for part 2!

Always look forward to seeing your content, Kris! This was an amazing build. Looking forward to seeing the other half of that client hydro install!

Kris a brilliant top quality build, always an interesting well filmed, and edited video, thank you 👍😊

I envy your attention to detail and workmanship!! Great build and ingenuity all together. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

That CNC has upped your game considerably. Great bracketry (is there such a word?). Solid looking timber framing efforts as usual for you. Glad to see more videos from you. Thought I'd be seeing a lot more hydro efforts from you lately but this solar is welcome too.

Am I the only one who's thinking that the underneath can also be useful as a storage space? It is always a pleasure to watch your videos. You are doing great job and very inspiring.

All that power will be just enough for the city you’re going to build!!

I have a 12.1Kw system on the roof of my house. It was installed to cut down on my electric bill. Solar is wickedly efficient and I have not had an electric bill since December of 2021 due to a credit created by the excess power the utility has to buy from me. You will love it since it will more than meet the electric needs of your home and shop. I watch all kinds of channels. One of the tricks I have seen from companies that pour concrete is to put used motor oil as a release agent.

you can easly turn this structure into a mini house ! nice job !

Kris, you said you wanted this to last for a long time. It looks like it's going nowhere fast. Great job and I do like your method this time with the brackets. looks FAB

In years to come you'll be grateful for the extra power. Excellent job!

Amazing work Kris. You should write a book to help all of us dreaming of going off-grid. Just tips on what skills we can look into to best prepare ourselves for any potential situations and demands that working on or even outright building an off-grid property, like you did, as well as feasible steps and the progression you might expect us to encounter along the way. I think it would be amazing, it would be something for you to pour your knowledge into (in addition to this ever growing content) and make some money out of. Would also adore seeing more daily blogs of life in the roundhouse like you did with your Christmas video or your tour of the house if you had the time once you've finished with the solar system and any other upcoming projects. It might not be as readily open to regular content but it's so content and peaceful in the roundhouse that I think people would really enjoy it. It offers such a unique, vibe compared to the plethora of apartment or flat videos that most RU-vidrs are resigned to. As does your always casually enthusiastic, ever ready outlook and attitude (one that comes from your mountain of experience), that just tells a story of freedom and joy in living and growing and learning, rather than just existing to suffer mundane, monotonous routines and the weight of systems we are told or even forced, to take as a given, that are simply and obviously, suffocating to the spirit. It's so heart-warming to see you escaped and did so early, preferring to face the trials of a more uncertain life, one with so much potential for it's own initial stress and problems, particularly early on, but also one with infinitely more possibility for happiness and freedom, freedom to be your own man and freedom to live your life how you please. Just amazing.

Good morning, Kris. I love your channel, your approach to life, and watching you build your future! I'm curious about your tools and how you acquired them. Many appear to be antique. Enjoyed the chisel episode!

Hi Kris - am still loving your videos as much as the early days, wow, come such a long way since them miserable days before the house was built - like the new structure, a little house for the tractor, another hen house, or for sheep not sure if this might be relevant or of any use to you, a little knowledge i have regarding solar panels, i did a security job looking after a new Solar Panel farm, when the boards finally arrived, i helped go through the panels after delivery, all i understood were printed (the latest thing making solar panels cheaper) but around one in five were damaged, cracked and some the print (screen print) had delaminated - i also learnt that the panels may need replacing every few years due to failure, i guess under UV conditions, i wish i made a note of the company as it got me interested, maybe i try and look out for a local site and keep an eye out for maintenance crews and ask, its interesting technology, but if it fails every few years, i begin to wonder, i guess you pay for the quality in the end, be cool to see how you can test a panel, before it gets wired in, and fails

Kris I know exactly where you are coming from, I contacted 11 different electrician's some independent and some established companies out of the 11 only one could be bothered to get back to me regarding installation of power to my newly built workshop in my garden. It seems that nobody has any work ethics whatsoever nowadays. Very disappointing!!!. Great job on the build as always, it's great to see how you alway's lean towards the same style of building your projects! As alway's buddy 💯% 👍.

Kris, you have to be one of the most ingenious men out there. I've learned soooo much from watching you and listening to your explanations. Kudos! Ugh, jerks. Well, in a way having the new panels will definitely help with your electrical needs.

Great build , wish I’d known about your panel issue , I do however have some solar cable that may be of use

Kris, ever thought about doing a composter that automatically turns itself over? Could be a cool side project while waiting on parts for a larger project.

Metal and timber always work well together .its a stunning structure and should stand the test of time..another job well done Kris.

I think it's a blessing in disguise for the winter months you got the better panels, build a pool and have a pool heater or jacuzzi as an energy dump lol

Detail of your work and videos are brilliant mate! Ever thought of an array of evacuated solar heat pipes with a sand battery?