We Built a Walk-In Cooler From Scratch (I’m Not a Carpenter)

Happy day, we’re turning a stack of raw materials into a mobile walk‑in cooler so we can hang and chill our own meat right here at the holler instead of hauling animals to town. Not only are we killing and hanging on‑farm, we’re stepping into full DIY butchering and hope to save thousands by doing our own parting. Lukes Plans: https://www.doughertysbutchertrailers... In this episode, Justin tackles an intimidating project as a non‑carpenter, leaning on Luke Dougherty’s original plans and a Perplexity‑generated step‑by‑step with drawings, cut lists, and tool lists, then wrestling through all the real‑world issues those plans don’t show—alternate flooring, measurements that don’t quite fit, and tools that decide to break at the worst time. You’ll see: • Cleaning and organizing the workspace, unloading and sorting lumber, foam, and siding, and laying out the skids and floor frame for a mobile cooler • How Perplexity helped turn “construction‑men” theory plans into step‑by‑step instructions, plus the moment we realize the original design assumed a trailer bed floor • Painting, priming, and enameling the sanitation floor, adjusting slat heights after a measurement mistake, and dealing with outlets, power cords, table saw issues, and drill‑through metal challenges • Gideon and the boys acting like men, holding boards, fixing errors, and keeping progress moving even when we have to undo and redo steps This vlog is about more than building a cooler: it’s a raw look at problem‑solving, persistence, and learning new skills on the homestead so we can steward our animals better and keep more of the value right here at home.