Thoughts on home preparations

[bluetopper]

When we bought this house it had a wood burning fireplace insert in the fireplace with a fan. It looked ancient, big, and ugly so after a dozen years I took it out. Well lo and behold behind the insert was a natural gas pipe. And the valve I discovered was under a very slight bump in the wall I had never paid any attention to. I rigged it up to be vented gas with ceramic logs and we have really enjoyed it the last few years. I am however thinking of making it unvented as it seems 90% of the heat goes up the chimney. Is unvented better?
A few nights ago here in northeast Texas it got down to -5. The coldest I've ever experienced in my 58 years.

 

[chief38]

I like to think of myself as always being prepared for what Mother Nature or other situations can deal out. I have over the years installed a quality house generator, I've built up a descent long term food storage pantry, I'm constantly rotating stored Gasoline, have plenty of batteries, flashlights, oil lamps & fuel, drinking water storage bladders, water purification system, blah blah blah.

I assume most here are OK i the SD/HD department so that should be self explanatory. I also keep a cord of wood for the fireplace on hand and since my property is partially wooded, firewood is not a major issue if I needed some more. I constantly replenish what gets used up as we enjoy a good drink by the fireplace.

I also keep a few lengths of 1/2" and 3/4" copper pipe and all sorts of fittings & valves on hand if I should need to do a plumbing repair job. I also keep a few extra electrical outlets, switches, breakers etc around for an emergency. I keep a good supply of filters for anything like central ac, water systems, central vac system, etc so I never have to run out should the stores be closed for what ever reasons.

Basically I do what ever I can to get through what ever might happen.

 

[ladder13]

I am prepared for my final home, yes.

 

[Chubbs103]

I have thought that if I lived in an apartment I would buy a tent or make a tent with blankets or a tarpaulin so the area I needed too heat would be smaller. In a deer stand I have used a small heater that screws on a one lb. propane bottle. It will run about 6 hours and several bottles wouldn't be hard too store. It wouldn't be as comfortable as a 5* hotel but for me it would better than being in a big room and cold. Larry

Just make sure the heat source isn't going to kill you with carbon monoxide or even just starve your "tent" of breathable oxygen.

 

[tops]

This homeowner on the banks of the Ohio River, across from Louisville, figured out floodplain living.

My guess is that they are young. When they get older they will be moving. Larry

 

[ContinentalOp]

This homeowner on the banks of the Ohio River, across from Louisville, figured out floodplain living.

Would his name happen to be Noah...?

 

[oldbrownhat]

Would his name happen to be Noah...?

I see the price of gopher wood has gone up to $3.25 a board foot now.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I am prepared for my final home, yes.

Well, as Mark Twain commented, "You go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company."

 

[oldbrownhat]

My guess is that they are young. When they get older they will be moving. Larry

"Get thee up unto a high mountain" might be good advice here.

 

[Chubbs103]

It is probably fair to say that this site is filled with a lot of old farts that are better prepared than most that live in this marvelous new age of convenience. I likely fit into that category.

I am sympathetic to the fact that not everyone's living conditions allow them to be as prepared in their apartment, condo, etc. as I am in my home. Some even have considerable special needs necessitated by age and health. That being said, everyone should try to be prepared enough to get through a week without power and the ability to make it to the grocery.

EVERYONE should know how to and have the required tools for securing the water to their residence.

 

[gregintenn]

I am well prepared for any event I’ve experienced thus far, and prepared for eternity. Since I have little control of what takes place between now and then, I can only do so much preparing.

I have discovered that I have no ability whatsoever to worry something better.

I also believe that living out in the country will make a fellow be better prepared than city life. We don’t live across the street from Kroger or WalMart and plan accordingly.

 

[steelslaver]

My house is heated with natural gas from a pretty close source, I have 2 generators. But. I have a spare wood stove and I am going to make a panel I can install in a window, duct tape the edges and run stove pipe through it. Just in case.

 

[mtgianni]

A couple of 20# propane bottles and a small vent less heater will keep a bedroom warm for a long time. A one burner propane stove to heat food. I would use a CO detector, but you should have one anyway. At least a couple weeks worth of soup, rice, beans, noodles isn't expensive or take up a lot of room. You could slide a bunch that and packages of water bottles under the bed. If you have to you can use plastic garbage bags for you body waste. Setting yourself up to survive for 2 weeks would not be hard or expensive. Figure on moving to a small room and staying there at 50 degrees with every blanket you own. It might not be pretty, but it would beat dying like some people did.

You can also set up a small tent in a small room for even more heat conversion. Put people in there with the heat sources outside of it and you have reduced the room size even more.

 

[mtgianni]

When we bought this house it had a wood burning fireplace insert in the fireplace with a fan. It looked ancient, big, and ugly so after a dozen years I took it out. Well lo and behold behind the insert was a natural gas pipe. And the valve I discovered was under a very slight bump in the wall I had never paid any attention to. I rigged it up to be vented gas with ceramic logs and we have really enjoyed it the last few years. I am however thinking of making it unvented as it seems 90% of the heat goes up the chimney. Is unvented better?
A few nights ago here in northeast Texas it got down to -5. The coldest I've ever experienced in my 58 years.

They are different appliances not convertible from one to another. I have never seen a set of instructions for an unvented heater that did not require a permanently open to the outdoors of at least 10" by 10" free area. If it isn't installed per the instructions your insurance company may not pay in case of fire or accident. I would look at a gas operated insert that can be flush and run off of a thermostat. Many don't require electricity.

 

[Squarebutt]

We had an October snowstorm about a decade ago when heavy, wet snow brought down thousands of trees and branches on power lines all over the state. Power was out for more than a week. We have natural gas in the house, but couldn't run the furnace without electricity. Fortunately our water heater has a pilot light rather than an electric sparker, so we had showers. For heat we set a big pot of water on the gas range to simmer and act as a radiator, adding a quart or two when necessary. The fireplace was a mixed blessing - it threw some heat when lit, but drew heat up the chimney the the fire went out.
A friend who had no water (electric well pump), no heat and no lights spent the week on our couch with her two small dogs. We ate well, drank well and slept well with no TV or computers to occupy us. Not a bad week, all things considered.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

...

Toilets flush and syphon the bowel.... add 1/2gal -50 Rec vehicle anti-freeze to the tank and flush to get anti-freeze in the toilet bowl rim and fill
trap..... a cup to each sink/tub trap and don't forget the dishwasher.

Oh, thank you for using RV anti-freeze (and not the lethal automotive stuff, which is toxic in both municipal sewer systems and septic tanks).

Also, don't forget the washing machine. That little motor is not cheap and not easy to replace. No, I don't have experience -- I simply listened to a sage friend.

 

[Golddollar]

A couple of 20# propane bottles and a small vent less heater will keep a bedroom warm for a long time. A one burner propane stove to heat food.

If you look at my avatar you can see essentially what Steelslaver is talking about. That is me cooking a big pot of chili at a cookoff, using a burner that was designed to carry in a boat for shore lunches, hooked up to a 20# propane tank. The burner is often marketed as a fish cooker in the sporting goods stores or as part of a set up for deep frying turkeys. The BTU output is incredible. You'll think you've got an engine for a Phantom Jet. A 20# propane tank will supply fuel for heating for a long time.

 

[twodog max]

Living in a rural area makes us a little more prepared than most on a daily basis. You just have to be because help of any kind is often days away. So we got a generator and keep it ready to go. We have snow ice tornadoes etc almost every year in some form or fashion. We also have tried to keep food stockpiled to at least a couple weeks worth. If the water goes out I know where two springs are within walking distance of the house so we can always have a source of that if it gets really bad. The bottom line is be prepared for however your individual situation allows or requires.
A comment about climate change. My background is science based so I will let you in on a little secret. The climate is always changing. It always has. Nothing in nature is a static condition. Those that believe so are woefully uninformed. The prime driver of our climate is not your SUV or whatever the alarmists claim today it is that big bright ball in the daytime sky. What is going on with it and the planets relationship to it determines all.

 

[steelslaver]

Just make sure the heat source isn't going to kill you with carbon monoxide or even just starve your "tent" of breathable oxygen.

CO detectors are not expensive and every home should have one or more. I even have one in my cook box for my camp for the cook tent as I use a big propane stove.

Your smoke detector most likely does not detect CO gas BTW.
When I was finishing my addition a couple years ago winter came while doing the Sheetrock. At times I had 2 of the 2 round burner Mr Heaters that clamp onto a propane bottle running. I installed a CO detector and it never went off. That was in a space that was 22x32 about 700sq ft.. A one burner one running in a bedroom should be OK. I would not do something like duct tape off the door or windows though.

 

[bushmaster1313]

One thing many never knew or forgot is that a furnace needs electricity to turn on and blow hot air around the house.

We are fortunate to have a cast iron fire stove in our family room. It is only about the size of a large microwave oven, but it puts out enough heat when burning split firewood to heat the entire house when the outside temperature is in the single digits. Compared to a fireplace a fire stove is very efficient because you can carefully regulate the air coming in, the entire stove radiates heat, and the large flue that goes straight up and into the ceiling before exiting through the roof also radiates a lot of heat.