Wot no preps? [/chad]

[mobbsey]

Agree about the Geiger-counters I don't think a radioactive world will be long term human survivable no matter what

I doubt that an all out nuclear war or generally radioactive world would be survivable.
But Fukushima was survivable for most was it not ? I have no doubt that many of those affected would have been glad of a geiger counter.

Standard (cheap) geiger counter will only pick-up gamma and energetic beta. Whilst it'll let you know when the fallout is raining, or where the hot spots have fallen, or where naughty people in the Atomic Energy Authority have been unlawfully dumping their crap (my personal best day's work with a geiger counter), it's not much use after the short-lived beta-gamma nucleides have decayed after the first three to six months.

The real long-term health issue is alpha emitters, which are not detected by standard geiger tubes; and the long-lived beta emitters, which are not as effectively detected by cheaper tubes (they might pick up some, but are likely to give a lower reading than the actual level). If you want to detect alpha you need a scintillator, which is a rather expensive piece of kit both to buy and operate -- and without the technical support of your local laboratory equipment distributor that's going to be rather difficult to do!

Re: films, whilst 'Threads' is OK, if you want real absurdity watch some of the US TV movies like 'The Day After' or 'By Dawn's Early Night'. Then again, if you lobotomise yourself first 'Red Dawn' can even be mildly entertaining.

[energy-village]

"Threads" - I have a digital copy of the film. Horrifying! Key images that are burnt into my brain:
Doctor sawing a limb off in the hospital
Woman cradling her dead child
Dying cat
The whole city filled with the sound of screaming
And many others!

I think of:

- the local council emergency team, desperately wanting to get a grip on the situation and unable to make any difference at all, as they died in the basement.
- The melting milk bottle.
- The urine flowing down the woman's leg.
- The shocked faces as they watch the mushroom cloud: "Jesus Christ! They've done it . . . they've done it!!!"

[extractorfan]

I'm a bit late to the thread here, but now I've moved in to my massively mortgage house (gambling on keeping my (or a) job and high inflation) I have drawn up a list of preps in priority order:


1. Name down for a local allotment (done a while ago), I’ve had 2 allotments in the past, its good food, good exercise and good community.

2. Exclude drafts around back door (tonight)

3. Loft insulation, save money now to afford upgrades later

4. Small power generator (still shopping around), the house has gas central heating reliant on an electric water pump so if there’s a gas shortage I can use an electric heater, if there’s a prolonged electric power cut I’m stuck without a means of generating electric, a small generator at £110.00 is the cheapest “quick-fix”.

5. Fix bicycle punctures and start cycling to work (sunday/monday), got to stay fit and save on transport costs.

6. Start a home brew (March), no way am I giving up beer so might as well save on the price, invite friends round and hopefully do some swapsies of beer for wine, keep the missus happy.

7. Wood burner (£2000.00 including flue install, there’s no chimney!) it makes sense to have a mix of fuel heating sources, and wood burners are nice, romantic and you can cook on them.

8. Collect logs whilst saving up for a wood burner (advice received here)

9. Pay down another 5% of mortgage capital in the first year. With house prices set to decline further for some time, paying down capital may help to stave off the dreaded negative equity.

10. Install some solar power generation, not sure whether to choose solar water heating or solar electric, probably go with solar water heating as I have a hunch this will be most cost effective. (this plan is at least a couple of years down the line....might never happen)

And thoughts in progress include:

I seem to be good at making knife handles, wondering how much profit margin I can put into that for a bit of extra cash.

Must downgrade my car to something sensible, I must, I must.

Get better at maths, needed my dads help to calculate how much loft insulation I needed. Embarrassing.

[Tarrel]

"Threads" - I have a digital copy of the film. Horrifying! Key images that are burnt into my brain:
Doctor sawing a limb off in the hospital
Woman cradling her dead child
Dying cat
The whole city filled with the sound of screaming
And many others!

I think of:

- the local council emergency team, desperately wanting to get a grip on the situation and unable to make any difference at all, as they died in the basement.
- The melting milk bottle.
- The urine flowing down the woman's leg.
- The shocked faces as they watch the mushroom cloud: "Jesus Christ! They've done it . . . they've done it!!!"

Yes, those too

[PS_RalphW]

We are abandoning our move north and are putting an offer on a bungalow in the next village as a retirement home project.

Village location with good bus routes, shop 300 metres, good size garden,
south facing roof, solid construction, sensible layout. School in walking distance.

In need updating, and we will need a mortgage, but it should be self -funding by the time we rent out either it or our current house.

As long as I still have a job to cover the mortgage for as long as it takes to get the work done, we should be secure. We should then be economically insulated from anything short of total collapse.

[SleeperService]

Way to go extractorfan and ralph

Regarding loft insulation pack in as much as you can with alternate layers at 90deg to each other and don't forget the loft hatch.

Mine is now just over 2 foot thick and I've noticed a difference as each extra layer has gone in Got most of it from freegle for nowt but get rockwool type rather than fibreglass. Not enviromentally sound stuff but it's free, efficent and would otherwise go to landfill.

Up here in Nottingham the solar water heating beats solar electric by a mile. I am planning on a small PV system for lights etc but not yet.

I've just remortgaged and gone for a five year fixed rate with 10% per annum overpayment allowed, the feeling is that the interest rates will only go up but I'm protested from that for a while

Edit: Check round the windows as well for draughts especially the outer edges it's easier in winter as the cold air coming in is easier to detect. Girlie's son is in a newbuild and the draughts were shocking. Two tubes of frame seal and a can of foam later

[kenneal - lagger]

..... a 'first responder' first aid course which looked fantastic, I'd really like to find something like that locally to do this year.

Try the local St John's Ambulance Brigade. if they don't run them they can point you in the right direction. My son-in-law's father runs courses for them so I know they are available.

[Tarrel]

Volunteer at your local Scout Group as a leader. You'll be trained in all sorts of areas for free (including 1st responder), learn (or re-learn) self-reliance AND be making a significant contribution to the development of young people in your local area. And it won't cost you a penny

Examples of some of the training provided to me during my first five years:
First aid (first response)
Child protection
Organising and running camps and overnight experiences
Running outdoor and adventurous activities
Leadership
Working with volunteers
Practical skills (doing and teaching)
Plus specific scout stuff such as how to organise and run a troop evening.

It's all accredited by the Open College Network and, with a bit of extra work, can be converted to a qualification in youth work.

[extractorfan]

and don't forget the loft hatch.

What do you attach the insulation to the loft hatch with?

Glue? Screws?

I'm starting with 200mm over the existing stuff which is probably 10mm thick if we're luck. Not a lot of spare cash at the moment so will do it in bits.

There's only a draught comming in round the kitchen door. I'm thinking of using silcone sealent with draught excluder on top of that.

I am also "allowed" to pay of 10% of the capital of the mortgage each year but I'll never have that much spare, 5% will be a stretch.

[JohnB]

I'm starting with 200mm over the existing stuff which is probably 10mm thick if we're luck. Not a lot of spare cash at the moment so will do it in bits.

B&Q are doing subsidised insulation at £3 a roll. There's a limit of 100sq m, or 18 rolls, which comes out at £54. Most people will need less than that, but I now know I can get 18 rolls in my van!

[extractorfan]

limit of 100sq m, or 18 rolls, which comes out at £54. Most people will need less than that, but I now know I can get 18 rolls in my van!

Yep, that's the stuff I'm using although it's like rockinghorse sh*t at the moment.

Got 4 rolls today and pick up 6 Saturday morning from a different store.

Should cover everything + a bit left over. 50 meters sqaure.

[JohnB]

limit of 100sq m, or 18 rolls, which comes out at £54. Most people will need less than that, but I now know I can get 18 rolls in my van!

Yep, that's the stuff I'm using although it's like rockinghorse sh*t at the

For some reason I was only able to order 13 rolls online for collection, but they had the other 5 in stock. I may have nearly cleared them out in Carmarthen though!

[woodpecker]

We got a favourable response this week from the Shrops planning dept for our roundwood-frame-strawbale-but-in-a-town pre-planning application.

Does that count as prep?

Shure does.

Consider inviting colleagues along to help on the build, and learn. They can camp. Especially if it's not mid-winter.

[SleeperService]

and don't forget the loft hatch.

What do you attach the insulation to the loft hatch with?

Glue? Screws?

I'm starting with 200mm over the existing stuff which is probably 10mm thick if we're luck. Not a lot of spare cash at the moment so will do it in bits.

There's only a draught comming in round the kitchen door. I'm thinking of using silcone sealent with draught excluder on top of that.

I am also "allowed" to pay of 10% of the capital of the mortgage each year but I'll never have that much spare, 5% will be a stretch.

In order

Definately don't try and remove the stuff that's there just put the new over it. Depending on the age of the house the dust could contain asbestos It's perfectly OK as long as you don't disturb it. Put a plastic sheet under the hatch and get undressed onto it when you come down before getting into a cool shower. Hot water will open your pores and make things worse. Then clothes straight into the washing machine. Girlie insists on two washes the first w/out detergent to make sure there's no contamination. WEAR A GOOD DUSTMASK not the ones made of paper the thicker type that feel like felt.

Two common ways of doing it.

1 Use a sheet of celotex and glue it using no nails or impact adhesive. Use thin sheet and build up in layers with an overhang at the top that slightly compresses the loft insulation. Off cuts from a building site is the way to go as it's about £20-25 a sheet.

2 Make the loft hatch into a box with ply and 25mm (or 50mm) square timber about 6 or 8 inches deep then fill with loft insulation, compress it slightly to avoid it clumping if the hatch is stood on it's edge.

If it's a lift out hatch put closed cell neoprene sealing strip on the top edge of the hatch rebate. If it's hinged allow for the top edge to clear as it swings shut. You need a really good seal as the warm air will get past a poor one very quickly.

Register with the local freegle group and, over a year you'll easily get enough free to add another couple of layers.

Use frame sealant around the door. Silicone isn't flexible enough and will soon pull away. Frame sealant stays 'doughy' so when the frame vibrates as the door opens and shuts the seal stays good. This applies to the outside edge of the frame where it meets the wall. Draught strip seals the gap between door and the frame. Use closed cell neoprene again, the brush type aren't as good except at the bottom where they are the only way in most cases.

Check Wilko's for frame sealant if you've got one nearby lot cheaper than a DIY barn round here. You'll need a gun for it they're about three squid and last for ever.

If you get draughts around skirtings decoraters caulk will stop them dead.

Any overpayment is good and the sooner you start it the better the result.

Sorry for the length but detail matters with this kind of stuff

[woodburner]

7. Wood burner (£2000.00 including flue install, there’s no chimney!) it makes sense to have a mix of fuel heating sources, and wood burners are nice, romantic and you can cook on them.

8. Collect logs whilst saving up for a wood burner (advice received here)

If you haven't read this, buy a copy before you make a decision. A download copy is less than £10. and you could sell it afterwards