Preparedness for when

mardatha

Snow warning here and it is very very still and sitting at 2C. Very odd looking out at bushes and hedges absolutely still..
creepy!

BigMummaF

Someone a while back (talking months here ) was very helpful with tips on keeping exotic pets safe & warm in times of power loss. Unfortunately, it was around the time the ruddy poota/tintaweb had a hissy fit & now I'm trying to remember the stuff I had kept, so I can keep it again, so to speak Was it you Ginny, who has a son with snakes? I don't know why I should think it's you in particular, but I do!

I'd also like info on the wonderful shops I've read so much about, with really good prices on herbs, dried goods & vinegar so if anyone knows of such places along the south coast, I'd be eternally grateful

It seems that nothing too drastic has befallen the local townspeople thank goodness, but the weather is still rough. My sympathies to those less fortunate & here's hoping the sky declares a hosepipe ban soon

maryb

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

We had mould problems in the upstirs rooms when we first did a big top up of loft insulation particularly on the ceiling coving in the bathroom. He Who Knows did a bit of research and went back up into the loft and pulled the edged of the insulation back a couple of inches which enabled the loft to 'breathe' and the moisture up there to escape, not get captured in the insulation and hang around making everything damp and mouldy. Before he did that we had ice forming on the underside of the roof felt in really cold weather, just moving back the insulation cured that too, hope that's useful, Lyn xxx.

We have a roof with a very shallow pitch and suffered for years from the lack of insulation - but it was impossible to get into the corners of the attic to lay conventional insulation. Eventually I found a firm that seemed to have the answer - they laid ordinary insulation in the middle where they could reach and used the blown pellet insulation normally used for cavity walls to fill in round the edges.

Result - dreadful problems with condensation and mould upstairs.

We are looking at putting a new roof on and maybe putting in a couple of extra rooms to make it worth the cost

[Deleted User]

mardatha wrote: »

Snow warning here and it is very very still and sitting at 2C.

Yep, I just heard on the radio weather forecast, that we may get snow on the Pennines.

GreyQueen

Yeah, with a damp maritime climate like the UK's, we're in a constant tension between insulation/condensation/mold. Some lofts are requiring additonal vents to allow the moisture accumulating due to increased loft insulation to escape.

I get to hear more than I'd like about damp and mold due to my job and am a touch paranoid about ventilating my own (very small) flat. Even at this time of the year, at least one window is ajar (with heating off) for several hours a day. Bedroom window has been open since 8am.

Hope no one here is trying to clean mold away with bleach or hot soapy water or brush it off; it needs a proprietory mold-killer, those things just named only enourage it.

I think it's a good idea to rootle into the nooks and crannies of your home and outbuildings/ sheds fairly regularly. Especially for us preppers who may have those areas stocked with more items than the average bear.

By keeping an eye, you can make sure that the stocks aren't going bad/ being pest-infested and also that there's nothing amiss with the home itself. I intend to have the stuff out from under the sink today and do a bit of a stock-take and make sure all is hunky-dory under there. Covert leaks under sinks are pretty common and can rot out your cupboard, its contents and provide habit for critters. I've even known the pest controllers to find ingress points fot r*ts alongside the pipes where they go through the walls.:eek:

One of the best slogans about pest control I ever heard was No place, no face, meaning deny the beggars habit. Lots of pesties don't like to be disturbed, so get out there and disturb them regularly.

My own personal plague of locust (singular) was put into the leaf litter below a shrubbery bed about 30m away. It'll probably die of the cold but I ended up feeling a certain fondness for my temporary prisoner. So, it was an ugly bug, but that wasn't its fault and, seeing it sat up on its haunches, forelimbs resting on the glass, peering out, I felt a little guilty about being a gaoler. It'll have to take its chances with the seagulls and pigeons etc.

Righty, time for a bite of luncheon, then that cupboard will be bottomed out.

[Deleted User]

The single LED large hand torch is all but out.

The 9 LED torch is still going, but much dimmer than when I switched it on.

On the weather front, the clouds are hugging the top of the Pennines.

They're mid grey and very dense, so I wouldn't be surprised if we do get some snow.

GreyQueen

Bob, where's Buggalugs? I trust cats to sense the weather and get themselves hence to warmth and comfort. Where's the cat?

I have been fossicking under my own kitchen sink. This is a tad awkward as, when both undersink cupboard doors are open, this is the exact width of the available floorspace in my kitchen.

I apparently own an un-opened pack of Powercloths (!). Must have been in that bagful of new, unused cleaning supplies from auntie. I have never knowingly used a Powercloth in my life, so will cut them into smaller bits and use them for washing the dishes. The excitement is almost too much to bear......

Domestic archaeology. Zero critters found under the sink; last time there was a dead pod spider under there I felt there was an untold story of derring-do from this longlost member of the Tribe of Pod. Sort of like Indiana Jones, but smaller. Who knows what epic lives arachnids and arthropods are living, cheek-by-jowl with our own?

Its next-of-web were informed.

To those who worry about my sad life, I am intending to go out for the second time today later. I remembered the "Palais" a fleapit cinema comprehensively unimproved and thus affordable and shall hie me there to watch The Desolation of Smaug. Once I'm in Mirkw00d, the state of the carpetting at the Palais will be a non-issue.:p

Keep warm and dry, lovely peeps.

[Deleted User]

Buggalugs was out for a couple of hours, but has just come in.

The sky overhead, is clouding over as I type.

GreyQueen

There you have all the information you need. Cat's in, therefore time to batten down the hatches. We have on/off showers but it's far to mild to snow. It think my excursion down to the Palais which is all of half-a-mile away, can be executed safely.

Karmacat

Mould. Oh dear. I've realised I have really nasty mould in my porch and the wall alongside it, of all places - I'm sure there's damp coming up, and I'm sure the pointing needs replacing (and even some of the bricks repairing). And I *have* been cleaning it off with bleach :o:o Will research mould killer, thanks, GreyQueen