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Great lessons in how to get by in perilous times. I was very fortunate: never lost power, no trees down. My cousins checked on my house on Gratz Road and the electric baseboard heating kept the pipes from freezing. I was at my other house in Alabama, so all I had to do was worry a bit.
Marino, a professional chimney sweep could check out your current fireplaces and chimneys, and let you know if making them functional again as fireplaces, or adding a woodstove or two would be feasible. My friends' frame home has five rooms plus a bath, closets and an attic, but it stays toasty with the one stove. I think they may also use an electric space heater or two during the coldest weather.
Yes, one ice storm of that magnitude was quite enough. Playing pioneer lost its charm after about the first two or three hours.
But at least I know what to do if a similar ice storm ever hits again: set logs and kindling in the fireplace but don't light the fire until the house starts to get cold (a lot of heat goes up the chimney), grab the cast-iron and brass and give them a good wash, hang the coverlet in the doorway, close the other doors, open up the hide-a-bed and make it up with flannel sheets and extra blankets, locate long johns and wool socks, fill the bathtubs with hot water for radiant heat, make sure the battery radio has good batteries, ditto flashlights, get candles and oil lamps in place, and hit the grocery for marshmallows, hot chocolate mix, bacon, eggs, and baker potatoes!
It's eggs, milk, and bread. Apparently, every power outage requires French toast.
Don't forget the toilet paper! lol
One of the dumbest things I saw after the ice storm was on a trip to the Hoptown Walmart. People heard about the ice storm coming and bought portable generators for the power outage. Ice melts, everything thaws out and a lot of those folks haul those generators back to Walmart for a refund. I could find a place to store mine. Never know when you might need it again.
Something else I learned from a couple Walmart employees, all the people who buy out half the grocery part of the store when the forecast is 1-3", acting like they won't be able to get out of the house for a month, then take the food back for a refund, are costing us money. Most of that food can't be put back on the shelf or donated. It has to thrown away. Thanks to Homeland Security.
I'd be stocking up on canned food every fall season for winter. I can eat that cold, no heat required if there's no power. All I need is a can opener and spoon. Oh, and candy too!! Might as well make the best out of it.
What I wouldn't do is wait for the weather forecast to say a snow storm is coming. I'd have my stuff ready by the end of October.
Last edited by marino760; 01-24-2020 at 11:06 AM..
We were lucky during the ice storm our electricity was only out a few hours (but weirdly enough the people across the street had their electricity out for like 2 weeks. Most of them left to stay with family or friends, a few bought generators(until all the stores officially ran out of generators in Lexington!!!!) and stored their perishable food outside in the back since it was as cold as a freezer.
Most everyone has a outside grill, so that was their way that way to cook, either that or like mentioned before by the fireplace....many had fireplaces. Yes, it was weird it was a frozen tundra but you could smell people using their barbecue grills, and other people's chimney smells!!!)
I didn't hear of anyone's pipes breaking, which I guess is pretty amazing.
With all the huge trees down though, it looked like a war zone.
I know a lot of people who wisely kept those generator's they bought!
Storing up canned goods is a really good idea also! We had never really had anything like that happen before though...at least to that extent, so many people were caught unprepared.
Last edited by Crazee Cat Lady; 01-24-2020 at 02:12 PM..
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760
Speaking of ice storms would anyone like to share how they fared during that "big one"? I'm curious about alternative ways to heat a house at least temporarily for a few days just in case it happens again. Did water pipes break inside homes for lack of heat during the power outage? My house was built in 1880 and I'm certain has seen a few major ice storms over the decades. It does have a couple of fire places but they are non functional at this point.
I've been thinking about looking into adding a wood burning stove but it seems so invasive having to put holes into the ceiling, roof or walls and taking everything into account with installation, it's very expensive.
In the 2003 Lexington ice storm a large tree branch dragged our power line halfway down to the ground and nearly pulled off the power connector on the house. But power stayed on.
Main thing is to not use a grill in the house. 50 people died in 2009 from carbon monoxide doing that.
We were lucky during the ice storm our electricity was only out a few hours (but weirdly enough the people across the street had their electricity out for like 2 weeks. Most of them left to stay with family or friends, a few bought generators(until all the stores officially ran out of generators in Lexington!!!!) and stored their perishable food outside in the back since it was as cold as a freezer.
Most everyone has a outside grill, so that was their way that way to cook, either that or like mentioned before by the fireplace....many had fireplaces. Yes, it was weird it was a frozen tundra but you could smell people using their barbecue grills, and other people's chimney smells!!!)
I didn't hear of anyone's pipes breaking, which I guess is pretty amazing.
With all the huge trees down though, it looked like a war zone.
I know a lot of people who wisely kept those generator's they bought!
Storing up canned goods is a really good idea also! We had never really had anything like that happen before though...at least to that extent, so many people were caught unprepared.
2 weeks is a very long time. I wonder if people were able to turn off the water at the meter and drain the pipes as much as possible when they knew it would be several days or weeks for power to be restored. 2 weeks must be a worst case scenario I would imagine.
2 weeks is a very long time. I wonder if people were able to turn off the water at the meter and drain the pipes as much as possible when they knew it would be several days or weeks for power to be restored. 2 weeks must be a worst case scenario I would imagine.
It was easier to leave the water dripping in all the faucets, showers, tubs. My parents weren't as worried because all the water lines, and water heater, were in the basement, where the furnace is. This house ( it was theirs then but deeded to us when my mother died) has radiator heat. My dad said even though the furnace wouldn't because of no power to the thermostat, there was enough warmth down there to protect the pipes. But he still left everything dripping.
What surprised me was my dad moved to an assisted living facility after my mother died and, when they built it, all water lines were in the attic so they kept all the faucets running a slow stream during any freeze warning.
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