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Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
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I lived through Rita and Ike here in SE Texas. Between the 2 storms a month without grid power, Rita being almost 3 weeks. I grew up around here but had never seen or imagined this kinda destruction. Something told me to prep so having a few days notice I procured 2 generators, one smaller one for my well, over 100 gallons of gas, electrical cable and connectors, made sure the chainsaws were ready.
Prepping for a natural disaster is different from an EOTWAWKI event ... power should be restored relatively soon so large quantities of canned foods not that necessary as refrigeration can be continued under generated power. Folks on a municipal /community water systems could have more difficulties.
Most lighthouses aren't just sitting in the middle of the ocean. Most are high up on the coast. Those that are in the ocean are on islands that have been built up. And MANY lighthouses over the years have been lost to the sea so don't think that being cylindrical will save them.
"A building with the shape of a cylinder guides the air flow around it and allows the air to continue behind it. Such a structure can withstand higher winds, as it has less force than on a similar structure that catches the wind. Therefore, you may have noticed from seeing pictures or visiting lighthouses that most of them are cylindrical in shape. Now you know why! "
A cylindrical (or hemispherical) building will better resist the side forces of wind and water.
As to the foundations of the building, that's another issue entirely.
I lived through Rita and Ike here in SE Texas. Between the 2 storms a month without grid power, Rita being almost 3 weeks. I grew up around here but had never seen or imagined this kinda destruction. Something told me to prep so having a few days notice I procured 2 generators, one smaller one for my well, over 100 gallons of gas, electrical cable and connectors, made sure the chainsaws were ready.
Prepping for a natural disaster is different from an EOTWAWKI event ... power should be restored relatively soon so large quantities of canned foods not that necessary as refrigeration can be continued under generated power. Folks on a municipal /community water systems could have more difficulties.
I'm worried about storing 5 gallons of gas safely, and you've got 100 gallons? How do you store that amount?
I had to fight with my husband just to get a 5 gal. can. He says since we don't have a generator, we don't need it. I think it's smart to have it, regardless.
I'm worried about storing 5 gallons of gas safely, and you've got 100 gallons? How do you store that amount?
I had to fight with my husband just to get a 5 gal. can. He says since we don't have a generator, we don't need it. I think it's smart to have it, regardless.
Everyone with a car has a generator.
I keep a $60 800 watt inverter in my truck, it can run most modern freezers/fridges.
As stated before, concrete is cheap. The trick is getting it to cure in the shape of a house.
That's why concrete construction is expensive. Houses are rarely mass produced from one design, and thus no simple reusable form brings economies of scale to the process.
(BTW - national average for concrete is $75 / cu yd)
Here's the thing. The concrete may be "cheap," but the labor is NOT. And finding people who are highly skilled with this type of work is EXTREMELY hard to find. Heck, finding someone who does a good job floating a patio can be a challenge.
As for homes not being mass produced, mmmm you haven't met with the company who built my last house. They have 12 designs that they are currently building in like 15 neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has at least 200 houses.
And the national average means nothing. There are many different types of concrete. All don't work for all applications.
Don't forget that concrete doesn't handle aging well or salt. In the Northeast, we use TONS of salt every year. There is no way getting around that unless we never leave our homes.
[1] Here's the thing. The concrete may be "cheap," but the labor is NOT. And finding people who are highly skilled with this type of work is EXTREMELY hard to find. Heck, finding someone who does a good job floating a patio can be a challenge.
[2] As for homes not being mass produced, mmmm you haven't met with the company who built my last house. They have 12 designs that they are currently building in like 15 neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has at least 200 houses.
[3] And the national average means nothing. There are many different types of concrete. All don't work for all applications.
[4] Don't forget that concrete doesn't handle aging well or salt. In the Northeast, we use TONS of salt every year. There is no way getting around that unless we never leave our homes.
[1] Ahem - isn't that my point? American housing construction is LABOR intensive, and does not rely on mass production methods.
[2] 12 designs is not one design, unless I do not understand math. Making 12 forms to pour 12 house designs would cost more than 1 form to pour 1 design.
[3] And your point is that some concrete is more expensive than others?
[4] "Handle aging?" Did you know that Roman concrete has lasted "only" 2000+ years?
Concrete and reinforced concrete may be susceptible to salt and water. However, there are many recipes and variations that mitigate that damage. In fact, the ancient Romans first developed hydraulic cement that would cure underwater, especially seawater. It was critical in their engineering of ports and waterways.
Concrete technology was known by the Ancient Romans and was widely used within the Roman Empire—the Colosseum is largely built of concrete. After the Empire passed, use of concrete became scarce until the technology was re-pioneered in the mid-18th century.
Vitruvius, writing around 25 BC in his Ten Books on Architecture, distinguished types of aggregate appropriate for the preparation of lime mortars. For structural mortars, he recommended pozzolana, which were volcanic sands from the sandlike beds of Puteoli brownish-yellow-gray in color near Naples and reddish-brown at Rome. Vitruvius specifies a ratio of 1 part lime to 3 parts pozzolana for cements used in buildings and a 1:2 ratio of lime to pulvis Puteolanus for underwater work, essentially the same ratio mixed today for concrete used at sea.
By the middle of the 1st century, the principles of underwater construction in concrete were well known to Roman builders. The City of Caesarea was the earliest known example to have made use of underwater Roman concrete technology on such a large scale.
Personally, I am fond of concrete sandwich wall construction :
[2" concrete] + [thick EPSfoam] + [2" concrete]
(It's the opposite of ICF, where EPSfoam forms contain concrete).
I may be in error, but if disaster areas were rebuilt using concrete sandwich wall construction, future damage would be minimal.
My basis for such a belief:
[] Concrete (fiber reinforced) structures are resistant to fire, water, wind, storm surge, vermin, mold, mildew, insects, small arms fire.
As to embellishment, concrete can be made and modified to mimic other materials : faux stone, faux brick, stained, acid etched, stamped, colored, coated, etc., etc.
(do Google search on terms, and select images, for a quick overview of what may be built)
[4] "Handle aging?" Did you know that Roman concrete has lasted "only" 2000+ years?
Yes, I like concrete. I admit it. You should, too.
Great for the Romans. This isn't Rome. I have concrete steps that are 70 years old and in VERY poor condition. My brother's house is 50 years old and just needed a entire concrete wall in his basement replaced. That's far short of 2000 years.
Great, you like concrete. We all don't. I don't like it. It's fine for a driveway, but I would never live in a concrete house. You like it, so build yourself this concrete village you're talking about and see if you can convince others.
I'm not in an evacuation zone I prepared by (dad was military for a bit and a good friend grew up in hurricane prone city):
1) topping off the gas tank of the car a few days before
2) refilling prescription medicines
3) replacing batteries I'd used since Irene prep, as well as the water and non-perishables
4) withdrawing cash & having small denominations of it for stores which couldn't take cards or give much change
5) radio, flashlights, LED candles, battery operated lantern
6) filling the bathtub with water and other containers
7) having kitchen matches on hand for my gas stove, which requires electricity to turn on the burners. Though I've since invested in a bbq lighter since there's more distance between my hand and the burner!
8) one of those little funnel and coffee cups. The carafe for my usual coffee maker is insulated, so I poured boiling water for several cups of coffee over the grinds and it stayed warm for awhile.
9) putting ice packs in the freezer, including filling Tupperware type containers with water and freezing them. Tried to keep the doors closed as much as possible. But by Wednesday night, ice cubes were starting to melt. Had to toss all of the freezer and much of the fridge. It amazed me how many people were overstocking on perishables at the supermarket before. i'm not even bothering restocking beyond the milk for my coffee until after the possible Nor'Easter later this week.
10) Had, but didn't need, baby wipes (in case water goes out, they can be used to get somewhat clean), lysol wipes and bleach
11) paper dishes, plastic utensils
12) drank the bottle of white wine first, then the red since red doesn't need refrigeration.
13) have a non-electric phone hooked up to a regular, old fashioned land line
i wish I had a generator, but I live in an apartment, so ventilation would be a problem. Window replacement (they're old and I'm surprised they held up to the wind as one already had a crack in it) has moved up on the priority list. I kept the blinds shut and the curtains drawn and stayed away from the windows during the worst of it. Some of my contacts got messed up when I got a new phone, should have had a list printed out from my land line phone directory. i also don't have important documents organized, that's something I should do.
You buy a bunch of cheap 2 liters, dump them fill with water, squeeze it, put cap on and freeze them. Like 20 of them. This gives you block ice, in your freezer/fridge to keep it cool longer and as it melts its cold wTer.
We also hit up the grociery stores just before the storm and get steaks on discount and cook them on our grill.
Then all the usual supplies. Any risk of storm surge or flooding I would be gone.
You buy a bunch of cheap 2 liters, dump them fill with water, squeeze it, put cap on and freeze them. Like 20 of them. This gives you block ice, in your freezer/fridge to keep it cool longer and as it melts its cold wTer.
Like this block of ice tip!
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