Posted: 6/5/2010 3:35:42 AM EDT
|
Last night during a severe storm a 8" diameter tree limb (maybe 15 foot long) broke off from about sixty feet up in a maple next to the house. The branch hit our roof hard and a portion of it pierced through the roof, through the attic and then came to a halt after lodging about 3' through our living room celing. Power of course went out too.
Our five dogs were in the living room when this happened and proceeded to go nuts. Our Dobe sprayed poo on the carpet as we struggled to kennel everyone in a nearby room. The hole that was blown through our plaster and lathe celing was / is about 12" x 18" and for about 10 minutes torrential rain poured through it and onto our sectional couch, dog beds and down throws. Lead painted plaster pieces, insulation and bark covered the entire living room. The roof has a giant inward bow in it now, shingles on both sides are curled, gutters and soffets damaged and our vinyl siding is cracked in a few spots. The living room and two bedroom celings are severly cracked and are probably complete losses. Anway onto the lessons: 1. About two hours before the storm hit I used my 5 gallons of gas that I keep on hand just for the generator. I put it in our mower with the intention of refilling the generator gas can later so that it would be fresh. After the storm hit the nearest gas station with power was 10 miles away. I do own a siphon and could have withdrew the gas from the mower but when time is critical it is a lot easier to have a nice full gas can. 2. Have more than one flashlight. My pelican light performed great UNTIL I couldn't remember where I set it down and since I didn't have another light to find my first one I was screwed until I was able to get gas for the generator and fire up a set of quartz lights. 3. Have a lock / chain for generator. Numerous neighbors "heard the generator" and came over. The power came back on after a few hours but had I been forced to run the Honda all night I would have had to rig up a retention system for it. 4. Keep your insurance companies number in an easy to remember location. Without power I couldn't fire up the computer to look for our insurance contact info. Since we don't have a land line I keep no phone books around so my call to our carrier was delayed a few hours. 5. Don't count on an advanced storm warning. The local media didn't know we had a tornado nearby until after it had passed. Sirens never were activated. I was outside screwing around with our rain barrels when the weather looked like just another good soaker was coming. In an instant it was raining so hard I couldn't see more than a foot or so in front of me. I had just made it into the house when the limb came through. That is all I can remember for now, I'm sure there are more things that I wish I had planned for, but hey, things happened fast and having animals involved definitely added stress and complication. |
|
WOW!
First off, glad to hear all of you are OK! If a branch came through my ceiling like that, the dog (well, cats for me  ) wouldn't have been the only ones crapping on the carpet.
I hear you on the flashlight deal. I keep one on me most of the time (my daily carry Surefire) as well as several scattered around the house. One of them is a wind-up, so if the batteries are dead in others I can still have some light. We had a tornado come through my area about 2 years ago. Scared the crap out of us, because just as the weather lady was saying anyone in our neighborhood get to your safe area our power went out. With no power, we had no way of knowing what was going on. Didn't sleep much that night. What I added to the preps was a hand-crank radio with NOAA on it. Haven't had to use it since, but it stays by the bed with some other items I keep ready to go. Great AAR. Makes me want to get a generator. |
|
Damn, glad nobody was hurt.
A couple of months ago I had a tree surgeon come out and remove a huge pine between my house and my neighbors, as well as a good sized maple that was right off my patio, for this very reason. (Unfortunately, the dumb MFers managed to drop a limb from the maple on my roof, causing about $1500 worth of damage, which came off their bill.) Consider keeping a light on your keyring so that you have one on you always. I have a Photon LED in my pocket at all times when I'm up and about. It's enough to navigate in the dark so I don't trip over stuff and to find things, and bright enough to perform some tasks. |
|
Wow, that sucks.
Having been through 3 direct hurricanes, I can say that my experience mirrors yours, except we had gas and a lock. We watched as parts of my house blew into the yard. Get it fixed quickly. Don't wait for the insurance company. Don't patch things up for a later date. Fix it now and fix it right. The next disaster could be 2 weeks away. Ask me how I know. |
|
Wow, thanks for posting that and glad that the roof was the only thing hurt. I do have a question about this one:
3. Have a lock / chain for generator. Numerous neighbors "heard the generator" and came over. The power came back on after a few hours but had I been forced to run the Honda all night I would have had to rig up a retention system for it. Is this because you fear one of your neighbors would steal the generator? I would also think that, in a more severe SHTF situation in which everyone was more severely affected that the generator would attract neighbors who haven't prepared themselves and quickly become hangers-on/resource consumers. Good post, and again, glad you and your family are OK! ETA: What kind of generator do you have, and how long will 5 gallons last you? What do you have hooked up to the generator, and did setting it up require lots of electrical work (i.e., putting things that need gen. backup on the same circuit––forgive my ignorance of all things electrical, please)? ETA: Around here, we get lots of ice storms during the winter. After my first week without power (and no genny, but I had other means of keeping warm/lit up/eating hot food), I learned to store many flashlights all around the house. Right now, I have a flashlight in each room (even if it's just a cheap one) and an electric lantern for each occupant. At least two of the flashlights are hand-cranked in case I find myself without batteries. Just a thought, and I've probably overdone it. 
|
|
My concern with the generator wasn't my immediate neighbors but I'm not far from an area where "urban youth" are housed for cheap by the government. Probably less than 2 miles away. Last time we had an extended power outage (3 days) I was looking out my window at night and noticed 4 of my decorative solar lights streaking down the road in the hands of two hood rats. A short foot chase resulted in me recovering 2 broken lights and 2 that were salvageable. I could definitely see someone wanting to carry off the generator. My close neighbors were over to help before the storm had even passed. I owe them some cold ones for letting me borrow an extension ladder and Paslode to nail the patch on the roof.
Since I'm not a millionaire like the rest of Arfcom I live in a 90 year old house that is plaster, lathe and paneling  . The label on the lower layer of attic insulation says 1" PREMIUM cotton insulation on it!
Living Room Ceiling Hole 
Limb that came down - pics are grainy as the outside lighting was very odd after the storm. |
|
Quoted:
Wow, that sucks. Having been through 3 direct hurricanes, I can say that my experience mirrors yours, except we had gas and a lock. We watched as parts of my house blew into the yard. Get it fixed quickly. Don't wait for the insurance company. Don't patch things up for a later date. Fix it now and fix it right. The next disaster could be 2 weeks away. Ask me how I know. This is not good advice. I am an insurance defense atty. I work on countless cases where people didn't 'wait for the insurance companies.' Don't "repair" damage before the insurance company sees it. Period!!! do this. Mitigate your damages. You have a hole in your roof? Put a tarp on it. Take pictures of everything. Take some more pictures. You have a video camera? Take some video. When the adjuster comes out to see the damage, walk around with him. Point out stuff to him. If he gets irritated you are there, wait till he leaves, then call the insurance company and get them to send another one. If he tells you something is rotten, and not covered, tell him "Yeah, i can see how you can see that, but it was holding up the wall fine until the tree limb came through and broke it" If the first estimate he writes you is not enough, call him again and tell him so. Don't skimp on quality. Insurance companies will come back out to reinspect damage if you find more caused from the event. everything you say to an insurance company is 1) typed out in their computer and a record is made and 2) will be used against you to deny coverage or 3) if you have a good insurance company, will be used in your favor to adjust the loss. hope this helps. ymmv. glad ya'll are safe. iaal. |
| I change the gas in my generator every year and put in fresh with stabilizer,then start it up and let it run for a while. While doing that this spring,I found out one of the gas lines had dry rotted and cracked. Would have been a bitch to fix in the dark,but by checking every now and then,at least I caught it before an emergency came up. |
|
Survival Forum is that way ––––––––>http://www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=10&f=17 After the clean up/fix up start reading up for way to be prepared for the next round of lousy Michigan weather. |
|
Sorry to hear about the misfortune, glad to hear no one is hurt.
I had to laugh at the Dobe letting go on the carpet...only because I've been there before. Just kinda adds insult to injury.  It'll make for a funny story later on (even if it isn't amusing now).
Good luck patching everything up –– everything will work out in the end. 
|
|
First and foremost, glad you and your family are ok.
Thanks for posting your lessons learned. Sounds like you were already prepared better than most people (good flashlight, generator, extra gas) but as you saw, even those of us who prep for these kinds of things are going to learn something when it REALLY happens. There is a big difference between planning for the worst and experiencing the worst....sounds like you did well overall
Once you get things back in order you can look back at this as a learning exercise...hang in there and go get yourself another flashlight or two
|
|
Quoted:
3. Have a lock / chain for generator. Numerous neighbors "heard the generator" and came over. The power came back on after a few hours but had I been forced to run the Honda all night I would have had to rig up a retention system for it. What the hell did they think? That you would say, "Oh, I don't really need my generator. Here, you take it to your house. I'm sure you need it more than I do." 
I hope you gave them an earful. Hint: Open carry. 
|
|
Quoted:
Hate to admit it, #4 is something I had not considered! Need to get their number in my cell phone and added to the thumbs in our GHB and BOBs! Just never occurred to me! Check this out. I'm currently in the process of getting all important documents, numbers, etc into an encrypted thumb drive, encrypted volume on my computer, and encrypted volume I keep at work. Also getting hard copies of some stuff to put in the safe so I have easier access. http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/0006.html |
|
Quoted:
Get a car muffler attached to that generator. And maybe even make a "dog house" with insulated walls (but well ventilated) to put over it. You're immediate neighbors probably won't even hear it then. +1...anything to hide the noise as long as it doesn't impair function. Since it runs on gas, make sure air intake can still happen for the engine. |
|
When I was a kid in Michigan, we once had a tornado come near where we were living.
We had all taken refuge in the basement until it was over. When we emerged, we found that a tree that used to be in our front yard had been uprooted, and was now in our back yard. 
Glad you are okay. One thing I have no shortage of is flashlights and batteries. I have a thing about buying flashlights.
|
|
Quoted:
I change the gas in my generator every year and put in fresh with stabilizer,then start it up and let it run for a while. While doing that this spring,I found out one of the gas lines had dry rotted and cracked. Would have been a bitch to fix in the dark,but by checking every now and then,at least I caught it before an emergency came up. Do you use gas with ethanol in it? I've heard ethanol is harmful to small engines. Don't have a clue if this is accurate, but we had a Conoco station switch back to non-ethanol and I buy the gas for my car and yard stuff there. My gas milage has gone WAY back up.
When we emerged, we found that a tree that used to be in our front yard had been uprooted, and was now in our back yard.
We recently had a tornado here. In my old neighborhood the entire roof of a house was picked up and deposited in the front yard of the house in front of it- never touched the other house. Fortunately my present neighborhood was totally spared- good thing, I have maples down the south side of the house and a huge willow oak in my backyard. |
|
Quoted: Get a car muffler attached to that generator. And maybe even make a "dog house" with insulated walls (but well ventilated) to put over it. You're immediate neighbors probably won't even hear it then. I've been thinking about this. I'm trying to envision an insualted "dog house" type thingie with the air intake sucking in from outside of the house without destroying the noise-dampening capability of the insulation. Secondly, multiple mufflers, mayeb to deaden sound as well, but what about routing the exhaust somewhere else as well? |
|
Quoted:
Get a car muffler attached to that generator. And maybe even make a "dog house" with insulated walls (but well ventilated) to put over it. You're immediate neighbors probably won't even hear it then. Pics dammmit! 
Anyone done it with plans and pics. This thread reminded me I had some "older" gas in my genny....no ethanol and 2x Stabil-ized. started on the 3rd pull. Hadn't started it in a few months...won't do that again! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Wow, that sucks. Having been through 3 direct hurricanes, I can say that my experience mirrors yours, except we had gas and a lock. We watched as parts of my house blew into the yard. Get it fixed quickly. Don't wait for the insurance company. Don't patch things up for a later date. Fix it now and fix it right. The next disaster could be 2 weeks away. Ask me how I know. This is not good advice. I am an insurance defense atty. I work on countless cases where people didn't 'wait for the insurance companies.' Don't "repair" damage before the insurance company sees it. Period!!! do this. Mitigate your damages. You have a hole in your roof? Put a tarp on it. Take pictures of everything. Take some more pictures. You have a video camera? Take some video. When the adjuster comes out to see the damage, walk around with him. Point out stuff to him. If he gets irritated you are there, wait till he leaves, then call the insurance company and get them to send another one. If he tells you something is rotten, and not covered, tell him "Yeah, i can see how you can see that, but it was holding up the wall fine until the tree limb came through and broke it" If the first estimate he writes you is not enough, call him again and tell him so. Don't skimp on quality. Insurance companies will come back out to reinspect damage if you find more caused from the event. everything you say to an insurance company is 1) typed out in their computer and a record is made and 2) will be used against you to deny coverage or 3) if you have a good insurance company, will be used in your favor to adjust the loss. hope this helps. ymmv. glad ya'll are safe. iaal. If I had not properly fixed the roof on my fathers house, he would have lost the house 2 weeks later when the next hurricane hit. Which is smarter? |
|
Quoted:
Get a car muffler attached to that generator. And maybe even make a "dog house" with insulated walls (but well ventilated) to put over it. You're immediate neighbors probably won't even hear it then. http://www.alpharubicon.com/altenergy/gensetquiet.htm |
|
Quoted: My concern with the generator wasn't my immediate neighbors but I'm not far from an area where "urban youth" are housed for cheap by the government. Probably less than 2 miles away. Last time we had an extended power outage (3 days) I was looking out my window at night and noticed 4 of my decorative solar lights streaking down the road in the hands of two hood rats. A short foot chase resulted in me recovering 2 broken lights and 2 that were salvageable. I could definitely see someone wanting to carry off the generator. My close neighbors were over to help before the storm had even passed. I owe them some cold ones for letting me borrow an extension ladder and Paslode to nail the patch on the roof. Since I'm not a millionaire like the rest of Arfcom I live in a 90 year old house that is plaster, lathe and paneling . The label on the lower layer of attic insulation says 1" PREMIUM cotton insulation on it!http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/Gracedog01/hole.jpg Living Room Ceiling Hole http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/Gracedog01/branchpiece.jpg Limb that came down - pics are grainy as the outside lighting was very odd after the storm. I live in the same type of house and have 5 huge Maples next to my house, had a limb like that come down 2 years ago but missed the house and dog pen. I live in the sticks but 2 years ago we had a huge flood, lost power for a week, most of us have generators but the neighbor didn't so we ran an extension cord to his 2 freezers and the distance was drawing some power so we turned the A/C off, after this happened he went and bought a generator. Everyone out here checked on each other all the time, traveling was only by 1 unknown old DUI road, no one but locals knew of it and some of them didn't know so we didn't worry about people coming down and messing with our stuff, even if they did they would have been in deep shit. Had a tornado hit close last Wednesday, had Tornado warnings all around me, I think Tornado alley moved to my area, as for insurance info our insurance agent gave us about 20 of his refrigerator magnets and they are everywhere. I need to get me some more glow sticks, I used my last ones fishing last year and never replaced them, thanks for the reminder |
|
Quoted:
Yes, this is wise advice, what people can't hear won't attract their curiosity...make sure to cover you windows so they can't see the light too.
Get a car muffler attached to that generator. And maybe even make a "dog house" with insulated walls (but well ventilated) to put over it. You're immediate neighbors probably won't even hear it then. |
|
Not sure if any of these will help but this is what I do.
I keep a photon led on my belt, one on my bag, one on my pistol bag and one near my keys in addition to a couple flashlights. They're a couple bucks each when you catch them on clearance. I keep emergency type numbers on a laminated piece of paper taped to the wall next to my land line. Even if the phone goes down, the list is in a logical, easy to find spot. I also keep old protein containers filled with water and a little bleach to flush toilets/clean stuff up. |
|
Had a 50' oak tree fall on my parents house at about 11:00 P.M. at night during Hurricane Ike. It shook the whole house. I was upstairs laying in bed when the tree fell. After checking to make sure everyone in the house was okay, I went back into the room to get my rain pancho. There were two large branches sticking through the ceiling on ether side of the bed I was laying on and the rain poured freely down the branches. It will rattle you when something like that happens to you. Actually, the tree breached the roof in several places and caused a lot of structural damage. $90,000 in insurance claims later, the house is a good as new. I had a flashlight with me at all times after the power went out at 7:00 A.M. It is a good idea to always have some heavy duty sheet plastic or some tarps handy to cover the holes with. I dig your avatar HarpDoggyDog |