60+ year old thread.

Same here! I tried the plow yesterday (quad) and just rode on top of the ice and snow.
I'm going out soon, not to shovel but to spread a lot of rock salt because I'm not going to shovel or try to shovel 200' of driveway and another 100' of sidewalk.

 

I'm going to let the sun and warmer temps this coming week do the work.

 

And that reminds me of my floods. A few years back the washing machine drain line dislodged from the wall and flooded the end of the house. A 2-cent tie wrap could have prevented thousands of dollars in damage. Even worse was our “Great Flood of ‘95”. My wife’s sister and her husband and kids were visiting for the weekend. Around 6AM on Sunday morning I hear a gentle knocking on our bedroom door and it’s my brother-in-law who tells me we have a flood in the kitchen. We had been having trouble with the freezer defrosting and leaving a puddle on the kitchen floor so I just hollered back that yeah I know the fridge does that every now and then. Brother-in-law says no, it’s a little bigger than that. So I roll out of bed and water squishes up between my toes when I step on the floor. Open the bedroom door and theres a 1/2 in of standing water in the kitchen. Seems that my wife started the dishwasher on her way to bed the night before and the dishwasher inlet valve opening and closing must have caused a water hammer that popped the plastic hot water riser off of the bottom of the kitchen sink faucet which let the hot water spray full blast inside the cabinet for probably 6 hours. Long story short, all new kitchen cabinets, drywall and bedroom carpet. It even blistered the paint on the outside of the house. Lesson learned, I replaced every riser in the house, the sinks, toilets and the hoses for the washer with braided steel. Did the same thing when we moved to the house we’re in now 20 years ago.

 

Brave soul, I would never ride on a divided highway around here. Too dangerous.

We finished our 2 days of rain last night. Temps dropped from a high of 59 in the AM yesterday to 30 this morning. Going to meet my brother and his wife for lunch today. He is driving up from NC for the baby shower tomorrow.

 

Gooooood Morning Porch! Sunshine and already to 34*. 78* in the greenhouse, and I am so dang proud of how well the temps have stayed up in there after that massive rebuild and insulate; I could just bust a button! I'll spare you another chart - let's just say it's cruised right through these nights below 32* without a hiccup!
Glad my spigot explosion is triggering such fond memories! You can tell the previous rebuild was done in a hurry in the cold by all the dripping glue. When I need to fix it in the warm next week, I will make my insulated box for it, and no more garage geysers!
Just another chilly (but sunny) day to keep cleaning out office files, and run an errand. Son is coming out from Austin, but mostly to have some of Mom's beef stew! Have a good one, and stay warm!

 

We have been having winter for a long time now! This is our ice build up at my home. Started for us in November and ill keep up till late March early April.

 

It's so beautiful when I'm not in it!!

 

I got smarter this year. Put a Thermometer under the house that I can read in the kitchen. Right now 39 degrees and all is OK as far as freezing up. I also have a heat tape on the pipe coming up from the dirt into the hose and well insulated. I walled off the only area my water pipes are under the house and put a small heater in there to keep it up to 50 degrees when needed. On the heater and heat tape I use a electronic switch to turn them on. For 25 years only needed heat a few times. So the switch saves me a lot of money and crawling under the house!! The Thermometer has a memory do I can check the highs and lows over night too. My Craw Space stays warm from the home above and I can get into it from inside the house. I block off the Foundation Vents cause it is real dry here and not even a moisture problem but more of a cold wind during the winter and loss of heat under there.

 

We were just the opposite -Here in Jefferson City Mo with our meager 8 inches of snow. We missed our USPS delivery 2 days in a row. FedEX and UPS were delivering like there was no snow. It was cold but our streets were cleared of snow. A neighbor stated he heard they were using the "lack of staffing " excuse. I guess the old adage "thru rain, sleet, snow..." motto is a thing of the past?

 

Wow -a crawl space under the home where you live! That would worry the heck out of me - who is used to a full basement under most all of my house.

 

You can only get into this space from inside the house. It is 3 ft tall and normal for Washington State to have them. Handy to get to pipes and wiring if needed. House sits on a Ring Foundation with piers below beams the floor joists sit on.

 

Why would it worry you if you don't own it?

 

I have though it would be a great place to go if there was a war/civil un-rest ect being behind 8" of concrete with 10- 8x16" holes all the way around the house you could shoot thru and be protected? Being a Ex-Military War Vet you sometimes think of these things once in a while??? Also thought it could make a great shelter if I dug under the foundation to a remote exit and concrete box building under ground. If I had a basement I would put a box of concrete in it with a Safe Style Door going into it. Was going to dig out under my home but I packed it so solid it is like concrete it is so hard. The dirt is covered by heavy gauge plastic before the built the home over it.
Like these; Pin by Roseanna Densmore on House | Safe room, Tornado safe room, Underground safe (pinterest.com)

 

No broken pipes this time. We did have a four-hour power outage but in the scheme of things not too bad.

I was scrapping ice along the side of the house. Northside the house, so no sunlight to help dissipate the ice. Cars go into my 1500 sq ft detached shop, but I use that side door to get out to the shop.

My chucklehead thought "Ice isn't that thick, so hot water will melt it" I didn't realize how large the spot black ice is. Scalding water worked but took one step, feet flew out from under me and my head came down hard. No bleeding. Elbow took the skin off, but otherwise no worse the wear. I've lived in Texas too long, as when I was laying on the ground (took a while to get moving) I was thinking "that is why I used to keep a bucket of sand next to the door when I lived in Oregon. Moved here in '93. Damn.

Kurt - Aspiration pneumonia is nasty. Food or water into the lungs, leading to infection. Sadly that is the #1 killer for those with Parkinson's. We don't die of Parkinson's, but aspiration pneumonia is 74% cause of death.

My wife's surgery was pushed back until Monday. Gives me tomorrow to sand the side of the house to get her into the car. We need to be up there at 5:00 AM.

 

We have sand covered trails all over the place. Where I park it goes around the truck and leading to it. We buy it by the 100 pound sacks in the winter for that reason. Also Freeze Proof Hose Spicket's where the valve part is 16" inside the area under the house where it is warmer.

 

Pretty countryside. Dad's family in the NE corner of Oregon had a "city house" in Walla Walla. Four Franciscan nuns founded Baker Hospital. My great aunt was one of the four. Fancy name on the place now, but up to forty years ago had the history of the nuns who took care of the miners.

I thought eastern WA and OR were much drier.

 

So… When Night of the Living Dead finds your house in Eastern Washington, You’ll be ready for them. Thanks for that, I’m starting to get a handle on Survivalist think now!

 

I’ve seen those valves on This Old House. Great idea, can’t find them in California. Actually had need for one some years back, got lucky and was nearby when one spigot burst. I’ve used insulation on exterior pipes ever since then.

 

I think more for fire protection. We have wildfires off and on. So far 2 in 11 years at my home. We have lost 16 homes around me in them and 9 were neibors. I stayed and saved mine twice. I would like a place I would not have to worry about a wildfire even if I left. See being a survivalist makes you not be what we call Runner's. Runner's leave every time there is a wildfire and go to town and stay in motels and wonder why there homes burn up? I have fought wildfires for a living since 1996 here and won't run I have a safe zone on my place I can go to if needed. I have ways to protect my home plus fire insurance. So to me I want to survive no matter what happens even if running out of food, power, water ect. I don't need the Government coming to my aid they take to long. Lights go out I start my generator, water I have a well and know how to set one up too. I have 6,000 gals stored under ground for fire fighting and watering my animals if the well has a problem. Water Tenders have a hard time getting up icy roads during fires so I have my own fire fighting equipment 3 fire pumps run off gasoline. We raise our own meat and a garden big enough to feed us over 1/2 the year. Enough wood to heat for 2 years ect. To us this is a normal living and if more did it we would not need the Red Cross so much or Welfare! Some call me a survivalist I call myself self sufficient in the way I live. Not depending so much on others to take care of me all the time. What is wrong with living that way? PS Insulation does not make heat it keeps it in better. After you insulate you also need a form of heat to keep the pipe from freezing to. A lot of people forget that insulation does not make heat it helps keep heat in. Turn off the heat in your house and see if I am right. I used to live in So California when I was a kid. have family still living there. I know better an they wish they lived where I live now in Eastern Washington. Last picture is taken out my Bedroom Window on our 160 acre spread.

Just a survivalist information you can buy Freeze Proof Faucets on line too.

$52 Prier C-144D10 Frost Free Anti-Siphon Outdoor Wall Hydrant, 10", Brass

Amazon.com: Prier C-144D10 Frost Free Anti-Siphon Outdoor Wall Hydrant, 10-Inch : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

My Survivalist think tells me to install bulletproof glass in my truck for freeway travel. That and armour plate inside the doors ought to do the trick.