What an original thread! Good subject. As I do have exposed wood on my house, 99% of it is sided with asbestose plates. Ya, I know. Was gonna change them out but a cement replacement is 10 bucks a pop and I dont like vinyl. Something to think about......

 

Thank you sir.

Well, the good news is the asbestos is fire proof right? :thumb:

I think those were very popular 25+ years ago or more? I've seen them a lot on some of the rural homes I've worked on.

People with brick homes are in pretty good shape also. Those with flammable siding or large wooden porches may need to consider fire retardant coatings?

 

Kill them before they get to throwing distance. Duh!

 

Sounds like you are in pretty good shape. Your main concern should be preventing internal fires (i.e. a firebomb getting in through a window) in addition to the roof. Shutters and screens should help with that, but I would recommend a fire extinguisher or two be kept available for anyting that does get inside.

 

Take a look at the area you live, the stability of it, and the people that live around you. The only fortification I plan on doing in my area is locking the door, keeping a close eye out, and having a loaded weapon with reach at all times. There just isn't that kind of threat in my area. A handful of junkies about 10 miles away, but they'll bother their neighbors and get shot ASAP.

I think "raiders" is a bit of a fantasy. I don't think the world will ever get that bad. And if it does, I think praying would be a better idea than fortifying.

 

A lot of fire risk can be mitigated by making smart decisions when you buy the home. For example, my last house was adobe with a tile roof. Nothing external to burn. It had decorative window bars as most houses do in this region. It wasn't hard to wire loops of springy fence wire to the bars that bounced bottles off without breaking them. So there wasn't really a whole lot to do to fireproof it other than put up the fence wire if the SHTF.

In a lot of areas, one can find older homes made of rock, brick, etc. The roofing system seems to be the only weak spot. And there are a number of metal roofing options.

 

Well, I`d have to say the best first line of defence against someone trying to burn you out would marksmanship.

One thing I`ve found handy is an interior faucet thats threaded to accept a garden hose, like where your washing machine hooks up. That`ll give you a fire fighting capability without having to expose yourself to turn it on.

Also, if you think Molotov`s are a threat, look into getting some dry chemical fire extinguishers. Putting water on a petroleum fire will only make it spread.

 

sprinklers mounted on the roof with a central feed standpipe .... booster pump attached to the standpipe at ground level ..... wet down your entire roof and concentrate the water to the area of the roof that takes a hit .....

 

Agreed...

Sprinklers mounted on the roof with a central feed standpipe .... booster pump attached to the standpipe at ground level ..... wet down your entire roof and concentrate the water to the area of the roof that takes a hit .....

You would need to make this work under a grid down situation.

In fact it's fairly inexpensive. All it takes is a couple 55 gallon barrels and enough 1" PVC to go up to the roof and then across.

One barrel holds the water. The other barrel gets pumped up with air. I'm looking at making a PVC hand powered ram pump. Or you could hook up some bike pump.

Run PVC up house and then drill holes in run on top.

It might take more than one 55 gallon barrel of water. And maybe a pressure gauge for the air barrel.

Post collapse, you might use this set up for water in the kitchen.


Sierra Dave

 

Real easy Folks..Don`t let Anyone near your home. That`s what Rifles are for. Hard to throw a Molotov after somebody shot you!. Always be Aware of Your Surroundings!!!.

 

This is where having a steel hatch on your roof can help.

You could not only defend your home from people, you can deter them with bright lights, and spray a fire extinguisher or a hose to out out the fire if its on the roof.

Getting to your roof from the inside is important to me.

 

For the cost of all that , why not just put up a sheet metal roof and be done with it ?
This match box I live in only needs a warm wind and it's toast .
The only thing that won't burn is the rotten wood . No joke.
Fortunately the barn and the shop trailor are sheet metal so with them even brush fire would have little effect on them falling cinders would do nothing .
No one much listens , but again I advise one takes a good look at fire fighting and the job it is, both in homes and in the forest , for those determined to bug out there .
Tinker toy tools are not going to work .
It takes real man tools to fight fires .
You might considder too having a water tank at as high a level as you can acquire, or have a water tank you can charge with air so you can put out fires if the city pressure is gone .
My water tanks have a check valve on them so the water cannot back feed int to city lines . Water is used through them to my washing machine out side ,so it never gets stale .
I have a gas engine driven air compressor next to the water tanks so that if the city pressure is gone i can charge the tanks with say 75 PSI and take the hose connected to it and put out fires or what ever i need the water for , even hooking it up right back into the house plumbing .
The 500 gallon cistern Is just high enough to fill the house water tanks should they get drained .
Another project is building a trailor to tow behind the garden lawn mower/tractor for dealing with fires on the property ,if any.
I have an engine driven water pump that needs some love that just might work , and along with maybe 2-55 gallon drums , that would make a substantial fire truck/trailor .
If your not prepared to fight fires , be prepared to live with the conciquences.

 

burning would be a very poor choice of action, your likely to destroy whatever your attempting to gain inside.

A better course of action would be poison, no risk of damaging supplys.

 

amen to killing em before they can throw the moltov cocktails

 

hidden shelter/home

I bought a concrete 1500 gallon septic tank, had em knock out the inside baffle, and then it was coated several times with water sealer. Inside measures 10 ft long, 6ft high, and 5ft wide. I also had them add a rebar ladder welded to brackets in the concrete walls. It's buried under four ft of dirt and the entrance is under a shed thru a trapdoor. If the shed burned, it wouldn't affect the shelter as a fireproof lid covers the entrance. Down below are electric lanterns, batteries, my cot, food for a year, water is from a spring nearby, my guns and ammo to hunt with and reading materials. They can have the house I live in, burn it if it suits em, but what i need is safe and away from the home. The tank has a 2" pvc pipe that comes out and up for fresh air and is hidden and a window screen covers it.

 

Everyone spouting that they will just kill em before they throw the moltov cocktail makes me laugh. Do you all have a 360 degree unobstructed field of view around your home with enough armed help to watch every angle day and night, and never miss a thing? All it takes is one person getting close enough to lob a bottle. You can't see through your walls.

If you have a combustable exterior on your home, fire is an issue you should absolutely plan for, whether intentionally set or not.