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Showing posts with label shelter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shelter. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2015
Building a tiled roof hut
I had to share this! This fella makes very interesting videos. They way he uses the environment around him is amazing!! Of course for some people these things are common knowledge yet for most of us we have no idea how to build anything like this. Make sure and read the description he gives of the video. The build took 108 days!! He also points out all the tools he uses are from previous videos. So please do not think this is something you could do in a weekend!!!!
Enjoy the video!
As Always,
Stay Safe!!
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Emergency shelter - elements
When we discuss shelter during an emergency we need to focus on what is the purpose of the shelter? Shelter during an emergency serves a purpose, the purpose being to separate us from the elements. This is really the only purpose of shelter, to put layers between us and what Mother Nature has in mind.
This could be us seeking shelter from a tornado in a tornado shelter or seeking high ground from a flood. Remember we need to put something between us and the elements. In most cases this is a temporary situation but one which could cause us issues if we do not take proactive and positive actions during the situation. Elements will kill you! Nature does not care about you. Wind does not care if it saps the heat from your body, rain does not care if you did not pack properly and the sun does not care if you have no shade or air conditioning.
This may sound weird, when you are forced to find emergency shelter think or imitate the homeless. What? Yes, think what you have seen homeless people do. I do not mean the homeless guy passed out on the sidewalk laying there at the mercy of the elements. Think of the homeless person you see with what could be termed a “mobile home”. The one who obviously been in the situation for a while and has adapted to their situation. They use the environment around them. They improvise with what most of us would consider garbage but they follow some rules even if they do not understand they are.
First thing they do is deal with the major element. If it is windy, move to the side of a building which is away from the wind. Sun beating down on a hot day; use the shadow of a building to protect yourself from the sun. A doorway protects you on three sides from the elements simply by the construction of the entry. Dealing with the major element affecting your life is the first thing you have to do when figuring out shelter during an emergency.
Once you are out of the rain or have strung something up to keep the sun off of you then you can improve your shelter. In an emergency situation you should work to improve your position. Never just sit and wait for help or whatever. Always work to improve your position.
Again think of the homeless. What do they all seem to do when sleeping? They put something between themselves and the ground. Anyone who has ever done some camping will understand why. The ground is hard and does not care! Also the ground will suck heat from your body. They may not ‘know’ what they are doing but the homeless are stopping or trying to stop the transfer of heat from their bodies to the ground by placing cardboard or other items between themselves and the ground. If you have a choice between sitting on the bare ground and sitting on some discarded milk crates, sit on the crates! Heck, make a couch out of several crates and knit a blanket while you figure out what to do next.
Blankets, what do they do? They keep the wind, the air off of your body, which stops the air from stealing the heat from your body. Because the air does not care if you are cold the air does what it does regardless if you exist or not. Blankets also keep your heat in. Allows you to utilize the heat your own body generates to keep you warm! Once you have separation from the ground and the air you have made your shelter. This can be simply wrapping you in a blanket. You have separated yourself from the elements, which could care less about you or your situation.
Now we can discuss all sorts of shelters we could make in the wilds of the jungle or in the forest of Siberia but, yes there is always a ‘but’, each of us live in different environments and to discuss one environment only would leave us lacking if we found ourselves in a different environment. Instead we will keep thinking the way of a homeless person. This gives us guidelines we can use anywhere.
Cardboard, we have all seen homeless people using cardboard for shelter. A piece might be between them and the ground. Maybe they have utilized the whole box to curl up in. What are they doing with the cardboard? They are putting another layer between themselves and the elements. These added layers allows your layers to work better at keeping you warm and dry by each layer only having to work a little at keeping you warm and dry. If you curl up in a cardboard box your jacket no longer has to keep the rain off of you while also trying to keep your body warm. The box keeps the rain off while your jacket keeps you warm. If your blanket stays dry the blanket will do the job of keeping you warm. This is the purpose of most emergency shelters you can learn about. The shelter is to keep the elements off of you.
Do the homeless construct large shelters? No, why? Because the less area you have the less area you have to heat. The larger your house the harder it is to heat and cool. In an emergency a smaller shelter is much more useful than a large one. Your body heat can heat a tent or cardboard box and in an emergency every bit of heat could make the difference. If you have a candle with you a small shelter can be heated by a single candle. Of course we must be extremely careful when utilizing heat in any shelter! You can easily burn your hut down and find yourself standing out in the elements.
Think of your shelter building as adding layers. Each layer helps the underlying layer. A tarp strung up over your cardboard hut keeps the rain off your cardboard. Your cardboard hut is not wet; the card board is dry and can keep the wind at bay. The card board is dry which means your blanket is dry and the blanket can help keep you warm. With a dry blanket your clothes stay dry which means you can stay warm. Each one of these layers helps your body to regulate its own temperature and keeps you alive.
The next time you see a homeless person’s shelter take a moment and appreciate what they have done. This person may have issues but they have adapted to their situation and are living. Something you should keep in mind if you ever end up in an emergency situation.
As Always,
Stay Safe!!!
This could be us seeking shelter from a tornado in a tornado shelter or seeking high ground from a flood. Remember we need to put something between us and the elements. In most cases this is a temporary situation but one which could cause us issues if we do not take proactive and positive actions during the situation. Elements will kill you! Nature does not care about you. Wind does not care if it saps the heat from your body, rain does not care if you did not pack properly and the sun does not care if you have no shade or air conditioning.
This may sound weird, when you are forced to find emergency shelter think or imitate the homeless. What? Yes, think what you have seen homeless people do. I do not mean the homeless guy passed out on the sidewalk laying there at the mercy of the elements. Think of the homeless person you see with what could be termed a “mobile home”. The one who obviously been in the situation for a while and has adapted to their situation. They use the environment around them. They improvise with what most of us would consider garbage but they follow some rules even if they do not understand they are.
First thing they do is deal with the major element. If it is windy, move to the side of a building which is away from the wind. Sun beating down on a hot day; use the shadow of a building to protect yourself from the sun. A doorway protects you on three sides from the elements simply by the construction of the entry. Dealing with the major element affecting your life is the first thing you have to do when figuring out shelter during an emergency.
Once you are out of the rain or have strung something up to keep the sun off of you then you can improve your shelter. In an emergency situation you should work to improve your position. Never just sit and wait for help or whatever. Always work to improve your position.
Again think of the homeless. What do they all seem to do when sleeping? They put something between themselves and the ground. Anyone who has ever done some camping will understand why. The ground is hard and does not care! Also the ground will suck heat from your body. They may not ‘know’ what they are doing but the homeless are stopping or trying to stop the transfer of heat from their bodies to the ground by placing cardboard or other items between themselves and the ground. If you have a choice between sitting on the bare ground and sitting on some discarded milk crates, sit on the crates! Heck, make a couch out of several crates and knit a blanket while you figure out what to do next.
Blankets, what do they do? They keep the wind, the air off of your body, which stops the air from stealing the heat from your body. Because the air does not care if you are cold the air does what it does regardless if you exist or not. Blankets also keep your heat in. Allows you to utilize the heat your own body generates to keep you warm! Once you have separation from the ground and the air you have made your shelter. This can be simply wrapping you in a blanket. You have separated yourself from the elements, which could care less about you or your situation.
Now we can discuss all sorts of shelters we could make in the wilds of the jungle or in the forest of Siberia but, yes there is always a ‘but’, each of us live in different environments and to discuss one environment only would leave us lacking if we found ourselves in a different environment. Instead we will keep thinking the way of a homeless person. This gives us guidelines we can use anywhere.
Cardboard, we have all seen homeless people using cardboard for shelter. A piece might be between them and the ground. Maybe they have utilized the whole box to curl up in. What are they doing with the cardboard? They are putting another layer between themselves and the elements. These added layers allows your layers to work better at keeping you warm and dry by each layer only having to work a little at keeping you warm and dry. If you curl up in a cardboard box your jacket no longer has to keep the rain off of you while also trying to keep your body warm. The box keeps the rain off while your jacket keeps you warm. If your blanket stays dry the blanket will do the job of keeping you warm. This is the purpose of most emergency shelters you can learn about. The shelter is to keep the elements off of you.
Do the homeless construct large shelters? No, why? Because the less area you have the less area you have to heat. The larger your house the harder it is to heat and cool. In an emergency a smaller shelter is much more useful than a large one. Your body heat can heat a tent or cardboard box and in an emergency every bit of heat could make the difference. If you have a candle with you a small shelter can be heated by a single candle. Of course we must be extremely careful when utilizing heat in any shelter! You can easily burn your hut down and find yourself standing out in the elements.
Think of your shelter building as adding layers. Each layer helps the underlying layer. A tarp strung up over your cardboard hut keeps the rain off your cardboard. Your cardboard hut is not wet; the card board is dry and can keep the wind at bay. The card board is dry which means your blanket is dry and the blanket can help keep you warm. With a dry blanket your clothes stay dry which means you can stay warm. Each one of these layers helps your body to regulate its own temperature and keeps you alive.
The next time you see a homeless person’s shelter take a moment and appreciate what they have done. This person may have issues but they have adapted to their situation and are living. Something you should keep in mind if you ever end up in an emergency situation.
As Always,
Stay Safe!!!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Shelter - Clothes on your back
Every day we get up, throw some clothes on and go about our day. Most of us never really think about what we are doing when we get dressed, we put on an outfit and do not think of this layer of clothing as our first line of shelter if a bad day comes. Sure we take into account the weather, if it is hot we wear less, if it is cold we wear more. “Simple, nothing to think about! I know how to get dressed!”
Sure we all get dressed every day, have you ever thought about it? Are you wearing clothes which assist with keeping you warm or cool? Do you know how to use your clothing to assist with keeping yourself comfortable? Are you giving yourself advantages or disadvantages if something interrupts your normal routine?
Our skin is the first layer between us and the outside world. Yes our skin also keeps all of our insides ‘in’ but our skin does more than this. Our skin helps regulate our body temperature by sweating and other mechanisms. When we get dressed we can assist our skin or hamper our bodies’ ability to regulate by what items or materials we place on top of our skin.
Layering is important when you pick your clothing for the day. Being able to add or subtract articles of clothing gives you the ability to regulate better how hot or cold you are. Proper clothing can be the difference between suffering and dealing with a situation. Just having the ability to access additional clothing or the ability to change clothing can be a god send in certain situations. Nobody wants to be cold and wet if they do not need to be.
Mothers understand this quicker than most fellas, especially when little ones are involved. When the bag gets packed for the little one Mom always makes sure there is jackets or a change of clothes packed away “just in case”. As we plan our day we should take a moment to also plan for “just in case”. Take a moment and check the weather. Is there a chance of rain? Maybe we should plan for the chance of getting wet later in the day? Maybe we alter what we wear to what the weather report says could happen?
You can still be fashionable and wear proper clothing to assist you with dealing with the elements. Now days there are plenty of materials both natural and manmade which can keep you cool, warm and dry. Except for in warm climates cotton is something we should stay away from. Cotton likes to hold water and this will just make you colder and miserable if you are caught in a rain shower or snow. You want a base layer of material which whisks perspiration away from your skin. In a hot environment this helps your body cool down, in a cold environment this helps to keep your body warm. Your clothing has to help your skin do what the skin is supposed to do. If your bas layer holds your sweet against your skin you are hindering what your body is trying to do.
Think of clothing as building a shelter around your skin. In cold weather you want more between you and the elements. In hot weather you want to help your body cool down and keep the sun from burning your skin. The same as you try to regulate the temperature in your home. Just like your house your clothing layering needs a tough outer shell or a roof and walls. Your outer layer of clothing needs to work like a portable house. This layer needs to be water, snow or sun proof. This layer needs to be something you can put on or off easily and in most cases is a jacket you have handy. Umbrellas also count in this outer layer group. Remember this is your tough outer shell.
Between your outer shell and your base layer are all the other clothes and options you have. Long sleeve shirts, gloves, maybe a scarf? This is the layer most of us throw on in the morning but do not think much about. Yet this is the main layer which predicts how well we can deal with the elements. Sure you can pack a big heavy jacket and toss this on when the rain starts. But those dress shoes you are wearing as you walk through the rain do not keep the water out. Your cotton socks are never going to dry. The dress slacks you have on soak up water like a sponge. Your jacket does a good job covering you from the neck down but the water coming down is hitting you on the head, dripping down your neck and soaking into the shirt you have on. Then the power goes out and the heating in the office stops working. Of course the power does not come back on and now you have to think about walking home…….. Hope you are not wearing those flats and dress…..
A suggestion is to have clothing available to you if the situation changes and you need to adapt to the weather. Having a spare pair of shoes or ‘real’ boots, not fashionable ones, to put on along with a few other items could make all the difference. We all can stuff a rain coat in the trunk or find a spot in the office to stash one. Pair of wool socks and a good hat also does not take up much space.
Should you ever find yourself in a situation take a moment and figure out if your clothing is helping our hurting your ability to deal with the situation. Finding dry and warm clothes can instantly make a bad situation better. Hypothermia and hyperthermia, getting to cold or too hot, can quickly make you a casualty during an emergency and your clothing choices can go a long way in making sure neither happens.
As Always,
Stay Safe!!!
Sure we all get dressed every day, have you ever thought about it? Are you wearing clothes which assist with keeping you warm or cool? Do you know how to use your clothing to assist with keeping yourself comfortable? Are you giving yourself advantages or disadvantages if something interrupts your normal routine?
Our skin is the first layer between us and the outside world. Yes our skin also keeps all of our insides ‘in’ but our skin does more than this. Our skin helps regulate our body temperature by sweating and other mechanisms. When we get dressed we can assist our skin or hamper our bodies’ ability to regulate by what items or materials we place on top of our skin.
Layering is important when you pick your clothing for the day. Being able to add or subtract articles of clothing gives you the ability to regulate better how hot or cold you are. Proper clothing can be the difference between suffering and dealing with a situation. Just having the ability to access additional clothing or the ability to change clothing can be a god send in certain situations. Nobody wants to be cold and wet if they do not need to be.
Mothers understand this quicker than most fellas, especially when little ones are involved. When the bag gets packed for the little one Mom always makes sure there is jackets or a change of clothes packed away “just in case”. As we plan our day we should take a moment to also plan for “just in case”. Take a moment and check the weather. Is there a chance of rain? Maybe we should plan for the chance of getting wet later in the day? Maybe we alter what we wear to what the weather report says could happen?
You can still be fashionable and wear proper clothing to assist you with dealing with the elements. Now days there are plenty of materials both natural and manmade which can keep you cool, warm and dry. Except for in warm climates cotton is something we should stay away from. Cotton likes to hold water and this will just make you colder and miserable if you are caught in a rain shower or snow. You want a base layer of material which whisks perspiration away from your skin. In a hot environment this helps your body cool down, in a cold environment this helps to keep your body warm. Your clothing has to help your skin do what the skin is supposed to do. If your bas layer holds your sweet against your skin you are hindering what your body is trying to do.
Think of clothing as building a shelter around your skin. In cold weather you want more between you and the elements. In hot weather you want to help your body cool down and keep the sun from burning your skin. The same as you try to regulate the temperature in your home. Just like your house your clothing layering needs a tough outer shell or a roof and walls. Your outer layer of clothing needs to work like a portable house. This layer needs to be water, snow or sun proof. This layer needs to be something you can put on or off easily and in most cases is a jacket you have handy. Umbrellas also count in this outer layer group. Remember this is your tough outer shell.
Between your outer shell and your base layer are all the other clothes and options you have. Long sleeve shirts, gloves, maybe a scarf? This is the layer most of us throw on in the morning but do not think much about. Yet this is the main layer which predicts how well we can deal with the elements. Sure you can pack a big heavy jacket and toss this on when the rain starts. But those dress shoes you are wearing as you walk through the rain do not keep the water out. Your cotton socks are never going to dry. The dress slacks you have on soak up water like a sponge. Your jacket does a good job covering you from the neck down but the water coming down is hitting you on the head, dripping down your neck and soaking into the shirt you have on. Then the power goes out and the heating in the office stops working. Of course the power does not come back on and now you have to think about walking home…….. Hope you are not wearing those flats and dress…..
A suggestion is to have clothing available to you if the situation changes and you need to adapt to the weather. Having a spare pair of shoes or ‘real’ boots, not fashionable ones, to put on along with a few other items could make all the difference. We all can stuff a rain coat in the trunk or find a spot in the office to stash one. Pair of wool socks and a good hat also does not take up much space.
Should you ever find yourself in a situation take a moment and figure out if your clothing is helping our hurting your ability to deal with the situation. Finding dry and warm clothes can instantly make a bad situation better. Hypothermia and hyperthermia, getting to cold or too hot, can quickly make you a casualty during an emergency and your clothing choices can go a long way in making sure neither happens.
As Always,
Stay Safe!!!
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