I went from a leak in the attic to hiding in the basement.
How to Fix a Leak in a Storm
I woke up yesterday when water splashed on my face. Going up the ladder into my rickety attic-- barely more than a crawl space, you can't even stand in the middle-- I saw a long leak coming in between two boards, collecting on a joist and coming down into the (wet) insulation over my head. I spread out the insulation to dry, put down a bucket on a cross-board, and went to work.
I knew the roof needed real work, but I can't fix it in a storm. So, to control the leak, I put two small screws in both sides of the joist above the bucket. Then I tied tight some old twine in place and strung it down into the bucket. A quick fix, but at least the water now all goes into the bucket until I can do some real roofwork.
I'm going to have to go up, tear off some shingles, lay down new tar paper and some new shingles. I want an adonized tin roof that collects water runoff, but that'll have to wait until I can afford the materials.
How to Cower Like a Little Baby During a Tornado
My house is on the edge of a forest, at the foot of a hill behind. We get a lot of wind, but mostly it blasts through our empty front yard. We have had tornadoes before, but this is an old house and still standing. Still, it sounds like all Tennessee got hit yesterday, and neighboring states besides, so I ended up in the basement-- the walls leak, I need to seal it-- with a flashlight, a weather radio, and a prayer.
The Red Cross has a great blog up about their relief efforts. Fortunately, all my damage is a couple of downed trees (soon to be lumber) and even less hair on my head. Also:
- Info on How to Prepare a Home Tornado Plan and Disaster Kit (also in Spanish)
- as a PDF (also in Spanish)
- And Insurance, too. I need to check out my plan and make sure I'm not sawing logs for a lean-to if it all gets blown away.
How My Cat Weathers the Storm
Honestly, I don't know. She's an outside cat. Animals are smarter than us about disaster, I think-- they can tell it's coming and take measures besides. She was meowing on the porch early today, glad to see we're both safe.
