What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

The circulation water pump went down yesterday ! In the big poly tunnel , I replaced it with the backup pump and ordered a new pump , which is arriving today , I will change over as soon as it’s here , the backup pump does not push enough volume for this big system but just about copes as a backup .

The system is working well everything is doing well and producing good yields , in fact all three systems are now on track , new fish we added has done the trick and the two grow beds have picked up brilliantly .

I’ve ordered more main crop potatoes as the beds become available I will plant them ready for another crop to store for winter , I will sow more carrots and turnips “ I have had great success with turnips this year “ also cabbage and peas ……picked a pile of french beans this morning , will freeze some also raised more potatoes about seven kilos .

It’s time to get the chimney swept ! , check the gutters , clean the solar panels over the coming weeks , the truck has a new mot , oil and filters is next up to stay on top .

[Pete Grey]

I’ve asked a builder friend about putting a sloping roof over the patio in front of the utility room, only 4m x 2.5m.

We use the barbecue there and there is also a workbench that my wife uses for potting plants.

Underneath the bench there is room for a couple of propane bottles, I can easily box them in, if necessary I can run a hose through the window to a two burner picnic stove inside if no mains gas, that’s another SHTF plan .

[bigpaul]

I'm just trying an experiment putting a filter on the downpipe to stop any muck getting into the water butt.
better now than after SHTF.

[Pete Grey]

Our house was built 1960 and the roof is of sand faced tiles which seem to encourage the growth of moss, birds

[Pete Grey]

oops..........birds pull at the moss which falls into the gutters, every few weeks or after heavy rain I have to clean them out.

I have fitted mesh to stop the downpipes getting blocked but i don’t think a filter wouldn’t work for us.

I’ve found the best for us is to drain the waterbutt and power wash it out a couple of times a year.

Any water for domestic use I will run into a settlement container then decant off and filter.

[Straight Shooter]

Pete , are you building an open porch ( with no sides ) support the roof on columns only ? What is the intended roof material ? What finish is on the wall you are fixing too …..brick, render, dashing ? .

Fitted the new pump down the big poly tunnel …..looks like I will have to change the pump on the test bed aquaponics in the small poly tunnel , I have a spare ready ! .

I pulled about thirty odd sticks of rhubarb this morning ( still have loads left ) all cut and sliced bagged up and in the freezer , five big bags ….about 12 kilos .

Going to plant some Maris piper spuds in containers and set them in the big poly tunnel , sowing more follow on veg …..for the poly tunnel and direct in the ground . The runner beans will be ready to start picking next week and the home cured bacon , butter , and black pepper cannot wait for the union with a bloody good plateful
Of the first beans …..yummy ! …….I might even take my dentures out to get the full trip of the bursting flavours
Not pretty I know but hey ! ……..no MB I do not intend to liquidise any of it ! …..I’m a marine !

[Pete Grey]

(7 July 2023, 10:31)Straight Shooter Wrote: Pete , are you building an open porch ( with no sides ) support the roof on columns only ? What is the intended roof material ? What finish is on the wall you are fixing too …..brick, render, dashing ? .

Yes SS it will be an open porch, the wall is brick, roof polycarbonate sheet on a timber frame, quite simple really, we don’t need anything major..

[Straight Shooter]

I doubt you will need a cavity tray just for that Pete I’m sure your builder friend will advise you if you needed one …..but if you ever close it all in with sides ( you will need to fit a cavity tray across the whole width of the roof and a foot either side .

[Pete Grey]

(8 July 2023, 09:28)Straight Shooter Wrote: I doubt you will need a cavity tray just for that Pete I’m sure your builder friend will advise you if you needed one …..but if you ever close it all in with sides ( you will need to fit a cavity tray across the whole width of the roof and a foot either side .

Thanks SS, the porch will be left open sided, it is just intended for a little extra shelter in bad weather. Previous we have occasionally used a gazebo, but this will save us messing about it being a permanent structure.

[Mortblanc]

I built a 3mx4m porch on the back of my place back in 2012. Framed it out and installed fly screen on the walls due to the mosquitoes we have here. Vicious critters they are and most infected with West Nile virus or some other plague the health department refuses to mention.

I have enjoyed the pest free zone greatly over the past 11 years and would do it again without hesitation. It was money well spent. and I have enjoyed each burger, steak and chop cooked under its roof.

I also have a cast iron wood stove out there and enjoy the cool autumn evenings by the stove.

Only down side is that each year some avian critter lays claim to one of the nooks or crannies before the snow melts and I open the back door. This year I became the adopted grandparent of a nest of robins and the little fellows sometimes return when I am outside to sit on the railing and have a chat.