In a real emergency, there's no power anyway, so that means no fuel pumps, no eftpos, no pc based till working to sell bottles, no cash dispensers working. Council water supply is out, sewage pumps off as well, along with street lighting. (The dark was actually nice out here, thru the quakes) Cell towers are off, phone exchanges as well, so no internet or phone service is likely as well.
So basically, what you have now, is all you will have to make it thru, until at least some power is restored, to each service. Relying on being able to always get a refill of anything, is a mistake imo.
tygertung,
Jun 4, 1:35am
Heat doesn't "drive out moisture" it just allows the air to absorb more moisture.
gpg58,
Jun 4, 11:08am
True. That's something else folk fail to understand, humidity in a home is usually called Relative humidity(RH) for a reason. It increases with a drop in temp, and drops when temperature rises - "Relative humidity is a value that indicates how much moisture it contains as compared with the maximum amount of moisture that can be contained in the air at a certain temperature"(as opposed to Absolute humidity, which is weight ratio of vaporized water to 1 kg of dry moisture-free air).
This is why we tell folk, the most important thing is to get your building warm first, only then if you still have major humidity issues, consider a ventilation system, not before, as usually most issues vanish if you keep it warm.
True, but there is a lot you can do to get your heating to work better, by better insulating and installing ventillation. Even things like opening the windows for at least a couple of hours, every day, especially in Winter help to dry a house out. And a dry house is so much easier to heat. So many places I have been in, people just don't understand that and just moan about the house. Ours is a prime example. Its never going to be as airtight and efficient as a new build, but its very good now, especially for its age with the practical steps we have taken. The two most important being ventilation and window coverage.
tweake,
Jun 4, 3:27pm
actually it does. heat moves moisture. where its cold it slows down or stops. a good example is solar drive on bricks, which is why we have a big ventilation gap between the brick and wooden wall. have a look at leaky homes over in USA and Canada, they often put brick very close to their wooden walls. bricks soak up the rain, sun heats it up and pushes the moisture across the small gap into the wooden walls which absorb it and then rot.
funny enough, as much stick i give kiwi homes, nz brick homes seam to be very well done in that regard.
tweake,
Jun 4, 3:33pm
certainly some are better and have some idea what to look for. but even then they can be way out because you can't see that the insulation is missing or that there is a massive big hole in the wardrobe letting all the hot air go out. i've worked on a house that had a 6" hole in the floor behind the fridge.
tweake,
Jun 4, 4:19pm
there is some good bits and poor bits. the first two look like fake tiny homes which is all to common. the giveaway is being on a light trailer and they have lots of wood, steel fireplaces, big appliances, tile shower, and heavy items. they would be overweight and illegal to be on the road. the third one gets around all that by using a truck trailer, which is excellent. it also allows for a much bigger space and probably similar to a small normal home. nice to see separated toilets. i've seen to many where the kitchen doubles as the hand basin.
as far as performance goes, that was glossed over. double glaze thermally broken windows is good. but no real details on insulation etc. it was mentioned they had polyester insulation which has the downside of being lower r value than most others. pity no info on how it was done. no mention on any air sealing efforts. they did mention it has "good ventilation" which is call BS. no ventilation setup in it that i can see. it only has windows. considering whats required for good ventilation thats something you want to show off. the ventilation and heating aspect is usually the big downfall. small spaces are difficult to ventilate well without over ventilating. plus they need constant ventilation (due to no buffer capacity), which is something that tends not to happen when you use windows. this is why tiny homes have a reputation for going moldy.
Lol, yes i too had something similar, a large dog door had flap missing, which was installed in a single glazed ranch slider, hidden behind thin curtains, and owner could not understand why unit was struggling, as it was sized(by them) without taken into account of one long wall being almost all single glazed glass. Another one for old houses, used to be the big plaster ceiling decorations in middle of room, that are open to roof space above, a left over from open fireplaces, that needed somewhere for smoke to escape(just throwing batts over the top does not stop airflow, as some seem to think it will).
tweake,
Jun 4, 5:20pm
o wow. i've heard of that but never seen one. they have all been solid plaster as far as i remember. later on they had the same style but had power cable down the centre of it. i suspect some of those old plaster ceilings would be fairly air tight, well until downlights came along and people turned the ceiling into swiss cheese.
joanie32,
Jun 4, 6:02pm
My goodness
Wannabe scientists and people making a buck out of the gullible have turned warming a home into a far more complicated issue than it needs to be
My advise to anyone that has trouble warming their house is simple - talk to people that have lived In really cold climates
They will give good advise and more than likely disagree with everything these self proclaimed experts say.
gpg58,
Jun 4, 6:24pm
Then there are the idiots, that think someone that has lived in a cold area, and heated one or 2 homes, is better equipped to comment, than someone that has spent 40+ years in the trade, advising thousands of real world happy customers. The only self proclaimed experts, are the ones that rely on just a few examples, and assume all others will be the same. But hey whatever makes folk think they know better than very experienced trade people is fine by me, always was happy to sort out the numpties firkups, for a price.
joanie32,
Jun 4, 6:31pm
40 years as a snake oil salesman, and you’re still just a snake oil salesman
They prey on the gullible and sell gadgets and gimmicks that are unnecessary and useless.
Are you someone who’s been sucked in by the BS or someone that sells it?
gpg58,
Jun 4, 6:49pm
Clearly you are a complete idiot, with a highly inflated opinion of yourself, and your mental abilities. Whereas in my opinion, the Kruger dunning effect clearly applies to you. I suggest you stop commenting on subjects you have no expertise in, to avoid being made look even more stupid that you have already done. I will waste no more of my time addressing you or you stupidity.
joanie32,
Jun 4, 6:53pm
Tell ya what
You list your qualifications and experience on the subject, and I will list mine
Then you can apologise.
tweake,
Jun 4, 6:54pm
yes true. i work with a Canadian, they know real cold. interesting thing is he says the coldest house hes every lived in is in northland nz. that just gives you some idea on how bad our housing is. not to mention quite a few overseas people have been in news saying how cold our houses are yet know one cares about it.
tho one thing to watch, those in really cold climates have a few different issues to address so their houses are built a bit different due to that. eg poly under the gib to stop air leaking out and causing frost build up and causing attic rain etc.
joanie32,
Jun 4, 8:00pm
Yip
Too many people paying good money for an easy solution
The only real solution is looking at your house
Not bunging in the latest bit of technological wizardry to try and compensate.
gabbysnana,
Jul 21, 6:46am
yup my monster LG could go lower, miss it.
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