Do you have the tools/etc. to deal with reconstruction/damage due to wind/earthquake/etc.?

[The Heretic]

Stainless for sure.

Yes, even I know that much

 

[Mark W.]

With raw materials I could rebuild this house foundation to roof. Including plumbing, electrical, etc. I even own a cement mixer.

 

[powersbj]

I could cobble something together to keep the family warm and dry, but building without a box store would be a challenge.

 

[Dungannon]

Based solely on my experience in Mississippi after Katrina, Home Depot/Lowes/Walmart execute their disaster response plans better the federal, state or county governments. You couldn't buy wallpaper and Halloween decorations, but everything in critical need [building materials, tools, buckets, tarps, bottled water, etc.] was available within a few days. Building supplies were unloaded directly from the tractor trailers into pickups by roving employees in the parking lot for the first several months.

Gulfport, Mississippi - October 2006

 

[Pete F]

When I was younger, I acquired a lot of power and handtools. My wife never even blinked as I fixed the house, her Jaguar and cleared the property. The cheapest tools that I own are old Craftsman, but most are professional quality powered DeWalt's, Makita's, Lincoln MIG Welder, Skill worm drive circular saw and Snap-On wrenches and sockets. Most of my gas powered tools are Stihl.

As I have aged, I use them less and less, but they always work when needed.

The one tool that I really need for SHTF scenario is a one or two man bucking saw. If I run out of gas, I will eventually need it to cut firewood. I do have a hand scythe though and have used it to cut tall grass for years. It is a learned skill.

 

[oldcorpgunny]

I don't have any tools. However, my bride has a 1,300 sq. ft. shop full of woodworking tools, metal working, auto-body and painting stuff. I gave up when I tried to put a hot patch on a condom many years ago.

 

[Alexx1401]

Never been much of a carpenter but do keep a good supply of "stuff" Couple decent cordless drills and the impact drivers that mate with them. Keep a bunch of those Torx drive decking screws in multiple sizes. Things are pricey but damn they are nice to slapping stuff together or doing emergency repairs on a fence. Always keep a bundle of those sheet metal rectangular deals with a bunch of holes in them. Can't remember what they call them and never have been sure what the hell they are made for. I use them for quick repairs on stuff all the time. Something to hold stuff till I have time to do it better. Have a small table saw Wife bought me LONG ago. Seldom use it but when needed its nice to have. Power miter saw too that's the same. Harbor Freight specials that have had a LONG time. Not something you would want to use professionally but great for someone like me who only needs them seldom. Long ago bought a 6K rated Gen that uses LP gas. Should have bought one long before. Its so damn nice to not have to deal with gasoline kept for these things. If needed just turn it on. When done shut it back off. If things get really bad you can often still buy the exchange bottles of gas as long as the stores are open anywhere.

 

[The Heretic]

Had the power go out for a few seconds last night. Won't know for sure until daylight, but the only damage I've seen so far is a limb knocked a solar panel for a light down. Lots of trash including large limbs on the ground - so far nothing seems to have hit the vehicles - don't know about roofs/etc.

The sky seems to have cleared - a light but steady breeze out of the ESE.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Get a
Chop Saw
Quality drills and impact guns
Air compressor. Larger on wheels
Saws all
Get your hand tools non powered at harbor freight
Always have 2x4 and some sheeting on hand.
welder
A reliable generator
Non ethanol gas

 

[P7M13]

Home yesterday, a neighbor had a 60' tree blown down. I saw people out chatting at the sight, but I don't think he owned a chain saw.
By the time I passed back through, in that duration I estimate I could have bucked the lengths across the road to firewood size. They were still there, tree down, chatting.
I didn't have the time to help, and long ago learned, a chain saw is one thing you do not lend out. Add to that, downed trees are stored energy. Cut one the wrong way/place, and you're getting injured or killed.

@The Heretic, if you need a hand with something, give a holler. I always figured, if you own a Cat, you're pretty handy with maintaining it and doing most everything else down the scale.

 

[The Heretic]

Thanks. No serious damage, mostly just litter to clean up.

I don't own a crawler - wish I did - the one I used I rented for a week.

 

[Kruel J]

Skillsaw.... get the MAG77 worm drive!

They make a men's version too. When you grow up and get some big-boy muscles you'll appreciate the robustness of real tools made of STEEL.

 

[Stomper]

They make a men's version too. When you grow up and get some big-boy muscles you'll appreciate the robustness of real tools made of STEEL.

I already have two of them, one for each foot.

 

[Kruel J]

They make a men's version too. When you grow up and get some big-boy muscles you'll appreciate the robustness of real tools made of STEEL.

Sh** I sound like a 1911 fanboy.

 

[The Heretic]

This is why you don't walk around in the woods when it windy. Larger, thicker and longer limbs than this fell all around - including one that was about 20' long and about a foot in diameter.

 

[asbtg]

Just got this monster dropped and chopped so it would stop dropping trees branches on the roof. 52" diameter at the bottom cut, Douglas Fir. Anyone in the Everett-ish area want a cord for $100, come hack it and haul it. Bark won't be included in the cord estimation, just cause I like you guys!

 

[gmerkt]

Yes, what a subject. One that I've paid attention to well over the years.

table saw

This is the finger reconfiguring machine. Don't ask how I know. But I have one and use it more often that you'd think. Wife's old Uncle Bob gave it to me before he moved to San Diego.

my power screwdriver would not remove the screws so I had to pry them up with a mechanics pry bar.

When you go back to rebuild, make sure you have enough joist left to screw the new plank into. If the plank was rotten, the joists need a good looking at.

A lot of roofing needed to be repaired and large fallen trees removed. Trees fall all the time up here.

including one that was about 20' long and about a foot in diameter.

The nature and extent of the disaster might determine how you go about this. If it's an isolated event, a call to your insurance provider might be the first step. If it's something on the order of Katrina, waiting for a call back might involve a long time. But those big trees buried deep in the framing of a house, that can be pretty tricky work.

nails in decking would probably work loose over time

You'd be surprised how well galvanized nails adhere themselves into wood. The galvanized surface gets a little chalky and bonds to the wood. Sometime so well that you wish they wouldn't when you try to remove one.

think my next tool (besides a wrecking bar - which I have in my shopping cart on Amazon, along with decking screws) will be a sawzall - not sure about whether it will be battery or corded.

I have a pretty well-rounded selection of prying tools. Up to and including an 18 pound digging bar which I've used many times for prying. Leverage tools sometimes help you keep from needing a second man. The "reciprocating saw" (not all are Sawzall because they aren't all made by Milwaukee) to me is more for demolition than construction. That is, better for taking stuff down than building. But they do come in handy for awkward jobs. I keep both kinds, corded and battery. But I find that my DeWalt corded goes through batteries like mud through a goose; uses much more current than a drill.

I could cobble something together to keep the family warm and dry, but building without a box store would be a challenge.

Agreed. I don't have my own private warehouse of materials. I keep some common lumber in my storage building. Lots of stuff that I've gotten free over the years. But lately due to my own age, I've gotten into those just to use them up and get my value out of them.

Get a
Chop Saw
Quality drills and impact guns
Air compressor.

"Chop" or miter saw, one of the cutting tools I use the most often. Air compressor is a mighty handy thing to have.

long ago learned, a chain saw is one thing you do not lend out. Add to that, downed trees are stored energy. Cut one the wrong way/place, and you're getting injured or killed.

Chain saws and vacuum cleaners are two things that should never be lent. A chain saw in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous device, indeed. And even if the guy doesn't hurt himself, you're 90% sure to get it back broken. If you're lucky, all it will need is a new chain.

Trying to remove a fallen tree yourself from the framing of a house is something most people shouldn't do. If the cause is highly catastrophic and widespread, you may have to attempt it but it's heavy, dangerous work.

 

[The Heretic]

This is the finger reconfiguring machine. Don't ask how I know. But I have one and use it more often that you'd think. Wife's old Uncle Bob gave it to me before he moved to San Diego.

My maternal grandfather was a sawyer in a logging camp back when they used steam engines to drive everything. He had a table saw he built himself (he built a LOT of stuff from scratch). He was missing parts of several fingers.

When you go back to rebuild, make sure you have enough joist left to screw the new plank into. If the plank was rotten, the joists need a good looking at.

The joists are fine (although when I bought the house, the inspectors commented on the fact that the joists for the decks should have been much closer together, and they should as you can feel the boards flex between the joists and some have warped from use). The boards that have rotted, did so at the end of a raised section and there are several 2x4s that they attach to (instead of the joists) - one is rotten, the other is an "end cap". I will screw into the end cap instead of the rotten board underneath.

The deck is settling in some places too. I replaced the four planks because they were the worst and there was no way to fix them besides replacing them.

 

[The Heretic]

 

[rjmt]

over 24 years, I've collected all the tools to build any structure, and clear the fields, all electric or gas powered
have a compound saw on a collapsible table that slides into a truck bed with a generator for work down the field
Honda electric start generator on wheels
air compressor on wheels that also slides into the truck bead
the old Troy Built Horse is still my go to for busting sod
last year we discovered Ryobi 40V battery tools, specifically the interchangeable head tool line, including a mini rototiller and an electric lawn mower
have 2 power heads and three 5AH batteries
the Ryobi 14" 40V chain saw can run 30 min with a 5 AH battery
I still use the Stihl gas tools for big jobs, but the Ryobi tools fit 90% of our daily needs