SAS Urban Survival Handbook by John Wiseman Read Free Book Online Page B

SMALL-SCALE REMOVAL
     
     
■ Keep other people away
■ Wear disposable mask, overalls (preferably disposable), rubber or washable boots and disposable gloves
■ Wet asbestos
■ Do NOT use power tools—cut slowly by hand
■ Remove as large pieces as possible—the less it breaks up the better
■ Put all pieces in at least two heavy-duty plastic bags and mark clearly: DANGER! ASBESTOS DUST! DO NOT INHALE!
■ Clean up with a damp cloth and put cloth and disposable clothing in same bag before closing
■ Wash non-disposable clothing
■ Shower, washing all over including your hair
     
     

PUTTING THINGS RIGHT
     
    House repairs take time and money, quite apart from the upheaval and stress that may be caused. Try to think, during every day of major work, that—if done properly—many jobs may not need doing again in your lifetime. Bodged repairs will only lead to more work, more stress and more expenditure.
    Outdoor maintenance may not seem as rewarding as tackling interior decoration—but it is much more important. You may find yourself redecorating very soon if you haven’t had a proper job done on a leaky roof, or had rotten wood removed and made good.

Priorities
     
    Give priority to making the house watertight—bad weather may force this decision upon you. Whatever the weather, treat the following as urgent:
     
◑ Serious cracks in walls, rendering
◑ Defects in the roof
◑ Rising damp, wet rot, dry rot
◑ Problems with gutters, downpipes or external drainage
◑ Unsafe chimney stacks
     
    Inside: Do something about:
     
◑ Faulty or inadequate electrical systems
◑ Leaky, bodged plumbing and heating systems
◑ Inadequate lighting on stairs and changes of floor level
◑ Ventilation
◑ Blocked or damaged chimneys and flues
     

Annual inspections
     
    Once a year, or immediately after a bad storm or very high winds, check the condition of the roof. Look for loose tiles and slates, displaced flashings where roofs abut a wall or round the base of the chimney, blocked gutters and downpipes, signs of water penetration through walls and ceilings, deteriorating external woodwork, blocked airbricks.

REMEMBER
     
    When large-scale remedial work is undertaken it may be your chance to make major improvements to your home. Bear in mind that you are likely to need planning permission for certain types of building work.
     

BASIC SERVICES
     
    Every house is different, as is every lifestyle, but most homes rely on water supplies, electricity, gas, oil, or solid fuels. Remember it is your home and you are in control. All the basic services, while making life easier or more comfortable, can also be sources of great danger.
    You SHOULD know where to go in your home to turn off any or all of the supplies—both for routine maintenance and in the case of emergency. DON’T wait until the storage tank in the loft overflows and brings down a ceiling. DON’T allow someone to be asphyxiated by gas before checking that a gas appliance is correctly installed.
    It is NOT enough to know where the levers or stopcocks are. Check that you can operate them and that they do the job they are supposed to do. It is not impossible that someone has, at some time, bypassed a meter or rerouted a supply for convenience. The stopcock on the water inlet may NOT completely turn off all the water in the house. CHECK! When you switch off the electricity, is ALL the power off?
    If you are in any doubt about the efficiency of the controls, or if they are very hard to get at, get them sorted out.
    In a multi-occupied dwelling, some of the shared services may have only one turn-off point. Is it accessible to you at any time—day or night? If not, consider having your own controls installed. This is obviously vital in the case of gas or electricity.
     

ELECTRICITY
     
    Most of us take electricity completely for granted. We flip a switch and a light comes on. We want toast, and pop the bread in the toaster. We want food quickly and microwave