Have you ever heard of Murphy law ? What ever wil go wrong, will go wrong = YES ! >>>>> GOT YA !

1) Should I only complete the cleaning only one side of the tank at a time = YES ! If you tank is completly polluted XXX. Meaning you should not do a water tranfer by way of a siphon of poluted water from one side to the other .
YOU ARE CLEANING YOU WATER TANK FOR HEALTH REASONS

Always be ready for the first truck of fresh water.

THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS HERE .

2) When should I spray Clorox and Water 50/50 to both sides to purify the tank = This should be very LAST exercise for comfort reasons BEFORE refilling each portion of the tank.

3) Should I pre order at least two truck loads or more of fresh water to fill each side of the empty tank = YES ! As timing is crytical here . >>> MURPHEY is hiding in the wings .

4). Should I have extra crystal clear fresh water on hand if I encounter a problem = YES! … Better safe than sorry , dont forget your animals !

5 ) Should I purchase 4 x 3 gallons of crystal clear drinking water from Bermuda Water Works = YES ! Two bottles for each apartment. Better safe that sorry !

6) Should I pick the best NO RAIN DAY of the week to do this . YES ! I certainly would check the October / November weather man !

7) Should I purge the house of poluted water = YES that is part “B” of the project.

8 ) Should I pull the plug on all the water heaters before purging the house = YES ! You do not want a water heater burn out.

9) Should I pump the tank completely dry prior to removal of debris by bucket = YES ! Time water and sand dont mix !

10 ) May I thank.BERNEWS for publishing PAC MAN’S articles on home maintenance . =YES !

TANK. CLEANING.

The not so clean Bermuda fresh water can be the cleanest water tank on the planet with maintenance.

If you are not in posession of a trash suction pump and power washer best to hire a tank cleaning service.

Frankly for some this proceedure can be a trying experiance.

It is best to perform this two part proceedure one tank side at a time if you have a tank with a 4 ft high deviding wall to transfer the water over, only if not polluted .

Save water in other side for flushing and 5 gallon bucket of water for pump priming yiu coul fill the bath tub for flushing.
you mat have to repair a tank wall crack.

Then the job goes on hold .

When tank is fully cleaned drain on water heater a pump pressure tank and all internal faucets

It is best to perform the tank cleaning process after Hurricane season at the earliest during the month of October / November our rain season , that will save you the cost of buying water if you have tenants.

If you water is too far gone clean you tank immediately to prevent sickness. .

A hurrican can pollute a water tank which you can easily detect by smell by turning on the hot water shower let run for 5 minutes or so ,or you may have tasted it .

Tanks get polluted with all kinds of debris, lawn cuttings, leaf cuttings, sand and salt wipped up from the ocean in exposed areas, not being gross here also including dead ***birds, lizards and*** rats etc if you did no screen off the the esential tank over flow and roof down pipes.

What I am surgesting here is your water is or could be well past to point of stagnation and has become polluted and should not be offered for sale not even for construction.

The department of health can test the water contact them for advice on the appropriate proceedure and suitable container.

On the onset of a hurricane it is best the remove the water down pipe screening and block off the pipes if practicle to do so .
By the way down pipes should never be exrended down to the bottom of the tank .
The splash oxigenates the water in tank.

THE CLEANING PROCESS.
2 buckets with 20 ft of rope ; two ladders ; stiff broom ; shovel ;and * > products say Clorox ABSOLUTELY NO SOAP OR OTHER CHEMICALS . always change out the two non return suction pipe valves for new needed to do the job as the spring are fist to go.. ( check for pipe size )

* > PRODUCTS
Use no other fancy products in the tank other than liquid Clorox with water and plain Grey Cement.

WARNING
There are no short cuts here , do the job properly and thouraly with great care.
Clorox can cause resportary problems , use clorox 50/50 with water *** REF ~ ( RATS AND BIRDS )
Lastly use hand pump sprayer from the entrance of the tank where there is fresh air.
Eat chocolate , wear eye protection , wear a hat ,do not let your self be over come.

1 ). Heavy electric extension cable for submersible trash sump pump.
2 ) You will need at least one able bodied helper.
3 ) Remove the electric plug which services the fresk water pump after trash pump pumping .
4 ) Avoid pumping tank water on to public roads.

In order to maintain purpose to provide shelter also being designed to collect drinking water for the family home require a degree of tri -annual maintenance preferable during the cooler months .

People often say nothing lasts for ever.

However our typical traditional Bermuda roof can be found on many buildings here being well in excess of one hundred years having stood the test of time . unfortunately it is always the lumber termite, dry rot ,and fastening that gives up eventually.

Roof maintenance is a debatable issue as some people specify two applications of a white cement product over a three year period I personally prefer one medium coat application ever three years.

there is some roof water adsorption which drys out the inside of the roof cavity can get very hot, so people stay out of there

The Bermuda house just love the Bermuda’s hot sun, do keep vegitation well away from exterior walls to preven mould build up.

Mould and mildue is the enemy of all the Bermuda buildings some people use 50/50 Clorox and water with a pump sprayer to get rid of mould build up .

Some hand pump sprayers can squirt up to twenty feet . i usualy eat chocolate wear whit clothes and always have my back to the wind.

Some people use wall paint on their roof, i personally do not recomend this type of application, for good reason .

Today with the advent of the power washer , the proceedure has eliminated the wire brush cleaning treatment .

Power power washings the best way to go but can open / expose up a hidden roof cracks , which is good .

Roof cracks can be repaired the old way ( often used today ) one cement ,one lime, four sand an water to make a paste after a 1/2″ “V” cut to open up the crack on completion of the basic preparation an old wet towel is place over the crack to prevent the cement based application from pre mature curing .

At this point I strongly do not recomend an in experiences person or home owner to attempt to do work for any reason or on a roof that may have developed grit marbles from wear and tear.

There is a new product on the market for repairing roof and wall cracks called Fibre Bond which has become popular.

WALL PLATE.
Roof lumber construction.

Definition “Wall plate “. Standard Bermuda home construction .
3″x 4″ solid lumber installed on the upper entire load bearing upper exterior perimeter walls in order to support the weight of the common and jack rafters.

Tie beams are often use between room separations to prevent the wall plate spreading.

In many cases and mostly in more recent home construction where there are several gable end roof configerations specified , the wall plate or tie beam if you will , is often omitted or is not planning dept enforced.
This piece of 3″x4″ is spaced say for the inerface of the first gable common rafter end anf not planted on the gable end wall

The wall plate spread at the gable ends becomes open ended, this effect put adition strain on the common rafters and the tray ceiling collar ties which results more often low pitch of a Bermuda slate roof slate cracking which may cause from settlement .

THE. PRE LOAD STRESS TEST
Out of curiosity many have seen raw slate pre stacked on the roof lumber prior to slating , say over a period of a several days this is done to pre stress the lumber joints and their respective fastenings.

THE SECRET ROOF SLATE CRACK.
Roof slate does not allways stay in one place as the roof lumber is constantly on the move caused by roof lumber heat and humidity shrinkage and expansion .

On some occasions same cracks reoccur usually where one wing joins to another

A violent thunder storm may shake a roof and cause roof slate cracking.

That Milt thing was a close call !

I guess that we were or I was hoping that the hurricane would not regenerate into a cat 4 after Florida.

In all my years, dont ask !

I have not seen a cat 4 hurricane hit Bermuda yet, if so the damage to to property would be hertendouse with total loss of many buildings , too many to mention.

Today windows and door have become far too large 3/4″ storm ply wood un less reinforced to day would buckle and fail.
there is a need to give that a second look, may do a post on that !

In an attempt to save money many people use the * 7 up feet too 12 half feet width * pitch roof which exposes a greater area to high *wind up draft with less down wind pressure to balance and to hold the slate in place.

Faulty slate application can shake slate loose !

Hurricans usually suck the roof off.

A large window failure can cause blow out too other windows .

A chimney can lessen interior room pressure , do not block them off.

I wonder why insurance compnies still take the risk !

Back in history many of our older home has a steeper angle roof the minimum was 9/12 pitch ,with many at 10 /12 .

Our for fathers favoured a full pitch roof of 12/ 12 which allowed 4″ X 4″ cedar with all common rafters, the hip style roof costing more was rarely used.

Hurricans do not like hip roofs !

Looking to design a house ! do that project in the middle of a hurricane.
Pick the best part of the year to build also .

Higher roof pitch saves on lumber ,the saving in cost could go to Bermuda home grown slate .
The more you take for the land reduces the cost of building .

The steeper angle roof say at 10 /12 pitch which catch more tank water also dispurses more stagnant water efficiently as the roof dries off quicker .

The 10 / 12 roof angle was considered too be more in balance with greater down ward wind pressure .

I have never been in favour of room width in excess of 16 Feet building length also has it limitations

Slate mildue and mould can be grearly reduced ,the lumber and slate plumb theorodically and geromically became twice the real depth of each component with less load bearing force outwards pressure on the walls ,however buttresses were often added to exterior corners for added strength .