The ability to do many household repairs myself is an invaluable prep. While my skillset in these areas are limited in every area such as plumbing, electrical and structural. The ability to repair things around the house could become invaluable in a post societal collapse world. To complete many repairs tools are either required or would certainly make many task easier.
During the Texas Snowpocalypse our main water line into the house froze. Our house is plumbed with PVC lines like many homes. I was able to easily locate where the pipe was frozen and managed to unfreeze it multiple times with a Wagner Heat gun. I knew at the time heat and plastic did not mix well. However, having a house with 5 people in it and no running water was not the most fun thing I’ve done in my life. During this time I realized how important having a variety of tools was and I was very much unprepared in this area.
I am pretty handy parts changer on vehicles being able to accomplish most unplug, unbolt, re-bolt new part and plug it in task, I am no mechanic. I have a basic understanding of AC and DC electrical, and a very basic understanding of plumbing copper, pex, and PVC. None of this would be possible without tools. Growing up my dad always had a vast variety of tools, and he taught me how to use them. Most of them time by choice, sometimes because I broke it either accidentally or on purpose. I became an expert at holding the flashlight while being yelled at as well. This later helped me have thick skin in the real world, who knew? I digress and get back on topic though. As I mentioned earlier the main line into my house froze during the Texas Snowpocalypse of 2021.
During the Texas Snowpocalypse I was at least coherent enough to run to hardware stores and grab the parts I thought I needed to repair the line. Further to get parts for plans A, B, C, and D. Unfortunately, along with the main line freezing then being melted and then exploding, a plastic shut off valve just inside the garage also became damaged. I thought with the amount of ice on the roads, the hardware stores would be stocked still. I was mistaken. The main line into my water filtration system now goes from PVC, to Copper, to a metal shut off valve, back to copper line, back to PVC into the rest of the house. While this fix works and I prefer the metal valve over the PVC ones, it certainly wasn’t how a professional would have done it.
Fortunately, I had a basic understanding of plumbing and was able to fix this pipe as soon as it defrosted enough to shoot water out of the pipe. Free Tip: the pipe points straight up and you can see the cube remember, city water has some pressure behind it. I shot my roof with the ice cube plug……we got water back doh!!!
Before the end of the Texas Snowpocalypse my parents had a cold water pipe no one knew existed damaged as well. Their house is apparently plumbed with Copper. Fortunately we were able to get the water shut off and put a shark bite fitting on the end of the pipe to stop the leak. This resulted in more trips to hardware stores.
I now have a Milwaukee Pack out kit that has basic parts for PEX, PVC, Copper, DC Electrical and AC Electrical. While my kit will continue to expand as excess funds allow. Most of the parts are relatively inexpensive costing less than a dollar. Even though I can’t think of anyone I know with PEX lines, I thought my parents’ house would have been plumbed with PVC too. One aspect of this prep I did have to accept was even though the fix may not be permanent, fix it well enough to get through the crises and then revisit it. Further, I have unpacked a soldering iron and started teaching myself how to solder wires together and different methods of splicing. The reason I chose the Milwaukee Pack Out system was the ease of deployment incase I wanted to help family or someone in my community.
I am not professional tool turner however, like everything we do in prepping we should think long term. Cordless battery tools are awesome, I own several. If there is ever a power grid failure, how long after will those batteries last or a bigger fear, what happens when the manufactures determines the battery platform to be obsolete. I know cords are not cool, but we should strongly consider them since they can be run off of generators, or Pneumatic tools could be another viable option with gas powered air compressors.
Spending our hard earned money on tools we only touch so many times a year is hard. I ask myself every time I purchase a tool “Will I get my $9 out of this socket?” or “Will I ever need this PVC fitting?” I ask myself frequently “Should I just pay someone to do this?” Knowing it will cost more and at the same time, realizing my personal allotment of time is dwindling is a constant battle. I often remind myself to just do it myself because it is part of my prepared mindset. Instead of throwing out the vacuum because the dogs ate the power cord, I fix it myself to keep my skillset growing. Things that may sound like simple fixes in our community are not simple fixes for many of those outside of our community. Either way as a community we need to consider having tools on hand to help maintain some normalcy if at all possible. The longer we can stay in our bug in locations, the longer we can wait for our extended society to return to somewhat normalcy.
Good judgement comes from bad judgement, a skillset is a result of practice, trial and error. Abilities are created by doing. Surround yourself with people who have knowledge, skillsets or personality traits you desire to possess. Being a Prepper is not about how much money you spend on preparations, rather it is about your ability to adapt and overcome a variety of situations.
Four Horsemen Adventures and Preparedness 