Keeping Warm, Warming/Insulation for squats in the winter

[CaffineIrene]

Need some advice on insulation and heating my squat

hello, my friends and I recently started setting up a squat in a northern city where its still very cold and snowy. Our room in inside a medium sized room surrounded by other huge rooms. It was once a big factory or something. The room that my partner and I sleep in is fairly small with a few little holes in the wall but nothing major. Oh yes, it has a door and no windows. My question is what is the best way to insulate my space? would nailing cardboard to the walls help at all? we might sleep in a tent in the room with a buncha blankets and what not but it could sti9ll be pretty cold.
I mean I was thinking of building a little brick fireplace or something but I'm not sure as the whole smoke thing might kill us so i might just do that in our more "common area"
This is going to be a more permanent squat also (i know i'll see some of you in the warmer weather!)

Also what are some cheap ways ya'll know how to make stoves ( i have access to a buncha free bricks btw) I know about the penny pocket stove and just plain ol fires work nicely but something a little more reliable would be best.

and electricity...how could I make it happen when the place i live in is not wired for that shit? I'm a poor young lady so keep that in mind. I guess i don't need it. I am pretty excited to be using my survival-primitive skillz again

 

[Wolfeyes]

Need some advice on insulation and heating my squat

...If you are planning on setting up any kind of heating source, keep in mind that no matter what the source is, you HAVE TO HAVE A PLACE FOR THE EXHAUST TO GO. Be it fuel, or fire...SO you might want to actually consider using an outter room so you can have proper ventilation. I have seen what a fume killed body looks like, UNPLEASANT TO LOOK AT, must be far more so to feel...best of luck...

Don't forget the other end of the equation. If you're using combustion for heat, don't forget to also let fresh air in. Hypoxia(lack of oxygen) is no fun. Been there done that, bought the t-shirt... Plus, if you don't pass out/die from lack of oxygen, and manage to open a window, you run the risk of flash fires, also no fun...

 

[logan714]

hot rocks and sand

 

[tallhorseman]

In Oak Ridge, New Jersey...awful state...there is an RV park, I lived there for a few months. In this RV park are/were several unused RVs that would make good squats. When I lived there the park owner was trying to find someone to haul them off. I believe the place is called Oak Ridge RV Park.

A friend of mine fixed one up and used it for a storage trailer.

Off subject, but oh well, sue me.

 

[Rancho]

Sand absorbs and retains heat if you can find some nice dry sand and get it toasty if you can put it in your sleeping bag(in bags of course) then it should keep you toasty for a good long while

 

[Yell]

make a bivvy sack with space blankets. BAM. problem solved.

(heres a quick thought. instead of sleeping in the bag. use one sleeping bag as a bottom blanket. then you and your friend sleep next to each other. put the top sleeping bag unzipped and over you. make a bivvy sack that would fit you both. with space blankets. it will insulate the heat from both of you.)

 

[Earth]

Don't be afraid to do some hustling and get yourself a heater / fuels

We've been using kerosine heaters for years to heat non-heated spaces,
man it works like a champ and burns super super clean, just make sure
your space is not air tight......

One cat I know goes the propane route, but I don't know enough about that.
I got a small propane heater in the back of my old van that uses those small
camping cylinders, and that throws out a whole lot of heat for a couple of
hours or so...............

 

[Dead horse]

Pan handle for blankets, if your like "spare blankets" people are gonna help, blankets are easy to get. and ya like some people above said, sew the zipper up, cuddle with a partner of a dog, GET THE FUCK OUTTA WHERE YOU ARE, get off the ground somehow, I'm just checked into a Salvation army, its greasy as fuck but its just till i save up the money for an Arctic Tent and a wood burning stove then I'll be wilderness squatting..Remember, you can't drink the water if its frozen

 

[TheUndeadPhoenix]

Need some advice on insulation and heating my squat

NO FUCKIN SQUAT FIRES!

I've heard of tons of squat fires. Unless you plan on cleaning the chimney or have a fuck ton of ventilation (IE Open warehouse with the windows busted out) and a big ass concrete slab under it, don't do it.

 

[wildboy860]

somebody mentioned packin gblankets from trader joes, well you can get similar wool blankets that will keep you warm as well from the back of u-haul trucks, they're almost always onlocked and usually cointain a blank or a few. also a good place to sleep ina pinch.

 

[dprogram]

Local fire departments will usually give you free wool blankets if you ask nicely.

 

[whaleofashrimp]

card board..and staple guns..layer that shit on the wall

 

[Kadidlehopper]

'Seal' a room and build a few terracotta pot candle heaters, a small hobo rocket stove could work too if you slap a brick under it and a few around the sides to encapsule it and chimney it out the window, a small fire in a room isnt that dangerous as long as you dont act like a fucking moron and take the proper steps in setting it up, dont leave it unattended, and have a water bucket AND heavy blanket/carpet to smother the whole thing if shit goes arry.

A stove this size would never burn all night, its all about storing radiant heat. But this is a technique that I used back in the fridged northern ontario winters [-40 motherfuckers, thats real cold.] if your complaining about the temp in minus teens, get a better fucking bag and some cardboard.

also, its all about layers, wicking layer [underarmour etc for sweat], insulating layer[wool for wet warmth] and wind layer [do I even need to explain this?]


Terracotta candle

radiant hobo stove

'ultra' radiant brick stove

 

[finn]

I forgot to mention that pallets can be used for insulation, as a framework, once you stuff them with something- newspapers for indoors, plastic bags for outside. Bags of packing peanuts are good, though not too close to wooden pallets, since the bags will catch on them and tear.

 

[finn]

Okay, its starting to get cold again, so even if your boots are super warm, take them off when you're sleeping in the cold- DO NOT SLEEP WITH BOOTS ON. The reason is blood circulation, if your toes don't get enough, they will be frostbitten, warm boots notwithstanding. Also, when you sleep, do not be on the floor if you can help it- because cold air sinks. Also, the floor is cold. Sleeping on cinderblocks is an improvement.

 

[roadbike]

Hit a MEC (or similar shop) up and get one of those reflective emergency blankets/bivvies. They also have them in emergency kits for cars sometimes at Walmart or whatever and are pretty small and easy to pocket from either way.

Use it over your sleeping bag along with whatever mattress/cuddle situation you work out. Keeping yourself off the floor will do you wonders for keeping you from losing body heat.

 

[todd]

get a dog to sleep in your bag