Hypothetically...going by that video where they used doors covered with heavy fabrics etc...would I be safe behind a thick leather sofa, (if I found some way to make a 'roof' and cover it with foil) the wall behind it being the wall between the lounge and bedroom? There is a window in that room so I'd have to find a way to cover it (though the curtains are a thick heavy suede material if I could get them closed, usually leave them open as there's blinds also in that window) but the bedroom has a big door in (emergency fire exit to get out with wheelchair) which would be alot harder to cover and the curtains are a lighter cotton so maybe not offer as much protection? (no blinds in bedroom as its a back door and would be too much of a faff with having to let the dog out so often usually)
The only other place would be in the hallway with all the doors to the other room shut but of course the front door is at the end so I'd have to plug the gaps under it and the side where it locks (at the bottom) as for some reason when the wood shrinks it shrinks the most there! No idea how I'd build a den in there though. Other thought was to cover the dogs crates in foil and hide in there (he's got one wire, one fabric crate. I wouldn't be able to move the wire crate so we'd have to hide in the spare room where that is and block that window (which is the smallest window in the house, but very light cotton curtains, no lining) The lounge has the thickest curtains and blinds in that window and the big thick leather sofa to hide behind and the inner wall on the other side of me.
When I say foil I'm not thinking of aluminium foil you use for cooking I was wondering about those emergency foil blankets that have foil on one side.. what if I bought a load of large foil emergency blankets to cover the crates with for me and the dog to hide in one each? ..or if hiding behind the sofa... could make some kind of 'roof' with blankets then put the foil ones (foil side facing up towards the ceiling) on the top of the 'roof'. One side of us would be the inner wall (between lounge and bedroom) the other side of us would be the thick leather sofa (it is a big huge electric corner sofa, though of course I'd unplug it first before hiding behind it!)
Now say by some miracle me and the dog survived the initial nuking from hiding behind the sofa or something!... I'm guessing I wouldn't even be able to let him out for a quick pee under the car porch without us risking exposure to radiation? (making note to add large 'kitty litter tray' type thing to emergency supplies!) would it be safe to emerge from under the den to nip to the loo? to find some of food form emergency supplies? (in my bedroom wardrobe where the 'big back door' is)
This is probably a futile 'hypothetical' exercise if it really happened that fast but humour me here! This is a preppers forum after all, if you lot don't know.. no-one else will!
p.s this sounds daft but would it be safe to have the TV plugged in to be able to watch for any news (I need the subtitles as deaf and can't hear a radio) assuming anyone survived to be able to broadcast to tell any survivors what to do, where emergency supplies were being distributed , how to contact someone for help orwhen it was safe to come out etc). Would phone and broadband signals still work? or would I just have to sit tight and see if anyone more able survived who was coming round looking for survivors?
when would it be safe to leave our 'den' but not the house (to move around the house blocking other windows, to use the loo, to make food etc as doubt would get enough notice to do them all beforehand) when would it be safe to open the door to let the dog pee under the car porch quickly (on lead so he doesn't take so long) and how long would be safe ie less than 5 mins if he just runs to fences pee's then runs back in or after 2 weeks would it be safe to let him in the back garden to take his time or would it be safe after 2 weeks for us to venture out in the community to see if there were any other survivors? to see if I could get to my brothers house to see if he and his partner had survived? if he hadn't already made it to me by then).
I don't know anything about radiation but have brief memories of seeing a child running down a road (on TV) after the chernobyl incident and seeing a story of a guy who was still alive living in a high radiation area in one country (can't remember which now) cos he stayed behind to look after the animals when everyone else had evacuated, so if you survived the initial blast is there a chance that you would still live a while? (though possible having more chance of getting cancer?)
