How do you who live down south cope with the heat?

[TW]

Today it has been terribly hot, almost 30 degrees Celsius in the shadow. (almost 86 degrees Fahrenheit I think) It was terrible to work outside. The foundation we make is on the southern slope of a small hill, with no shadow.

Those of you who live further south must have developed some method to survive outside in the heat. Otherwise you would get nothing done.
Are there any tips and tricks you can share?

[Furby]

Yup, sit inside an air conditioned house and let someone else do the work! :D

[Radar67]

TW, it's something you learn to deal with. The most important thing you can do in the heat is drimk plenty of water. It was 97° F here yesterday and I drank about 4 gallons of water. You have to wear a good hat to shade your eyes, and a lot of old timers wear long sleeve shirts to keep the sun from cooking them, plus once the sweat soaks the shirt, any little breeze will help cool you. A wet towel around the back of your neck helps some as well.

It's mostly getting acclimated to your environment though. I live in south MS so I am used to the heat, but I went to Germany for three years and about froze to death.  :D

Stew

[GHRoberts]

TW ---

You get used to it.

When I worked outdoors 6-8 hours everyday, even 110 degree (40+) temps felt nice.

Now I find 90 degrees (30) tough.

[thurlow]

All together now, on the count of 3.........................one, .............two...............three; it ain't the heat, it's the humiditityity..................... 8)

[thedeeredude]

Amen thurlow.  I don't mind the 90 degrees but when the humidity is 90-100% I break down.

[crtreedude]

You can cut the humidity down here some days - but it isn't that hot. The exception is when it is midday in the sun.

The worst time is when you got a real soaker one day - and totally clear the next. It is like being in a sauna when it first heats up.

But, the temperature really isn't that brutal to me - nothing like NJ summers.

[etat]

I live in north Ms and already this year we have had above average temperatures.  Up on a shingle roof I understand the rule of thumb is you can add appx. 15 degrees to whatever the temperature is   because of the heat building up in and bouncing off of them shingles back in your face. Kind of like laying down on a hot black top road.  

Only one thing for us to do, start at daylight and leave around lunch give or take.  Work hard and try to beat the heat.  We drink lots of water and I insist that we sip slowly, not gulp it down quick.  This time of year despite what some docs now say, I eat a very salty diet.  Sometimes when the water doesn't quench my thirst or I try to stop sweating I'll eat one of them little packs of salt.  This seems to work almost immediately and will get you back to sweating.  

I can take the heat pretty good on the ground but it seems to be rougher on me up on them shingle roofs as I get older.   Still, I reckon I could outwork someone half my age.  Well, mostly anyways.  

[Tom]

Furby has one of the right answers too.

We are inundated with Northern tourists who think they want to live in this God forsaken place.  When they get down here, they find that there aren't any jobs and the ones that are here, don't pay what they are accustomed to making.   Then the insects, snakes, bears and wildcats take their toll and that is followed by the heat of the summer.  They are trapped and will do almost anything to get out of here and back home.

We hire them for a pittance to do our rough work in the summer and let them make enough to get a bus ticket back up north.  It is good for both sides. They need the money and we enjoy the air-conditioning.  We have been known to use Mexican illegal aliens, but that is coming to a halt.  Besides, those mexicans charge too much anyway.

Just remember that you can always get back home if you become trapped down here.  We'll help most anyway we can.

Excuse me, I need to that new houseboy to make me another Mint Julep.  Don't want to get dehydrated, you know. 

[TW]

Somehow I am always that "somebody else" doing the work.

I have worked several summers before and I have never gotten used to hot weather.
We have usually less than 20 days year that are this hot. That means that when I finally get used to it , it is too late and close to freezing temperatures again. Of cause heat is better than minus 37 degrees celsius (-34 degrees F) That was the worst winter day I have seen so far.

By the way: Germany is a part of the hot down south for me.

[Bro. Noble]

Getting anything done in the heat has been a real struggle ever since that Aberham Lincoln guy came along and changed everything all around ;)

[crtreedude]

Tom,

Hmmm, that is giving me an idea - I get contacted about once a week it feels like of someone who has come down here on vacation and just has to move here now. But, they of course have no money - so do I have a job they could do?

Aside from the need for working papers - I just might get some decent work out of them... Nah, Hector would kill me.

[joelmar10]

Fred,

Any need for a copier technician round those parts?  How about a marriage and family therapist/counselor/LCSW?  That would be my lovely wife (and yes, I AM her lifetime fixer-upper project). 

Better brush up on my espanol just in case... :P

[joelmar10]

Just thought I'd get this weeks request out of the way...especially since I'm too big to fit in the Boss' carryon.

[mike_van]

Not as bad either when you are young - I can remember being in the hay mow in my 20's -well, up to my forty's - At 55 now it would probably do me in.  I didn't seem to mind it then, now I hate the heat - Wouldn't bother me if the leaves started changing tomorrow -  One thing about New England, every 3 or 4 months it changes -  8)

[rebocardo]

I drink about a gallon an hour of water, when I refill a saw, I refill myself.

With the helmet, boots, safety chaps, gloves, and usually a dark colored shirt because white ones turn black anyway after 3-4 wears, in the 100 degree weather it can be a challenge. When I refill my saw, I take water that has been sitting in the sun (now warm) and pour it down my chest and back. Then I take a paper towel and put it on my head while I refill the saw with the helmet off.

I wear a head sweat band for the eyeglasses to keep them clear. Seems to help keep the head cooler too.

I have been thinking about painting my orange helmet white to help keep the head cooler.

I don't wear long sleeve shirts, they catch on thorns and rip apart, plus, I hate getting carpenter ants places where I can't see and feel them right away. I rather kill them on my legs and arms then wait until they have found their way up the sleeve and down the neck.

[ellmoe]

   I find it easier to start early in the morning and let the heat "grow" on you. Starting work at mid-day is too brutal. I guess that along the lines of how to boil a frog... I know it's going to be a bad day when I walk outside a 7;00am and its already hot.
    Another thought...I'm about ready to believe this global warming theory. I know for a fact every summer is hotter than the summer before!  :D

Mark

[getoverit]

It is not unusual for me to be completely soaked with sweat by or before 9am if I am outside working. I really prefer to work at night if at all possible.

When I get the old barn completed, I'll even be able to run the sawmill inside and at night. I kinda like the idea of taking a siesta around noon for a couple of hours.... too hot to do much else anyway ;D

[ScottAR]

Hit the ground at 6:00 or 7:00 with determination...  Drink fluids often...  till you have to go... (makes sure your getting enough fluid) 

Anyways,  work till about noon and take a long lunch...  till about 5 or so...  Then work till dark. 

[Blake22]

ScottAR, getoverit & ellmoe might not know everything but they know about hot. The humidity in the mornings will take your breath. But the day will not improve. I know that if I don't start by 7 I might not start at all. A 4 hour nap will make a new man out of you every time.

Last week a big, no real big water oak fell in my daddy's cow pen. It didn't matter what my schedule was, I guess I'm on a retainer because that tree had to go. We had a little thunderstorm the day before that brought the tree down & the humidity up. I'm 41 and Dad is 75 and looks about 55 and he stayed with me step for step all day. So ya'll can throw the young and tuff theory out the door. I bet he dug 30 post hole that afternoon. That tree was 50 inches where I cut the stump off about 7 or 8 feet from the ground and it wasn't hollow.

One more thing about the heat, most of the people that I hear complaining about how hot it is are people that only spend 2 minutes out in the heat walking from an air-conditioned office to an air-coditioned car.

[Ga_Boy]

I grew up in Georgia, I got use to the high heat and humidity.  Now I love working outside in the 98 degree (F) heat and 98% humidity.  Nothing like a good sweat....I take two shirts with me on the sawing jobs; by noon time the one I am wearing is soaked with sweat.

A few weeks ago we had higher than normal temps here in Maryland, 95 degree (F), I layed 11,000 square feet of SOD in my back yard, it took me 2 days but I got er done!!!!!  I did drink about 2 gallons of gatoraid each day and ate lots of pretzles.

The key is to keep hydrated and like Charles stated plenty of salt.  Otherwise your body will shut down on you and this is not a good thing.  Know what you are capable of and do not try to exceed this limit.



Rebocardo,

A few months back I busted my Orange saw helment, I replced it with a Kevlar one that is White, I never considered the color being white for heat reflection till you mentioned it; I liked the color.  I had company shirts made a few weeks ago, I choose a light Sand color, bad color choice; they show how dirty I get sawmilling.  When these get replaced my next ones will be a dark green.







Mark

[crtreedude]

Speaking of airconditioning - here is a trick Hector taught me. When driving from place to place, go ahead and turn on the airconditioning - but leave the windows down. You won't be so frozen when you get there - but you will cool down some.

I know when I get out of the vehicle on a hot day, it doesn't feel like a blast furnace, but I do feel better from the coolness.

[Bro. Noble]

About 30 years ago,  we had a hot spell when it got over 100 every afternoon for a week or two.  I was talking to a friend that ran a good sized sawmill and asked him if he was running out of logs,  or if the loggers were still bringing them in.  He said they were going on as normal.  I asked how they could stand to log in this heat.  His reply was that when you had bills due,  you just do it.  I have come to understand what he was talking about :

[crtreedude]

You know, this might be an obvious statement - but you might not want to use anti-persperant...

Doesn't make a lot of sense to make yourself not sweat. Sweating is good - and if you smell enough, it might keep the bugs off ya.  ;)

[srjones]

A few suggestions to deal with the heat.  My heat discomfort threshold is a little higher but not much (around 85-90).

1. Wear a hat (keeps you head cool and the shade goes with you).
2.  Wear sunglasses 8)  Tricks your brain to think it's darker ie. cooler.  Also easier to see if it's brighter and you're not used to that glowing orb in the sky.
3. Work in the morning and evening but avoid the afternoon.  Go for a swim in a nearby pool, pond or river or stay inside and relax.  Take a big nap or siesta as they might call it in Fred's neck of the woods.
4.  Hydration and electrolytes.
5.  Go farther north...although you're getting close to the end of north, aren't you?
6.  Spend some time in a 100+ degree sauna.  80 degrees doesn't seem so bad after 100 degrees or more.
7.  There are certain fabrics designed to keep you cool.  Underarmour is one brand name of "moisture wicking microfiber clothing"


Stay cool  :D

-srj

[DanG]

Another hot weather pick-me-up is watermelon.  You can put a bowl of melon or cantaloupe chunks in the cooler for a real lift on your breaks.  Breaks!! Take them when you need them.  Don't wait until your vision begins to fade.  In this kind of weather, 90+ and humid, I take a break after every log, unless they're really small. 

[Flurida_BlackCreek]

I've lived here all my life. I wish someone would have told me it gets hot down here before now. I thought 100º days were pretty much standard throughout the world.

[TW]

Thanks for the tips and thought and good stories

It is again comfortably warm summer weather of about 20 degrees celsius (68 F) so I made it through for now. After reading this I realize that the problem is that our summers are so short so we do not get used to heat. Actually I live about at  the same latitude as Fredrikshåb in Greenland and Anchorage in Alaska.
Even if all methods do not fit my cirkumstanses was it very interresting to read about how people make it in extreme climates.
The human can apparently adapt to extereme situations given time. My grandfather once told about when they fought against the Russians in -47 degrees celsius(-53F) during the continuation war (1940 to -44)

I will have a few things to test at next hot spell.
I found that I kept cooler  working in only t-shirt and jeans but then there is nowhere to keep the tools and nails. The overalls most carpenters use are like trousers and vest sewn together so the weight is distributed well over the body. They are excellent in all cirkumstanses except for those 10 or so hot days each year.
Just out of curiosity: How are the carpenters oweralls shaped down south?

[Roxie]

Here ya
go!   :D

[Tom]

TW,
Most of the framers around here, you will see climbing all over a stick frame house in shorts, socks and 6" boots.  Some might wear a cap.

They carry their tools on and in a leather tool belt.  The more they use air-nailers, the fewer tools you see them carrying.

There is usually a circle saw and cord in close proximity to where they are working but they seem to work in teams and most cutting is done on the ground

Framing carpenters are suntanned very dark and it doesn't take long for their skin to get leathery.

[etat]

We just got in about a hour ago.  we worked a bit longer than we meant to today in the hopes of getting through sooner tomorrow.  Just before we left a employee of mine laid a cigarette lighter on top of a static vent on the roof we were working on.  Guess it soaked up a bit too much sun cause about five minutes later it exploded like a firecracker.  I cautioned my employees not to lay their lighters on the roof anymore. 

[beenthere]

ctate
Prolly that is what pants pockets are made for  : and that's a fact. 

Other than some excitement, did it cause any problem?  Hope not, but guess it could have.....

[ellmoe]

     When I played football is was not unusual to sweat out 4 or 5 pounds in an afternoon practice in sunny Florida. As a point of interest to this thread I weighed myself before going to work today and after returning home at 6:30 pm. After lunch, "gatoraid", and gallons of water I had lost seven lbs..    It would be a good diet plan, but when I wake in the morning and weigh myself again,I will find that they (the 7 lbs.) will have found me in my sleep and returned from whence they came! >:(
Mark

[asy]

TW, if you really want to know what HEAT is, come visit me in February... 

Roxie, whatcha doin' with that scrawny carachter? Coudn't you find a photo of a real man? That one's like a small fish, best throw him back before he breaks.

C, Let's hope the lighter doesn't blow up in your employees pocket, but I guess that's one way to cure smoking!!! HEHE

ellmoe, I have that problem with weight. It finds me when I'm not lookin.

asy :D

[MotorSeven]

I was raised in New Orleans, and the humidity used to grow green fuzz on stuff in the closets. Now in S. FL it seems like every summer over the past 5 get hotter and hotter(102 heat index) yesterday with brutal humidity. You can actually break into a sweat walking from the front door to the truck in the driveway! I work outside 4 days a week in a long sleeve cotton blend shirt and drink a ton of water. If i feel myself stop sweating, i dump water on my head. Keep the hair short(self inflicted crew cut), sunscreen on the schnoz, hands ears, and hunt for shade as much as possible. Be carefull with the beer after a day in the heat, add a glass of water between drinks because if ya don't you will wake up with some rip snortin charlie horses in your calve muscles(the wife loves it when i shoot outa bed at 3am yelling....oweoweowe!!) :'(
3 months and 26 days to retirement and i'm getting the he!! outa here! At least in TN, the humidity is lower and it still gets to the 60's at night. Sheeze....81 degrees this morn @ 5am......tic toc tic toc :D
RD

[Quartlow]

I had aroutine when I lived in GA

Get up, immediatly go out and start the truck and crnk up the AC
Back in the Air conditioned huuse eat breakfast
Of to work in the now cool truck
Get to work pull right in the garge walk 15 feet to my air conditioned office
11:45 am Start truck for the ride to lunch
Eat lunch in an resturant with good AC
Back to the office with the ac on
4:45 pmstart truck for the ride home
5:00 pm go home
back into the house with the AC get a large pither of Iced tea
Change into swimsuit
Dive in pool and stay there till 9:00PM
get out eat dinner relax in the lounge chair till 10:00 PM
Back out for the evening swim
11:00 Pm off to bed in the AC

6:00 am start over

Worked like a charm for a couple years.

[Don P]

Looks like a scorcher in store for today.


No worries, we made some shade, what a difference



Michelle gave our new Makita right angle drill a workout today, so far so good.

[Ironwood]

I have had at least one good episode of heat exhaustion while stationed in Hawaii and in NCO training. I have desert back packed since and seems my body is getting more susepible to heat related headaches no matter how much water I drink. In this photo it was July 4 1996 and it was 95 degrees/95 % humiditiy. We were wearing sweatshirts to protect us from serious fiberglass SHARDS and respirators.


I get head aches/ migraines that don't go away until nightfall. I typically wear long sleeved shirts and BIG hats. I do wear shorts and work boots My wife will testify I get downright CRANKY in the heat, I'de like to hide most hot days and sometimes can if the work in the shop is there. I did AC my shop , and now my work truck. I do work at night when possible, although I still work ALL day as well I just have to make up for my slow progress in the heat. I say that I work like the Amish, when it rains I am inside when it is sunny I work outside, my schedule is usually dictated by the temps and weather. I like FALL!!!

[Don P]

The only time I went down in the heat was on a foil faced foam roofing job. Dad got me down and I woke up shivering in the basement awhile later. Those headaches you describe haunted me for years in hot sunshine, and I'm not as happy in the heat as before that. That's 2 votes for fall, after I get a summer float down the river  .

[rebocardo]

> some rip snortin charlie horses in your calve muscles

I take vitamins, bananas are good too, along with one 'real" asprin to prevent that along with not crossing my legs when they are raised at the end of the day. That seems to get rid of a lot of it.