Flood proofing properties
Every time we have storms or prolonged rain, houses and businesses flood.
The environment agency and Government approach is to try to protect whole towns and areas with river bank flood defenses. These are slow to build, and possibly outdated when completed, because the worst case scenario has become worse, and the every 100 years flood has become an every other year flood risk. We need the defenses to protect the ï¿¡200 Billion of assets at risk from flooding in the long term, but for the houses and business that flood regularly there is a more immediate solution.
Using a combination of basement waterproofing, pumped cavity drain systems with battery back ups, along with watertight doors, watertight cavity insulation, non return pipe valves, automatic watertight air vents and water repellents almost any property can be completely flood proofed.
The time that it is financially viable to do this work, is when a house has flooded and has to be completely stripped and re finished inside. At this point it is financially beneficial to everyone, to install a flood proofing system to individual houses and businesses, so when the next flood event occurs they remain bone dry inside.
The systems can withstand up to 1 metre of water around a property and possibly even more if a structural engineer agrees the house can stand up to the pressure.
The systems cost in the region of ï¿¡10,000 for an average 3 bed house. But can save ï¿¡30,000 - ï¿¡50,000 per property every time the locality floods. Not to mention alleviating the heartache and distress caused by the loss of belongings and the whole flooding experience.
Everyone in at risk areas should be aware that it is perfectly possible to completely flood proof most properties.
The technology is there to provide full protection. It is tried and tested on hundreds of properties. It is the same technology used to protect thousands of basements built into the water table and under constant water pressure.
Insurance companies will probably not suggest it or pay for the work because it is considered betterment. However this is very short sighted because victims of flooding and insurance companies could save thousands of pounds by investing in a properly designed system. Everyone involved in flood remediation should be aware of the options.
I am happy to advise anyone who wants to know everything they need to know, to protect people, property and livelihoods from flooding.
Building Methodology / Defect Analysis / Property Restoration
5 å¹´There was one house I visited in keswick during the floods of 2015. One guy tanked his entire house with sand/cement render and bitumen. Didnt seem too concerned about the potential of trapped water behind from water penetrating through the slab... desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.
The Flood Guy?| BEng FCIWEM C.WEM | Flood Risk Management & Drainage Specialist | Environment Agency Framework Partner | CEO at The FPS Group? | Forbes 30 Under 30 | Entrepreneur | ?????
5 å¹´Hi Ian, this is certainly interesting. I just wondered where you get the height of 1m from? Research carried out for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Environment Agency has recommended that the use of resistance measures should generally be limited to a nominal protection height of 600mm above Floor Level. This is because the structural integrity of the property may be compromised above this level, which also increases the risk of cracks and leaks. When water reaches above this depth structural damage to property can be caused. Thanks Simon
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5 å¹´Good article; need insurers and government to work together on measures such as this after major events.? It is not practical or financially viable to predict and protect at source all homes at risk of flooding.
Director at DRYFIX PRESERVATION LTD Yorkshire's Leading Damp and Timber Specialists / Director Coleman Diagnostics
5 å¹´I do have a few queries with regards to some of the content, if you could provide me with some answers I'd appreciate your opinion. 1: ï¿¡10'000 based on my experience does appear cheap for a full water resilience system if you're considering cavity drain membranes, pumps and chambers. I expect your basing these costs on the property already being stripped out however often this implementation also requires changes to the method of construction. 2: I notice in the example you're using an external chamber and pump system, what do you see the benefits are against an internal system. 3: I assume the external chamber has a sealed lid to prevent the chamber from flooding externally? 4: what diameter pipework are you considering between the internal drainage to the external chamber. Reason I ask is for flood resilience we specify a 100mm diameter drain on the internals to the chamber. Whilst this may sound excessive this past week the volume of water entering one of our systems was immense filling two seperate chambers every 8 - 10 seconds with two pumps extracting a total of 480ltrs per minute operating continiously for days. I'd be worried a smaller diameter drain would have a restricted flow rate and possibly be over subscribed.