Civil engineering question

Buy a boat

Move to higher ground .

In light of the thousands of homes which last year were devastated by flooding.  What steps might a property owner take to ensure that their property does not suffer  similar flood damage in the future. ?

K 

 

Water tight airbricks & a flood gate at each access door .... as my parents have just had fitted. I hope they never need them. They've just (ie last week) got carpet down after being flooded out last Boxing Day.

Build a bund around the property as one farmer did on the Somerset levels.

peedee

In light of the thousands of homes which last year were devastated by flooding.  What steps might a property owner take to ensure that their property does not suffer  similar flood damage in the future. ?

K 

 

Water tight airbricks & a flood gate at each access door .... as my parents have just had fitted. I hope they never need them. They've just (ie last week) got carpet down after being flooded out last Boxing Day.

Write your comments here...Hi MM , do you know if the "Manthorpe Airbrick flood water defence Protection cover" might have been something that your parents considered.? 

Sorry but this Tablet doesnt do links.

K  

Is this question about a specific property or just propeties in general?  What works in one location may be useless in another. Much money, time and grief has been expended by people who have been flooded just to see water enter their property by another route.

Even 1/2 way up a hill I could still be flooded. The number of variables to consider is considerable. Amount of rainfall per hour, per day, continuously over a week. Are the local drains effective, blocked?  has someone altered the natural drainage flow by building? If everyone uphill of me deflects the water flow from their property - do I cop it all?

Sadly, unless it happens regularly in any one area, there is little that can be done to any single property and be relied on to be effective.  Yes watertight airbricks, flood curtains, watertight door boards etc can work to an extent. The danger of a bund is that once water is in you have to pump it out immediately and probably continuously.

It's not a civil engineering problem it's a climate problem. If you give a competent civil engineer a problem to solve within a fixed set of parameters he will find a solution or you can sue him. If you keep moving the problem around  then he can only give it his best guess.

It's not a climate problem, it's a man-made problem.

If you cover the ground (especially flood plains) with concrete and buildings, it will not deal with rainwater as well as bare ground.

Regarding the op.......air brick covers that float up and seal, rubber sealed covers to doors, solid floors with tile / slate coverings, plug sockets raised well above the floor level, impervious wall coverings at low level.......and a good plan for moving furniture etc upstairs.

I have noticed a couple of things about flooding from the aerial images.  Buildings above water level are generally pre-war construction and those flooded are generally post-war.  Also, there are frequently long threads of wooded land that sit above the level of the waters showing where the railways once ran.

The Victorian engineers knew things that have been forgotten.