On Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:42:22 +0000, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:

------------8
I saw a diy floodgate on a door recently, made from U-channels bolted
to the frame, down which slotted a few horizontal 6x2 timbers. It
would have been trivial to make the gate in one piece, but I suspect
the piecemeal approach was to keep the weight of each part low, in
case the bloke wasn't available and his wife or kids had to do it.
I unrecall the method of tightening them down, but it wouldn't be
difficult to rawlbolt in a tie-down and fasten a ratchet strap.
Inside the door, under a grating, was a sump with a pump in it.

Of course, all this is for nought if the water simply comes in the
underfloor vents, or up through the floor or toilets, so pay attention
to that too.

Presumably the pump was a manual one - or did he have his own
generator?