My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Mike

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:19:56 -0000, MuddyMike wrote:

He has come across external doors that claim a waterproof seal to
prevent water entering the house.

Don't forget all the other ways water can get in:

Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Feb 15, 5:19*pm, "MuddyMike" wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Mike

We have some but have not used them yet. I was told by the salesman
that they are the height they are and no more is because above that
height the pressure of the water could structurally damage many
buildings. It was reckoned to be better to have the building flooded
if the water came above the height of the flood doors.

Jonathan

On Feb 15, 5:19*pm, "MuddyMike" wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Mike

I forgot to add you also need barriers for air bricks and downstairs
plumbing if appropriate.

Jonathan

On 15/02/2011 17:19, MuddyMike wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

We did have a house with flood boards fitted, but the water never got
deeper than a couple of layers of sandbags could cope with. However,
there are other things you need to consider:

Airbricks - Best option is to replace with flood-proof airbricks or to
fit an automatic cover, but a few sandbags work perfectly well, if you
are there to put them in place when needed. (You can never have too many
sandbags, but empty them after use, dry them and store them carefully
away from sunlight)

Downstairs WC - If the water outside gets higher than the rim, it will
overflow through backflow up the drains. You need to fit a reflux valve
in the sewer to prevent this. Make sure it is between the WC and the
first manhole cover or blind entry shared sewer. However, reflux valves
can increase the risk of the drains blocking. It will also protect an
upstairs WC, but you do have to hope the water won't get that high.

If the water get high enough to start coming through the kitchen sink or
handbasins, you are probably getting to the point when you want the
water inside, to balance the pressure of water outside, but the can be
fitted with anti-backflow valves too.

Older properties may not have over site concrete, so water coming up
through the ground under the floor is a possibility in some cases.

I also found it useful to fit a float switch outside, connected to a
battery operated door bell, so we could get up and worry if, as usually
seemed to happen, the flood came at night.

Of course the ultimate flood protection, provided you protect the
drains, is to build a high bank around the entire house and garden, as
it was reported that a farmer did a few years ago.

Colin Bignell

Dave Liquorice wrote on 15/02/2011 :
Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.

And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do any good,
if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more prolonged
period the water will find other ways in.

A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a barrier
around the entire boundary, then what does get through that can be
pumped out.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

I've seen this, in an inadequately waterproofed built-on-the-
side-of-a-hill data-centre when the water table got 'a bit high'
on the uphill side.

First, a small jet of water issuing from a crack in the interior
render.

Second, a large, expanding bulge spreading across/up
the wall.

Third, several bucketloads of render spread across the
carpet-tiles as an area of about a square yard 'blew'.

Fourth, several inches of water in the floor-void, and an
emergency shutdown of the facility.

Fifth, some interesting activity by lawyers.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Bloomfield"
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y
And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do
any good,
if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more
prolonged
period the water will find other ways in.

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote on 15/02/2011 :
Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.

And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do any good,
if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more prolonged
period the water will find other ways in.

A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a barrier
around the entire boundary, then what does get through that can be
pumped out.

+1

only sane solution.

That's how they drain the Fens..

But as peepul have menshunned that's only as good as the drains are..

Nothing like watching other peepul's turds invading over the downstairs
loo rim.

"Tim Streater" wrote in message ...
In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote on 15/02/2011 :
Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.

And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do any good,
if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more prolonged
period the water will find other ways in.

A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a barrier
around the entire boundary, then what does get through that can be
pumped out.

+1

only sane solution.

That's how they drain the Fens..

But as peepul have menshunned that's only as good as the drains are..

Nothing like watching other peepul's turds invading over the downstairs
loo rim.

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?

Surely floating houses on rafts are the way to go? ;-)

Tim2

On Feb 15, 5:19*pm, "MuddyMike" wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Mike

This is the way to go on flood plains. (Modified for our climate.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenslander_(architecture)

On Feb 15, 5:19*pm, "MuddyMike" wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is looking at
ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across external doors
that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water entering the house. I am not
so sure that this is a good idea due to the damage the weight of water could
do to the structure of his house. Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Mike

Apart from the obvious entry points - doors, air bricks etc many of
the estate houses in our village were flooded in 2007 through the damp
proof course not being a watertight seal to horizontal water pressure.
That effectively knackered all the panic response prevention measures
such as clay over the airbricks and boards across the door bottoms.

Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote on 15/02/2011 :
Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.
And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do any
good, if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more
prolonged period the water will find other ways in.
A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a
barrier around the entire boundary, then what does get through that
can be pumped out.
+1

only sane solution.

That's how they drain the Fens..

But as peepul have menshunned that's only as good as the drains are..

Nothing like watching other peepul's turds invading over the
downstairs loo rim.

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?


if planning says so,yes.
yu sane way to build on flod plains. make your roads a storey high, and
your houses have no habitable ground floor spaces. Just garages etc.

So all bogs above flood level and all gardens surrounded by levees.

On 15/02/2011 20:07, harry wrote:

This is the way to go on flood plains. (Modified for our climate.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenslander_(architecture)

My grandparents had one (in Brisbane!) The great thing is that you have
a house-sized den under the house... and in that climate it's usable.
He had a house-size O gauge model railway...

Andy

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:10:03 GMT, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a barrier
around the entire boundary,

The best way is not to build where there is a risk of regular(*)
flooding.

... then what does get through that can be pumped out.

If you have a pump of suffcient capacity to cope with the seepage
and/or over topping rate.

(*) "Regular" being any frequency greater than about once very ten
years but even that is a bit too often really. I wouldn't contemplate
a property less than 15 vertical feet above *any* water course or 50
vertical feet above a major river. Getting flooded is not fun.

--
Cheers
Dave.

It happens that Dave Liquorice formulated :
(*) "Regular" being any frequency greater than about once very ten
years but even that is a bit too often really. I wouldn't contemplate
a property less than 15 vertical feet above *any* water course or 50
vertical feet above a major river. Getting flooded is not fun.

We are on a local high spot and some 130 feet above the river level - I
did used to suffer a garage flood in bad weather, now sorted. That was
annoying enough, but pales in comparison to the house flooding.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In article , timdownie2003
@yahoo.co.uk says...
Surely floating houses on rafts are the way to go? ;-)


When my sister lived on Canvey Island they had a floating patio - just
in case. It was anchored with a few fathoms of stout chain to the
foundations of the garage, IIRC.

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

On 15/02/2011 19:12, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote on 15/02/2011 :
Air bricks.
Cavity vents.
Conduits for services (power, gas, phone etc).
Drains.
And through the masonary itself. I suspect you could only do any
good, if the flooding was limited to a few hours only. Over a more
prolonged period the water will find other ways in.
A better way, if it can possibly be done (garden etc.), is a
barrier around the entire boundary, then what does get through that
can be pumped out.
+1

only sane solution.

That's how they drain the Fens..

But as peepul have menshunned that's only as good as the drains are..

Nothing like watching other peepul's turds invading over the
downstairs loo rim.

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?


It might not need that much. New houses built around here, next to a
river, simply have the ground floor raised by about a metre. The road is
above the 50 year flood risk level and, when it has flooded, I've not
seen more than about 200mm of water.

Colin Bignell

On 15 Feb,
"Dave Liquorice" wrote:

(*) "Regular" being any frequency greater than about once very ten
years but even that is a bit too often really. I wouldn't contemplate
a property less than 15 vertical feet above *any* water course or 50
vertical feet above a major river. Getting flooded is not fun.

In my working life I worked at many hilltop sites. One got flooded in about
1972 it was just a few feet down from the top.

Another site was flooded in the late 90s. The PTB said it was a one off. No
steps were made (apart from cleaning out a drain) to mitigate the problem
(site again slightly below the summit, U shaped building with the U pointing
uphill, French drain originally protected, but filled in as part of building
work by those not knowing its significance). After I retired the same thing
(as I predicted) happened again. I think it was then fixed properly.

Neither site was above /any/ normal watercourse, but storm water finds its
own course.

I think I'm reasonably safe here, 100' above the river.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On 15 Feb,
Tim Streater wrote:

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?

Friend built his house on a mound of the (then) maximum flood level, as were
several blocks of flats Several years later flood defences were built for the
rest of the town, up to that level. A couple of years later, the flood level
was less than one brick below the ptop of the defences (which leaked anyway
but not too badly!)

Another 18" was added at a cost more than that of the original defences.

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

When I moved to one place it was suggested not to buy in certain areas (which
had flooded in the previous 10 years). 30 years later they flooded, residents
claimed they had never flooded before (in their lifetine perhaps).

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

Best flood defence is height above water. Not guaranteed though.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On 15 Feb,
Huge wrote:


Build on stilts. In the dry season, you can park your car underneath.

Some of the recent builds in town just have the garage and futility room on
the ground floor. Living accomodation above the 300year flood level.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On Feb 16, 12:57*am, wrote:
On 15 Feb, *
* * *Tim Streater wrote:

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?

Friend built his house on a mound of the (then) maximum flood level, as were
several blocks of flats Several years later flood defences were built for the
rest of the town, up to that level. A couple of years later, the flood level
was less than one brick below the ptop of the defences (which leaked anyway
but not too badly!)

Another 18" was added at a cost more than that of the original defences.

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

When I moved to one place it was suggested not to buy in certain areas (which
had flooded in the previous 10 years). 30 years later they flooded, residents
claimed they had never flooded before (in their lifetine perhaps).

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

Best flood defence is height above water. Not guaranteed though.

--
* B Thumbs
* Change lycos to yahoo to reply

You can get flooded in the torrent of water that cmes down a hill in
heavy rain. We had a near do a couple of years ago. I now have a
boundary flood wall to divert any rivers that might appear.

On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:46:44 GMT, wrote:

On 15 Feb,
"Dave Liquorice" wrote:

(*) "Regular" being any frequency greater than about once very ten
years but even that is a bit too often really. I wouldn't contemplate
a property less than 15 vertical feet above *any* water course or 50
vertical feet above a major river. Getting flooded is not fun.

In my working life I worked at many hilltop sites. One got flooded in about
1972 it was just a few feet down from the top.

Another site was flooded in the late 90s. The PTB said it was a one off. No
steps were made (apart from cleaning out a drain) to mitigate the problem
(site again slightly below the summit, U shaped building with the U pointing
uphill, French drain originally protected, but filled in as part of building
work by those not knowing its significance). After I retired the same thing
(as I predicted) happened again. I think it was then fixed properly.

Neither site was above /any/ normal watercourse, but storm water finds its
own course.

I think I'm reasonably safe here, 100' above the river.

I've regularly seen flooding on a flat and level road some 300ft above
the nearest river, nowhere near any other water course and less than
50ft from the ridge of a hill. A mile or so away, in a deep ravine a
tiny stream occasionally reaches the top of its banks in really heavy
rain but hasn't flooded either the road or any of the adjacent
properties in recorded history.

Given the choice you'd automatically choose a house on the hill as
being relatively immune to flooding, yet many of the problems seem to
be with localised land drainage.


--

The Other Mike wrote:
On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:46:44 GMT, wrote:

On 15 Feb,
"Dave Liquorice" wrote:

(*) "Regular" being any frequency greater than about once very ten
years but even that is a bit too often really. I wouldn't contemplate
a property less than 15 vertical feet above *any* water course or 50
vertical feet above a major river. Getting flooded is not fun.

In my working life I worked at many hilltop sites. One got flooded in about
1972 it was just a few feet down from the top.

Another site was flooded in the late 90s. The PTB said it was a one off. No
steps were made (apart from cleaning out a drain) to mitigate the problem
(site again slightly below the summit, U shaped building with the U pointing
uphill, French drain originally protected, but filled in as part of building
work by those not knowing its significance). After I retired the same thing
(as I predicted) happened again. I think it was then fixed properly.

Neither site was above /any/ normal watercourse, but storm water finds its
own course.

I think I'm reasonably safe here, 100' above the river.

I've regularly seen flooding on a flat and level road some 300ft above
the nearest river, nowhere near any other water course and less than
50ft from the ridge of a hill. A mile or so away, in a deep ravine a
tiny stream occasionally reaches the top of its banks in really heavy
rain but hasn't flooded either the road or any of the adjacent
properties in recorded history.

Given the choice you'd automatically choose a house on the hill as
being relatively immune to flooding, yet many of the problems seem to
be with localised land drainage.


Indeed. Yo are OK on a local hill TOP, but halfway down is bad news..

I used to get water running down the drive off the road, but a deeper
gravel drive, a higher house and french drains have fixed that.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "MuddyMike"
saying something like:

Do any of you have experience of this type
of flood protection?

Often, the flood water just comes up through the floor anyway.

On Feb 16, 9:50*am, harry wrote:
On Feb 16, 12:57*am, wrote:





On 15 Feb, *
* * *Tim Streater wrote:

Is it permitted to create a (say) one-storey high mound and build the
house on top of that?

Friend built his house on a mound of the (then) maximum flood level, as were
several blocks of flats Several years later flood defences were built for the
rest of the town, up to that level. A couple of years later, the flood level
was less than one brick below the ptop of the defences (which leaked anyway
but not too badly!)

Another 18" was added at a cost more than that of the original defences..

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

When I moved to one place it was suggested not to buy in certain areas (which
had flooded in the previous 10 years). 30 years later they flooded, residents
claimed they had never flooded before (in their lifetine perhaps).

I'd never buy anywhere near flood level!

Best flood defence is height above water. Not guaranteed though.

--
* B Thumbs
* Change lycos to yahoo to reply

You can get flooded in the torrent of water that cmes down a hill in
heavy rain. We had a near do a couple of years ago. I now have a
boundary flood wall to divert any rivers that might appear.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Most of the 2007 flooding in my village came down to newbies (and some
others who should have known better) filling in dykes to gain a bit
more garden space. The Parish Council is presently driving forward a
drainage scheme with 3 foot pipes to carry surface water to the main
drain to the river. The ramifications continue..............

In article , says...
Neither site was above /any/ normal watercourse, but storm water finds its
own course.

I think I'm reasonably safe here, 100' above the river.


Same here - the Severn is right down in the gorge and even the nearest
stream is a long way downhill. The only bit of land above us is, near
enough, the rather small back garden. There is higher ground not far
away but there are saddles between, so water would (and does) shed that
way.

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

In article ,
Tim Streater wrote:

That won't help when the next mile-diameter asteroid hits mid-atlantic.
Look forward to a 3000-ft wave sweeping right across the whole country.

Not convinced flood doors or a 1 storey mound would be all that useful
against that either tbh

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember cynic
saying something like:

Most of the 2007 flooding in my village came down to newbies (and some
others who should have known better) filling in dykes to gain a bit
more garden space.

The utter tosspots who do that should be prosecuted.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember harry saying
something like:

This is the way to go on flood plains. (Modified for our climate.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenslander_(architecture)

Yep. There's one of those near me, but not on any plain that will flood
in a thousand years, just for effect is all.

harry wrote:
On Feb 15, 5:19 pm, "MuddyMike" wrote:
My MD had his house flooded to about a meter 3 years back and is
looking at ways of preventing it happening again. He has come across
external doors that claim a waterproof seal to prevent water
entering the house. I am not so sure that this is a good idea due to
the damage the weight of water could do to the structure of his
house. Do any of you have experience of this type of flood
protection?

Mike

This is the way to go on flood plains. (Modified for our climate.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queenslander_(architecture)

The next village along from me floods frequently. When they rebuilt the
chemists they raised it above the normal flood level, see

http://tinyurl.com/5vjkdn9

and it worked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-w_R9rxQ7o


--
Adam

On Feb 17, 1:00*am, Grimly Curmudgeon
wrote:
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember cynic
saying something like:

Most of the 2007 flooding in my village came down to newbies (and some
others who should have known better) filling in dykes to gain a bit
more garden space.

The utter tosspots who do that should be prosecuted.

The utter tosspots in the IDB who have the power to prosecute but
choose not to use it should be chained to the floor in the affected
area!