DIY Flood Defences

[jonwestuk]

So I bought a property in December that backs onto the River Thames. Whilst the river is not in the house, yet, it is continuing to rise and I have some concern that it may come into the house over the next 36 hrs.
In January I attempted some basic DIY flood defences that were never put to the test, but I felt that they could be somewhat successful and certainly better than nothing.

So time to get creative, what cheap and quick DIY ideas do you all have for adding protection to properties?

I would propose that the limitation on this thread be that you have to be able to cheaply source materials from local DIY stores etc. So we are not talking about any specialist products etc.

Whilst I live in a terraced property, I guess others may be interested in ideas for other types of house so feel free to respond with ideas that would work in different situations.

Thanks in advance, and hopefully this thread can benefit me and others who are faced with potential flooding.

 

[HERTS P&D]

You will one of these:

http://www.hondaenergy.com/section.php/3/1/honda_water_pumps

Andy

 

[jonwestuk]

So I will start the thread off with some ideas:

1. Mastic up the lower half of external doors - I did this with my double glazed patio doors. Whilst I had concerns about opening them again, actually they come open reasonably easily and the mastic came off of the surface without much issue.

2. Block downstairs shower tray drain - fill a rubble bag with sand/soil/whatever tie it, place it over the drain and then add some additional weight to the top of it. It will probably leak a little but it stems the flow.

3. Seal cat flap - remove cat flap from the wall. Fold several rubble bags, cut 4 lengths of wood 1 for each side of the flap. Apply mastic to wood and surface of wall. Screw the wood into the wall and ensure that it is tight.

That lot took me about 1hr to complete in January and was undertaken with materials that I happened to have lying around.

What are your ideas?

 

[jonwestuk]

You will one of these:

http://www.hondaenergy.com/section.php/3/1/honda_water_pumps

Andy

That is on my shopping list for later in year. I like the approach though:
1. stop the water from getting in.
2. remove any water that seeps in to the property with a big pump.

 

[Bosswhite]

You will one of these:

http://www.hondaenergy.com/section.php/3/1/honda_water_pumps

Andy

That is on my shopping list for later in year. I like the approach though:
1. stop the water from getting in.
2. remove any water that seeps in to the property with a big pump.

Use with care !!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...dies-15-people-hospitalised-home-flooded.html

 

[jonwestuk]

Noted - ventilation is important with any motor like this.

 

[HERTS P&D]

My idea would be to dig a trench or large hole in the lowest part of the exterior of the property and have this as the point where all the water would collect first. This is where I would pump all the water away from, thus not entering the property but most important the petrol pump will be outside.

Andy

 

[mattylad]

Build a 1m wall all around the property with water proof doors.

Although I am sure that the planning depts will soon be complaining.


ISTR seeing some fella on TV who raised his house and had the planning dept baying at his door - but I be he had the last laugh now.

 

[jonwestuk]

Interesting idea having a low point for the pump.

One could also implement this within the house as well as outside I guess. Part of my concern with pumps is that they need a certain amount of water to operate. Maybe excavating a 2 inch recess in the floor of my cupboard under the stairs could be an option? In that case, why not leave the pump in there with a pipe hidden in the walls of the house just in case. That way in winter I could leave it on, plugged to an RCD in case there is a flash flood.

Next step would be a generator that could operate from my 1st floor balcony.

 

[jonwestuk]

One thing we are missing is a guide on how to make cheap sand bags.

1. Sand bags from online shops - simple enough
2. Sand from a local builders merchant - query, what type of sand is recommended?

 

[foxhole]

Polythene around property forming an L with the ground and load with sandbags, this method is cheap and found to hold back up to 4ft of water in trials though you have to use your windows for access and do the whole terrace or water will just transfer from one home to the next.

 

[Ricardus]

One thing we are missing is a guide on how to make cheap sand bags.

1. Sand bags from online shops - simple enough
2. Sand from a local builders merchant - query, what type of sand is recommended?

There's a 'How to' on sandbags on the Environment agency website.

It says to use sharp sand not soft sand, and in an emergency rubbish bags full of earth will do the job.

 

[rjm2k]

This should be too obvious to mention but make sure you move as much as is possible upstairs if you have one! I've seen people being interviewed on the news who are camping out downstairs waiting for the water, but have not moved anything out of the way. Must be wanting to put in an insurance claim or something!

 

[pinenot]

Sand bags is the obvious first line of defence, perhaps this government might consider making them freely available at local civic sites and supply sand or other dumped in the neighbourhood for filling, perhaps with a street filling party organised. After all as "CALL ME DAVE" is on record as saying - this is the bib society - perhaps he meant only if you could pay for it? ...pinenot

 

[Whitling2k]

Make sure you dont put too much of a head of water against your house - it's very heavy and might have structural implications.

Make sure your pump is submersible if it's at ground level in case your house floods deeper than you thought.

Pump access should be simple - once waters recede, there will be lots of silt to clean out of it.

Perhaps site your pump in a higher, vented, location. Then use pipewprk to evacuate the water

Perhaps try a few smaller pumps than one big one. U have redundancy then

Perhaps thin about diesel pumps or get a genny (above max flood levels!) you never know when power will fail.

As a rule - site sockets at 1m from ground - wires from ceiling. Then less rewiring after floods recede.

Dont forget to cover your airbricks.

Search the internet for property level flood protection for more advice and ideas

Consider using some kind of inflating pipe blocker in your sewer and drains

For longer duration floods you are probably best just letting the water reach equilibrium - movig as much as humanly possible to a first floor or above.

Contact the Environment Agency asking for modelled and historic flood levels effecting your property - they should be free for personal use and they will give an idea of how high the levels *might* get in worse case scenario.

Hope this helps! Whitling2k