Protecting Your Home Against Flooding

The thought of your home flooding, destroying your most prized possessions or leaving behind hundreds or thousands of pounds worth of damage, will most likely send shudders down your spine. There’s a real issue in the UK with the threat of flash-flooding increasing and over three million homes at risk. I mean you must have noticed the recent weather we've been having, Winter in Spring?Now, more than ever before, there’s an urge to ensure all preventative measures are in place.

Flooding can happen during any season, however, flooding is most likely during autumnal weather conditions and places near to river banks and coastlines are often hit hardest. Many homeowners experience flooding all year round – this is largely due to the conditions of the ground underneath the building. If the basement of your home does not have the necessary precautions to deal with excess water, then you’re at risk.

If you know you live in a flood prone house, ensuring that severe rainfall doesn’t cause damage is imperative. Flooding can be easily prevented but it’s something you must be proactive against – it’s better to invest in flood protection now, rather than wish you had at a later date when the damage has been done.

Protection

You can protect against flooding in two ways – either make your home flood resistant or flood resilient, ideally you would do both. Flood resistance prevents water from getting in to the building in the first place. Flood resilience helps to reduce the damage the water would do if it were to get in. 

What can you do to make your home resistant to water? There are many prevention methods you can implement easily. Installing PVC flood barriers or seals onto your doors and windows can stop water from entering through open cracks and spaces. Alternatively, you can install a water pump, which will draw water from below floor level before it gets the chance to work its way up into the home. 

Resilience 

Making your home flood resistant should, in turn, make it flood resilient. However, this is not always the case. Ensure your home is ready to take on the battle by preparing any area which may be more susceptible to flooding. 

If you know your basement is prone to flooding for example; if you live at the bottom of a valley or by a river, then you may have to think more proactively about resilience as opposed to resistance. There are pumps which will drain the cellar of water, pumping it up to a higher level and out of the building. This is often a great option for basements which are known to take the brunt of a flood. 

If it’s too late…

If you’re reading this and it’s too late to take any preventative measures, there’s still information you can take away now to make your home more flood-friendly. If your home has already been damaged, make sure you put the necessary flood measures in place as soon as possible to prevent further flooding. Replace wood or carpet with tiles and raise any electrical items above the level of which the flood is likely to reach.

Some homes are more likely to flood than others – but as long as you put secure, flood-prevention methods in place then you needn’t worry when bad weather strikes. 

How have your prepared for flooding? Let us know in the comments below.