Maintaining flood defences - Guidance, tips & sources of help
As we have seen over recent weeks with Storm Babet and Storm Ciaran hitting our shores (and sadly more to come), flooding can devastate people's homes and businesses.
For today’s #MaintenanceWeek post, we explore what you can do if you live in a flood risk area to both maintain existing flood defenses along with other tips you can action to help protect your home. Hopefully, some of the ideas help to alleviate a good deal of cost and distress for those potentially affected by floods.
Tips and suggestions for you...
Inspect your brickwork:
Take a tour around your buildings and make sure your brickwork and mortar are in good condition…especially at lower levels. Look for cracks, damage and likely points of water entry. If you discover damage, get the issues repaired.
Seal all gaps around pipes or wires:
When inspecting your brickwork, look around pipework and wires coming into your property. Make sure they are sealed and that they won't allow water to enter through the drilled holes.
Flood protection doors/barriers:
If you have them already, ensure that they are in working order and that they still fit correctly and are not damaged. If you live in a flood risk area and don’t have flood protection doors, then they may be something worth considering. Alternatively, make sure you have sandbags and sand at the ready.
Check your low level airbricks:
If you have self-closing airbricks, make sure they work ok and are clutter/debris free. For those without them, consider replacing standard airbricks with ‘self-closing’ alternatives
Check neighbouring ditches and water courses:
look out for blockages, particularly after heavy rainfall and alert the owner if there is a problem
Invest in ‘non-return valves:
No one wants sewage in their home. Fitting a ‘non-return valve’ to prevent sewage from going back into your property. For those that have them, make sure they can close ok. For those that don’t, this is a worthwhile investment.
If you have a pump - check it:
Pumps are great for evacuating water coming both from beneath and around your property. Your pump will probably not have been used in a while. Check it works okay. Also, ensure you don't need to rely on electricity to work them. If you don’t have a pump, consider one or a ‘puddle sucker’ Alternatively, research where you can hire one at short notice.
Check external ground levels around your home:
Make sure they are as low as practicable and slope away from the building
Be flood aware - protect yourself & your home
The ‘problem’ with floods is that they come and go from the headlines rather like the extreme rainfall that causes them. Once the water subsides the vast majority of people will forget about them.
For those potentially affected by floods, it is important to be aware of your flood risk – especially if you live in an area with a history of flood events. Take the time to register with the Environment Agency for live flood alerts. Also, get to know your flood risk. You can click on the buttons below to learn about the flood risks in your area.
Sign up for flood alerts >
Know your flood risk >
Other things you may want to consider if you are at risk of flooding
Out with the maintenance and suggestion tips above, there are other suggestions we would encourage you to consider, especially if you have been flooded in the past.
- Be flood alert: As mentioned above, take proper precautions such as pre-planning what to do in the event of a flood
- Property flood reliance: If you have been affected by flooding before, have you considered making your property more flood resilient? These are solutions you can use to make your home or stand up better to flood events. This might sound bizarre, but sometimes it is better to let the water in. To find out more, visit this page
Concerned? People who can help you
The ‘problem’ with floods are that they come and go from the headlines rather like the extreme rainfall that causes them. For those affected by them however, the repercussions can last for months.
There are experienced professionals who can undertake a property-level survey, which will involve a physical survey to assess areas such as the level of thresholds and floors, likely points of water entry and the most appropriate methods for managing the level of flood risk in the building.
If you are concerned and it sounds like something you would like to do, you can find qualified local flood prevention and protection specialists local to you. Simply click on the button below and run a search.
Find local flood specialists >
More tips and advice during the week
Look our more maintenance tips, guidance and information coming out during the week as part of our support for #MaintenanceWeek 2024. Keep an eye on our news section of our website and our social channels for more posts to come…
View our news section >
