How to protect your home from flooding
Recently the City of Auckland went through a Hell-ish experience with extreme flooding throughout the city. Including emergency evacuations and up to 5500 damaged homes throughout pockets of Auckland, some people were trapped for days and cut off from supply access due to washed away roads. Now, unfortunately, sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t win against Mother Nature. But, there are some things that you can do to help protect your home or building before light flooding occurs.
Improve Home Drainage
Your home’s drainage and gutter systems must be cleaned periodically to function at their best. Failure to clean gutters can result in a collection of water near the foundation as well as leaks inside your home. Which, of course, is particularly worrying if a storm warning has been issued. Proper prevention and preparedness can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in home repair fees if a flood does occur.
Seal Your Home
Water can seep into homes via cracks in the foundation and siding during a flood, causing leaks, basement floods, and other significant structure-damaging problems. These tiny cracks may seem like next to nothing, but in the case of a flood can add up to a much more severe issue quickly!
Seal up these cracks using a weather protection sealant around basement and ground floor windows, doors and walls- anywhere that air/water could get in. You should seal small cracks in the foundation with caulking. If you have more significant gaps, you should definitely have these investigated and mended by a structural engineer, as it could indicate a more substantial issue present in the foundations of your home.
Implement permeable paving to reduce stormwater loads
When your outdoor space has pavers laid that are tightly sealed and packed flush up against one another, water has nowhere to escape. This can lead to pooling and become a BIG issue if flash flooding occurs. Rainfall needs an escape route and a natural pathway to either; the stormwater drains or, ideally, directly back into the ground- in a flood situation, high-functioning storm drains are going to be what saves the day.
Superhome Movement suggests implementing permeable pavers and appropriate planting to reduce stormwater loads. There is a range of pavers created specifically for this. They are laid almost exactly like a normal paver, with a bit more forethought involved, including having appropriate materials beneath to help absorb water. Some stone pavers are more porous than others and are, therefore, slightly more effective. Permeable pavers allow rainwater to flow down beneath the pavers and be partially absorbed by the base beneath. This transfer of water actually helps maintain the health and stability of the soil below.
Our thoughts are with everyone that was affected by the recent flooding.