October to January tends to be the wettest months in the UK, however rain can strike at any time, bringing flood risks with it.
Heavy and prolonged ran can lead to flooding which can damage the foundation of your home, causing other problems, including the risk that windows or doors will break. A flood can also damage drywall and cause mould to form on walls and framing.
5.2 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding. Depending on the severity of the damage, it can take anywhere from a few hours to months to make a home or business habitable after flooding has occurred.
Here, DBCP, the recommended provider of building control services in Derbyshire, shares its advice on how to mitigate flooding risks to your home and business as well as what needs to be done should the worst happen.
Prevention, as they say, is better (and more cost effective) than the cure. If your property is in an area of the UK at risk of flooding (you can check here), then there are a number of things you can retrofit to your property to protect it from serious damage in the event of a flood.
- Buy specially made flood doors or purpose-built flood boards that can be installed when flooding is imminent.
- Raise door thresholds.
- Raise damp-proof brick courses on walls and floors.
- Sealing floors (‘tanking’) can prevent water rising through the ground.
- Air bricks: buy specially designed covers that are easy to place over ventilation bricks.
- Drains and pipes: fit non-return valves to drains and water inlet and outlet pipes.
If the worst happens and your property is flooded and there is suspected damage to a building’s foundations, then Building Control must be notified, and an inspection undertaken. Similarly Building Control must be notified, and Building Regulations approval sought for the repair of walls where it involves:
- Removing 50% of plaster, plasterboard, cladding and render from uninsulated external walls.
- Removing plaster, plasterboard, insulation, cladding or render from more than 50% of insulated internal walls.
- External walls or sections of walls are to be replaced as this is a structural alteration and is notifiable work. This includes the removal of ply membranes to timber framed walls.
However, forewarned, as they say is forearmed, so start by taking three simple steps to help protect your home or business premises from the devastating effects of flooding:
- Check if you are at risk of flooding: using a simple postcode search at https://www.getthedata.com/flood-map-by-postcode
- Sign up for free flood warnings at https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings
- Get the Environment Agency’s flooding history of a property by emailing enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
If you have experienced flooding recently, contact DBCP’s expert team of Building Control surveyors to ensure your property is safe and that all repairs to internal and external walls meet Building Regulations.