How can I protect against floods?
How does wrapping work?
- What about sandbags?
- What are floodboards?
- How does wrapping work?
- Flood protection products
Wrapping is an advanced method of reducing the effects of floodwater by enclosing the bottom 600 900 mm (2-3 feet) of a property in plastic sheeting.
The process involves digging a trench in front of the wall you wish to protect. The plastic sheeting is attached to the wall above the expected height of the floodwater. It is run down the wall and placed over a drainpipe at the base, before being run through the trench and secured on the other side with weights or sandbags. Wrapping a building takes some DIY ability and needs to be started well before any floodwater arrives as it does take some time. Alternatively there are commercially available products that can be bought and fitted to your property.
*Warning!*
In cases of severe flooding (where floodwater rises above 1 metre)
keeping water out of your property can be more harmful than letting
it in. The stress on the building caused by that amount of water
can damage the structure and foundations of the building. Therefore
you should never block doors, windows or air-vents over 1 metre
in height.