How to protect a house against a flood can be a tough question especially depending on where you live, since some areas are more prone to flooding than others. In this article we will discuss a couple of things that you can do to protect your home against flood.
Many homes flood due to poor drainage, this can be caused by a number of things construction being one of the chief culprits. As housing developments become more popular so does flooding. Why? Because in clearing and leveling the land developers are changing the way the water drains when it rains. Although we can not stop land from being developed there are some things that we can do to stop our homes from flooding.
One of the first things to do is to make sure that you have ditches in front of your home to help with drainage. Another important thing is to make sure that the drain pipe that runs under your driveway is both clear of debris and in good shape. Over the years those drain ditches that were dug when your home was built can fill in and become cluttered with debris. Another mistake that is made when digging out or putting in ditches is that people do not slope them for drain off. This means that although they dig out a ditch they still do not give the water anyplace to go, so when it fills up the water just runs over the bank and into the house, if you have the property available to you; it is a good idea to extend the ditches along the side of your property as well. To protect your house against flood you have to know the direction that the water likes to take when it hits your property.
Once you have made sure your drain ditches and the drain pipe under your drive way are in good shape, the next step would be preparation. Let's say you dug your drain ditches and you knew that they worked well but the water was still too much, what do you do? The best answer to that is to have some sand bags on hand, and I do not mean just a few I mean enough to help divert the water if it goes over your drain ditches.
If you want to protect your house against flood you need to make sure off two things, you have good drainage and you have a back-up plan. Earlier I said that this can be caused from development, this is not always the case there are some places that get more rain than others. If you believe that your flooding is from development talk to the city or township where you live and see if they can correct the problem. Following these steps can help protect your house from flood.
