After the flood

Once the shock of being flooded has passed it is time to clear up the mess and get the house habitable. There are also a whole range of measures that can be taken to reduce the impact of the next flood.

Find out the risk of flooding to your property

Contact your local authority or Floodline for information about the type of flooding the property has experienced, such as the water height, cause of flooding and frequency. Find out the risk of it or any other form of flooding happening again. If others are affected, consider forming a local flood association so that you can help each other. Contact the National Flood Forum (www.floodforum.org.uk) for advice on how to do this.

Find out what can be done to reduce flood risk in your area

It is important that you find out if there are any plans to reduce the risk of flooding in your area. Again the National Flood Forum will advise on who the responsible authorities are and how you can press for action to be taken.

Consider what you can do yourself

Flood defences fall into two categories - flood resistance and flood resilience. Flood resistance helps stop the water getting into the property in the first place. Making a house flood resilient will reduce the amount of damage caused by any water that gets into the house.

You can install these measures at any time, but if you are implementing them as part of the repair costs following a flood you will probably find that you will be expected to pay the extra cost of the alterations while your insurer pays the cost of the like-for-like restoration.

Where suitable Aviva offers basic resilient repairs as standard in homes that are affected by flooding.

These include:

• Raising electrical sockets higher up the wall
• Replacing plaster with a water-resistant version
• If replacing timber floors, where there is shallow void, offering to fill the void and replace with a concrete floor

Making changes

Before you start making changes get advice from a specialist flood surveyor or civil engineer. They can carry out a comprehensive flood assessment and make recommendations for the most appropriate flood defences for your particular property.

The National Flood Forum's Blue Pages feature companies which specialise in this work.

Pump and sump systems

A pump which sits below the ground floor to pump out water which enters through the ground. The pump removes water at a faster rate than it can enter.

Flood skirts/barriers

Barriers are erected around any potential inlet for water including windows, doors and air bricks. These are permanently fixed on to the building, but need to be pulled/slid into position and fixed there when there is the threat of flooding.

One-way valves

No-return valves can be fitted to water outlet pipes to prevent water backing up into the property in the event of a flood.

Water resistant sealants

These can include the use of silicone sealants around door and window frames, or anywhere where there may be small gaps which would let water in. And it also includes sealants that can be painted onto porous materials such as bricks and mortar to prevent water penetrating them.

Defences

You can also buy a number of ready-made flood defences to minimise damage. We recommend use of accredited products such as those with a Kitemark - supported by the Environment Agency - as these have been tested and found fit for the job

• Replacing timber floors with solid floors and cover with tiles. Tiled floors with rugs that can be moved will suffer less damage in a flood than carpet.
• Replace chipboard kitchens and bathroom units with plastic, steel or solid wood. If not, raise cupboards up on stilts so that water can flow beneath them.
• Fit water - resistant door and window frames.
• Replace usual plaster with a more water-resistant version such as lime plaster or cement render.
• Always use waterproof sealant on external walls and water resistant paint on internal walls.
• Buy airbricks with removable covers - put them on during the flood, but remember to remove afterwards to help the drying out process.
• If possible move expensive electrical equipment to a higher level - some items do not have to be housed on the ground floor, for example, boilers can be moved to higher levels to reduce the possibility that they may be damaged in a flood.
• Raise electrical points above likely flood levels.
• Use denser concrete screeds on concrete floors - screeds can be damaged in floods and resistance can be improved by using a denser proprietary concrete screed.
• Replace insulation – mineral insulation rots after flooding, but it can be replaced with cell insulation which will survive a flood.
• Wall joists can be protected by installing a chemical damp proof course below the joist level. This will limit water seeping upwards and causing more damage to the rest of the property.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors www.ricsfirms.com will be able to give details of an expert in your area.

The Flood Protection Association represent makers and installers of flood protection products. www.floodprotectionassoc.co.uk/flood_defence.php

The National Flood Forum's Blue Pages has contacts of specialist flood experts www.floodforum.org.uk