1. Do the groundwork

The first step is to check your insurer’s policy on flood resilience technologies. The Association of British Insurers or the British Insurance Brokers Association may be able to suggest insurers that specialise in flood risk cover.

2. Get a survey

A good surveyor will be able to recommend the best solution to suit your property, requirements, and budget. Organisations such as the National Flood Forum and the Property Care Association can direct you to reputable surveyors.

A good surveyor will recommend a variety of products taking into account other nearby properties, previous flooding and the location of drains. You can expect to receive a report that:

Provides an assessment of the flood risk
Identifies all possible points where water could enter and how it might affect the property
Details the measures that can be taken to protect it

3. Do your research

Spend some time researching different options to find the best solution for you and your property. Check out the National Flood Forum’s Blue Pages for an independent directory of products and manufacturers. Before you settle on anything make sure it has been independently tested.

4. Find tradespeople

The next step is to find trusted tradespeople to carry out the work. Some manufacturers will install their own products, but it can often be the case that products will be installed by a third party. Here, the manufacturer is responsible for providing the installer with the necessary instructions. Some belong to the Property Care Association, which has a code of practice and can be contacted if you have a complaint. If the works have been completed under an Environment Agency or Local Authority scheme, they can provide you with a revised flood risk mitigation assessment based on the installed products. Paying for a post-installation survey may be useful in the future when asking for quotes from insurance companies. These tips will help you to find contractors.

5. Flood resistance vs resilience

A combination of flood resistance and resilience measures offer the best way to protect your property and minimise recovery costs.

+ Flood resistance measures

Doors

Purpose-built flood-proof doors
Flood barriers that can be installed in front of doors
Raised door thresholds

Walls and floors

Damp-proof bricks
Wall and floor coverings
Sealing floors (tanking)
Airbricks - specially designed covers that are easy to place over ventilation bricks

Drains and pipes

Non-return valves on drains
Water inlet and outlet pipes

Don't forget to think about who will operate any flood defence products and whether they are physically capable of doing it.

+ Flood resilience measures

For bigger floods (when the floodwater is more than a metre high), it is important that water does enter your property. If it doesn’t, the pressure caused by its weight might inflict structural damage or even cause the building to collapse.

Here are some things you can do to reduce the damage floodwater might cause inside:

Shelving - install high-mounted shelves for irreplaceable or valuable items
Home entertainment - fix any audio-visual equipment (like TVs) to the wall at least 1.5 metres above floor level
Skirting - fit water-resistant skirting boards or varnish them
Pump - fit a pump in a basement or under-floor void to remove floodwater

Walls

Dry-line walls - use horizontal plasterboard or lime-based plaster instead of gypsum
Get a special draining system for cavity walls
Flooring - lay tiles with rugs rather than fitted carpets, as they can be rolled up and moved to a higher position
Doors and windows - install synthetic, waxed or varnished window frames and doors

Kitchen and bathroom

Use water-resistant materials such as stainless steel, plastic or solid wood rather than chipboard
Where possible raise fridges and appliances on plinths

Electricals

Raise electrical sockets, fuse boxes, controls and wiring to at least 1.5 metres above floor level
If rewiring, bring cables down the wall to the raised socket so that cabling isn’t affected

6. Don't rely on sandbags

Calderdale Council doesnot provide sandbags to individual properties during a flood. Stocks from local suppliers can be low during flood incidents so it’s important to consider other actions you could take to protect your property. Sandbags are not always an effective measure in the event of flooding because water will eventually seep through the bags and finer materials like clay may leak out through the seams. Sandbags are also not reusable, can rot in storage, and are rarely the best solution for keeping floodwater out of properties. There are other products available including artificial versions, which are more effective, easier to use and reusable.

7. Maintain flood products

Once you have received the products or the work has been carried out, the last thing you want to happen is a failure of that product at a crucial time. Regular maintenance checks are necessary to ensure that the measures you have installed in your home will perform when required. See this guidance on maintaining flood protection products for more information. Take care if having any alterations made to existing products such as flood doors as these may invalidate manufacturers’ warranties.

8. Practice your flood plan

Make sure you know what to do if flooding happens:

Practice installing products such as flood barriers
Check mechanisms on products like flood doors and valves regularly to ensure that you know how to use them and that they are in good working order
Make sure your family, employees, neighbours, and tenants know how to operate them in case your property is flooded when you are away. Offer to do the same for them

9. Have a trigger for action

You should make sure you have signed up for flood warnings and have an up-to-date flood plan. This will help ensure that you are able to deploy products quickly and take other measures to minimise damage during a flood. Flash flooding is more difficult to predict but you can sign up for Met Office weather warnings, keep an eye on water levels and get updates from your local flood group or the Calder Valley Flood Support Facebook page.

Flood Products

Installing flood protection products - nine simple steps