Search
| Elevating or Moving the Home |
| Using Levees for Flood Protection |
| Using Sandbags for Flood Protection |
| Water-inflated Barriers Series |
If you protect a building with a floodwall, sealant, plastic wrap or any other barrier, you will need to pump water during floods.
You can keep shallow flood water out of a slab-on-grade home using plastic sheeting supported by the wall of the building or on special stands away from the wall. This is an emergency protection measure that is more effective than using sandbags, but does require advance preparation.
Most floodproofing systems have openings that need to be closed and watertight during a flood.
Sump pumps sit in the sump. "Trash" or "utility" pumps usually sit above water level and draw through an inlet hose.
Elevation provides the best protection for flood damage, short of relocating the house to an area that is less prone to flooding. Raising a structure does not remove it from the special flood hazard area (SFHA); therefore, it does not exempt the owner or the mortgage company from flood insurance mandates.
Describes several techniques for repairing walls so they are more resistant to flood damage.
Repetitive flooding affects thousands of Louisiana homes and businesses. In this publication and its companion videotape, a procedure to demonstrate a non-invasive method to flood proofing is explained as it was demonstrated by a Michigan contractor. Special attention is given to adapting the technology for use in Louisiana’s floodplains. (PDF format only). This is the 2005 archived version of the original 1996 publication.
If you protect a building with a floodwall, sealant, plastic wrap or any other barrier, you will need to pump water during floods.
Wet floodproofing segment of the LSU AgCenter "Ready for Rain" video describing techniques for reducing damage to the home without attempting to keep water out of the building.
Introductory segment from the LSU AgCenter "Ready for Rain" video with overview of flood damage reduction techniques.
In inland areas, experience has shown that floods damage areas of buildings not elevated above the flood level and destroy contents of those areas. In coastal areas, wave action causes even more damage, often destroying enclosed building areas below the flood level (and any building areas above the flood level that depend on the lower area for structural support). Source: Home Builder's Guide to Coastal Construction Technical Fact Sheet Series: Fact Sheet 4.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has requirements for repairs, remodeling and additions. This fact sheet provides recommendations for exceeding those minimum requirements and it lists opportunities for retrofitting in coastal flood hazard areas. SOURCE: Home Builder's Guide to Coastal Construction FEMA 499: Technical Fact Sheet 30.
Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage provides up to $30,000 toward the cost of elevating, relocating or demolishing a building that is being required to come into compliance with the community’s flood damage prevention ordinances because it has been substantially damaged by a flood.
Installation of any of these back-flow valves below in an existing sewer line is dirty work, but not technically challenging. View a photographic sequence of installing a simple flap valve.
Our predecessors in Louisiana, the Indians and the early Europeans, avoided floods by vacating the floodplains during the flood season or by building their homes on higher ground and, even then, on piers. Determining flood risk is important before buying property, building a home or office, or planning a flood protection system.
Our predecessors in Louisiana avoided floods by vacating the floodplains during flood season or by building their homes on higher ground and, even then, on piers.
Floodwalls and levees are self-supporting barriers to floodwater. They keep the building dry and protect it from, unequal water pressure on building walls, erosion at the foundation and damage by floating debris.
Sealing a building so water will not enter is called dry floodproofing. The interior spaces, equipment and contents of the building stay dry.
Most floodproofing systems have openings that need to be closed and watertight during a flood.
There is an alternative to blocking the common sewer line. The alternative is to block each drain line where it enters your home - also known as the points of entry - using plugs and caps.
Elevating a building to prevent flood damage doesn't always mean picking up the entire structure. Explore these three ways to get the floor up.
Repetitive flooding affects thousands of Louisiana homes and businesses. In this publication and its companion videotape, a procedure to demonstrate a non-invasive method to flood proofing is explained as it was demonstrated by a Michigan contractor. Special attention is given to adapting the technology for use in Louisiana’s floodplains.
