With the recent flooding events in the South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales regions, there’s never been a better time for you to consider how to reduce the risk of outdoor flooding in your home or business. By ensuring you have the right preventative measures in place, you can help to direct heavy rainfall away from your property and minimise the damage that water can cause to your home, sheds, gardens, decks and more. Read on for our top tips on how to best safeguard your home from flooding in the event of severe weather.
Ensure You Have an Effective Outdoor Drainage System in Place
The best way to minimise the damage caused by flooding is to have an outdoor drainage system in place that can reduce excessive water on your property. Poorly planned drainage systems, blocked drains, and collapsed pipes can all contribute to flooding during heavy rainfall. You might also consider minimising the amount of concrete in the backyard as it is unable to absorb water, utilising heavy mulch and rain gardens to soak up rainwater, and ensuring the stormwater pipe connects to a stormwater drain to prevent flooding in your yard and the neighbour’s yard.
Maintain Existing Stormwater Drainage
You can reduce the risk of outdoor flooding by performing maintenance on your current stormwater drainage twice a year. Clear the gutters of any dead leaves and branches, remove the grates from the stormwater drains and clean them out with a hose and blast water down every downpipe in the home to remove any stuck debris that can quickly cause a flood during a storm.
Install Decks and Patios With Drainage in Mind
Decks and patios are prone to flooding during bad weather and can quickly become a safety hazard with puddles, mould and rotting to internal timber structures that can cause decks to weaken and distort. You can help to prevent this by ensuring that each board of your deck has adequate spacing between them so that water will run through and not pool on top of the wood. Underneath, install a draining system or use flashing as a moisture barrier. You can also install a sloped surface beneath the deck to direct water away from the home.
For patios, you can add drainage channels to keep excess water from building up around patios, garages and sheds. These channels can send water into a storm drain or soakaway. You can also use gravel paving or build your patio on a slight slope if you’re starting from scratch.
Need More Help with Drainage for Your Home?
Barker Plumbing Services is a professional plumber on the Gold Coast who can work with you to install additional drainage solutions into your home to reduce the risk of outdoor flooding. We can also repair and maintain your downpipes and gutters to keep the water moving freely. Give us a call today to book your inspection.