Quantifying the flood resilience properties of walls in typical UK dwellings

Abstract

Building for resilience against floodwater has become increasingly important given the high demand for new houses in the UK and the need to build in flood-prone areas. There are current recommendations on the use of building materials that will minimise the impact of floods; however, these are rarely substantiated by scientific evidence and tend to relate to individual building materials rather than composite constructions. To fill this gap, a laboratory investigation was undertaken aimed at quantifying the properties of walls (and their constituents) when exposed to floodwater. Time-varying leakage rates and drying rates were determined for 13 different wall constructions subjected to 1 m water depth. Both masonry and timber frame walls were studied, incorporating common types of cavity insulation. Recommendations are given for resilient construction. Practical application: The work described in this paper was part of a larger study commissioned by the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) and EA/ DEFRA, aimed at obtaining a better understanding of how buildings behave when subjected to floodwater. The ultimate aim was to develop guidance for the construction of new buildings, focusing on domestic properties in areas at risk of flooding. This will be taken into account in the next revision of the Building Regulations, namely in Approved Document C. A guidance document on resilient and resistant construction, synthesising the findings of the overall project, will be a reference document for the new Planning Policy Statement (PPS25), which defines the requirements for resilient developments in England and Wales.

Resilience in flood risk management – Exploring its added value for science and practice

“…e.g. [45][46][47]). It is especially used in the context of (wet-)proofing of buildings and infrastructure (e.g.…”

“…It is especially used in the context of (wet-)proofing of buildings and infrastructure (e.g. [45,48]). In this case, resilience means the ability of a construction to dry or be dried after it has been inundated and wetted (ibid.…”

A new standard for flood resistance and resilience of buildings: new build and retrofit

“…Whilst much of the guidance was common across most publications and based on expert opinion, there was limited published technical work on the physical evidence for such advice. Therefore, a project was commissioned in 2005 by DCLG and the Environment Agency (supported by Defra) [8] to undertake new laboratory testing, stakeholder and literature reviews to build such an evidence base that could then inform the development of new guidance.…”

Property level flood protection: a new effective and affordable solution

“…The front face of The Flexible Skirting System is sealed to the top of a floor membrane. Water enters at the base of the wall where hydrostatic pressure is the greatest, the rate of ingress through a masonry wall being quite low, and a 350W pump having the capacity to remove water entering at the maximum rate of ingress via a sump/pump [22]. Figure 2 displays a cross section of the system, the arrows show water ingress routes.…”