Flooding risks are high across Victoria as Australia’s severe weather season enters full-swing. Know your storm risks and be prepared to help keep you and your property safe.
Renovating
How to retrofit your home to minimise flood damage
The threat posed by floods can be reduced by planning ahead. Here’s a practical guide to retrofitting your home to make it more resilient to flood damage.
Floods and other extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more intense and more frequent in Australia, including short-duration heavy downpours (‘flash floods’) that can be damaging for homes.
This has prompted many homeowners to think about what they can do to protect their property and possessions, including basic renovations that can make their home more resilient to flood.
Here are some practical tips for retrofitting a home to help minimise the chance of flood damage and potentially reduce the costs and inconveniences that may come with such an event.
Do you live in a flood-prone area?
Flooding can happen anywhere, but some areas are more prone than others, so knowing the risk can help guide your decisions about what steps to take.
Local governments often have flood maps for their region that outline the risk. State and territory governments and emergency agencies such as the SES also make flood information available online, including area guides and advice on how to plan for a flood and stay safe during an emergency.
• Victoria
• New South Wales
• Australian Capital Territory
• Queensland
• Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Western Australia
Always use a qualified, licensed electrician for any electrical work around the home, such as repositioning power points.
Flood resilient guide to retrofitting your home
Install power points as high as possible
Installing power points high on walls is a simple and effective way to make a home more flood resilient. When installed higher, power points are less likely to come into contact with floodwater, minimising the potential for power outages and electrical faults.
Always get a licensed electrician to undertake the work. They can determine where high-voltage (240-volt) cabling is located around your home and advise on preventative action should a flood occur.
The average cost to relocate or install a new power point is between $130 to $180 per point, depending on the condition and safety of the electrical installation, according to RACV Emergency Home Assist Electrical Trade Manager Arthur Gouvousis.
He recommends the following features when installing power points in areas affected by water and humidity:
• The minimum requirements of Australian Standards.
• Units with adequate water ingress protection ratings.
• Enhanced protection against electric shocks.
Gouvousis also recommends that data points are positioned higher as part of a broader commitment to elevating important services across the home, including meter boards, hot water units and air conditioning condensers (see below).
“If your house has more than one storey, you could also consider installing a separate circuit for the upper level, keeping the electricity flowing even if the lower level is impacted by flood,” he adds.
More: How to find and hire a tradie for your job
Elevate hot water units and air conditioners
Hot water units and air conditioning condensers are vulnerable to water damage, so raising them above the flood level – onto a concrete plinth, steel brackets or stainless steel frame bench, for example – can help prevent damage and reduce the risk of electrical hazards.
It can also help keep these systems operating during a flood event - when they would be otherwise out of action.
If you decide to retrofit your home, it is also a good time to consider switching to a more efficient air conditioner and heat pump hot water system, the latter offering the chance to reduce your hot water energy consumption by up to 80 per cent.
If you live on a rural property, electric water pumps should also be placed on a secure, raised platform to keep them dry in the event of flood. The same goes for pool pumps and other electrical equipment used outside, including low-mounted garden lighting. (Consider replacing with a low-voltage system.)
More: How to choose the best heating and cooling solutions for your home
Your choice of flooring can have a significant impact on how well the surfaces cope in a flood event.
Raise appliances in the laundry
Elsewhere around the home, raising standalone appliances in the laundry such as the washing machine and dryer can prevent water damage and reduce the risk of electrical problems if there is a flood.
Building a raised platform, bench, cabinet or wall mountings using flood resilient materials such as stainless steel can also free up more room for storage and could even make the appliance easier to use, thanks to the higher position.
More: Best type of clothes dryer: Heat pump, vented or condenser?
Consider hard flooring and resealing tiled areas
Water resistant, rather than absorbent, materials should naturally perform better in the event of flood. Wherever possible it’s worth considering using these types of materials throughout your house, including the floors.
Choosing polished and sealed concrete or tiles over carpet when updating floor coverings is a case in point. For existing tiled areas – most notably in the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry – check and improve the tile sealing to help prevent water from penetrating through any gaps and causing damage. Flood-resistant grout sealant (sometimes referred to as ‘epoxy’ or ‘semi-epoxy’) is recommended.
Sealing tiled areas can also help prevent growth of mould and mildew, which in turn could lead to health issues (as detailed by the Victorian Department of Health).
More: How to remove mould and prevent it coming back in your home
Replace hollow core doors with solid core doors
Hollow core doors are constructed with a cardboard-like material in the middle, making them highly susceptible to water damage during a flood. This can lead to doors warping, rotting or even disintegrating. It might also pose a security risk if used for external doors.
Solid core doors, on the other hand, are constructed with solid material such as hardwood or engineered wood, which makes them much more resistant to water damage. They’re less likely to warp, rot or develop mould and mildew, even after prolonged exposure to moisture.
When replacing door and window hardware (handles, hinges, locks, fasteners, etc), consider corrosion resistant items. Depending on the area, you might also look into aluminium-framed glass over traditional wooden doors.
An open staircase such as this one should dry out quickly if floodwater enters the home.
Use water resistant materials for your cabinets
During a flood, water can quickly accumulate inside and cause extensive damage to cabinets, furniture and other belongings.
Cabinets can be particularly expensive to replace in areas like the kitchen and bathrooms and will benefit from construction using water resistant materials. This includes the frame and a design that allows the kickboard to be removed, while fixing cabinets (such as a bathroom vanity unit) to the wall rather than the floor will give it a handy elevated position.
You might even consider removeable cabinetry, which can be relocated to a higher position prior to a flood event.
The flood resistant materials available will depend on the application, but examples for cabinetry include marine-grade plywood, sealed composite timber panels, stainless steel, compact laminate and solid acrylic surfaces. These are usually designed to be less likely to warp, rot or develop mould and mildew.
More: Checklist for planning a kitchen renovation
Other measures to minimise flood damage
If you’re planning a renovation that includes replacing walls and other significant works, a licensed builder should be able to advise on the effectiveness of various measures that could minimise flood damage to your home.
As outlined in guides produced by Queensland, NSW and WA state governments, and Melbourne Water’s ‘Flood resilient guide to retrofitting your home’, these could include:
• Replacing cavity walls with single skin walls and adding extra weep holes to help dry out the wall cavity (or sub-floor) after a flood event.
• Opting for sustainable plantation hardwood timber over softwood timber (eg. pine) when framing new walls and replacing other timber, such as skirting boards.
• Using flood resilient wall linings such as fibre cement rather than plasterboard and replacing loose fill insulation with rigid closed-cell foam insulation.
• Choosing an open staircase rather than a traditional cavity design, which is prone to trapping water. If you can’t retrofit, make the bottom riser removable on a cavity stair.
• Replacing cavity bathtubs with a freestanding tub.
• Creating large door and window openings on the ground floor to help water escape more easily. Louvre windows can also help with flushing out water and debris after a flood.
• Installing flush thresholds in doorways to prevent small layers of water remaining inside the home after a flood.
• Retrofitting garage doors with permeable doors to allow water to flow through.
An expert tradie should also be able to advise on landscaping, permeable paving, permeable hardwood screening and other strategies that reduce the impact of flooding and direct water away from your home where possible.
