There are two types of flooding that might affect most homes. Those are internal and external flooding events. Internal flooding could affect any home and typically is caused by some sort of defect with the plumbing system or one of your home appliances. You might have a burst water pipe, a ruptured water heater tank, or a toilet that overflows. There are lots of potential causes of internal flooding, which homeowners insurance generally helps to pay to remedy afterward.
The other type of flooding is external flooding, which could affect all but homes that are located at very high elevations, such as near the top of a high-rise residential building. External flooding generally refers to any water that crosses the entryway from the outside. Common causes include snowmelt, torrential rain, and tidal surges during tropical storms. No matter what its cause might be, the following tips can help you protect your home against internal and external flooding.
Make the Property Flood-Resistant
A big reason why external flooding affects many homes is that they do not have adequate outdoor flood controls. The way in which your property is graded and covered makes a big difference is the ability to prevent flooding in your home. Your home should be located on a slight rise with your properly gently sloping away from your home. The grading away from your home helps to cause water to flow away from your home instead of toward it.
If you have a large parking area and driveway, that represents impervious cover that makes it impossible for water to drain into the soil. When water collects on top of an impervious area, it has to flow somewhere. Gravity ensures that it will flow downward, which might be right into your home. The combination of outdoor grading of your property and minimizing impervious cover will help to prevent external flooding.
Install drainage and a Sump Pump
Closely related to grading your property is installing drainage that stops water from flowing toward your home. When well-designed water drainage catches water it directs it away from your home to prevent flooding. The drainage should include gutters and downspouts that catch water flowing from your roof and send it away from your home and its foundation.
If you don’t have one already, your home could benefit from sump pump installation. A sump pump placed in the basement and attached to an effective drainage system will help to catch water at the lowest point in your home and send it outside via the drainage. A sump pump often is the first line of defense against flooding and one of the most effective.
Inspect the Foundation, Walls, and Water Pipes
It’s important to ensure the foundation and basement walls are in good condition to repel water. A foundation that is cracked or otherwise defective could enable water to enter your home. So could a defective basement wall. You can hire a professional foundation service to inspect your home’s foundation and walls to ensure they are in good condition. You also should waterproof the walls and foundation when they are in good condition. Waterproofing them will help to stop water from seeping into the basement or the first floor when there is torrential rain and a lot of snowmelt that saturates the ground.
The basement usually has water pipes situated above it to carry water throughout your home. It’s important to inspect the pipes to make sure they are in good shape and are not likely to burst and cause internal flooding. A flooded home poses potential health hazards that make it even more important to protect against flooding. Instead of enduring a flooded home and the potential health hazards that go with it, some simple and affordable proactive steps can help prevent flooding from occurring.
