Not sure how to describe it but . . .

Jan 17, 2013 30 Replies

I want to try to make some flood gates for our doors and they are very expensive to buy. I want to use some sort of fixing that I can screw into the wooden door frames permanently. These would have a thread in the centre that I could use to bolt through, I imagine, external plywood to create a tight fit as needed.



I have never seen anything like that, apart from rawlbolts which are not designed for wood so far as I know. Does anyone know of such a thing, or have a better suggestion? Many thanks.



Regards



Jonathan


I used aluminium square U channel, bolted to the side walls either side of the doorway, with a hole from front to rear, near the top. Matching holes in the flood board allowed me quickly to drop the board (cut from an old scaffolding board) into the channels and hold it in place with metal pegs. I used rubber seals along the bottom and sides of the board to make it reasonably water tight. That produced a quick to deploy first line of defence, which could be backed up with sand bags behind the board as time permitted.

As floods can happen at night, when most of us are asleep, I also fitted a float switch outside, linked to an under dome bell, in order to give enough warning to get up and put the boards in place.

Colin Bignell

Thanks, they look the business

Jonathan

I don't have enough depth of brick to attach the channels to, otherwise sounds great. We get about four hours warning from the environment agency.

Jonathan

We did have 18" thick stone walls. Back when I did that, flood warnings depended upon the Police coming around with a loudspeaker vehicle and they didn't always have enough warning to get to everybody.

BTW don't forget that, in most properties, water can get under the floor through air bricks, so they need protection too.

Colin Bignell

A further question - what did you use to glue the rubber strips to the planks with?

Jonathan

I think you'll need pumps as well. Ideally a sump with a float switch and pump running off a battery backed-up supply.

Round here (Cambridge) they put the water-tight gates in the boundary walls but then they have to make sure the water does not come in via the rainwater drains.

Robert

On Thursday 17 January 2013 15:22 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Screwfix have those:

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I don't have air bricks but I do have a ground floor shower that water might come through the drain. I haven't yet found the thing to block that. Any ideas.

Jonathan

and pump running off a battery backed-up supply.

ls but then they have to make sure the water does not come in via the rainw= ater drains.

Got one last week, thank you.

jonathan

It was self-adhesive and some sort of dense closed cell foam rubber. Assuming they would have products for making things waterproof, I found it by browsing around a local yacht chandlers.

Colin Bignell

pump running off a battery backed-up supply.

but then they have to make sure the water does not come in via the rainwater drains.

Or the sewers.

No but this intrigues me rather. How are you going to seal them and what about water under the house itself. Brian

...

A length of steel pipe, larger ID than the OD of the drain, with a flange on the bottom and a flexible seal on the flange? The weight of the pipe should hold it in place while the water simply rises inside it.

Colin Bignell

TRADITIONAL evostik or urethane shoe glue works well.

If you have a downstairs toilet, that needs blocking too.

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