Sacraficial ...

I often wonder why nobody builds houses on stilts these days. Brian

I always thought the Canadians had the right idea: ground floor is concrete with built-in drains, just used for utility rooms, workshops, gyms, showers, garages, etc.

While it makes sense from a flood point of view, it does rather cause a problem with the level access requirements of Part M.

SteveW

Would it not be sensible to corrugate the land before building on it, so there are low lying areas for roads & high ridges for houses? And then if necessary do as newshound describes. It's part M that's causing the problem, and a lack of requirement to sort the land levels before building. Another possibility is to build medium rise, only the bottom floor is then vulnerable, the rest aren't.

NT

Ramps, or simply say that disabled people should not visit or live there.

Having built a house, and landscaped a garden, moving earth around is not that big a deal

you could make a huge lake and use the spoil to build berms and pop the houses on top.

Well not knowing what that is without looking it up.. However it is done in other countries. Brian

I think I'd be able to cope with houses on stilts. Its very silly at the moment since if we are talking wheelchairs, many new builds are inaccessible still, due to insufficient turn space inside. There is a scandal about homes for disabled people, whereby builders have to provide x percentage, and then advertise them for six months. What tends to happen is one is fitted out but the advertising is very low key, very few are taken so the builder say we have x left over can we fit them out as normal flats. Brian

They would probably wash away however. Floods are not benign, they often contain debris and are fast running. Brian

There's plenty on the Severn flood plain. Not with stilts but an above ground basement.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.063669,-2.2196869,3a,75y,211.53h,87.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sT0k-lKMPWyd9sPpJhHS8ig!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Where do you put your car if it floods?

yes but sacraficial ground stories came before the access requierments and can't quite remember as I have been retired 10 years, but if you have no accomodation on the ground floor you don't need level access...?

They're not even that subtle. When SWMBO and I looked at new builds (TL;DR is they really are s*it, aren't they) at least 3 of the 10 sites we visited had pea-shingle car parks it was impossible to cross in a wheelchair.

All that summer did was confirm that a 1440sq. ft. bungalow in 5,000sq. ft. land is like a unicorn. Especially with it's level access (I built) front and rear.

Maybe you don't have a car but a canoe ?

In Holland, they have built houses on reclaimed 'land' that is just an inland lake whose level can rise and fall. The houses all sit on floating pontoons so they are just like 2-story versions of canal barges, but fully connected to mains utilities.

Andrew

I thought there was a fully floating 'house' on the Thames that looked like a house (rather than a houseboat) and could float up and down on some pile / tracks.

Cheers, T i m

I think they still have them it's just now they are called affordable homes. Which always seem to be on the ground floor of new developments.

It featured in Grand Designs

Chris

Our previous neighbour had a static caravan in Bewdley that had to be fitted with some sort of cantilever to allow it to float *when* it flooded.

Or with a watertight hull. Go on your holliers without leaving home.