Defend Your House From The Risk Of Flooding - Do It Yourself: Your Own Bulkhead Against Flooding

By Pasquale Pizzichetti

Some say that the danger posed by water is worse than that of fire. In effect I fear both. However, either if you live in a city or in a provincial town, there is always a risk, higher or lower, to be flooded by water.
For those who do not want to suffer passively the events, here is a practical guide to build "Do it yourself" bulkheads against flooding. With some good will and time, you can build a low cost efficient system with simple materials.
This guide is intended for everybody, but in particular for people who are not professional in this field.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Babelcube Inc.
• Release date: Feb 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781507142264

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Copyright

Author’s note

Reading Suggestions

This manual is intended for everybody, but in particular for people who are not professional in this field.

Responsibility

The author takes no liability for any damage to people and properties, that may be caused by the construction and the use of the items described in this guide. The products that will be constructed on the base of the projects of this guide, will be more or less efficient depending on the chosen material, the ability of the reader and other conditions that cannot be controlled by the author of this guide.

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Good reading.

How to defend your house from the risk of flooding

Introduction

Some say that the danger posed by water is worse than that of fire. In effect I fear both. However, either if you live in a city or in a provincial town, there is always a risk, higher or lower, to be flooded by water.

Stores, garages, shops, laboratories that are usually on ground floors, or even in basements, are more subject to this kind of risk.

Up to some years ago, a flooding could be considered an exceptional event; but with the continuous changes in climate, extreme weather phenomena are more and more frequent. They can be short term events, like the so called ‘water bombs’, or long term ones like intense, continuous and abundant rain.

In such cases, submerged pumps and city drains cannot do much to help. In fact they are easily overloaded. A frequent result is that water cannot be contained and so you are helplessly forced to experience damage or, even worse, a disaster.

Flooding in South Rome – Winter 2014

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How can you defend yourself? Which measures can you take?

This guide describes a possible do it yourself solution. 

The system shown in this guide has been built by the author, after observing this kind of events and examining the possible commercial solutions that give some protection.

Bulkhead against flooding

Most widespread solution

The case of Venice, a city in a lagoon, teaches that you can even live together with the constant danger of flooding. In fact, due to high tides, the city undergoes consistent flooding more times in a year, in every part, including its centre.

There you can find homes and shops that, since years, have learned to defend their ground floors basically through movable bulkheads. In other words, the openings located on ground floor of many buildings have seats for holding devices that seal out water coming from the rising canals. Hydraulic