ProFriends: Rainproofing The Home

The recent strong typhoon, Maring, inspired me to write this topic. Our Lancaster / Pro Friends home didn’t get flooded (thankfully) but the strong rain did manage to get inside a bit (umagiw). We haven’t installed screens on our windows yet so we forgot to close some windows immediately. Anyway, here are some tips I thought I’d share you guys about rainproofing/flood-proofing the home.

Building Stage

When planning to build your home, if you can, look for a location that’s flood-free. Also, consider that the house you will be building upon may not be flooded but the surrounding ways/paths to get somewhere may be flooded so look for a really flood-free area. If that’s not possible due to budget/rarity, make sure your ground floor is three steps higher than the actual ground. This way, the surrounding streets may be flooded but it won’t get inside your home. Depending on the height of floods that may occur in your area, ask around first and build your home with that in mind.

My friend lives in a bungalow but it is raised off the ground a few steps higher even though they don’t live in a flooded area. This was the advice of her grandfather to her father. He also says that don’t build your home wherein upon entering, the floor descends since that kind of structure invites flood and dirt.

I read in that someone has though of an amphibious or free-floating home in case of heavy rain or floods. It sounds innovative but isn’t it kind of scary to have a buoyed home? What happens when the structure isn’t strongly built and your home suddenly floats away? I don’t want to sound all negative here. It’s just that a house is expensive. It’s a life investment for ordinarily-waged people like me.

An ideal raised home

Built Home

Be sure to fix/repair your home before the rainy season comes in. Also, check that the sewage system of your home and nearby canals is okay. Call for an expert to seal windows and doors or you can DIY it yourself. Screens may be helpful but it’s still better to have the corners really sealed against rain/water.

Be sure to have the roof checked and repaired for holes or possible holes. Check walls for cracks as well. The point between roof and wall, check it. It’s harder to have a leaky roof. The water may crawl towards electrical lighting and that’s dangerous, too.

Flood-prone Home

If your home always gets flooded and you just can’t help it, then best take the following measures:

• Strategically locate appliances so that it would be easier to move them to a higher level of your home in case of floods. Try to place the outlets on the upper area of the wall.
• Place small décor and knickknacks in sealed plastic bags ahead of time. At least they’ll float and you can just think about them after you’re done moving your appliances.
• Always stock on food. You never know when you can really cook or buy meals.
• Stock on anti-mosquito patches/sprays/lotions and traps. Where there’s flood, there are mosquitoes. Once you get sick, always be open to the possibility of Dengue (it’s seriously deadly).