How to repair buildings after flooding

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PRIORITY - Buy some of our Self Filling 'Sand' Bags - store flat and dry, when needed just wet the bag and the gel powder inside expands to fill it automatically.

Re-Useable - dry out and re-use as many times as you like.

After the debris has been removed, including any floor coverings, damaged plaster and plaster board you need to take the following steps;

1. Check your Insurance cover and advise your Insurers - take as many photographs as you can BEFORE disposing of any household contents: you may need evidence to prove your losses.

2. Clean and check the drains, air bricks (if you have a timber floor down stairs) and wash out all debris with fresh water. If sewerage is involved you should sterilise the floors and walls.

3. Ask a gas engineer, plumber and an electrician to check the services before using them.

4. Hire a dehumidifier and shut all doors and windows in the damp areas. Install a Humidity Meter to monitor the dampness in the air in the building. Install a large enough dehumidifier (or several) until you can bring the Relative Humidity below 60% on the meter (click here to look at Meters).

5. If timber floors are affected, lift boards and clean out the void underneath, including the air brick holes. If you are using a dehumidifier leave some boards up and fit temporary covers to the air bricks, to avoid trying to dehumidify the whole of the UK.

6. Keep a chart recording how much water your dehumidifier is producing - this will enable you to tell when most of the added water has been removed. You should see a sudden drop in water output, after several weeks, or even months.

7. Check and record the moisture content of the walls and timbers regularly - a simple electrical damp meter will give a good guide to progress. You are looking to bring timbers below 18% and masonry below 2%, but contaminating 'salts' may leave you with higher readings.

8. Walls should only be replastered using sand and cement render containing a Salt Inhibitor and Waterproofer - the Specification is critical if you are to avoid 'salts' from emerging later and ruining your decorations (click here to learn about re-plastering)

9. Old walls may benefit from the use of a Plastic Lining Membrane, rather than sand and cement - these membranes are easy to fix, waterproof and can be plastered or boarded immediately. They improve the warmth of the walls and floors, can carry insulation and prevent any damp or 'salts' from reaching the decorations (click here to learn about Lining Membranes).

10. Timbers and walls may grow mould - keep the humidity below 60% to avoid this.

11. Timbers may also be attacked by wood rotting fungi and insects. Check that the timbers have dried below 18% or consider treatment (click here to learn about Treatments).

12. Dry rot is a distant possibility - you can install simple test sticks in vulnerable walls and timbers to check if rot is occurring - they change colour from blue to yellow (click here to learn about Dry Rot Test Sticks).

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