row, row, row your boat.....right through my living room!

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I live right on the water, in a home I love. I wake up every
morning with a view of the sea and its only steps out the back door to my boat
and a day of fishing. A tiny bungalow built on a slab perfect for my daughter
and I. But, it seems, if anyone even
thinks of the word flood within a mile of my home, my house will flood.

Since living in this place for about a year, it's flooded (1-4 inches
inside) at least 10 times. This is not the little floods like your
neighbor leaving their sprinklers on too long, or your washing machine
overflowing. This is the entire Great South Bay reaching up and moving in
for 15-20 minutes during high tide.
My entire property going 1-4 inches deep.

Now, i have a high bulkhead on my property, so the bay hasn't
flowed over from there, but neither neighbor on either side has any real
bulkheads. From what, i've noticed when i've been home when it flooded,
it comes in from the rear of my house, the side closest to my neighbor’s property. But truthfully, the water is completely
surrounding my house during these floods.

So, finally my question.
If I run a sheet of Stainless Steel flashing (They come in 50ft by 20inch rolls)
underneath my siding all around my home(the house is only 20x40), from the slab up(6inches below ground 14inches above), being careful to
silicone around the edges, COULD that work to keep the flood at bay?

Any better solutions? Raising it isn’t financially possible at
this point as all estimates I’ve gotten are 6 figures.

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Comments (5)

elpaso1
8 years ago
Personally, I'd move. Sorry that isn't much help, but I can't imagine living where you get flooded so often. I'd be worried about mold. I mean, flooding 10 times in a yr? YIKES!
ridewithme38
Original Author
8 years ago
That's the next step. I want to make sure i can KEEP the water out first, then i can tear the walls down/cabinets up and clean up any possible mold damage
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nicolediane
8 years ago
If you don't even know where the water is coming from I think you need to have a drainage survey done. Was the flooding disclosed when you bought the house? Your neighbor might have done some landscaping that is causing water to divert to your property or a drainage grate might be plugged up. If the flooding is new whatever changed can hopefully be undone.
kudzu9
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'm not sure how well your proposal will work. Are you saying that the flooding only happens for 15-20 minutes and it's gone? I am concerned that it won't be possible to do a perfect job -- or one that will hold up for a long time -- and that it will cause water to be retained in the structure as the water recedes, and increase the likelihood of mold damage. You can try this approach and see what happens as it doesn't sound very expensive. However, with global warming, this type of problem with coastal properties is going to only get worse, so I think you need something permanent if you are staying there. It's also possible that you have general land subsidence, which is a problem in some areas of the country where too much ground water is getting pumped out of the ground. I don't know from your description what the lay of your land is, but the only thing I can suggest is to have more concrete bulkhead installed to intercept the flow you suspect is coming via your neighbor.

If the ground level is uniform, it is logical that the water surrounds your house, regardless of what direction the water comes from, That is not really important from the standpoint of solving this.

What area of the country do you live in?
D G
8 years ago
Take a hint from Venice, Italy. My wife and I where there on our honeymoon and one of the things you saw if your me and like these things is that every doorway in flood prone areas had rails in which you slide in a sea wall into them thus blocking the water from flooding into there homes. There homes are built out of stone so they are naturally flood resistance and the panels seal it up completely and yet allow complete access into the property as they only cover the bottom 6 inches or so.

http://www.tmhardware.com/Door-Flood-Barrier-Shield.html

In your case I don't know if you want to do that. If your structure is stick frame built and your house isn't attached well to your foundation blocking the water from entering could place stress on the foundation and instead of flooding your home the rising water could push it off the foundation. Your SS idea should work if sealed properly but just understand that it could cause other issues. Another thing to think about is self adhesive rubber foundation membrane. The come in three foot x 66 foot rolls that can could be rolled out under the siding although you will need to seal the nail holes from the siding when you put it on.

http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/siding/foundation-materials/ac-hydroseal-3000-3-x-66-7-foundation-membrane/p-1444450498226-c-9532.htm?tid=2770800794422192445

I have waterproofed a foundation with this and have had no issues.

row, row, row your boat.....right through my living room!

Comments (5)

elpaso1

ridewithme38
Original Author

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row, row, row your boat.....right through my living room!

Comments (5)

elpaso1

ridewithme38Original Author

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nicolediane

kudzu9

D G

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ridewithme38
Original Author