Liz Cantor: Flooding is a natural process. Because of Brisbane's location on a flood plain, its subtropical climate and all of its waterways, it means that many people in Brisbane City have experienced a flood in their lifetime.
Hi, I'm Liz Cantor, Weather Presenter for 7 News and in my role, I've seen some increasingly wild weather events.
Brisbane City Council wants to ensure our community remains safe as our climate changes by adapting and preparing for severe storm and flood events.
Flood-resilient strategies won't stop the flooding but will ensure you spend less time cleaning up with minimal damage and expense and give you peace of mind that your home is being protected.
If you're renovating or thinking about it here are some effective solutions to chat with your builder or architect about to help improve flood resilience.
Flood waters can cause damage to floors, walls and cabinetry.
By using flood-resilient materials you will be able to recover more quickly after a flood event.
Leigh: Everything was ruined, pretty much, in the house - it had to be rebuilt.
All the walls were replaced and the installation was redone.
The kitchen, all the cabinetry, the doors, basically everything was replaced with flood-resilient materials, so if it ever floods again - hopefully not - it will be fine and I will be able to hose it out and re-paint.
James Davidson: So, basically there's a lot of new products on the market at the moment - such things as flooring materials, wall materials.
We look at doing work to cabinetry whereby we can actually swap out normal caucus material for cabinets etc. with materials that are non-flood affected and waterproof etc.
Tom Yabsley: Alright, so here I've just soaked two different wall linings.
This is the standard you'd see in most places and then here we've got an FC Sheet which we do use all the time anyway it's just about using the products that we'd mainly use in a wet area but just using them in general application.
You can sort of just see that it's covered in cardboard, this will just soak up the water, all the cardboard will peel off, whereas this FC Sheet, it's water-resilient.
It'll actually dry and dry out and hold its form.
Liz: Replace your carpets and other porous flooring with water-resistant flooring such as hard wood, tiles or polished concrete.
You should also use tiles or flood-resistant hard wood for skirtings.
Replace hollow core doors with solid core doors.
This will reduce the likelihood of your doors swelling and warping after a flood.
The construction of your home is just as important as the materials.
Engage a builder or architect who is familiar with flood-resilient designs and materials.
Replace existing stairs with open stairs made from flood-resilient materials, or simply remove the carpet.
For closed staircases which can trap water behind them, the first stair riser can be modified to be removal to let the water escape.
Use the same materials and water proofing techniques in your kitchen and your bathroom.
Flood resilient materials are cost effective, durable and add style.
So if you are renovating or building, talk to your architect or builder about flood resilient designs.
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