25/05/2009

25 May 2009

Higher Floor Levels For Homes In Flood Prone Areas

Housing being built in flood prone areas in the future will be designed with floor levels above the one hundred year flood level to cope with the increasing intensity of floods and storms attributed to climate change.

Angus Kell

Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects said building at ground level on a concrete slab could become a thing of the past if insurance companies moved to place design covenants on new homes in flood prone areas requiring higher floor levels. Angus Kell, ACT & NSW State Manager of Archicentre said with hundreds of square kilometres flooded in New South Wales and Queensland and thousands of people being evacuated, the focus on housing design and floor levels will be driven by the high cost of the floods to both the Government and insurance companies. "People buying property in the future in these flooded areas will need to factor in the high risk and high cost of floods in their decision making and should at the very least investigate if the site or home has been flooded in the past and at what level. "Well informed buyers in the future will ask for such information."

Mr Kell said floods can do enormous damage to buildings and can take months to dry out leaving major problems with soggy walls of insulation, damaged wiring, structural defects and dangerous appliances.

Archicentre carries out many post flood damage inspections to assess damage and structural soundness of buildings and often finds the owners move too quickly to start renovating, repainting and carpeting before the structure is properly dried out.

"This means after a couple of months repainting, carpeting and in some cases plastering has to be pulled out and re-done at great expense."

www.archicentre.com.au

Media Enquiries:
Angus Kell ACT & NSW State Manager Archicentre (02) 9555 5111 Mobile: 0412 565 023
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700 Mobile: 0417 329 201