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Janet · 13-02-2014, 12:52 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In article , says...

"Martin" wrote in message

If you do use sandbags put them on a plastic membrane with the rest of the
plastic on the side facing the flood.

If your flood is from a river that's broken its banks, the force of
fast-flowing water current (and debris it carries) can tear dislodge
or wash away any plastic sheets laid that way. When we lived in a flood
area in Hereford we always laid the sandbags as the outer defence to
protect the waterproof plastic sheet, while pressing it as tight as
possible against the building fabric to protect the points where water
(and suspended mud) could enter.

Place the plastic with a flat strip on the ground (will be pinned
down by sandbag weight), rising up folded into an L against the outer
wall of the building. Build a wall against it with sandbags, kicking
them in hard so they compress the plastic tight against the building to
block the airbrick holes, door frames etc.

At school, whenever there was a city flood alert all the pupils living
near the river/over the bridge would be sent home PDQ, while we could
still get there, so the school wouldnt get lumbered with us. Usually I
arrived home to see local removal pantechnicons lined down the street,
hurriedly loading the ground floor furnishings of some neighbours into
safe storage. We got busy with the sandbags, plugging sewage U-bends,
rolling up carpets, stacking furniture as high as possible and filling
the bath with clean water.

Janet.