building a garden gate to prevent flooding

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marsaday

Has anyone built a simply garden gate approx 4ft high to prevent flood water?

My house has flooded today because the road outside will not drain away heavy downpours. This happened in 2005 or 06 and it has happened again today. I have a stone wall around the garden, but there is the std entrance which is open. The water comes in here and then goes down into the light well and into the house.

I should have done this ages ago, but the council upgraded the road and gullies and we thought it wouldnt happen again.

My idea is to make a simple gate of tongue and groove wood and then attach a plastic membrane to the front.

This will hold back most of the water until it drains away from the road.

Any better ideas.
 
marsaday said:
Has anyone built a simply garden gate approx 4ft high to prevent flood water?
Click to expand...
Surely you don't mean the water in the road gets up to 4 ft deep? If thats the case it'll find another way in for sure, and you're gate would neeed to be inch thick steel and your support posts would need to be steel columns!
 
I assume these floods only last half an hour or so before the water drains away, there are roads near me with similar issues.

A woden gate should be able to withstand that. make it from 75-100mm wide T&G boards, make sure the boards have toungs 8mm long, you will probablyy want >22mm thick boards for strenght. Leave 2mm for expansion in every T&G, this will let them remain somewhat watertight but still able to expand into each other.

Don't use a polythene sheet, just use adhesives in all the joints around the boards, except for inbetween the T&G boards themselves. The gate will need weatherseals around it where it touches the frame so that water does not just pour in around it

It won't be watertight, but it will reduce it to a trickle.

Does the gate open out or in, because you want to open outwards, so that when it floods, the water pushes the gate closed more tightly.

Iroko might be a good wood to use, and you will want chunky support posts.

Remember lock gates are made of timber, your just doing the same on a smaller scale.
 
nice post, ta

i thought as much with regards to it holding out the water from the rd. the water only goes to about 2ft, climbs up the gentle slop towards the front door and then pours sideways into the light well. The water then presses against the window down there.

it only lasts for 1/2h and then drains away.

i have started making a frame today and should finish tomorrow.

i hadnt thought about a weather seal, but will look into that.

i have made it OUT opening as you say the water will push it shut.
 
might be worth putting in a channel drain behind the gate and either piping it to a surface drain, or piping it to a large soak-away in the front garden ( if you have one.. ).. as a second line of defence..
 
round my way (near the sea) they use steel channel "gateposts" in the garden wall and drop timbers into them when flooding is expected. Not nailed into a gate, they just use timbers that can be carried by one man. Water comes through the joints but is not a flood.

The cottages near the inlets have grooved timbers on the front door frame and drop ply sheets into them in winter and at the equinoxes.

By holding back most of the water, it delays flooding enough that it can soak away or be pumped out faster than it comes in.
 
marsaday said:
Has anyone built a simply garden gate approx 4ft high to prevent flood water?

My house has flooded today because the road outside will not drain away heavy downpours. This happened in 2005 or 06 and it has happened again today. I have a stone wall around the garden, but there is the std entrance which is open. The water comes in here and then goes down into the light well and into the house.

I should have done this ages ago, but the council upgraded the road and gullies and we thought it wouldnt happen again.

My idea is to make a simple gate of tongue and groove wood and then attach a plastic membrane to the front.

This will hold back most of the water until it drains away from the road.

Any better ideas.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
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