My dad's number one advice when buying/renting a house is to avoid houses that are positioned lower than the road, as water will always flow downward and it's only a matter of time until the rain gets hard enough so then the water will flow through your house.
I would say always consider the risk of flood. I grew up in a house that was built in a hilly area and the drive sloped up but it never flooded because any rain would just run down the hill past us.
I'm not really sure if that is realistic depending on where you're looking to buy. You could be drastically reducing the number of available houses for you to purchase. You're basically limiting yourself to a house built on a hill.
@@thomasquall8476 in the Caribbean we never have the floor at the same level as the ground outside. You ALWAYS have to step up to the ground floor. If we built like this house we would be flooded every time a tropical storm or hurricane passed closeby . . .
This is the most German renovation project I have seen lol "it is Sunday, so I cannot cut today" and also those welds look way better then I can do! Everything looks phenomenal.
Oh Jeez. Considerate or what. When here in the UK they say ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’ what they really mean is that interfering with the racket of ongoing works is as welcome as kicking his dog up the backside or smacking his children. It is an unfortunate fact of life here, that many householders upgrading their properties treat the task as if it is sacrosanct. Nothing should interfere with our obsession with property. We can have 5 days a week of a tradesperson slicing block paving, then the entire weekend with the DIY continuing the job or something else - and don’t get me started on the cheap Chinese chainsaws etc. It’s an almost incessant drone in the background of suburban life in the UK. Go electric already! Take care.
I strongly suggest that you get a bunch of sand bags and have them ready for the next major storm, your dam is only as good as the last storm, and the gentle slope will make it easier for the water the crest.
I think this is high enough now. But a few sand bags would be good indeed. I might also add a flood barrier that slots in at the front door. They are rebuilding our entire street this winter. I will see if the levels change at all.
@@MaxMakerChannel yeah, the grade is all wrong, they kept paving the street until your curb didn't exist anymore -- that curb is there to divert water.
@@MaxMakerChannel I think a permanent solution like this is great, having some flood barrier slots is optional, but nice to have. At the end we all know what happens when you don't have something proper and permanent like this - then the next flood comes while you are sleeping or when you are on holidays.
@@MaxMakerChannelGrew up in hurricane country and this is solid advice. The beauty of sand bags is that they’re portable and can be used to plug holes wherever they crop up. Landscape can change quickly during a flash flood. Downside of them is that you usually need a bunch.
I love how thorough you are with fixing the flooding issue, you not only made sure that the original ingress point was blocked, you beefed up all the other entry ways I would have called it a day at the dam
I had to. Water is the absolute worst. In Germany we have a concrete building. Then we put 15cm of insulation on the concrete and on top of that we do a floating concrete slab. That concrete slap is not connected to the walls. That gets rid of noise transfer and also contains floor heating pipes. The problem with flooding is that the water gets into the insulation and to get it out again you need to vacuum the floor for a month straight. Hoses every 3m and holes drilled in the floating slab. Costs about €5000,-.
@@MaxMakerChannel Wenn die NYM Kabel im Leerrohr voller Wasser stehen, kann es auch noch nach Monaten zu Korrosionsschäden kommen. Am besten nach 6 Monaten einen Funktionstest an jeder Steckdose und Klemmstelle machen. Es kann bspw. der PE durchkorrodieren, und die Schutzwirkung des FIs aufgehoben sein.
@@MaxMakerChannel I always thought German building codes where exhaustive, but this is amazing😅 I guess it's nice to have sound insulation from the earth😅 I'd imagine you'd already have this problem if it wasn't for the sump pump
Really interesting. Catching videos of the water flow during the storm really helps to understand the problem. I hope you can do another follow up where we see the flood defense in action.
Really great work, and not just on the anti-flooding measures, but everything. The driveway, the garbage cans. Just a blast to watch these videos and get ideas for my own house/yard. Keep up the great work!
Tip on mixing concrete - there is usually a required quantity of water per bag on the bag. I have poured a couple concrete projects around the house that uses 20-50 bags. I first go into the kitchen with a bucket and fill it with a measuring cup to the appropriate level. Then mark the bucket with a sharpie at the water level. Very easy, repeatable, consistent method.
Or to speed it up even more. If you are using the metric system, just use a scale and not a measuring cup. Put the bucket on a scale, zero out the scale (or just subtract the weight of the bucket). 1 ml of water = 1 gram 1 kg water = 1 litre Use the shower nozzle to fill up the water on the scale. And then do like the other commentator said, mark with a pen. To make it even faster in the future. Very fast way to measure water, if it’s half a litre or 10 litres or 100 litres.
I do this for our mop bucket and multipurpose spray! I figured out how much product to put in, marked with sharpie on the outside, then fill the rest with water every time.
Weighing the water works for inch/pound, too. In US (and I think the old UK/Imperial units too) the units are defined such that, FOR WATER, 1 fluid ounce (volume) = 1 ounce weight. So "a pint (16 fl oz) is a pound (16 oz wt) the world around". Other substances have different densities, so the exchange only really works with water. You could look up densities for different substances, or just do what the other commenter said and calibrate a bucket (same thing, really, but without the math).
It's the first time I really thought about securing my parents house from water in that way, I wasn't there in a long time, but we had an event like that many years ago. Good work as always and thanks for some ideas.
Well done, I wouldn't have thought of raising the entire walkway or putting a gutter inside but now I am. Are you going to post an small update on the driveway when it blooms next year? I'd really love to see it.
Will do for sure! It bloomed very early but it started at the front and then moved backwards over about 1 month. The lavender bloomed late in July. Next year must be much better. Its all covered now.
Great job, would love to have seen another rain episode to see the dam working. I admire how you get jobs done and have the ability to see the positive in all you do. That's a great skill in itself.
These sudden weather events are certainly increasing in frequency and severity, so you're right to get on this now and start mitigation measures wherever you can. That's a very elegant and practical solution to the problem and it looks like you've added extra in expectation that the next time it could be a little worse. I don't think most people would have had the rationality to study the flow dynamics while this was happening, but there's not much else a person can do until it's over. I'm sure this is going to protect your home for a good few years.
Great video! I had some flooding in my garage & home entrance way, so this has given me some ideas. Flood proofing existing homes will probably become a full time occupation in the future :)
Great video, the writing and editing were great. Impressed with your good cheer in the face of disaster, and the pragmatic solutions you constructed to manage the risks. Thanks for sharing, final fixes look great!
Great video, my only concern would be the edge of the steel dams. If anyone tripped and fell they would be very unforgiving. Perhaps a rubber/plastic rounded top on them? Maybe a thin pipe, cut so you can slide it on the top edge of the dam?
This is actually a good tip. You don't need huge dams, you only have to be higher than your surroundings. I am planning some dams in my garden as well (being located next to a small river) and this helps me a lot.
I agree....good video and great solutions.....just a bit surprised that he didn't apply any paint on the 2 long metal strips that were put into the ground in the garden
I saw your garbage train a while ago and never really thought about it again. But I just today it got recommended to me again which led to me watching your most recent videos which were very good and I will now watch your back-catalogue.
Great video! I especially love that you show how to actually do the stuff. I learned a lot about paving and whatever. It certainly looks a lot more professional than what my father did when he paved some parts of the garden - and probably also holds up way better 🙈
I did a little bit of paving with my dad when I was 9 years old. Back then he couldn’t just google it or watch a RU-vid video. That was so much harder!
Really enjoyed your video Max. It is important to keep the water out permanently, as this effects the value and desirability of your house. You don't really want temporary things like sand bags or clip in flood barriers. I would love to hear how you get on at the next big flood.
Hope you won't get so heavy rain that causes rivers to appear on your street. But if it does aby chances you upload a video of how well your upgrades are handling? :) I am having constant floods of my basement so I might use some of your ideas 😂
I experience my first tropical storm a few weeks ago. 5 inches of rain in a day. I only had to worry about the water running off my house because my house is several feet above street level.
@@TomsBackyardWorkshopyou have to have soakaways on your property. Any water that falls onto your property you are responsible for getting it into the ground. This is the rule in the UK. Drains in the road are only for rain that falls on the road. Sewers are only for wastewater, not rainwater.
I love all the updates at the end, it was the nice surprise I didn't expect. Also nice to see the progress in all the projects, like oh I remember that video, oh and that one too. Thank you for sharing
Sorry you had that flood to deal with and yes good job it was only rain water. Also much respect to you for your positive attitude in tackling the problem - great job - well done!!! I wish you well for the future and a dry safe home.
Flooding is the next worse thing after a fire imo. In some places in the UK now its that bad people can't easily get insurance for it. Glad you got yours sorted. One question. At the bottom of the window outside, would it be better to go a little deeper and then install either a drain or gravel to allow the water to drain away? :)
That was puzzling to us. We dug as deep as we could and we never found a bottom. It seems as if its just open ended which doesn’t make any sense. But there is probably a drainage pipe somewhere down there.
Would a clear plastic window well covering with a rubber gasket seal be more effective in keeping rain water out in the first place? Then have proper drainage around the well?
I love your videos of home improvement projects - please update us when it floods again! PS: The phrase is "WHAT it looks like" not "how it looks like" :)
Interesting that your basement window is not also an emergency exit. Seemed a little scary when you were under there worried about getting out! At least here in our county in the US we have to have an emergency exit window or a walk out door for basement emergencies.
We have a second staircase exit but that is much higher than the street. This window is totally unnecessary. I think it is only there if there was a fire, then the firemen could push or pull smoke through there. No quite sure.
@@MaxMakerChannel That's neat, here in the Netherlands you just have to pay for everything yourself and any choices you make to be able to live in the same house when you're older don't really add any value. Much better for the economy when stuff like that is subsidized!
When sparks happen when welding it means that the surface is too hot or your welder is too hot. It basically means air pockets form in the welding rod.
Nice work on the outside. In Minnesota, we use clear plastic hoods for our basement windows to keep the snow out. We also put a 3"x4' board sideways so the any reptile or mouse can use it as a ladder to climb back out.
Great video!! Good on you for learning new skills, and for doing it yourself instead of waiting on the city to come do it (probably why the last people moved out.)
Bravo, sir, good job on all of it. The only thing that I will add and it really is for a once in a 100 year storm, is to get an extra pump and long hose, to place in the front yard, to get rid of the water, hopefully before getting into the home.
Great job! I live in a small town called Lismore in Australia. Our floods last year peaked at 14.4 metres. Many people have decided to redesign their houses to be flood ready... not so much flood proof. Given the current climate situation I think videos and content like this is very important. Many thanks for sharing. Big ups from down under!
Yeah it went over some two storey houses! People have rebuilt their houses with materials that can be easily cleaned and dried. No gyprock! Wood, steel and rubber only. Emergency exists are pretty important, eg a mini deck outside a window where a boat can pick you up from. Many people were stuck in their roof cavities as the flood water rose... so now they have exists in the roof also. A few people just put a little boat in their backyard to be sure. Google Lismore flood if you want to see some photos, it was insane! @@MaxMakerChannel
Just discovered your channel, it increased how much i want to buy a house and customize it myself too ! I'm happy i've stumbled upon it and i'm happy that you seem to enjoy yourself upgrading your house ! I'll check your other videos because the trashcans rolling outside made me curious i have to admit
Great Idea, we never had this kind of issue with our house, because the windows are all at least 10cm above the ground. Just in case I used the garden in front of the house as a water barrier, by planting a hill of Roses, Blackberries and Rasberries. So even if ther will come some flood from the street, it will happily continue to flow down the street. As we have some interesting kind of rain in this part of northern lower saxony, which means either a little dribbling rain or very rarely flood rain like in your video, i think there is a need to prepare. Please do more like this Projects and post them and when you like to see a real garbage railway, i'll show you my project some time. Thanks a lot and best wishes to Lübeck and the river Wakenitz
This channel is amazing, building things that genuinely make your life easier all while subsidising the cost through youtube. I’ve been a fan for a while and will continue to be for a very long time 👍👍
What a fascinating video. I’ll watch some more of yours. Great work to fix the problem, and recognising all you can do is divert the water, nature will do what it does no point trying to stop it.
NIce build! One thing I noticed was the grate over the basement window. when you were cleaning it out, it got me thinking about a screen or maybe a grate with smaller holes. wouldn't want that pump in there getting clogged
When we pulled up the original path we found pebbles as a underlayment. I think the very last bit of the brickwork, so just the path was made in a rush. There were large gaps and the rounded path didn’t fit at all. Probably the last thing that was finished at the house.
Had a v similar issue and did the same. I also changed all the block paving for gravel and installed French drains as the water can still top the dam in really bad storms