High Quality UPVC Guttering, Downpipes, Soffits & Fascias, Colour Matching & Woodgrain Finishes, Essex
image by Oxflood-6
What could be nicer than a neat and tidy paved area around your house, enhancing your homes appearance and preventing any mud or soil from being brought indoors via feet! Also the convenience of having off street parking where there is space available is a tempting thought. Who could envisage a problem with this set up?
Well you may be surprised to know that this type of home improvement could potentially put your property at risk of flooding. As we’re sure you’ve noticed, we get a fair amount of rain in this part of the world, and much as we like to ignore it or tell it to ‘go away and come again another day’ we need to manage it. Good quality guttering, and downpipes allow rainwater to drain from the structure in a controlled way, running away from the house and into drains. These systems have hardly changed since they first originated, as they were fashioned to be simple, effective and functional. They do an amazing job of protecting the home from the ravages of water damage including seepage, damp and mould. But there is now another issue, not often considered, which threatens both individual properties and entire neighbourhoods.
Nearly half of the homes within UK towns and cities have paved front or back gardens, and when it comes to patios there are an unbelievable 4,100 created each day. In recent years many home owners and families have chosen to add to their homes rather than move, for financial reasons. Extensions and conversions accelerated along with increased vehicle ownership making driveways a favourable place to park. Concreting of course effectively gets rid of any garden or lawn, presenting a bit of a problem during times of heavy rainfall and storms. This is because the excess water cannot drain down into the ground easily and street drains are overwhelmed with around 50% more water. The result? Flooding.
The popularity of paved over urban front gardens has grown hugely in the last ten years from 28 per cent to 48 per cent. Floods in 2007, devastated many parts of the UK and cost approximately £3 billion of damage. The Royal Horticultural Society advise that when tarmac and concrete replace soil around a home, there should be trees or bushes planted and even flower tubs to help soak up the rain if there is a downpour.