Factors for the design of novel property-level flood resilient products:The dado wallboard

Abstract

Community-level flood protection cannot guarantee property owners are free from flood risk, hence, it is the responsibility of property owners themselves to take appropriate action to ensure their properties are suitably protected by flood resistant and/or flood resilient measures. There are many flood products and avenues available for property owners to choose. This article introduces and describes the new Dado Wallboard property-level flood resilient product. It offers several practical advantages over existing internal building designs and fabrics, namely: (i) it is made from waterproof material and, as such, does not need to be replaced when a building has been flooded; (ii) it is mechanically fixed to the building wall substructure so that it remains in place when immersed in floodwater; and (iii) a movable dado rail and movable skirting board allow access into the cavity formed between the dado board and wall substructure and this allows both sides of a wall to be dried simultaneously. The product also offers socio-economic benefits, namely: (i) it reduces post-flood building reinstatement costs because fabric replacement is not necessary; and (ii) the wall drying procedure may reduce the overall time buildings are unoccupied. © 2012 WIT Press.