TRADA has renewed calls to raise the ground floor of homes in risk areas using post and beam construction while also providing car parking or storage beneath.
So-called "floatable" houses have been adopted in Holland, and TRADA believes they could be an option in the UK as a Flood Avoidance measure rather than the Flood Resilience option outlined by the Department for Communities & Local Government in the wake of the 2007 floods.
TRADA outlined the guidance in one of its own Construction Briefings in 2009, but marketing and membership manager Rupert Scott believes it is now a "common sense and customer" issue.
"Events have been so extreme it does not need a great deal of external input to take this seriously. When you see the prime minister out and about, you know it has crossed the line," he said.
"Houses are built by customers and people are going to be pretty wary about buying near a river. It does not have to detract from the look of the house and the cost implication would be relatively small – I would think single digit – and that would negate the reduced value of a house that nobody would want to buy."
He added: "There are pros and cons to the use of timber in areas of high flood risk, but timber piles work well because they can cope with being submerged for weeks at a time and not be adversely affected."
