Everyday tape is far better than sandbags at stopping floodwater getting in through front doors, according to new research from Flood Re and the University of Hull.
Tests at the university’s PFRlab, a dedicated flood resilience testing facility developed with support from Flood Re and the Environment Agency, found that every type of tape studied outperformed traditional sandbags when applied to the outside of a doorway. The tapes tested were flood putty tape, duct tape, aluminium tape and yellow plastic tape.
Flood putty tape, similar to butyl tape, performed best and was up to 10 times more effective than sandbags under test conditions. High-quality wide duct tape cut leakage by 97% to 98% compared with an unprotected door, and offered the best mix of performance, cost, durability and ease of use. Even the weakest tape reduced leakage by 80%, against 70% for sandbags.
Researchers tested six common door types at flood depths of up to 600mm, replicating the kind of low-level flooding seen in Hull in 2007. That event damaged more than 8,600 homes and 1,300 businesses.
Temporary demountable barriers gave mixed results. When fitted correctly they could provide full protection, but they were hard to fit without specialist skills, so outcomes ranged from complete protection to failure.
Door design also mattered. Under test conditions, a standard outward-opening door let in 74% less water than an inward-opening one, before any extra protection was added. Tape applied to the outside of a door worked much better than tape on the inside.
“Sandbags remain a symbol of flood protection, but these tests turn that assumption on its head,” said Jonathan Kassian, head of flood resilience at Flood Re.
Flood minister Emma Hardy said simple, affordable products like tape could make a real difference for communities.
The findings target the fastest-growing flood risk. The Environment Agency estimates 4.6 million people are at risk of surface water flooding, and the National Flood Risk Assessment identifies low-depth surface water flooding as the fastest-growing flood risk facing households.
Flood Re stressed that temporary measures such as tape are no substitute for permanent, professionally specified property flood resilience where it is needed. The research forms part of its work on Flood Performance Certificates, designed to help homeowners understand their flood risk and what they can do about it.
The research caps a Flood Action Week focused on resilience. Earlier this week, Aviva estimated that building basic flood resilience into new homes could save £60 million over ten years. Flood Re also named Simon Green as its new chair, as it prepares for the scheme’s planned end in 2039.
For home insurance brokers, the findings give clients in flood risk areas a cheap, practical step they can take now: keeping flood putty tape or high-quality duct tape at home, and knowing how to apply it to the outside of external doors.
That advice matters more as Flood Re heads towards 2039 and the market moves towards risk-reflective pricing. Showing that a home has resilience measures, temporary or permanent, is likely to become a bigger factor in getting cover and price. For clients with inward-opening doors in risk areas, the finding on door direction is also worth raising when they replace doors.
