flood waters queensland

It is amazing seeing the pics of a low set with water lapping the gutters next to a highset with the water below the floor boards. Highsets were built for a number of reasons as you say and flood was one of them.

We have Industrial lots currently opening on flood plains here...just a matter of time....

Getting back to richards original point.

Although there is mucho rainfall up north at certain times there is also mucho mucho evaporation for the remaining 280 days a year. Any system of collection, storage, transport and storage would need to be covered - making an expensive system into an astronomically expensive system.

Australia is a land of drought and flooding rains - we need to deal with it not change it.

Even simple things such as greg mentions building houses on stumps as opposed to cheap quick besser block junk that gets thrown up everywhere up here.

Steve

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Originally Posted by greg smith

looking on the news and internet,alot of newer homes inundated older style highset[much better suited to QLD living surrounded but with dry floors??? Maybe someone forgot to tell the builders, councils etc that we live in a high rainfall,low rainfall,drought,flooding and cyclone prone area. Are we going to hear from the doomsdayers next[global warming] I suppose it is not going to make it drier now but wetter and cause flooding. Nothing to do with a cyclical weather pattern, as for moving water around ----live where it suits you best...;);)

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Greg,my thoughts exactly.Not only lowset which are totally inadequate for Qld's weather but at lot being built now have no eaves and come a hailstorm which happen regularly here in the south east bang go all the windows.Might be all right down south but out of place up here.

As with most things, it comes down to price. Low set slabbies of brick veneer, with concrete roof tiles are the cheapest form of domestic construction. One would have to be an eccentric millionaire to build a decent sized hardwood Queenslander today given the price of quality timber and the scarcity of good sized pieces.

Last week during the worst of the flooding at Dalby I was talking to a mate who lives up there. He mentioned that all the new construction up there to cope with the influx of population to the coal and gas fields are low set slabbies and all were flooded. He says the building code now makes it near impossible to build a high set on stumps as the piers/stumps are required to go down over 5 metres. Too expensive. This is to prevent building movement on the reactive clay soils of the district. In the past, the timber houses were flexible and moved around as the stumps moved with the soil shifts. You may have to level them up every couple of decades if they got badly out of whack.

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

As with most things, it comes down to price. Low set slabbies of brick veneer, with concrete roof tiles are the cheapest form of domestic construction. One would have to be an eccentric millionaire to build a decent sized hardwood Queenslander today given the price of quality timber and the scarcity of good sized pieces.

Last week during the worst of the flooding at Dalby I was talking to a mate who lives up there. He mentioned that all the new construction up there to cope with the influx of population to the coal and gas fields are low set slabbies and all were flooded. He says the building code now makes it near impossible to build a high set on stumps as the piers/stumps are required to go down over 5 metres. Too expensive. This is to prevent building movement on the reactive clay soils of the district. In the past, the timber houses were flexible and moved around as the stumps moved with the soil shifts. You may have to lebvel them up every couple of decades if they got badly out of whack.

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Now those by laws are just crazy.My home ( Old Queenslander on 2nd set of wooden stumps) was erected in 1870 and still going strong and I am on the renowned Ipswich black soil. The so called learned experts of today leave me speechless.

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Originally Posted by Disco44

Now those by laws are just crazy.My home ( Old Queenslander on 2nd set of wooden stumps) was erected in 1870 and still going strong and I am on the renowned Ipswich black soil. The so called learned experts of today leave me speechless.

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Yes, it was the flexibility that gave the houses longevity and also cyclone resistance. Rigid construction cracks with movement or explodes with sudden shifts in barometric pressure during cyclones.

We have Industrial lots currently opening on flood plains here...just a matter of time....[/QUOTE]

Referring to all the development in Brendale perhaps? This was taken in October down on Kremzow rd where they have the Toyota holding yard. Several cars had floated up and washed into one another.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

A very clever feature on Defender's is all the holes built in to let water out.

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Originally Posted by kenleyfred

We have Industrial lots currently opening on flood plains here...just a matter of time....

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Referring to all the development in Brendale perhaps? This was taken in October down on Kremzow rd where they have the Toyota holding yard. Several cars had floated up and washed into one another.
http://184.72.239.143/mu/c0947551-c3aa-e388.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/c0947551-c4b9-b118.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/c094754f-c4d2-be0e.jpg

A very clever feature on Defender's is all the holes built in to let water out.[/QUOTE]

That was exactly what I was referring to. I was on a trip out west when that happened so I missed it. What genius let them build down there???? Struth!

i was thinking along the lines of just channeling the wet season water inland and down the murray etc

Good report on the Amercialn news highlighting the Queensland "northern oztralian" floods. They mentioned the affected area is bigger than the state of Texas - which should put it into perspective for them as Texas is the 2nd biggest state (after Alaska).