Description

Specialist flood door manufacturer, StormMeister, has developed a ground-breaking flood door system, which uses the pressure of the flood water itself on gaskets to create a water-tight seal.

An evolution of StormMeister’s patented Active Flood Sealing system, its new solution extruded by Extrudaseal, can be applied during manufacture, eliminating any requirement for any specialist onsite installation.

Malcolm Snape, Managing Director, StormMeister explained: “Flood door designs traditionally rely on the compression of the door gasket to form a seal against water. This is achieved through the addition of extra locking points.

“The problem is that this can make operation difficult, requiring an element of force to compress the gasket using the handle, something which can make everyday operation problematic.

“Our patented Active Flood Sealing System, exploits the pressure created by the flood water to form a seal, with just two extra locking points and without compromising operation and day-to-day use.”

Developed in partnership with Lancaster University, the StormMeister system for inward opening doors employs complex single multi-chamber gasket to create a watertight seal.

This allows flood water to pass through an outer-frame gasket and then into a water chamber. As the water chamber floods, an expansion chamber is compressed – in effect using the pressure of the flood water itself to create a seal.

Now extruding more than 10,000 km of gaskets in the last year, alongside weather seals, Glazepta tapes and U-channels, pressure plates, box sections and bi-folding door seals for leading systems, plus an extensive ‘back catalogue’ of extrusions, ExtrudaSeal serves fabricators and installers nationwide.

Customers save an average of 30 to 40 per cent, on gaskets by buying product in from ExtrudaSeal, as a third party, compared to buying it from their systems company, claim ExtrudaSeal. In addition to its existing product offer, it also works with systems companies, fabricators and installers to develop bespoke solutions.

“I went down to see Extrudaseal and explained to them what I was trying to do. Keith, their technical manager, went out of the meeting and came back in with this flipper seal. It was exactly what we were looking for”, said Malcolm.

“We have since worked with Extudaseal and Lancaster University to take what started out as a two gasket solution installed on site, to develop a single solution which can be applied during manufacture.”

The StormMeister flood sealing system is available for use with Rehau profiles, however, subject to licencing agreement by patent holders StormMeister and their existing licencees the same principles have potential application to other PVC-U systems. Fully compliant with PAS1188, it’s been fully tested to withstand water up to a depth of 600mm for 48 hours.

“It’s a very challenging extrusion”, says Paul James, Sales Director, Extrudaseal. “What you’re dealing with is not only a multi-chamber extrusion but one with multiple dimensions and thicknesses, which make it a very technical product and one that requires a huge amount of skill to get right.

He continued: “If you’re trying to keep water out you need to extrude product to exacting tolerances, so this is never going to be a one size fits all product, but there’s no reason why the same principles couldn’t be applied to other systems”, he continued.

The wettest ever December saw 16,000 properties hit by flooding at the end of 2015, with northern and western parts of the UK registering more than double the average rainfall. According to accountancy firm KPMG, the loss of property and the disruption caused by Storm Desmond collectively cost more than £5bn.

In 2007 when a similar pattern of flooding hit, total insured claims were £3.2bn. At the same time Britain continues to build an average of 10,000 homes a year on floodplains.