StormMeister’s expanded premises and new testing facilities is allowing the company to take flood protection above and beyond industry standards
The flood protection industry has a number of companies that produce a wide range of flood protection products. Principally divided into two sectors, property level flood protection for residential properties and property level flood protection for industrial and commercial properties.
Usually, these products typically protect from up to 600mm of floodwater. The commercial/industrial property level protection tends to use industrial type protection, giving a higher level of protection, mainly with industrial-type barriers, however, this can be unsightly.
Therefore, StormMeister has identified a significant gap in the market for a higher level of flood protection that can be offered by products, that will not look out of place on residential or commercial properties such as shops, hotels, care homes and restaurants. StormMeister recognised the significant requirements for such products after being contacted by numerous specifiers.
StormMeister has expanded its premises
StormMeister has recently expanded premises and taken on a much larger space. The extra space has allowed for a new testing facility to be constructed, meaning we can test our products in specific situations.
We now have a total of 13 testing tanks, six of which are in our new facility. Of those, two allow products to be tested up to a water depth of two metres, a previously unseen feat within the industry. Still with plenty of space to further expand and build more testing tanks if necessary. All this means that we can continue to test our existing and future products up to our exacting standards under varying conditions.
Rapid assembly flood barrier
There has a been a specific demand, from a national specifier, for flood protection to a height of 1800mm. We have therefore been testing our rapid assembly flood barrier with amazing success to a height of 1800mm. Surprisingly, the barrier has not required any additional compression in order to resist the extreme pressure of that height of water.
During testing, we have made significant discoveries concerning the polymer-based sealants used extensively in the flood protection industry. At heights of water considerably in excess of the 600mm industry standard it is essential to prepare the masonry surfaces with an approved primer. It is also important to allow the polymer-based sealants to fully cure before testing, rather than just surface cure. From our experience, there needs to be a full two weeks between installation and testing to extreme heights of water.
It is important to note that while silicone sealant can be used for glazing flood protection products, it is essential to use polymer-based sealant and not silicone when fixing flood protection products to masonry.
StormMeister 800
The new StormMeister testing facility will allow continuous development and therefore continuous improvements to existing products. The StormMeister 800 is now our standard inward opening flood protection door, taking water to a height of 800mm, which is 200mm higher than the industry standard of 600mm.
Demand from specifiers has prompted StormMeister to develop products to even greater heights of floodwater where structural integrity of the building to be protected allows. StormMeister products resistant to greater heights of water are only available to professionally qualified specifiers.
Along with doors and barriers, StormMeister is also testing flood windows to a depth of 1800mm, which can be fixed in place using multiple different methods.
In addition, testing is proposed on a self-raising and self-lowering flood barrier that is being produced by another manufacturer. The barrier works well as a scale model and is now being manufactured at full scale ready for a full-scale testing.
Jordan Rawlinson
Head of Design
William M Snape Manufacturing Service (UK) Limited T/A StormMeister® Flood Protection
Tel: +44 (0)1772 704429
*Please note: This is a commercial profile
