A flood damage-resistant material can sit in floodwater for at least 72 hours without needing more than cleaning or minor cosmetic repair. Federal flood guidance uses the term to sort which building materials are acceptable below flood level.
What Flood Damage-Resistant Means
Federal flood rules define a flood damage-resistant material as one that can handle direct and prolonged contact with floodwaters without significant damage. “Prolonged” means at least 72 hours. “Significant damage” means anything that needs more than cosmetic repair, such as cleaning, sanitizing, sanding, or repainting. The cosmetic repair also has to cost less than replacing the material.
Put simply, it’s the difference between a dish and a paper plate. After a soak, one gets washed and goes back in the cupboard. The other goes in the trash.
Flood Damage-Resistant Flooring Examples
Floors that fit the definition include clay tile, stone, or brick with waterproof mortar; solid vinyl with chemical-set adhesives; stained concrete; and terrazzo. Federal flood guidance rates cast-in-place concrete and formed-in-place epoxy and polyurethane flooring as acceptable, so a coated concrete floor qualifies too. Polished concrete is the slab itself, with nothing soft on top or underneath.
How a floor is installed matters as much as what it’s made of. Vinyl tile with chemical-set adhesive is acceptable over a concrete floor but not over plywood, because the wood underneath can’t take the soak.
On the other side of the line, the same federal guidance rates engineered wood, plastic laminate, solid wood, and carpeting as unacceptable below flood level.
Why Flood Damage-Resistant Flooring Matters in a Basement
The rules apply to buildings in mapped flood zones, but the idea is useful in any basement that takes on water. If your basement flooded once, it’s fair to plan for it happening again.
There’s a money angle too. Flood insurance under the federal program won’t pay a claim for finish materials in basements, even ones that are flood damage-resistant. Basement coverage below flood level is limited to things like furnaces and water heaters. If you’re paying to replace the floor yourself either way, one that only needs cleaning saves you the most.
Our guide to basement flooring after a flood compares carpet, LVP, and concrete finishes with this in mind. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) publishes the full guidance.
Flood Damage-Resistant FAQ
What type of flooring is most resistant to floods?
Stained, coated, or polished concrete, terrazzo, tile or stone set in waterproof mortar, and solid vinyl glued down with chemical-set adhesive all qualify as flood damage-resistant. They can sit in floodwater and come back with cleaning. Carpet, laminate, and engineered wood don’t qualify.
What materials can be used to prevent flooding?
Flood damage-resistant materials don’t keep water out. They just survive it. Keeping water out takes things like a working sump pump, good drainage, and grading that sends water away from the house.
Is luxury vinyl plank flood damage-resistant?
It depends on how it’s made and installed. Solid vinyl glued to concrete with chemical-set adhesive can qualify. Click-together planks that float over a foam underlayment let water collect underneath, so they often have to come up to dry.