If your home is prone to flooding during heavy rains, enough sandbags and a tarp in the right spot can mean the difference between dry floors and waterlogged carpets. When well-placed, sandbags in front of your door can help keep minimal floodwaters and debris away from — and out of — your home. However, sandbags must be properly filled and set up to protect your house from water damage so learning how to properly sandbag a door is crucial.
Important note – If a storm threatens, the County will announce sandbag distribution locations and times. The opening of distribution sites depends on a storm’s intensity and the area it is projected to affect.
Hillsborough County will only distribute 10 sandbags per household.
Tips for filling sandbags
- Bring a friend to a sandbag distribution site. If the site does not have a sandbag machine and requires you to fill your own, it is a two-person job. One person must hold the sandbag open while the other shovels sand into it. Sandbags will be easier to fill with the help of a friend.
- Fill the sandbags halfway to two-thirds full. Do not overfill them. Doing so can create gaps in stacked rows of sandbags. Tie the tops of the bags so that the sandbags will lay flat when in place.
- If the sand is very dry, eye protection in the form of safety goggles may come in handy.
Setting up sandbags and tarp to divert water
Follow these steps to sandbag a door and protect your home as much as possible from flooding:
- Place a plastic tarp in front of the flood prone door. The tarp will serve as a liner. This is an essential step – the sandbags alone will not seal off or stop flood water.
- The tarp should reach higher than the height of the expected flood and go under the row(s) of sandbags. The tarp should be affixed to the door and doorframe. Heavy-duty waterproof tape can be used for this.
- Arrange the first row of sandbags horizontally across the entire doorway, flush with the exterior of the house. Flatten the sandbags so they fit as tightly as possible against the exterior of the house and doorway.
- If more than one row is needed, stack the next row of sandbags on top of the first. Rows should be staggered, like rows of bricks in a wall. All rows of sandbags should be flush with the exterior of the house and door.
- Flatten the sandbags as you put them in place. This can be done by stepping on them. It’s important to stack the bags securely and to try to seal any cracks in the bags.