Changing Drainage Pattern to Remove Sump Pump in Altadena

We have another Altadena drainage plan where the goal was to not use a stormwater sump pump. The way the lot sits the existing stormwater used to drain all from the top of curb at the street to the rear of the property. When we can we try to raise the house so we reverse the drainage towards the street. Whether the rear requires a sump pump or not, if you can get less stormwater into the rear that means less water to handle.

We began by looking at the existing topography which the Altadena excavated lots are a bit different than usual for surveys. The contours go all over the place, so the main places to look are at the property lines. If we come up 1% minimum from the street we can easily gravity sheet flow to the street. This sets the garage finished floor. Stepping through the outer structure we then tie into the existing, raising 8” above the existing and that sets that house finished floor. From there we make our way around how to get as much stormwater to the front as possible. After asking the Architect if we can shift downspouts around we now have a good drainage pattern for what LA County is looking for.

If you have drainage plan comments for a fire rebuild in Altadena, contact us, we possibly can save a lot of money in construction costs with our approach. Skywood Circle Drainage Plan - View the full drainage plan showing gravity sheet flow design.