Sierra Madre, Los Angeles County
Retaining Walls, Drainage and Decks in Sierra Madre
Retaining walls, drainage and ember-resistant decks in Sierra Madre, engineered for the lot and reviewed by the city's own building department.
Projects planned along the inland mountain edge of the San Gabriel Valley account for hard sun, dry wind and the occasional heavy storm, and a Sierra Madre job is drawn with those general conditions in mind. What matters most is the lot itself. We read how water would move across it in a downpour, what holds the soil near the house, and whether parts of the parcel fall in a mapped fire hazard zone.
Turning storm water aside
If water can run toward the house from higher ground, the first defense is a swale or a lined channel that steers it around the structure. Behind a retaining wall, perforated pipe bedded in drain rock collects seepage and carries it to an outlet placed where it will not erode a neighbor's yard. Downspouts tie into solid pipe. Footings for a deck or addition go below loose surface soil to the depth the soils engineer sets, so a wet season does not soften the ground they bear on.
Deck details inside a mapped zone
On a parcel within a mapped fire hazard zone, a new deck follows ember-resistance rules. Boards come from listed composite, fire-retardant treated lumber or approved hardwood, and the underside is either closed in with approved panels or left open and free of stored items. Gutters take guards so dry leaves do not collect at the roof edge, and attic vents are fitted with ember-resistant screens. Sierra Madre has its own building department, and plans for Arcadia, Monrovia and Pasadena are prepared the same way for each city's review.
Work we take on in Sierra Madre
Each service is planned around the lot, sloped or level.
Cities nearby
Building in Sierra Madre?
Send the address and the job, and a builder will arrange a visit to read the lot.