Decks & Patios in Northridge
Patios and decks in Northridge set below the stucco weep screed and sloped from the door, so the wall can drain and the floor outside stays dry.
The weep screed at the foot of a stucco wall is where a Northridge patio has to leave water a way out. That thin metal edge lets moisture drain from behind the plaster, and a slab poured up against it traps the water inside the wall. Setting the patio low enough, sloping it toward the yard and keeping the door sill dry lets the floor outside run straight on from the room.
Keeping the wall able to drain
Building code asks for a clear 2 inches between paving and the weep screed, so the patio height is set from that line as well as from the door. Where the existing grade already sits too high, the soil is cut back before any base goes in. A slot drain can run along the house side of the slab to catch what flows toward the wall, with its outlet piped out to the yard. On a raised wood deck, the ledger is flashed and spaced off the stucco so water behind it can still fall clear.
Carrying rain across and away
Concrete or pavers get a gentle fall away from the house, enough to move water without a chair rocking. Downspouts that once emptied onto an old lawn are tied into solid pipe and carried past the patio edge. Planting beds against the wall get a lower soil line so irrigation does not soak the plaster. At the far edge, the patio can end in gravel or at a drain inlet, depending on how the rest of the lot sheds water after a hard storm. Each of these lines is drawn on the site plan.
Decks & Patios in Northridge: what people ask
Close to level, with one condition: the slab still has to clear the weep screed and fall away from the door. On many houses that leaves a small step at the sill, which a slot drain and a wide threshold make easy to cross. A raised wood deck has more room to match the floor height.
A solid roof with a built-in gutter gives the most shade and sends its rain to a single downspout, which suits a patio already planned around drainage. Adjustable louvers shut against rain and open for light. A slatted pergola filters glare well but lets water through, so the paving under it must drain on its own.
Usually, when the cover attaches to the house or the deck stands high off the yard. LADBS, the City of Los Angeles building department, reviews Northridge drawings and inspects footings and framing. A flat patio at grade is often simpler to approve, and the scope for the address is confirmed before drawing.
Decks & Patios in other cities
More of what we build in Northridge
Start your project in Northridge
Send the form with the size of the space and what you want to change.