Bono Consulting Civil Engineers is the local industry leader in the field of site drainage and grading plans for new single family houses. Since 1997 we have prepared the site plans for over 1,500 new stand-alone single family homes. Each home is different and each site is unique. We work with the owner, builder and architect to design the grading around the site with as much attention to detail that is put into designing the house.
The goal is to design the site grading to protect the owner’s house from flooding and have a useable, well draining yard that does not have ponding areas, in a manner that does not impact the neighbors, is compliant with the municipal code, and can be constructed within the allowable construction budget.
Our crews will first perform a detailed topographic survey of the existing property. This will include surveying grades throughout the property on a grid. This also includes surveying onto the adjacent properties to determine the overall drainage patterns for the property and the immediate neighbors. If the property is lower than he neighboring properties, the proposed design will need to continue to accept that water from the neighboring properties. Our survey will also include locating visible utilities including opening manholes and measuring sewer inverts. We will locate significant trees on the property, and if required by the community, we will have the trees identified by an Illinois Licensed Arborist.
After the topographic survey is completed, we will work with the Architect to finalize the design of the house. Depending on the existing topography, the surface grade may be different on different sides of the house. This may then require steps in the foundation, brick ledges, or joist ledges. We will design the grades for the patios, terraces, driveways and sidewalks. We will design the new utility connections for storm, sanitary and water. We will design the grades around the house including side yard drainage swales that direct the water away from the adjacent properties.
Each community has different requirements for the engineering plans. Some communities including Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Chicago, Lagrange, Riverside and Western Springs will not allow storm water into their sewer systems. In these cases, the storm water has to be handled by infiltration including dry wells, rain gardens and French drains, and having an overflow that drains to the street. Some communities including Winnetka, Northfield, Northbrook, Deerfield and Glencoe require storm water detention facilities. This is typically accomplished by installing either large diameter pipes under the lawn or driveway, or by installing a surface detention area in the rear or front lawn. This is commonly done in the front yard between the legs of a circular driveway. In Lagrange, the designs must compensate for the storage of the groundwater displaced by the new basement. In Highland Park, Riverwoods, Deerfield and Elmhurst all the downspouts must be connected to the Village storm sewer system. In Park Ridge, Glenview, DesPlaines, Niles and Morton Grove yard drainage must be collected by a storm drain and tied into the Village sewer system.
Site Design Engineering Chicago | Storm Water Management Engineering Chicago
Site Design Engineering | Storm Water Management Engineering