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Atrium Drainage

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Posted by drvenkman Florida (My Page) on
Mon, Apr 26, 10 at 10:46

Does anyone have any experience with an open sky atrium? I have a small 45 sq ft atrium in my house, with an exterior wall on one side and 3 sliding glass doors on the others. It is open to the elements and currently there are a few plants growing wild inside. The ground is covered in mulch. We just bought the house a little over a year ago and have not had the chance to work on it yet.

Last night it rained pretty bad and the atrium filled with water and flooded the house. There does not appear to be any way for water to drain out other than absorption into the ground. Any suggestions on what would help it drain better? More or less plants? Rocks or mulch? Any insight would be appreciated.

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RE: Atrium Drainage

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Way out of my depth, but in the year or so you've been in the house this is the first time you've experienced flooding with Florida rains?

Have you dug under the mulch to see if there's some kind of impervious surface? Maybe a previous owner had a tile floor or a small pool. Seems whatever it is, it's totally saturated now.

45 sq. ft. I'd end the agony of dreading future rains and put a roof with a skylight on it. Adding more mulch and plants won't do anything - many plants thrive in wet but they don't suck up excess water.

The only other thing I can see is a drain system and "weeps" cut into the exterior wall.

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