Restoration Services in Pine Lake, Dekalb County
Estate Solutions serves Pine Lake with restoration and remodeling - licensed GA GC #RBQA006428, IICRC certified. Call (404) 913-3030.
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Pine Lake: a 1930s lake resort that became DeKalb's smallest city
Pine Lake was marketed as a resort where people from greater Atlanta could escape the big city. In 1935 the Pine Woods Corporation began selling tiny 20' x 100' lots around a small lake for $69.95, and by 1937 the development had incorporated as a city. Today it sits about 12 miles east of downtown Atlanta, just off Rockbridge Road, with a population of around 750 on less than a quarter of a square mile, which makes it the smallest city in DeKalb County. In its first decade the town was tents, trailers and a few one-room cabins with wells and outdoor plumbing; later two or three lots were combined, rooms were added, city water, sewer and gas lines were run, and more owners began living there all year. A repair on one of these houses often means working on several eras of construction at once, next to a lake and wetlands the city manages closely.
City of Pine Lake rules that come up during a repair
Zoning review first, then the permit
The city's permitting page lists a zoning compliance review by the zoning official, then the building permit application, plan review by the city's building code consultant (currently SAFEbuilt), separate trade permits for electrical, plumbing and HVAC, inspections, and a final certificate. Pine Lake's building code follows the DeKalb County code and the International Building Code, with local additions in Chapter 18 of the city code. Section 18-5 of that chapter says no new construction or renovation may start without a building permit.
The pre-planning form answers the first question
Pine Lake notes that it is not always obvious which of those steps a project needs, so it offers a short online Construction Pre-Planning Review form that goes to the City Administrator, who follows up about the process to use. For rebuilding after a loss, sending that form early is the plainest way to learn what the city will ask for.
Flood plain and stream distance go on the application
The construction checklist asks for a site plan that shows whether the lot is in the flood plain and how far it is from any stream. If water came in from outside, look the address up on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center before describing the loss to an insurer, so the claim and any later permit describe the same event.
A tree permit can apply even after a storm
Under the city's tree rules, removing a Landmark Tree, or disturbing the ground in the Critical Root Zone of a Boundary Tree, requires a Tree Removal Permit. A Hazardous Tree may be removed without one, but if the city later finds that a tree taken down was not hazardous, the tree article applies to that removal. Photograph the trunk, the break and the root plate before a fallen or leaning tree is cut up.
Building materials in the yard need an active permit
Pine Lake's code makes it unlawful to use a residential property for open storage of building material unless the material is being applied to the property under a current building permit. Drywall, lumber or roofing staged in the yard during a rebuild should therefore line up with an open permit.
Gas lines, power outages and the Clubhouse
Gas heats about two-thirds of occupied homes in the city, so a tree on a meter or a smell of gas after a storm is a call to 911 before any repair. The city's emergency page says the Courthouse and the Clubhouse are connected to a backup generator and can be opened in a major power outage or weather event, when the Mayor and Police Chief decide it is needed.
Pine Lake's lake, wetlands and Snapfinger Creek
A spillway built for a major flood
In 2011 the city received a streambank restoration grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, working with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority. The project reshaped the bank between the lake and the creek, dredged the eastern part of the lake where nearly all of the silt settles, added a bioretention feature west of the Gazebo where a drainage ditch used to be, and lowered the road between the lake and the Western wetlands to create a spillway in the event of a major flood. The city describes the result as a significant drop in flood risk.
Constructed wetlands that clean creek water
The Eastern Wetlands are constructed wetlands. A control valve decides when, and how much, water from Snapfinger Creek is let in; the water slows in a desedimentation pond so heavy particles settle, then moves through culverts and valves into the wetlands, where plants and other living things filter it before it reaches the lake.
Lake levels are a Public Works job
Pine Lake's Public Works staff maintain the lake and wetlands, adjust water flow and lake levels according to the weather, take water samples, and coordinate with DeKalb County Watershed Management. Water and sewer mains in the city are DeKalb County's: the county's watershed department provides water and sewer service across DeKalb, so a main break or a public sewer backup is reported to the county before interior work begins.
What goes down a storm drain is watched
The city monitors Pine Lake and Snapfinger Creek for pollutants and is part of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. Its stormwater page warns that illicit discharges and illegal dumping can bring fines of up to $1,000 per day. Wash water, debris and drywall dust from a cleanup belong in containers, not in the street or the creek.
Storm reports filed under Pine Lake
July 2016: trees down across southeast DeKalb
NOAA's Storm Events Database records a thunderstorm on July 11, 2016 that blew trees down across southeastern DeKalb County, in a report that begins at Pine Lake.
August 2020 and July 2021: trees and power lines
On August 3, 2020 a few trees and power lines were reported down across the northern part of the county from Chamblee to Pine Lake. On July 9, 2021 another storm blew a few trees down from Gresham Park to Pine Lake. In a city this wooded and this small, one large tree can reach a house, a car and a neighbor's fence at once, and each owner's insurer may handle a different part.
Pine Lake houses in the census survey
Built mostly in the 1940s and 1950s
The 2020–2024 American Community Survey counts about 539 housing units. About 36.5% were built in the 1940s and 18% in the 1950s, with 7.6% from 1939 or earlier; the median year built is 1953. Another 11.3% date from 2000 to 2009 and 9.3% from the 1970s. When reporting a loss, say what has already been updated (wiring, supply and drain lines, roof decking) so storm or water damage can be separated from original materials.
Small detached houses, owned and rented
About 82.2% of units are detached houses, and small buildings of three or four units add about 8%. Of 443 occupied homes, about 60.3% are owner-occupied and 39.7% rented. The median home has 5.1 rooms and the median value of owner-occupied homes is about $296,200. Utility gas heats about 66.6% of occupied homes and electricity 29.8%.
Pages that match a Pine Lake loss
Water and storm
- Water damage restoration — Extraction, structural drying and the rebuild, explained step by step.
- Water damage restoration Decatur — The closest DeKalb city page for water losses.
- Storm damage repair — Wind, hail and fallen-limb repairs to roofs and siding.
- Storm damage restoration DeKalb County — Storm restoration across the county.
Fire, and around Pine Lake
- Fire damage restoration — Board-up, smoke and soot cleanup, then reconstruction.
- DeKalb County service area — Every DeKalb city page in one place.
- Avondale Estates — A 1920s planned town to the west, with its own historic review.
- Stone Mountain — Neighboring area guide.
- Decatur — DeKalb's county seat.
Pine Lake cottage or house damaged by a fallen tree, water or fire? Call (404) 913-3030 or use the contact page to describe the damage.
Sources for the local facts on this page
- City of Pine Lake: History (1935 lots, incorporation, size, location)
- City of Pine Lake: The Lake (2011 streambank restoration, dredging, bioretention, spillway)
- City of Pine Lake: The Wetlands (constructed Eastern Wetlands, Snapfinger Creek)
- City of Pine Lake: Stormwater Management (monitoring, illicit discharge, Metro Water District)
- City of Pine Lake: Public Works (lake levels, wetlands, DeKalb Watershed coordination)
- City of Pine Lake: Code Enforcement (tree removal permits, building permits, open storage)
- City of Pine Lake: In an Emergency (911, backup generator at the Courthouse and Clubhouse)
- City of Pine Lake: Permitting Requirements
- City of Pine Lake: Construction Application and Checklist (PDF)
- Census Reporter: Pine Lake, GA housing units, tenure, year built, rooms and value, ACS 2024 5-year
- Census Reporter: Pine Lake units in structure (B25024), ACS 2024 5-year
- Census Reporter: Pine Lake heating fuel (B25040), ACS 2024 5-year
- DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management (water and sewer service, system size)
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center (look up the flood zone for an address)
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events, event 653815: July 11, 2016 trees down across southeastern DeKalb County, beginning at Pine Lake
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events, event 910979: Aug. 3, 2020 trees and power lines down from Chamblee to Pine Lake
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events, event 963782: July 9, 2021 trees down from Gresham Park to Pine Lake
Restoration Services in Pine Lake, Dekalb County
Lakeside humidity needs real drying, not fans—expect moisture mapping, containment, and rebuilds that prevent recurrence.
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Pine Lake repair questions
Do I need a permit to remove a storm-damaged tree in Pine Lake?
Removing a Landmark Tree, or disturbing the Critical Root Zone of a Boundary Tree, requires a Tree Removal Permit. A Hazardous Tree may be removed without one, but if the city finds it was not hazardous, the tree article applies to the removal.
How do I find out which permit steps my Pine Lake repair needs?
Submit the city's online Construction Pre-Planning Review form. It goes to the City Administrator, who follows up about the process to use. Zoning review comes before the building permit, and trade work needs its own permits.
Did the 2011 lake project change flood risk in Pine Lake?
The city says the 2011 streambank restoration, which dredged the eastern part of the lake and lowered the road between the lake and the Western wetlands to form a spillway for a major flood, produced a significant drop in flood risk.