Is a rooftop terrace a good idea?
Comments (18)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMy experience?
Flat roof = leaks
Extra penetrations and walking on a flat roof = more leaks sooner
I'm probably less tolerant of leaking roofs than most people.
I'd build an observation tower instead. perhaps with a dumbwaiter installed to haul the cooler up and down.
PRO9 years agoRelated Discussions
Any ideas for rooftop balcony design?
Comments (4)Find a local designer who can help you, because everything you've mentioned adds up in terms of weight (planters full of wet soil, furniture) and lateral forces (pergola). I would want to know what my max allowable load was before picking a single pot....See MoreNeed Rooftop Deck Fencing ideas
Comments (10)As others have said, code first. Beyond that, what do you want your rail to do? Other than the obvious be safe and up to code. Be open and light like the old one? Do you wish it was taller or had some more screening effect for privacy? Do you happen to know how much weight your third story deck can handle? You might have some weight limitations to consider too when picking out materials....See MoreLos Angeles, planting zone 10b, coastal rooftop screen/vine ideas?
Comments (11)Anything in pots or planters is likely to need repotting at some point. So if you use climbing plants that get all through the fence you will have to cut them off in order to get them repotted. And as mentioned with climbing plants being used on an architectural feature like a fence there is a need for consistently undertaken pruning and training in order to get the plants to assume and retain the desired size and shape. In addition to the regular cleaning up, fertilizing and watering that any kind of live plants used in your situation would require. So I think instead you should continue in the general direction of the fake fig panels, wherein you identify and implement some kind of material or product other than living plants that will still make it so your fence is not see through. It doesn't have to be something that looks like plants, just something that will produce a screening effect. And look acceptable to you....See MoreSelf-watering wind-protected rain-fed rooftop tomato planter design.
Comments (7)I hate to be a Debbie downer but I think problems will come your way. Does your condo have an association and rules? You may have exclusive access to the roof but building a structure of any type may not fly. Lets say they let you build it. Now you have building codes to deal with, and the snow load and live load of the roof will need to be known. The snow loads in Canada are 50 or 60 pounds per square foot. Roof live loads are low at around 20 Lbs/sq/ft and may not of been built to carry and heavy live load, so you'll need to find the live load of the roof and an engineer to certify it will be safe. One square foot of your planter will weigh approximately 60 + lbs per square foot, or in excess of 960 lbs on 16 sq. ft. This will dead load only and snow load can't be used to determine safety, snow load is for snow load only. Anyway good luck, and 16" apart will work if they're smaller plants. Farmers plant processing (bush) tomato plants in their fields spaced 18" apart....See MoreRelated Professionals
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9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoWidow's walks were not uncommon on 19th Century homes overlooking the Long Island Sound where I used to live. Below is a modern mansion--9,000 sf. $24 million-- in the Hamptons overlooking the Ocean incorporating the design. (Though I'd bet they are non-functional.)
Photo: Kerrigan Country Realty
However, roof terraces are common indeed in the ritzier renovated sections of downtown Toronto where yards are uncommon and original flat roofs abound. The last time I put one on an old home, turned into a five-plex, we took some efforts to make sure it could be removed relatively easily to access needed roof repairs.Is it worth the extra expense? In the eye of the beholder.
9 years ago- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Afraid we were poor plebes from the barrier island south of Long Island--Long Beach, where my maternal grandparents lived in one of the still standing original homes. (There's a plaque at the front steps confirming the home's status.)
315 Penn St. W., Long Beach, N.Y.
Note the nearly Century-old roof terraces 100 meters from the Atlantic Ocean.
My earliest memories are of sun and sand and seaweed steps from the front door.
Which, as my sister documented a few years ago, can be in the front door.
Long Beach Boardwalk, re-arrangement courtesy of Storm Sandy
Later I lived in Plainview, Brentwood, Glen Cove, Greenvale and Upper Brookville. Peripatetic.(But my range is limited!)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRooftop terraces are very common on newer townhouses and duplexes in the area I live (South Florida/Miami). We are in the process of creating plans for a new townhouse and are definitely going to have a rooftop terrace. Because the lot sizes are relatively compact, a roof terrace provides an outdoor space for entertaining and privacy that the small lots usually don't allow for. We have been living in a townhouse with a 3rd floor terrace for the past 5 years and haven't experienced any leaks at all. I am attaching a few photos of what we hope our 3rd floor terrace is going to look like once we are done. Probably not THIS extravagant, but it's help to have a vision!
amygillis thanked Steam MIA- 9 years ago
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PROlast year
last year- last year
last year^agreed. I love the looks of those pedestal paver systems on commercial roof decks, but oh what a nightmare if you ever had to chase a problem.
Best to have the roof material be the deck surface. I am wobbling a bit from a vinyl membrane to a fiberglass roof/deck in my case. I think the printed designs are going to win out. This is a 60 MIL that is the front runner for now.
- last year
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