Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga
Roof Deck Saga

A Philadelphia Roof Deck Makeover With a View

An avid gardener, our client’s beloved roof-top oasis had finally given way to old age. Our client had enjoyed a view of the Center City skyline from the roof deck outside her sun-filled third floor loft for a decade, but now she needed a complete solution, and quickly.The existing wooden frames of her glass panels were sun damaged, rotted, and leaked a little more with each new rainstorm. She had tried numerous times, working with a handyman and then a roofer but as the leaks persisted she turned to us for a wholistic approach. The biggest problem was that the windows were glass holes into her house, surrounded by a complex group of  tired materials that were no longer working together to keep weather out.

A Design-Build Approach for an Aging Roof Deck

Our client was open to having a design conversation with us about planning for an effective and holistic solution that would work together rather than a series of independent, subcontracted activities. Often, the best first step is a simple repair, but she understood that sometimes an old house system (her roof, skylights, glass panels and masonry walls) can't continue to be patched up -even when the failure seems to be coming from just one of those systems. Further, hiring a handyman or single trade specialists such as a roofer, mason, window installer, engineer, would not provide the combined warranty and peace of mind that she needed.

Read More: How Much Does it Cost to Build a Rooftop Deck in Philadelphia?

As part of a larger project including a new roof system, skylights, a full deck redesign and structural assessment, we organized a series of decisions for her to make and subsequent steps for us to take to rebuild the system of aging roof components. We would call this an "assembly". A design-build approach was helpful in understanding the house as a whole and assessing the relationship of the materials that we selected for the replacement assembly and the methods we applied by directing various trade specialties.

The roof deck had a new life! We celebrated with a staff party on the deck, the skyline lit behind us.

For more details on this Philly rooftop deck, take a look at our portfolio page

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