Rooftop Project Progress

This our house. It has a flat (well, it’s slanted slightly to drain) TPO roof.

It’s got stairs going up to it which is nice.

It’s not that’s useful and collects a ton of leaves but we still try. Yoga and cats.

Catwalking the parapets.

We saw potential and we thought: what if our roof was our backyard? After lots of iteration we came up with this design.

The ideal shaded and private outdoor hangout.

With a walkway to a smaller sundeck surrounding a large turf area for lounging, lawn games, and pets.

And a great space to host dinners outdoors.

So we found a contractor (he also built the house!), drew up some plans, ordered the material, and got started.

11/19/20 - First we had to add crickets (ramps made of TPO roofing) to prevent water from pooling in the corners and encourage good drainage.

The crickets were a needed investment to make the roof safe from leaks over the longterm. However the crickets are uneven and unsightly so they'll need to be covered by decking.

12/18/20 - All materials arrive (took longer than anticipated due to lumber and composite shortage) and deck construction begins!

12/19/20 - Deck framing going in and getting leveled.

Starting to take shape.

12/20/20 - House is looking festive.

12/21/20 - A bit more framing. Supports buffered by TPO to enable drainage.

Mai surveys progress.

12/23/20 - Decking beginning, wall lights installed, electricity on the roof!

Unrelated but the driveway gates are finally here!

12/25/20 - Santa brought a drone

Deck edge boards, well lights, outlets, and wall lights installed.

Electric work plans

Won’t be so bright white pretty soon.

12/28/20 - Pergola posts installed and more decking

The pergola post are 10 feet high

12/29/20 - Deck is nearly done and is looking nice

12/31/20 - Pergola is coming together now

Mai loves exploring under the deck (eventually we’ll block that off)

1/2/21 - Happy New Years! More pergola progress. Realized that making one half totally waterproof will be a bit more complex than we thought given the design is for a flat roof pergola. Decided to go with a “double” roof with a hidden, inclined TPO later on top.

Noting the pergola’s impact on the home’s facade.

1/7/21 - Pergola is done!

Staining has to wait a month or two for the wood to fully dry out

Fabric layer installed that keeps leaves and cats from going under the deck.

1/15/21 - Added the airfield layer so water can pass beneath the turf. The fabric holds the airfield system in place.

No more visible TPO roofing

1/18/21 - The turf is in!

Really close to done (other than staining the pergola and painting the parapet walls which will be later)

1/23/21 - Lights and fan installed!

Still waiting on dimmer for the lights. The path and sconce lights are a bit too bright.

Staining the pergola and painting the walls is all that’s left!

Painting finally started 4/7/21

Looks great with the black and cedar stain

More furniture added. Thanks article!

Evenings on the roof

Badminton