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Townhomes With 4th Floor Decks


jc281

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As an aside, I have the trex decking material on my roofdeck in Boston and I LOVE IT.

I installed it in 2000 and have had to do nothing to it since. It looks great, is comfrotable enough to walk on barefooted, and my neighbors with wood decks are constantly having to paint/sand/stain/etc...

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Strange request, but can anyone list off where this type of setup could be found in Htown???

With the garage on the 1st floor, 2 floors of living space, and a deck on top.

So far I've only seen this one, but I LOVE IT

www.midtownelevated.com

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Tricon has a similar floor plan. Has anyone asked how this flat roof (deck) is detailed to prevent leaking?

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There are some on 8th Street in the Heights with roof decks, also some going in on Canal Street just across 59 from downtown. I think it'll be the rage for awhile. Before buying do consider whether or not the drainage issue was addressed properly. Also your awesome view might be blighted if someone puts up something taller right next to yours.

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My roomies and I almost moved into one on Allston ( in South Heights) a few years back. The roof deck was neat, it was accessed by a permanent fire ladder and hatch though, not the stairwell.

It's too bad the rest of the place sucked because it had a pretty decent view of downtown.

I'm not really impressed with the rest of the floorplan.. and you shouldn't be either if this is a for roomate situation.

3 level new townhomes pretty much always screw it up for bedroom sizes, esp the lower floor one.

And that lower floor .. pssh.. lets add 100SF of grass to mow instead of making the downstairs bedroom livable.

And then we'll have the main entry have lots of glass, and face the neighbors driveway so that they can see right into that small bedroom.

.... Niiiiiice !!

Materials are nice.. thats about the only positive I see in this.

home2.jpg

Edited by Highway6
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I live in one of these houses near the Washington Corridor.

My house is Stonewater, but there are tons of these types of houses inside the loop near me, as well as the East End, Midtown, and Museum District.

Try Waterhill and Tricon. Waterhill I know is building some near me, as well as in the East End.

We really wanted this type of house, so we just drove around and looked for rooftop decks! :) Stonewater doesn't do much advertising (he just recently started putting his houses on har), we actually met Scott Coleman (one of the owners) while looking at another house that he was building across the street from.

Good luck!

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  • 3 months later...

They just built a row where I live. There are 5 of them... first floor is garage / office followed by two living floors and then a rooftop deck. It's in the Heights. They are located at the corner of 10th and Yale... called Courtyard at Yale. There are two rows of townhomes... the ones w/ the rooftop decks (the newer ones) are in the back, closest to Heights Blvd.

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They just built a row where I live. There are 5 of them... first floor is garage / office followed by two living floors and then a rooftop deck. It's in the Heights. They are located at the corner of 10th and Yale... called Courtyard at Yale. There are two rows of townhomes... the ones w/ the rooftop decks (the newer ones) are in the back, closest to Heights Blvd.

Well yes they are popping up everywhere especially through Waterhill. I went to look at the new community on Commerce directly behind minute maid park this weekend (The waterhill's have rooftop decks) and one of the neighbors said they are having lots of problems and Waterhill isn't fixing them. Tricon is also in the same complex and the realtor lady said Tricon has stopped building the rooftop decks because they were having problems with leaks. So I am wondering if this is the consensus and they are a bad idea? Any personal stories?

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Well yes they are popping up everywhere especially through Waterhill. I went to look at the new community on Commerce directly behind minute maid park this weekend (The waterhill's have rooftop decks) and one of the neighbors said they are having lots of problems and Waterhill isn't fixing them. Tricon is also in the same complex and the realtor lady said Tricon has stopped building the rooftop decks because they were having problems with leaks. So I am wondering if this is the consensus and they are a bad idea? Any personal stories?

Not sure who built the ones where I live... mine doesn't have a roof deck, so I don't know anything about leaks.

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having a flat roof in a wet climate definitely requires more from a homeowner. the last thing you want to have a flat roof built by mediocre builders. some of the ones i've seen use pool liners as the waterproof membrane. i would think that uv would be fairly harmful which means its life span might be surprisingly short.

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I just bought a 4 story townhome with a full floor rooftop deck just off of West Gray near Waugh. The views of downtown and uptown are awesome!!! I highly recommend the deck - I sit up there and read the paper and get on the internet and stuff when the weather is nice. It's pretty relaxing. I haven't had any issues with the flat deck and water problems, but then again, I just bought the thing, so maybe I should report back in a year or so

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...make sure you have a good inspector. Improper flat roof flashing/installation can be a nightmare, several years down the road. You'll have a nice view though...

This is true. The leak problems won't be because of the decking but rather a bad roofing job.

I live in an 1860s Victorian bowfront with a flat roof. When I added my roofdeck 6 years ago, I put on a new rubber roof and gutter system. Haven't had any problems at all. The key is making sure the roof is SOLID.

Also, with Houston's climate, I hope these new decks are utilizing the trex material. That is what I made my deck out of an I couldn't be happier. So much more carefree than wood!

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Just to add to the comments above...

I live in a townhome with a roof top deck. After a few months of moving in, I noticed a leak around the roof's drain, underneath on the third floor. Since then it has been a complete nightmare trying to chase down my builder to repair the problem. They initially tried several patch up solutions. Everytime they came back and made a repair, I was content thinking that would be the end of it. Now, 2 years later, after months of frustration, legal action, and hours of lost time, I have finally motivated the builder to tear up the whole terrace and add a metal liner and tar underneath a new set of roof tiles. Fingers crossed, so far, this seems to have solved the problem.

Now I am not the only one with this problem, and have since discovered from other neighbors and surrounding townhomes that they too had similar problems. The lesson is get a builder who has experience with projects involving such roof top terraces, and get an inspector that knows what to look for. In retrospect though, even though I had an inspector, I guess he had no way of checking what was underneath the tiles on the terrace, or confirming how it was constructed. Probably would be wise to inquire directly about the construction from the builder, or better yet, observe that part of the construction.

Despite all these nightmares though, if this repair finally holds up, I love the terrace. It is great for reading and lounging around. Just make sure you ask the right questions at time of purchase so that you don't have to go through all the stress I had to endure.

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Lots of good information. What kind of questions would one ask...because we all know the builder will tell you anything to sell you the house. I mean is there really any way to know the quality of the build until it actually rains and time passes? May I ask who your builder was that you had the problems with?

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I am building some right now. Some are 3rd floor terrces and some are 4th floor terraces. It is located at 2504 Rusk. The terraces are huge. the 4 story homes are pretty big nd have a great kitchen. The terrace on these homes is awesome and very private. We built a pony wall between the houses. Wired for music and plumbed for sink and grill.

If you want a tour please give me a PM.

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What kind of questions would one ask...because we all know the builder will tell you anything to sell you the house.

He might sound like this. LOL

I am building some right now. Some are 3rd floor terrces and some are 4th floor terraces. It is located at 2504 Rusk. The terraces are huge. the 4 story homes are pretty big nd have a great kitchen. The terrace on these homes is awesome and very private. We built a pony wall between the houses. Wired for music and plumbed for sink and grill.

If you want a tour please give me a PM.

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We did two different systems for the roofs.

We had problems early on on the front part of the building due to a "platform" being to high and seeping a good amount of water into the house thru the bottom of the doors. We took the platform out and have had no issues since. This was a typical commercial roof application. We had the trusses built with slopes on them since I did not want to leave it up to the framer to figure it out. These are covered by a wood deck.

The back building has a different roof application. Its first flashed very well then it goes thru a few different phases to be finished out. Right now we are on the finished roof phase then there will be a finished walking around application put on. So no decking product is needed. So far I love the product, the rain rolls right off and no leaks at all. One thing I did here is cover the doors to the roof top, this will decrease the chance of water intrusion at the door. I also angled walls in order to "push" water away from corners and to the areas it needed to go. In addition, I am not using the thresholds that come with the door jams on these homes. I am going with "aftermarket" jams that are much better.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are about to buy a 4 story townhome with a roof deck. There are noticable water leaks inside the home. Although we have received estimates for fixing the roof, we'd like to find someone to look at the stucco wall of our terrace balcony. We see water damage on it as well and would like to find someone who can properly flash this area where it hits the slate tiling at the base and floor. Who would you recommend that has this experience?

Thanks!

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We are about to buy a 4 story townhome with a roof deck. There are noticable water leaks inside the home. Although we have received estimates for fixing the roof, we'd like to find someone to look at the stucco wall of our terrace balcony. We see water damage on it as well and would like to find someone who can properly flash this area where it hits the slate tiling at the base and floor. Who would you recommend that has this experience?

Thanks!

unless you're getting a VERY good deal, this has "stay clear" written all over it.

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