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I am building a new home in Buffalo and the home has 2 porches stacked ontop of each other in front (southern style home). The first floor porch will be concrete but what materials should be used on the floor of the 2nd floor porch. The roof line of the home covers the 2nd floor porch and it is 8 feet in width. The builder wants to use a “sure seal rubber membrane” material because he feels that is the best material for weather proofing. This is unacceptable to me because if a chair or heel pierces the membrane, water gets in to the subflooring beneath the rubber membrane. I’d prefer decking or something like that and accept the fact that it would not be weather proof down on the 1st floor porch below. He didn’t like that because of long term maintainence with the winters here. Now I am looking at a product called TimberTech that is a tougue and groove decking material that lasts longer than just pressure treated decking and would thus provide lower mx costs and improved weather resistance down below. Any comments or suggestions from anyone? Email is [email protected] since I can’t chat right now. Thanks all!
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Replies
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Hi C,
If you don't want to chat and you don't value your builders advise, why bother to post?
Obviously, your too busy to bother with us.
Gabe
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Theres a reason southern style homes are built in the south, and northern style homes are built in the north.
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ctinkey,
You can have a wood deck and the membrane roof. Frame the roof, have a roofer install the membrane, build the floor floating on sleepers. Works fine, it's done all over the place.
Chase
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Chase,
Thanks for the inputs. I knew someone had an answer for me. I just had to weed thru the sarcasum of others to find you. Thanks again. Meeting with the builder tomorrow. See what he says.
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Cal,
Use additional strips of membrane to cushion the sleepers. Any wear, abrasion or damage will occur on the strips or squares not on the membrane itself. The roof under the floating deck should pitch to drain. Sleepers are cut so deck floats level. Construct the deck in removable squares so if repair or cleaning is necessary you just lift off the panels and stack off to the side and replace when finished.
Eric
*Nothing wrong with the answers given by Chase & Eric. They were "right -on" about membranes and how to build on top of them. BUT, instead of roof membranes and decking, how about making that 2nd story porch a concrete one also? It would not be hard to do. Perhaps the cost is too great? If it was me, light-weight concrete. How about it?Anyone else out there consider using concrete? A wood deck requires maintenance (annual coatings of UV proection wood perservative). Just a thought.Davo.
*>"the home has 2 porches stacked ontop of each other"Was this house designed by M. C. Escher ??
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Davo,
I agree. This is my first choice, I hate spending my summers on house maintenance. We used to live in Germany and that is how they solved the problem but I haven't seen it used much around here. How difficult are the structural problems with a concrete slab, 10 feet in the air? This house currently has 2x8 floor joists running the 8' width of the porch and the load is carried by 12" diameter wood columns along the way. Is that sufficient for a concrete porch? I don't know much about "light weight concrete".
I saw a house built in KY that used a tin manifold system ontop of the floor joists and subfloors. Then they poured concrete over the whole thing. They had a forced air heating system that ran the air thru the manifold system creating a nice heated radiant floor. They had a "normally" constructed full basement underneath, so it can't be too bad.
Thanks for the info.
Cal
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we are having the same questions in Va with our soon to be built home. An engineer asked me if we couldn't simply deck it with osb and lay a waterproof outdoor tile on that . Just set it in a waterproof adhesive and seal the grout. Create a dripline to keep your osb from damage and subsequent swelling/popping of tile. I haven't seen this done but it is fodder for thought. any comments/criticism? if you figure it out let us know. --billy email: [email protected]
*If you can stand the weight (structural check for extra 10-12 PSF) there's a company called Pavel that makes pedestals for pavers - concrete, bluestone, etc. that support the pavers above the roof membrane, leaving 3/8" or so open joints. You can lift out a paver to inspect the roofing when necessary and water flows below them.
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I wasn't being sarcastic. I think people ignore the reasons that regional architecture is the way it is at their peril. Sorry if I offended, but if you dont see any houses like the one you are thinking of building around, and your local builder doesn't thinks its a good idea, you have to be aware that you are going against the tide.
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Ok Fly Dude,
Give me a spell and I will post a good and reasonable solution to your situation under this same thread.
Sorry my Breaktimer buds but you guys need to think outside of the box. Tile, certain limestones and granite have been successfully used for years in exterior suspended applications for years in Scandia as well as Europe. I don't think snow, rain and constant freeze-thaw cycles are characteristic of us USownians alone. Perhaps a logical dissection of failures will lead to resolution of the methods?
Full speed ahead Fly-Boy on your wishes.
I will have to add though that you didn't pay enough for the advice you wanted in advance to expect advice without a 'little chat'. Even though you may not have intended such rudeness, I do think it may have been construed as such.
As soon as I finish my Easter Dinner I will post the "estrich" and "Shluter" answer to your application. And since you are building such a large shack, it shouldn't be beyond your means to accommodate a few dozen pounds per square foot, eh? Wouldn't want you to end up in the news like some of those ignorant SOB's who built the wimpy decks and had them collapse under a few extra guests.
Jeff
*Hey Fly-Boy: click here
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fly boy,
galvanized metal pan, under rebar grid w/4" slab...
or two layers of 3/4" treated cdx plywood w/the "Spantex" treatment...follow directions carefully.
up here in the Pac NW rainforest it's what a lot of builders choose, myself included.
;^)
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I am building a new home in Buffalo and the home has 2 porches stacked ontop of each other in front (southern style home). The first floor porch will be concrete but what materials should be used on the floor of the 2nd floor porch. The roof line of the home covers the 2nd floor porch and it is 8 feet in width. The builder wants to use a "sure seal rubber membrane" material because he feels that is the best material for weather proofing. This is unacceptable to me because if a chair or heel pierces the membrane, water gets in to the subflooring beneath the rubber membrane. I'd prefer decking or something like that and accept the fact that it would not be weather proof down on the 1st floor porch below. He didn't like that because of long term maintainence with the winters here. Now I am looking at a product called TimberTech that is a tougue and groove decking material that lasts longer than just pressure treated decking and would thus provide lower mx costs and improved weather resistance down below. Any comments or suggestions from anyone? Email is [email protected] since I can't chat right now. Thanks all!