Has anyone ever built a viewing deck on top of their house

That looks very cool

 

2 houses sold last year comes to mind.

9 Potts Street, East Brisbane
16 Patrick St, Milton

The first one is what you're describing, sitting over the roof.
The second one in Milton is a proper concrete rooftop terrace. Requires a bit of engineering, I think concrete is really the only way to make sure it doesn't leak.

I've visited both, neither of them were enjoyable. Without some sort of shade, I couldn't stand there for more than 5mins. And the reflection from neighbouring roofs burns your eyes.

Still a cool idea, more suited for evening / night viewing I guess.

 

Would it be possible to show a pic of the deck from ground level please? I love it! I'm thinking of building in a year and I've just started my must have list! Looks great!

 

Personally I think they look ugly as sin - like a pimple on a pumpkin. But maybe I’ve just not seen a good one.

 

Thanks for the info.
This is what I was thinking. Early morning and evening only.
This is for a PPOR and its not really about adding value, its just something I want to be able to get up there when fireworks are on or when a storm is coming in the distance or just to see the sparkle of the city.
I am now looking at the possibility of a trapdoor, ladder and a basic platform. Not planning on cutting a big hole in the roof. If I can get this done cheap then it would be a good asset for me.

Edit: I take Wylie's point that its not worth it to put a lot of money into an exposed rooftop deck. Either raise (not possible in this case due to height off street on sloping block) or build an extra storey on the back part later (when I get the money). So now I am just looking for a cheap way to get a small platform up there that I can use for fun.

 

Ironic. A deck to look at night sky. Its same sky as down at ground level. The stars a billion kms away and you want to be 10metres closer. Put a camera on your TV antenna.

Structural work, drainage and waterproofing etc probably cant be under $30K and up. Badly done may just seem wierd.

 

This is my latest idea. Could put this on the roof (refer pic). Put ladder in ceiling one of those fold down loft ladder things. Goes into manhole in ceiling. Then put a basic platform up on the roof. Enough for a couple of chairs that's it. Minimal impact on the structure and actually something quite useful to have an access hatch anyway to clean gutters etc.
Thoughts?

 

For what your talking about. Drive pass 128 latrobe terrace. The house next to vancant land has a cheap looking viewing deck. Might be something your after.

 

Yeah the one that never got painted. I am keen to see how it is accessed. I have knocked on their door three times but they are never there Saturday mornings. Will go around one night. I think its tenanted.

 

@Propin Yeah this was my non-negotiable with the wife, and hers was a WIR the size of a bedroom! I actually don't have a completed picture of the outside for some reason but here's one during the build. You can't really see the roof deck (intentionally) but it sits behind the barestone cladding on the left, above the balcony - we simply increased the height of the upstand to double as the balustrade.

 

The lack of shade is the only issue (it never rains here so that doesn't matter). It gets used a lot in evenings in the warmer months and a lot in Spring/Autumn but when the temp gets to the high 20's/30 degrees or above then it just gets too hot

 

Wow!! I love it. Thanks for sharing!

 

Hi, we are planning something similar on the east coast. I was wondering how much it add to the cost of the build, Is it around $50k - $70k?

 

It's hard to tell as we never costed an option without it, so don't have a simple comparison. I would expect it cost around $30-40k e/o maybe. There's the cost of the deck itself including finishings (lights, power, water etc), which you could could cost up as if it were on the ground. Then the other part is just the beefed up and higher quantity of rafters. We have 300x75mm or thereabouts LVL's at 300mm centres, compared to what, 120x45mm treated pine at 1000mm centres. Then obviously some stuffing around with penetrations for the deck supports.

 

Some alternatives I’ve seen around lately, look scary!

 

Thanks for getting back to me. Would you have a photo or two you could send, of the deck and extra LVL's? Cheers

 

Unfortunately not, I didn't take many photos of that component in particular during the build (probably should have). I have some initial engineering sketches but it won't be relevant as it was specific to our place and design of our house. Think of it like the below, except instead of sloping grass underneath, it's a skillion roof, and the uprights are fixed to the roof beams underneath.