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Hi,

My friend and I are renovating a workshop to turn into a fish room. I was wondering if there was anyone here on the board that has expertise in roofing/ceiling work. Our goal is to redo the roof so that it can be used as a deck for lounging in the summertime. We also would like to put in a couple of skylights for the corals and have the roof finished to be like a patio deck.

Anyone out there that can possible help please pm me.

Thanks.

Paul
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no2 vaporizer

What is the roof like now? Pitched, already flat?

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Hi,

The roof is flat and the approximate height is 10 ft from the ground. So not a very tall structure.

Thanks for your speedy response.

Paul
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magic flight

If it's already flat then the hard part is done and it might be doable. From here it's pretty hard to know what to advise. Is it possible to take pictures of the current roof structure. Do you know many supports poles there are located in the building, if any, and if so where are they located. What is the square footage of the deck going to be?

FYI, I am just about to the limit of my knowledge in what you are trying to do. Right now I am just trying to help you determine if it can even be done and if so just how much work it could end up being.

You will have to have an engineer look at your plans and approve them if you are going to be changing the structure at all. Of course once you do that your are going to need building permits as well. You probably need permits regardless but sometimes if the job is small enough you can sneak it by. :wink:

First issue will be to determine if the roof structure is suitable for use as a deck, ie; can it support that kind of load. Next will be to find out what kind of regulations you must meet in order to do it.

Once you've done that, then you'll have a better idea what you need to do to complete it. You will almost certainly need to beef up the decking as the original sheeting is unlikely to be heavy enough to support repeated walking on. You'll need to add some sort of railing to prevent falling off, and some sort of stairs for access. Lastly, you'll need to use some sort of roofing membrane that will keep the water out while not breaking down from the foot traffic.

Or you can just toss a couple of lawn chairs up there and play the odds.

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Well...the roof is very basic right now. Just tar roof on plywood. A few of the plywood is rotting from the inside, so we will tear those and replace them. Then we were hoping to rebuild with a sheet of decking material and call it a day. There wouldn't be much load just a few hundred pounds at the most. I believe that wet snow will weigh more than what we will be using the roof for.

Thanks for all the responses so far.

Paul
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Ford Wiki