Modular Roof Decking and Outdoor Flooring with Structural Deck Tiles
New York City Roof Decks with deck tiles
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(Posted on May 14, 2018 at 10:58AM by Lorenzo Cavalletti)
Roof Decks in New York City and the heart of the green roof movement
On a recent visit to New York City this past May, I was blessed with amazing weather. The week before was humid and in the 90's and the week after there was a torrential rainstorm. As I exited the crowded Delta terminal at JFK, I was relieved to see on my i-phone weather app show me partly clowdy and 70's. What a relief! My mission this trip was to meet with some existing clients, and meet some new clients who had specified our decking tiles. A little background about us at Eco Arbor Designs. We live and breathe elevated decking tiles for roof decks, patios and plaza decks. We have been in this business for over 12 years. We work all over the United States shipping material to designers, architects and homeowners. So a trip to New York City where there are more roof decks than anywhere is special for me. I just love seeing the new outdoor landscape designs from some of the great NYC designers. If we are involved, then they are incorporating our raised paver and pedestal flooring solutions. We are solution based company making outdoor spaces better all across the country. Its our bread and butter and something that makes us tingle inside.
Of course if you are a homeowner with a roof deck in Brooklyn or Manhattan the implementation of a real walk deck on your roof can be a daunting task. Often residents who are lucky enough to have a roof deck space to call their own, neglect the opportunity to increase there living space and they end up throwing out a few plastic adirondack chairs and some outdoor carpet. This is a low cost and temporary solution that barely suffices in creating a usable outdoor area. Question is...does it really give you satisfaction and add value to your home?
Well... let us introduce you to the way it should be done and step in to our world of outdoor flooring products. From raised pavers and pedestals to our interlocking deck tiles we have a flooring solution for your space and budget. Our outdoor flooring products so often can be used on any type of roof deck. It pains me to see a roof deck that is covered in moldy outdoor carpet when for just a bit more effort one can have a paradise with a floor that will last a lifetime. Your guests will be much more appreciative with a real outdoor flooring system and your wallet will love you in that you will never need to spend money on a floor again. In addition you could see a much longer lifespan from your roof waterproofing.
From the many design professionals we have worked with over the years to create stunning outdoor spaces we have learned a few things. From our porcelain pavers to our hardwood pavers, any roof deck can be transformed into a living space and increase your square footage of your "liveable space". Lets face it New York City is an amazing place to be outdoors on a summer evening, it is the birthplace of the green roof movement. Green Roof spaces have given peace and tranquility to thousands across the city after a long workday. Container gardening or a good dinner outside on a summer night is what makes these spaces special. Would you neglect your living room or family room with terrible flooring and old paint and feel good about it? If the answer is no, then your outdoor space deserves the same credit. We are here to help with this process from start to finish. For a high end raised floor you can expect to pay anywhere from $10-$15 for materials delivered to the door. If you are installing yourself you can save the labor cost. Labor can be as much as $20 per square ft depending on the labor needed to get the material on site. Conversly many of our clients are handy enough to install the floor themselves.
Bottom line is once you are done with your outdoor space, you will have an outdoor living lifestyle that will last a lifetime and rival the Ritz Carlton or the Dream Hotel roof deck. We will walk you through it, present samples to you, find a budget product and recommend an installer. That its what we do, consult, create a solution, deliver material and provide valuable post sale support. We are working with some of the top Italian porcelain paver brands and the most reputable forestry consessions to deliver the best quality material to your site. We give you pre sale and post sale service that makes us unique to our competitors. So if your walking on an old outdoor carpet or using some old plastic chairs you found at a hardware store, call us to get started and begin living outdoors.
Visit our website to learn more about our modular decking systems and of course call us anytime to get a quote and discuss your options our toll free number is 888 335 8453
or visit www.ecoarbordesigns.com
Some photos I took from a rooftop,
This is the typical roof deck with some old outdoor carpet and a few plastic adirondack chairs
OR
you can have this beautiful deck that utilized our Eco Deck 2x2 Ipe Deck Tile Pavers and pedestals.
2CM Porcelain Pavers roof deck in Little Italy, San Diego April 2018
When the architectural firm Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, AIA contact you in regards to a raised roof deck with porcelain pavers, you drop everything you are doing and you go do a site walk. Well that's how this project got started. Some background on this project includes a newly constructed modern live work space in the heart of LIttle Italy downtown San Diego. The plans called for a raised porcelain paver floor from our product line. To us, this was no ordinary roof deck however. This was the Kettner lofts roof deck project taking up an entire city block.
This deck, once completed would have incredible views of San Diego bay and the downtown area. We began to present to multiple color and texture options to the landscape architect at Deneen Powell Atelier. In the end a beautiful natural tone called the cornerstone granite line was chosen from Ergon Ceramics. The pavers were shipped directly from Sassuolo Italy to the project site in little Italy in San Diego. 2cm Porcelain pavers are the newest addition to elevated roof decks. A very versatile and hard wearing supported paver decking system. Porcelain stone wear unlike ceramic has .05 % water absorption compared to the ceramic counterpart at 1.5%. This means the porcelain surface finish will never wear down or fade. Each paver has a breakage weight of 2300 lbs.! That is stronger than a concrete paver and at half the weight. The porcelain pavers are 2'X2' in size and come in many other sizes including 1'X4'. This project had them elevated over 6 " inches off the surface (the height is adjustable to accommodate any finished floor).
The installation began on schedule by Suncoast, with an occupancy move in date of April we had little time to deliver product on site. Elmich pedestals provided by us were specified to raise the floor 6 inches off the roof membrane. Ergon Cornerstone 2cm porcelain pavers in two color tones (granite and gray slate) would create a design like we had never seen before on a elevated roof deck system. Custom planters where ordered and delivered by us as well to create a stunning roof top deck complete with a 200 sq ft lawn green space in our roof drainage trays. With a complex system of electrical, gas line piping, and irrigation under the pavers, this roof deck would be one of the best roof decks in the city of San Diego.
The first photo here shows the north west corner of the roof deck and our custom planters in the color, puddle. The pedestals show about a 6 inch rise off the surface, plenty of room to allow for electrical conduit and gas lines under the pavers. To learn more about us, and how we do modular decking tile roof decks visit our website www.ecoarbordesigns.com
After a short 10 days of installation we had ourselves a porcelain paver roof deck that will perform better and last longer than any other paver deck we have seen before.
The residents of this new building will enjoy the space for years to come.
The Green Roof Movement, and how we saved the planet!
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(Posted on Jan 26, 2018 at 03:21PM by Steven)
In 2005 we were literally green to the business of roof decking, the "green roof" movement was just beginning and looking down on the New York City roofscape was a stark sea of blacktop. Everyone dreamed of kicking their feet up, taking in some views and enjoying a cocktail over their outdoor space or roof deck. Problem was, what flooring do you put on top of a waterproof surface that wont damage it, yet maintains the access to the surface underneath. Meeting stringent code requirements and safety concerns were just some of the challenges we faced. We needed a decking system that was durable, fireproof and most importantly MODULAR. We saw so many of these patios and roof decks with ugly surfaces that were barely usable, yet had complicated utilities across them which can not remove, yet another issue. The answer was to go up in height and cover them completely yet maintaining the access with a modular paver that was supported on pedestals.
For the most part decks and patios above living spaces have always been an issue for homeowners to commercial roof deck owners. What contractors used to do, is waterproof the area, then apply a mudset layer with stone or porcelain tiles on top. Then roll the dice that the waterproofing is sound and the deck wont leak underneath the tiles. Can you imagine doing that on a 3000 sq ft city roof deck?
Well.... those days are over now. Very rarely do we here about this type of installation any more. When we do, we cringe at the thought that the owner paid for this type of installation which may last only a few years or at worst a few months. The most common reason for the failure is that water will eventually penetrate through the grout and seep underneath, once it freezes it can cause the sub surface to crack and then the following year guess what? you have a leak into your living space underneath.
Fast forward to 2017 and we have come along way with decking technology. More and more we see the need to utilize a roof deck, or a balcony space. Its part of the home, its part of our lives to have a connection to the outdoors. Thus was born our company Eco Arbor Designs. Our first product was an interlocking deck tile flooring system that once installed, covered an ugly surface with beautiful hardwood floor. Our wood is all eco friendly and has a 20-30 year lifespan. WIN! However we found the need to have a raised floor system to hide ugly conduit and even add crawl spaces under the flooring. So our structural paver line was born which includes porcelain pavers in 2cm, Stone with fibverglass backing and our hardwood structural pavers. This created a floor that was not only inviting, but functional in that it protects the waterproofing underneath, but most importantly maintained access to the waterproofing. This new raised floor system creates amazing value to any property whether you are a restaurant, hotel or homeowner with a roof deck. With a durable raised floor you are now protecting your waterproofing system from sun and elements increasing the lifespan. WIN!
Green roof deck with porcelain pavers
Pavers and pedestals as shown above allow you to install a level floor with your desired finsh to any outdoor space. The advancement of leveling pedestals has been a huge key to green roof design. Allowing one to run utilities under the floor, electric puck lighting, irrigation lines or gas lines for fire pits.
For surface pavers, they are all available in stone, genuine hardwood, composites and porcelain the deck tile and paver design possibilities are endless. Modern, traditional, zen japanese are all easy to obtain with our current portfolio of product. Whether you have a simple condo balcony you would like to use, or a large roof deck which will give you views and outdoor container gardens, we have the tools for you to do so. We now do complete take off and design services for our customers and work through all the variables of good deck space design. From planters to green roof trays, to our modular flooring we have your green roof covered. So go ahead and add that entertainment space in the budget and you will reap the benefits of outdoor living. Dont worry, we will help you get there.
