This Rooftop Terrace decking project in Chelsea, W8 was a replacement of an existing deck.The clients had a roof leak which required the roof to be resealed. The timber deck had rotted out so it also required replacement.
The clients wanted a decking material which would be low maintenance, easy to clean, and would last. Rooftop Terrace projects are not small ticket property investments so they wanted something which would last, to avoid having to replace it again. This is where selecting your decking brand you install becomes very important. While numerous manufacturers have good looking decking, the question is always how long will it look like its new?
The colour scheme is one part of the equation. This rooftop deck has some fencing along one side which is hardwood, and has been weathered and silvered from UV light. So that leaves a natural grey colour on one side.
How to choose your Decking Board Colour?
How to choose your Decking Board Colour?
First the clients considered what colours they already had on their rooftop terrace.The steel fencing at the back of the rooftop is black iron. The third side of the roof deck had Jacksons Fencing Tongue and Groove Panels painted white, and the front brick wall is finished with white rendering. So our colours before we start are White, Black, and natural Silver. The planting features multiple natural Green and Grey Shades from the Olive Trees and the Bamboo in Planters.
The two main colour options for most decking are shades of brown in Earth Tones replicating new Timber of various types, or Grey tones. Their are also some modern dark woods tones which replicate Shou Sugi Ban, charred Cypress, and light White and Light Grey tones which are designed to give a neutral, coastal vibe.
Each colour has its place, but also has maintenance requirements with mid greys and browns being the best at hiding dirt between cleanings. Anyone who has ever had a dark timber floor installed or very light coloured flooring knows every single speck of dust and dirt shows up immediately so they require constant cleaning to maintain the immaculate appeaeance, while mid-tones minimise this.To best pair with the existing colour of the silvered hardwood, the clients selected Trex Lineage Biscayne. This selection means the flooring on their roof terrace would blend well with the existing colour scheme versus adding a new colour or clashing with the existing colours. For this reason, along with its industry-leading 50 year guaranter, Trex Lineage Biscayne decking boards are our most popular colour for the past few years.
Trex Composite Bench Seat | Design Elements
The main feature of this deck is bench seating. There are four sides to this rooftop deck. The side to the front has a wall which has white rendering. The side to the rear has an Iron Fence. On one side there is Jacksons Fencing Tongue & Groove Panel Fencing to a height of 1.2mt. This leaves one side remaining. The remaining side has a low parapet wall, and the back of the neighbors hardwood fence.
The client wanted to hide the unattractive parapet wall to make the entire area attractive.The solution was to build a frame over the parapet wall and clad it in decking. We proposed making the elevation of the cladding at chair or bench height so it becomes a multi-purpose bench seat when needed, or a platform for planter beds. At this height, a dining table could easily sit parallel to the bench to provide plenty of seating. The main idea here is combining the design element with multi-purpose functionality use cases.
Rooftop Terrace
When carrying out rooftop terrace projects, certain building codes are required in the planning and construction phase.
Ballustrades and Barriers must be 1.1mt height from the decking surface if the decking is more than 600mm from the ground. In this case our steel Fence is over 1.1mt height. The front area of the rooftop deck has a brick wall as the barrier.
All decks on residential buildings over 18 meters high from the ground must use materials with an A1 or A2 fire rating, meaning they must be non-combustible or have limited combustibility. In this case our deck is below 18 mt from the ground level so this does not apply.
Visit our Balcony and Terrace page for more information and case studies.
Visit our Decking Centre to get started on your project.