Roof terrace transformation
The large outdoor space was definitely one of the main plus points of the house when we bought it and as much as buying a decent set of outside furniture was enough to begin with, it was always going to be high on the list to get sorted and sexified. See how we got on with the work in pictures below….
This might take a bit more than a lick of paint…. As well as the obvious to-do list created by looking at the below pictures the waterproof membrane sitting on top of the flooring tiles decided that two decades was just about it’s life expectancy and that it should get itself involved in the project as well.
Note the outdoor shower tank in the top right 
Twenty years of dirt and moss 
Peeling and stained walls 
Water ingress leading to the leaking walls
As always it was the unseen labour that was the most time consuming and energy sapping, more so in the mental sense rather than physically.
If this takes two hours then I think we are in for the long haul. At least the lockdown means there aren’t many distractions.
It’s tough to make the next three weeks’ work pictorially appealing but please share the pain of scraping. cleaning and repairing square metre upon square metre of wall and then turning our attention to the flooring…. 396 tiles to be precise, each one of them now a personal enemy of mine.
So this was the first step of the work when we actually felt we were making tangible progress. No longer were we in the preparation phase but now there were visible results.
This the first layer of the paint that creates a waterproof membrane – basically applying a coating of expensive treacle to the roof terrace. (nearly €100 per pot and it takes a few!) Unbelievably, it’s not as easy as the professional on the instructional video made it look. Good job we anticipated that and cut our teeth on the part of the terrace now hidden from sight.
So whilst in my mind’s eye I had envisioned a kind of Mykonos uber cool bar look with the all white, the actual outcome was more akin to an Arctic expedition and the associated potential snow blindness. We needed to do something about that.
In this time we had also braved the task of removing the water tank that was 60 kilos (post draining) and perched in a distinctly awkward and dangerous position over the roof. It was a job that definitely needed 3 people and the correct equipment. So the two of us and a set of step ladders was more than enough to take a punt at it.
So now the real fun begins, nothing except fire feels more primeval to a simple man than building stuff with wood. What can this pile of timber become in the next few days?
The first answer was a bench, see the post on upcycling some left over furniture to create our corner sanctuary.
As we can’t put posts through the roof membrane then the decking is going to have to lay on the roof terrace and let its own weight keep it in place. That caused a few little headaches for water drainage etc but nothing a few channels cut into the joists and treated shouldn’t overcome. We managed to produce all of this without even getting the circular saw out of it’s box….
How big is this thing going to be? 
If we are going to change the colour of the flooring now is a good time to do up to the decking. 
The first bit of frame is constructed. 
Now the trickier angled part. 
Now we are laying boards – the reward is taking shape. 
The easy bits fly down. 
Right now we need the saw and a precise hand. 
And there it is – only a few days work and a massive transformation. 
Another angle just for good luck. 
And here it is with the grey membrane finished. 
Someone get me a Sagres………
So there it is – definitely a great entertaining space available to us whenever this little pandemic is over.
Hi oh my gosh your roof terrace is incredible, fabulous grafting. X
Looking absolutely brilL!