Exteriors
What this actually involves.
In Islamabad a roof terrace is genuinely usable for most of the year, and with the Margalla hills in view it is often the best space in the house. It is also a flat roof, which means it is the most likely place for a leak to start.
So the visible part — the paving, the planters, the seating — comes last. First the slab has to fall the right way, the waterproofing has to be continuous and turned up at every upstand, and the outlets have to be somewhere a leaf will not block permanently.
How we do it
Six things we always do.
Not a sales list — this is the order the work is actually done in, and the reason each step comes where it does.
Falls designed into the slab
The screed takes the fall to the outlets, and the outlets are placed where water actually collects — not at the convenient corner.
Continuous waterproofing
Membrane or liquid system taken up every parapet and upstand, dressed into outlets, and tested by flooding before anything is laid on top.
Paving that can be lifted
Pedestals or a sand-and-cement bed chosen so that in ten years the terrace can be opened up and the roof inspected without destroying the finish.
Planters built as tanks
Lined, drained, with an overflow and a gap behind them. A planter sitting directly on a roof is a slow leak with a plant on top.
Parapets, copings and railings
Coping with a drip, railing fixings that do not puncture the waterproofing, and heights that meet a sensible safety standard.
Services taken up early
Power for lighting, a tap for watering, and drainage for an outdoor sink — conduited before the waterproofing, not chased through it afterwards.
Typical scope
- Screed to falls, membrane or liquid-applied waterproofing, flood testing
- Rainwater outlets, gratings and downpipes
- Stone, porcelain and concrete paving on pedestals or bedded
- Lined and drained planters with irrigation provision
- Parapet copings, glass or steel railings, privacy screens
- Outdoor lighting, power and water points
Decisions you will actually have to make
- How much of the terrace is shaded — a pergola or canopy changes the structure below
- Whether you want an outdoor kitchen or sink, because it needs water and waste from the start
- Planting: built-in planters versus pots you can move
- Railing height and material, especially if children will use the terrace
- Whether the view is worth designing the seating around — usually it is
On site
Terraces & Outdoor we have built.
Photographed on GreenStone sites in Islamabad. Ask and we will tell you where any of these are.
Related
Services this draws on.
You can take any of these on their own, or all of them on one contract.
Start here
Tell us about the plot.
Send the location, the plot size and roughly what you have in mind. You will get a straight answer about what it costs and how long it takes.