Roof deck architect? (Boston: condos, houses, neighborhood)

[dantm]

Looking to put up a roof deck at my primary residence in Boston where I have roof rights...any recommendations on where to find good architects and/or contractors?

What's a rule of thumb per sq. ft for a normal deck in the Boston area -- anybody done one recently?

Thanks.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by flyingpertyhigh

I built one last year in South Boston on an existing condo. I used Abacus Builders, and the architect that drew the plans was Tim Johnson. I originally had wanted a head house so when you walk up the stairs you can just walk up to a top floor landing out onto the deck. Those plans were denied by ISD. After 9 months of back and forth, we came to an agreement to allow me to put in a roof hatch (scuttle) at the top of my back stair case, essentially cutting a hole in the roof. Abacus had done this a few times before and you can see mine and other roof decks on his website.

I interviewed about 12 contractors; only 2 wanted the job. Of the two, they both were very similar in price. Spent a lot of time customizing the railing, trex wood, lighting, electrical, etc. Its a 144 square foot deck area, built with Trex synthetic wood and iron railing, and a 10' x 3' walkway that connects the hatch to the deck. The hatch was a huge expensive in it of itself - $5k. Total price was $23k. It's a very expensive deck but they are almost requirements now for resale on top-level Southie condos.

Hope this helps.

Is yours the Middle St Roof Deck? Looks like real nice work, although the local view leaves much to be desired - not much to look at. I'm sure it looks awesome at night with downtown lit up.

Roof Deck question - when it comes time to replace the roof, how will they deal with the portion that is under the deck?

[dlittlem]

Hi there. Thanks for your post on your roof deck experience. Has been very helpful in making our decision to redo ours. Will likely reach out to Abacus next week. Anyway, do you mind sharing the name/brand/builder of the domed roof hatch you used. Ours needs replaced. Thanks again.

[dlittlem]

Thanks for the reply. No problem on the timing, this is an October project for us. Your feedback will certainly help - appreciate it. No need for the pics - your video is all I need. Thanks for doing that as well.

[flowbe202]

Originally Posted by flyingpertyhigh

. I originally had wanted a head house so when you walk up the stairs you can just walk up to a top floor landing out onto the deck. Those plans were denied by ISD. After 9 months of back and forth, we came to an agreement to allow me to put in a roof hatch (scuttle) at the top of my back stair case, essentially cutting a hole in the roof.

Hope this helps.

Did you get buy-in and approval from your neighborhood association before approaching ISD? I see a number of roof decks in Andrew with head houses. I wonder what made your request so different?

Did you need to rewrite your condo docs, too?

Thx!

[flowbe202]

Thanks for the info! Looking to do this in a few years - I hope!

[dlittlem]

FPH - do you mind sharing the name of the other builder that gave you a quote in addition to Abacus? I'll have architect drawings next week and would like to get a minimum of two pricing options. If you'd prefer to send privately, you can email stormydlm@yahoo.com. Much thanks again.