Roof Deck House Plans

Roof Deck House Plans

Our house plans with roof decks provide a connection to the outdoors and shelter for the space below. The smell of the seabreeze or fresh mountain air is just outside the door of your second story bedroom in our roof deck house plans. Several of our house plans feature a roof-top observation deck to provide a panoramic view and provide your own private sunbathing deck or gathering spot high above the crowd overlooking your neighbors roofline for a glimpse of the ocean or distant view.

At Southern Cottages, we offer several house plans with roof decks. These include the Island Cottage, the Shelter Cottage, the Porches Cottage, the Country Cottage, the Mountain Cottage, the Lookout cottage and variations of each. Some of the plans have a roof deck accessible from the second floor over a porch or room below. Other plans offer roof deck on the very top of the house.

A roof deck provides you the opportunity to obtain a great view over some obstruction, whether it be the roofs of other houses or a stand of vegetation. It may also enable you to view up and down the shoreline if you have the good fortune to have a waterfront lot or to enjoy a scenic vista in the mountains.

House plans with roof decks have unique opportunities and challenges. The opportunities lie in making the most of the views and features of your specific site. The challenges lie in designing a roof deck that will withstand the onslaught of nature over time and will not allow water intrusion. This requires careful design and placement of waterproof membranes, flashings, house wraps, drainage planes and weep planes. Plans and specifications provided by Southern Cottages describe how all these materials are to be installed to protect against moisture intrusion.

When designing a house with roof decks, the view is king. Ideally, all living spaces would have views to the water. Wide expanses of windows have a great appeal and give a strong visual connection to the waterfront. But the same large window areas invite solar heat gain, glare and high energy bills if they are not sheltered, protected and shaded with roof overhangs or porches. Additionally, the windows can be low-emissivity (or low E) and/or tinted. An example of this kind of glass would be “Solargray” by PPG.

Decks are a great amenity for your home. They provide a connection to the house while still allowing observation of children playing in the yard, swimming or sunning. At Southern Cottages, we have house plans with all kinds of decks. We have traditional decks connected to the living or dining areas but also roof decks accessible from the second floor and even a rooftop observation deck on our “Look out Cottage”. All of these features can make the waterfront house plan a fun place to live and play.