Need Rooftop Pool Deck Details

[Cliff Jones]

Does anyone have any details of a Rooftop Pool, or any Rooftop details at that.

-Cliff

[Stephen Buckle]

what is your build up from the structural slab?

[Cliff Jones]

Steve,
We’re still in the design development stages, but it looks like development is wanting an all stainless steel pool(4′ depth) to avoid leaks, basically a big bathtub. As far as the build up, I don’t know. We’re all rookies on Rooftop Design.

[Les Ballard]

Mixing being serious with placing tongue in cheek, there are some individual projects in London but a LA, if appointed, probably needs to work with the architect and a structural engineer as well as an expert aquarist. One guy installed grass on a vertical surface as well as roof areas but, usually, even dirt for a small garden is heavy and you have to allow for the weight of water held. Swimming pools are not uncommon but are usually quite small and often of the prefab type used on, rather than in, domestic gardens with a more permanent looking surround. Pumping fresh water through a few tons of rock into a naturalistic palm adorned pool seems to be popular but all filters and chemicals are dear.

I have thought of using, on a quiet day and as per the bathtub idea, a boat style grp layup as a sandwich construction with marine aluminium and uv resistant plastic film covering. However this would be for a pool that looked just like a flooded boat, outside of which an “undersea” scene would be installed. The transom and well of the boat would be windows and a higher area would let you look down on, effectively, a filtered, heated, marine aquarium. This would need a small turbine electricity supply with batteries and secondary filtration for emergencies. It would also need a flood/damage avoidance water escape system (downpipes from scuppers) and alarms in the event of a major leak

Whatever you do the engineer should be able to set perameters for your vision and, where that conflicts, he or she may have to upgrade their spec. Water weighs 10lbs a gallon with, for average fish tank calculations, 6.25 gallons to a cubic foot. So a tank 20 x 10 x 4 feet, on average, would be 800 x 6.25 x 10lbs = 22 tons, just of water! Then you will want a few tons of rocks, coral, etc. You would need nearby about 2 hospital tanks of 2 tons each of matured seawater into which the biggest fish could be transferred if sick (and usually used to top up the main tank) and maybe disguised / under cover with a demountable crane and a series of pumps and cisterns. In a seismic area you would need baffles in the water to prevent sloshing about like in a shipping tank container and a safety glass panel in front of the main glass. Small sharks may look good inside, maybe on the roof of a law firm but, you would probably want another tank in which to breed food. You should not trust the bugs on fresh caught fish. This applies even to smaller fish, e.g. breeding brine shrimp for guppies bred in turn to feed your seahorses. As for cleaning – and to avoid teeth, spines, etc. a full microenvironment would be helpful with invertebrates and plants and one of those robotic pool cleaners you could retrieve through a double hatch where the chain locker should go on the “boat” to change the filter, along with the one(s) in the pump(s).

Ain’t this stuff fun?

Luv n Lite,

Les Ballard

[Rosie Mohorko]

Hi Cliff,

Try here:
http://www.zinco-usa.com/ and go to downloads.
Maybe you’ll find something you need.

greetings from Stuttgart
Rossy

[Doug Craig]

Cliff:
I am currently working on a parking garage roof deck project in Abu Dhabi which includes 2 swimming pools, a lap pool, 2 hot tubs, plazas, turf, raised planters, etc. We are currently in DD and as we develop details I will try to give you suggestions. Key components are, as Les indicated, working with a structural engineer for your loads. Also, As Steve asked, what is the build up area above the slab? You need room for plumbing, etc. Also don’t forget your water souce, a room for the heater / chiller depending on temperature requirements.I will keep you posted.

[Rico Flor]

Yep! To second Doug and Craig’s advice, collaborate with the other professionals.

Before the other stuff…also check out Rosa Gres (http://www.rosagres.com/)….

Seems that on the concept stage crossing over to schematics, our office Mech Engs have the urgency to settle water requirements vis-a-vis filtration and pump room requirements so that they could pass on the storage and pump room space needed to the architects, both of whom meanwhile translate their projected loading needs to the Structural Eng. If the structural engineer is kind enough, he/she will not insist on an expansion joint through your proposed pool area (!, but it happens). You might find yourself negotiating for more pool space.

Additionally, is your pool to be raised from the finish floor line/slab line, or is it flush to the floor line (sunk)? Has ramifications to the architectural and structural design for the space immediately below.

Same with any planting spaces, any concerns to be transmitted to the concerned pros expeditiously. Don’t overlook irrigation, if a system is to be built in. Irrigation water storage translates to another set of pumps and tanks (depending on municipal requirements ultimately).

Finally, and I’m sure you know this, just highlighting the operative word “expeditiously”, as said collaborators tend to eat us alive if we miss a detail or deadline!!!

Cheers.

[Author]

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