Roof deck is liberating for Point Breeze couple

The most pleasant feature of Shawn and Lauren League's roof deck is the constant breeze - even on the most sweltering summer-in-the-city days.

After visiting the roof deck of some Point Breeze neighbors at 15th and Dickinson Streets, the Leagues liked the idea so much, they took out a home-improvement loan to put in one of their own.

"We moved to the city from Bucks County and missed having a yard," Shawn League said. "Yes, the roof deck improved the value of the house, but also our quality of life. Now that we have it, I wonder, what did we do without it? This is our backyard, and our garden now, too."

An emergency-room nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, League asked his contractor, David Posternack of Match Remodeling in Swarthmore, to include a gate in the roof-deck railing. That allowed League to create a drip-irrigation garden, made easier by newly installed electrical outlets, a rain barrel, and rope lights.

The couple grow herbs, tomatoes, blueberries, and Concord grapes, and Lauren League, a schoolteacher, pickles the hot peppers tended up on the roof.

Roof decks typically cost between $20,000 and $40,000, plus materials - an important factor to consider in advance.

So is access.

If it's a hassle to get to the roof, "you won't use it," Posternack said. "Make the access easy, as if it's an extension of your house."

In the Leagues' case, they created roof access by building a staircase from the third floor of their Manton Street home. They borrowed square footage from a very large master bedroom, and in the process created a walk-in closet for Shawn.

"The plan was my idea, because I wanted to build a roof deck without a spiral staircase," he said.

Posternack explained: "For Shawn and Lauren, we built a pilot house, the shedlike structures on roofs that create an interior stairwell. We were able to cut a hole in the roof, build the pilot house over the hole, like a little addition, so they exit the doorway."

For another client, Match Remodeling converted a window into a door, with a spiral staircase to the roof.

A pilot house costs about $20,000, while the window-door conversion and galvanized staircase cost about $10,000.

For high-end roof decks, "some people want a zero-maintenance composite deck, which is a wood and plastic mix. You pay a premium up front for that," Posternack said.

At the lower end of the price range is premium-grade pressure-treated wood alone, which costs about half the price of composite.

What's the value added to a property with a roof deck? Besides the terrific scenery, there's the extra living space created in tight city neighborhoods.

Most of Posternack's customers either don't have yards or have just completed renovations.

In addition, Posternack said, engineering techniques have improved. Match Remodeling frames decks so they span from one masonry wall to the other, and installs in pallet sections.

Otherwise, once the deck was down, "you'd have to remove the whole thing to make a repair," he said. "And we recommend, if your roof is more than five years old, to have it re-coated before putting in a deck. Ours never touch the roof surface. But others have posts that put pressure on the roof itself and can cause leaks."

The best times on the deck, the Leagues said, are the parties (Halloween and New Year's Eve, etc.) and gatherings with coworkers, like Lauren's teacher colleagues and Shawn's ER interns.

There's a full view of the Center City skyscrapers, the Philadelphia Zoo balloon, and fireworks on the Fourth of July.

"When everyone comes up to the roof, they break out the cameras," Lauren Legue said. "That's how we know they really like it."