I am designing a single family residencd that will have a covered 8′ wide x 35′ long balcony over a similar porch below. Though the space below is not a habitable area as such, I want to concider it as the same. (i.e. don’t want rain drops falling on my head-sounds like a good title for a song.) Seriously, would like some professinal input. The balcony floor will have a mud bed over 3/4″ plywood over joist 16″ o.c. I will have a 1/4 in 12 slope or approx 2 percent. Thanks for you help.
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Replies
I think it would be very difficult and expensive to pull off.
The tile and grout have to be rated for exterior, freeze-thaw use. Under the mud job there has to be water proofing to keep water from contact with the wood. The structure must be designed by someone who can do the proper structural calculations, not only for strength, but also for deflection, such as an engineer or architect. Tile on a mud job that big may require a crack isolation system. How would you mix that much mud? The framing will move considerably with the seasons and weather; I don't know if it will be stable to support the mud and tile without shifting enough to crack. The foundations for the posts must not settle, and be designed for the heavy load. The area where the deck joins the house must not leak.
Your slope of ¼" per foot is good.
I did a big deck once on a third story maybe 10 by 20 feet and we went with a sheetmetal company and had them make a huge pan and soldier all the jointsand also put a mud base with tile. Talking with the hotmop company we used they suggested that the tar hotmops have about a 15 year lifespan and we wanted more then that since we craned a spa on to it. Since then I have done others that are tar hot mops with sheetmetal flashing against the house and around posts with not the best results.