Playa Vista Decks & Patios, Waterproofed From the Wall Out
Playa Vista decks and patios that keep water out: walkable membranes over rooms, upturns behind the siding, sealed rail posts and graded drains at grade.
Where a Playa Vista deck covers a room or a garage, it stops being a platform and becomes a roof people walk on. The plywood under it is sloped toward a drain or scupper, a walkable waterproof membrane runs over it and turns up the house wall behind the siding, and every penetration for a rail post is sealed. Water leaves at the edge through a downspout piped to whatever outlet the grade of the lot allows.
Membrane, upturns and rail posts
The membrane rises several inches up the wall behind the weather barrier, so water held against the wall cannot get under it, and a door threshold over it sits on a pan that drains onto the membrane. Rail posts are the weak point, so they are mounted on raised blocks or fixed to the fascia, keeping fasteners out of the field. The surface over the membrane can be pavers on pedestals or wood sleepers with boards, both lifting off for inspection. A flood test before the finish goes on shows any leak while it is still easy to fix.
Decks and patios at grade
An open deck at grade handles water another way. Rain passes through the board gaps, so the soil under it is graded toward a drain, and a ledger on the house is backed with membrane and topped with metal flashing. Patios fall gently away from the foundation and end at a channel drain tied into solid pipe. Wood close to the ocean can stay damp for long stretches, so framing is rated for ground contact even where it stands clear of the soil. LADBS inspects the framing before it is covered.
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Decks & Patios in Playa Vista: questions
Soil strength and post load decide it, read from a soils report when one exists for the Playa Vista lot. Water belongs in the same design, since saturated soil carries less weight, so drains and downspouts are routed clear of every footing. A footing kept dry holds the bearing it was designed for.
Pavers over a membrane are noncombustible, which keeps a roof-style deck simple on any parcel. An open deck of wood or composite depends on mapping. If a search of the Playa Vista address finds no mapped zone, ordinary deck provisions cover the boards. If it finds one, ember-tested decking would be required.
For a deck over a room, height hardly enters, since the house carries it. Area drives the membrane, the sloped substrate and the surface, and the edge length adds upturns and drains. For a raised open deck, height brings back posts, bracing and footing depth. Drainage work at grade, such as channel drains and pipe, is priced as its own item.
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