Waterproof porch floor--advice?

[AHI in AR]

I'm getting ready to build a house for myself which will incorporate a fairly sizable screened porch (400s.f. or so) with a garage below. I'm looking for suggestions as to the most budget friendlybut truly effective way to waterproof the floor. Ideally, I would like a tile floor surface or something that looks more "finished" than what I'd have simply putting down pressure-treated wood on sleepers above a membrane roof. The area will really be more like an outdoor living room than a more simple, rustic screened porch. I'm not only concerned with water that might blow in, I want to hose the thing off to deal with pollen season, etc. I have looked at some of the Schluter products online but don't have any personal experience with any of them. Any products/techniques that ya'll have seen that work well? Or products to avoid?

TIA

[Steven Hockstein]

Fiberglass roof.

The worst thing is if you build a floor over a roof. If there is a leak the floor needs to be removed before you can repair the roof.

The ideal condition is to have a roof that is durable enough to be used as a walking surface.

[Scottpat]

It can be done but it is all in the details.

Schluter has some of what I think are the best product for waterproofing and drainage systems for balconies and roof top decks. Take a look at their site. Also be careful with what you put on the surface, ceramic/porcelain tile does not do well in areas that freeze pretty good.

http://www.schluter.com/142.aspx

[kurt]

We've used Troba successfully. It's a great product, but it depends on your flooring.

First, determine what your finished floor is going to be. Can't determine much else until you do that.

[Jim Katen]

The biggest bang for the buck is Duradek. I see it regularly. It works.

[kurt]

Would you put a permanent flooring system over Duradek?

[Tom Raymond]

I inspected one this spring that was done like a giant shower pan; 4 drains, membrain, mud bed, porcelain tile. Six cracked grout lines, four broken tile, and far to much deflection when walked on. It was a train wreck.

[kurt]

Yes, I got a couple of those in my history too. Guy's don't get mortar beds right in showers nowadays, so it's unlikely they'll get it done right anywhere.

Troba and Troba Plus are both good and we've had them work here @ the 42nd parallel. I wouldn't trust anything with a grout line if there's freezing; we've done loose fit tiles and stone, ungrouted. They hose down and drain just fine.

I still wouldn't know what to do until the OP indicated specifically what floor they wanted.

[AHI in AR]

Thanks for the replies. As I stated, I would prefer tile. I need to be able to move furniture around, not worry about staining anything, etc. Freezing isn't a big problem in central Arkansas but in any case I'm well aware of the need for proper tile selection for exterior use. I looked into Duradek and they make a product to use with tile. Unfortunately, there are no licensed applicators in the state. Looks like I'll be looking more into the Schluter products.

[Jim Katen]

Would you put a permanent flooring system over Duradek?

Duradek is basically a walkable roofing membrane.

[Jim Katen]

Thanks for the replies. As I stated, I would prefer tile. I need to be able to move furniture around, not worry about staining anything, etc. Freezing isn't a big problem in central Arkansas but in any case I'm well aware of the need for proper tile selection for exterior use. I looked into Duradek and they make a product to use with tile. Unfortunately, there are no licensed applicators in the state. Looks like I'll be looking more into the Schluter products.

If you want tile, then definitely use the Schluter products.

[AHI in AR]

Just to be clear, The Duradek folks do make a product for use under tile:

https://www.duradek.com/tiledek/

[kurt]

It looks like Kerdi for exterior use. Fuzzy membrane, waterproofing layer directly under tile. Should work like Kerdi. Troba is more an active drainage plane material; big airspace and waterproofing under the drainage plane.

[Jim Katen]

Just to be clear, The Duradek folks do make a product for use under tile:

https://www.duradek.com/tiledek/

Thanks. I hadn't seen that before.

It'll probably work fine in a non-freezing climate. If your deck is likely to see freezing temperatures, you'll need a drainage plane like Troba.

In my climate, exterior tile work is very problematic. We have lots of folks from southern Cali move up here and install outdoor tile, which fails miserably. Gotta have drainage if it's going to freeze.

[kurt]

As timing plays out, yesterday afternoon a roofing contractor came by to give us a pitch for his services. Seems like a good guy. He is also a certified Duradek installer, so he had his samples and handouts for Duradek.

Why would anyone go to the work and trouble of building a cool outdoor space and then layer it with stuff that makes it look like a 60's ranch house kitchen?

Soulless. Empty. Embarrassingly nasty looking.

[Jim Katen]

Hey, sixties ranch houses are huge right now. People can't get enough of them.

The Duradek membranes look exactly like commercial vinyl flooring and are, perhaps, the definition of soulless. But they work. People who've had fancier looking waterproof decks fail and destroy their interior finishes are perfectly fine with a soulless floor covering that doesn't leak.

In particular, if it's a retrofit application with very little clearance between the deck surface and the door threshold, there are few other products out there that can work. Most of them require too much thickness.

I didn't realize that it was still out there, but if anyone is interested, here's the power point from a presentation that I did on the topic in 2009: http://www.oahi.org/waterproofdecks.pdf

[kurt]

That's a nice presentation.

Holding the stuff in my hand, I can see it would work great. It's just so ****ing ugly, though.