Hello,
I hope to re-do the portico roof and railings over my front door. The roof is rectangular, flat, with a rubber membrane roof with a cracking/rotting, wooden railing system. Roof is approx. 5 1/2'D X 13'L. Built 8 years ago, builders originally sloped it slightly inward toward house, but appears to be well flashed and no leaks. Inward slope bothers me, so I plan to slope it outwards or tent it in middle. Then, I will add vinyl railing system to it anchoring end railings against house onto existing plate on house. I'm not that great of a carpenter, but after a $6900 estimate, I'm willing to try it.

Questions if I could -
-Should I slope it outward or to the sides with about a 1/4" over 1' slope? Or leave as is?
-If so, what is the easiest way to build a slope framework? Can I simply use a simple plywood sheeting with a higher base on one end to give me the slope?
-Is it ok to leave old rubber membrane under new plywood sloping floor or should I strip old membrane?
-Existing 5' X 5' wood posts are toe-nailed at their bottoms through the rubber membrane into the subfloor. I want to replace these posts with 5 X 5 vinyl and secure them into the floor? How best should I secure them?

Options are to toe-nail a piece of pressure treated 4X4 from 6" tall to a couple feet tall at the post position and simply slide vinyl post over it and attach with screws? Or, buy/install metal plate with pole and upper and lower sleeves for vinyl post to slide over it and attach to it with screws? The railings do not have to be code/deck sturdy since no one will ever use them.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Ed
"Novice" in Boston

check into tapered insulation.

gweedo.

It's always best to slope any flat areas AWAY from the walls or house.

A simple wedge-shaped "shim" cut from a 2x4 to give you the proper slope will act as a new "rafter" before you re-sheet with plywood.

Nothing wrong with going over the existing membrane to build your sloped roof, but better to remove membrane to make sure you don't have rot or other unseen issues.

4x4 posts should NEVER be toe-nailed into a membrane deck, only asking for problems. You could incorporate a base pad mounted to the deck, and then flash with membrane. This gets the contact point up off of the deck. Some have mounted the 4x4 right to the deck, then flashed with membrane up the 4x4 itself to a height of 3 or 4".

The best option, if it works for your application, is to re-build your railing system so that it mounts on the OUTSIDE of the perimeter of the deck area, so that nothing penetrates the membrane roof.
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www.premiumroofservicesbend.com

I don't know much about boston. But there should be some one out there who can slope it out with urethane foam it'll be the fastest fix. You can slope with foam it's spray applied. And has insulating value seamless it's pretty much the Standard in arizona.
and if it's good enough for nasa it's good enough for boston. And you are looking at $1500-$2000 max cost with 20 plus year life span. 1/4 in. per foot slope is the Standard for a flat roof.
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arizonaroofer

Thanks for the information. Will definitely use it.

Ed