Roof Deck Sleepers

Treated and untreated wood sleepers come in a range of sizes because nearly any solid piece of lumber larger than 2 by 4 inches can be used in this way depending on the size of the deck.

Roof deck sleepers.

A properly constructed epdm roof should last 40 or more years. Sleepers must be securely fastened to the subsurface per codes. It s best to be able to clean it out often. Concrete and metal sleepers work well for building retaining walls but these materials are too hard to attach normal deck boards to for a basic deck.

Sleepers come in a variety of materials but only wood sleepers are regularly used in deck building. I d put down strips of rubber roof under the sleepers. For a large deck where flat sleepers are too thin to taper you can use 2x4s or 2x6s set on edge. Deck flooring construction for rooftop decks the decking sits on 2x sleepers usually laid flat.

Sleepers must be large enough to maintain 2 51 mm spacing under the decking. Rooftop decking attaches to treated wood sleepers separated from the roofing by strips of epdm. It s a wash as the deck keeps the sun off the roof which is good but it also stores a lot of debris in under there. Recycled plastic lumber is often used for sleepers because it is rot resistant and should last as long as the decking material and the rest of the deck structure.

You could glue the strips tongue sleepers or just make them a bit wider and rely on pressure to keep them in place. Durable hardwood lumber sleepers work well too. O recommend using a 1 4 6 4 mm plastic spacer under the sleepers to aid drainage and keep them dry. It s best to build the wooden deck in removable sections for cleaning and maintenance of the rubber roof and repair of the membrane if ever needed.

Sleepers need to be arranged to not block impede drainage flow. Construction sleepers must be 16 406 mm oc maximum spacing.