Roof Top Deck on a Container Home in Costa Rica

Today I will talk about the process of building a roof top deck on top of your container home.

It is important to remember to use the side rails and corner posts for the construction of the deck and for the majority of its support. You do not want to put any pressure on the actual corrugated roof. These do bend and you can affect the inside frame out structure of your home.

The first thing we do is decide on the size and location of the deck. On the 40ft containers we usually just build a 20ft long deck and on the 20ft containers we use the entire roof. We still suggest that you build a roof over the entire structure to keep water off the roof.

We used steel 4×4 beams to elevate the deck and to create the frame. We then welded the angle metal into place. These are 1.5”x1.5” steel angles that we use to support the recycled plastic boards. Most people, including us in the past, use wood for their deck. However, we received free of charge over 500 pieces of recycled plastic cubes that are used for the zip lines in Costa Rica. They use these for the platforms.

Most of what I am explaining you should be able to tell in the photos.

We then screw down the plastic cubes onto the roof. Build a side rail around the deck so people do not fall over. Then finish off the project with creating some type of staircase. We generally prefer the spiral staircase because of how little space they need, they are all metal (we love our steel), and they are fun.