Rooftop Terrace & Roof Cleaning
Tavira at Bonita Bay

Food, drinks, sunscreen and grill smoke leave a film on the rooftop floor. Salt air from Estero Bay and the Gulf dries on top of it. When summer rain hits, that mix makes tile or pavers slippery — not what a board wants on a roof deck.

Tavira is a 25-story tower inside Bonita Bay with 90 residences, four to a floor, delivered in 2009. Homes typically run from about 3,500 to 4,800 square feet with two to four bedrooms, and select units have large balconies, high ceilings and private elevator access.

A hot-water surface clean with a degreaser lifts it without etching tile or stone. We test a small corner first, because some stone dulls under strong cleaners, and we protect bar counters, grills and furniture before we start.

We do not assume what the terrace floor is made of. Tile, porcelain pavers and natural stone each react differently to a degreaser and to hot water, so the first visit starts with the manager confirming the surface and, where the association has it, the installer’s care sheet.

Around the terrace, drains and parapet edges collect debris, and on a high, exposed roof clear drains matter in storm season. We hand-clear them on each visit and rinse toward them.

Under any rooftop deck there is a waterproofing layer, and the edges where it turns up at parapets, curbs and drains are the weak points. GAF, whose EverGuard line is a TPO membrane, tells cleaners to protect low curbs, base flashings and other places where water could get in, and to keep pressure washers away from them. We treat every flashing line on Tavira’s roof that way, whatever the membrane turns out to be.

Where membrane is exposed around equipment or along the parapet, GAF’s bulletin calls for mild, non-abrasive detergent, a soft-bristled brush and a low-pressure washer at 2,000 psi or less. Sika, which makes Sarnafil PVC sheet, prefers lower pressure still and warns that too much can cut into or through the membrane.

Salt is only part of the film. Dark streaks on parapet caps and in shaded corners are often algae, and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association says the most common roof algae, Gloeocapsa magma, is most widespread in the Gulf States. Owens Corning describes it as airborne, so even a terrace 25 stories up collects it.

Grill grease is a different problem from algae and needs a different product. We degrease the cooking area separately, then clean the rest of the terrace with a milder mix, so the strongest chemistry stays where it is needed and away from stone that could dull.

Rinse water from a rooftop has nowhere to go but the drains, so we sweep debris out before washing and send the water toward them in stages. Sika asks for extra care where bleach-bearing water could reach grass, trees or shrubs, and the planters on the terrace are covered or moved before any treatment begins.

Planters themselves deserve a look. Soil and leaves wash out of them in every storm and settle in the nearest drain, and we clear those drains by hand on each visit. If a drain is slow after we clear it, we note it for the association’s roofer rather than probing it ourselves.

Footing matters on a wet deck at height. GAF notes that a wet roof surface is slippery and that crews should not walk through solution that has not been rinsed. Our crew stays inside the parapet line, works the floor in sections and rinses each one before moving on.

Wind is the other limit. Spray at that height can travel, and the units below have glass and balconies facing Estero Bay and the Gulf. On a windy morning we move the visit rather than risk drift reaching the balconies under the terrace.

Tavira’s amenities spread across the building: spa, steam room, sauna, fitness center, golf simulator, guest suites and club and theater rooms, plus a resort-style pool with a pavilion. The pool deck is quoted on its own page and can share a visit with the roof.

The Bonita Bay Marina, with dry storage and wet slips, is a reminder of how much salt water surrounds the tower. Salt residue on a terrace is not a one-time problem, which is why the board, not the calendar on our side, decides when the next visit is due.

Each visit ends with a written record listing the date, surfaces, method and our Florida license number, along with photos of the terrace, bar area and drains. Boards often use those photos to compare one visit with the next and to brief the roofer.

The roof floor carries our published floor price of $499, and the terrace, bar area, drains and parapets are quoted per building after a walk-through with management. A combined plan with the pool deck is priced the same way, and the method is laid out on our flat roof cleaning page.

We are licensed and insured, and a certificate of insurance goes to management on request. Call 239-544-1165 to set up a walk-through of Tavira’s rooftop terrace.