I have access to a small finished rooftop and i want to see if you can think of any use for it. It’s hard to get to because you have to go out a window then up a fire escape. And there’s a couple of nice places to sit right outside my building, so i never wind up going to the roof.
I considered growing vegetables up there but it’s hard enough to access that that probably wouldn’t be enough to draw me up there and they’d probably just die of neglect.
It’s about 8 x 10 feet, and a pain to get to.
Can you think of anything worth doing with it?
EDIT:
I can’t permanently change anything to it, like installing a major solar construction.
Ignore it? Just because a thing exists doesn’t mean it has to serve extra purposes. Space is fine as space if you don’t already want to use it for something.
That sounds like a good place for a telescope if you’re into that.
Soil is really heavy when it’s wet. Your roof might not be able to support the amount it would take for a vegetable garden.
Solar panels. Connect to a battery/solar generator in your apt.
Meshtastic solar node.
flower pots with local wildflower seeds.
Put some patio furniture on it and you’ve got a nice place to relax with a beverage on a nice day
Thanks but i think you didn’t read the post
Oh I absolutely would haul a chair up there to go up and enjoy the view from time to time, but I get that others may not
If you don’t plan to go up much, I’d put containers of wildflowers for wandering pollinators. Native plants are usually pretty hardy in the face of neglect.
That is a quite small space. If it is so much of a pain to access I agree growing vegetables isn’t worth it, they need too much care.
On the other hand, some herbs can grow well with minimal care depending on the size of the container they’re in and the climate of your region.
A small propane grill, a table and an umbrella will immensely improve your life.
It’s so rewarding to simply grill up some mixed veg and marinated meats with a beer in the warmer months. Container friendly plants will do well there, too. Stuff that likes lots of sun like hot peppers
This sounds impractical since OP has to go out through a window then up a fire escape.
Exactly. As i said its a pain to get to, and i have nice outdoor places to hang right outside my building, so can’t be used the way OP described
Get a telescope with computer controls. Get a monster movie manikin. Set the whole thing up so the monster watches the local kids as they run by your house on the way to school. Play spooky noises from up there after dark.
Get into beekeeping
Edit: or not
Best practice not to put hives anywhere that’s difficult to get to, nor a small place you might fall off if you get swarmed.
Put up a Meshtastic node.
Meshtastic router with solar panel and a rechargeable 18650
Since you are talking about growing vegetables (even if impractical due to poor access), would that mean that you have sole use of the space?
It’s generally just for my sole access, but it occasionally gets visited by building maintenance people and other tenants who decide to go exploring
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Mount a rooftop antenna if you’re into various forms of radio — CB, ham, shortwave, running a radio scanner, terrestrial broadcast digital TV, etc. Height is helpful there.
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You can probably get some kind of automated watering system, if that’s your concern with the vegetables. Maybe need to fill a tank occasionally, but outside of that…shrugs.
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Some people like rooftop beekeeping. Don’t need frequent access for that.
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Can throw some solar panels up there as a source of emergency power if the power goes out; if you put them above head height, then you’ve also got shade.
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I’m guessing that this is an urban environment (“access to” sounds like a multiunit building) so it probably has light pollution in the area, but if not, could maybe throw a telescope up there for unobstructed access to the sky. I’ve occasionally wondered about how hard it’d be to get some kinda motorized pan-tilt-zoom telescope-attached camera just to pan around and look at stuff on the ground on a monitor, and if you’re looking at the city, it might be fun, kinda like adding an expansive view downstairs. I have some relatives that have housing with a nice view, and they liked to have tripod-mounted telescopes to look out and check out everything. In your case, probably want something remotely-operated, but same idea.
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You have to go out a window, up a fire escape to an 8 x 10 patio?
There is nothing worth doing with that.
