RTU Screens for Seattle, WA

Custom steel rooftop equipment screening for Seattle commercial buildings - coordinated with mechanical permit submittals, structured for design review, and detailed for the Pacific Northwest climate.

RTU Screens for Seattle, WA

Seattle's mechanical permit guidance requires applicants to show rooftop equipment, roof coverage, and parapet or screening where applicable. Seattle also has a strong design-review culture - the city's Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) runs mandatory design review for many commercial and multifamily projects, and rooftop screening treatments are part of that review.

Local requirement

Rooftop equipment, roof coverage, and parapet or screening must be shown on permit drawings where applicable.

Typical project mix

South Lake Union tech campus and lab buildings, Capitol Hill mixed-use residential and retail, Pioneer Square adaptive reuse and creative office, Belltown mid-rise residential with ground-floor commercial.

What we coordinate

Rooftop plans, elevations, attachment details, finish schedules, and service access paths.

Why RTU screens in Seattle

High-visibility corridors include Pike Street and Pine Street (Downtown and Capitol Hill) - primary commercial corridors connecting Downtown to Capitol Hill, visible from Pike Place Market hillclimb and from I-5 above, Broadway (Capitol Hill) - dense pedestrian corridor where low-rise commercial rooftops are visible from surrounding hillside properties, South Lake Union - Amazon campus and tech corridor where rooftops are visible from Queen Anne Hill above and from the Lake Union waterfront. Rooftop screening quality is easy to see from streets and nearby buildings in this market.

Access and staging

Seattle's hills create challenging freight and crane staging conditions in Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Queen Anne, SDOT right-of-way permits required for lane closures or staging in the public right-of-way on busy urban corridors, Pioneer Square and historic district projects require additional coordination with SDCI landmark review.

Submittal clarity

We structure shop drawings to support AHJ review and reduce permit comments.

Finish and climate

Powder coat with corrosion-inhibiting primer as a baseline minimum - the Seattle climate does not forgive under-specified coatings, Galvanized substrate with powder coat topcoat for waterfront projects in Belltown, the Downtown waterfront, and West Seattle.

Built for Seattle projects

Code-first scope

We align screen scope to local permit triggers from the start.

Made-to-order steel

Every system is built for your exact roof and equipment layout.

Service accessibility

Doors and clearances are planned so techs can do the work safely.

Clear field coordination

We keep details plain so install crews and PMs can move fast.

20+
Years RTU screening experience
1,000+
Rooftop screens nationwide
98%
Client satisfaction rate
36
Years in business

Seattle FAQ

Yes. SDCI mandatory design review evaluates rooftop treatment as part of the overall building design. Design review boards expect to see rooftop equipment screened and coordinated with the building's form and materials. Getting the screen design into the design review package early prevents late-stage comments.

Yes. Seattle's mechanical permit guidance requires rooftop equipment, parapet, and screening to be shown on permit drawings where applicable. We structure our shop drawings to include that documentation in a format that works with SDCI permit review.

Yes. Historic buildings in Pioneer Square may require landmark review before permits are issued - and the roof system on older masonry buildings is often not suited to new penetrations. We design ballasted or post-mounted non-penetrating systems and include the engineering documentation for that approach in the submittal package.

The Seattle climate requires moisture-tolerant coating systems. We specify corrosion-inhibiting primer under powder coat as a minimum, and galvanized substrate with powder coat topcoat for waterfront and coastal-adjacent projects. Panel bottom details are designed to drain rather than trap standing water.

Get a quote for Seattle, WA

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Or call (855) 659-1584