The Benefits Of A Living Roof
- Purifies the air
- Helps to regulate indoor temperatures
- Provides a rainwater buffer
- Reduces ambient noise both out and indoors
- Encourage biodiversity
- Adds value to the building
- Increase the feeling of well-being
- Is believed to extend the roof life
- Insulates the building
- Reduce and slows stormwater runoff
- Have been known to reduce urban heat
- Support wildlife habitat
The final word on how do you make a living roof
Creating a living or green roof has these benefits, this garden type is a great way to get creative along with the many benefits that are involved. Installing a living roof is a winner as you get the best of both worlds, why miss out on the fun when you can have a garden like this of your own. Let your living roof become the talk of the town or should I say neighborhood as family, neighbors, and friends admire your work. Why not give this garden type a try and see for yourself. By following this guide you will be well on your way to constructing and enjoying your very own living roof. Lets get started you will be so happy that you did.
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First Make Sure The Building Is Strong Enough
The Enviromat green roof build up were talking about is probably the least heavy way of building a green roof. But it is still quite weighty. The materials will weigh 40-45Kg per square metre. Then you need to factor in live loading. Live loading is temporary extra weight on the roof for example snow. Or you. Walking on the roof to install the matting or check the plants.
You need to be confident that the roof and the building as a whole, can support an extra 120Kg per square metre.
This green roofed summerhouse was designed and built by Edinburgh Based Caroline Grohmann of Secret Gardens Garden Design
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Outdoor Living Room Overview
Theres nothing quite like kicking back on your own Patiountil the sun starts cooking you or the rain begins to fall. But you can easily double your time in the great outdoors with this beautiful pavilion. Just thinkno more rainouts during your next barbecue! And with a roof, you can relax on dry, clean, comfortable, padded furniture, which just cant stand up to the elements on an open patio. All in all, you can give your patio the feel and function of an outdoor living room. But the best part is, this pavilion will add real beauty and value to your home by dressing up that lonely, underused space.
While this outdoor living room design may look complicated to the novice carpenter, dont be intimidated. If you have the basic hand power tools, can handle a circular saw and have a bit of remodeling experience, you have the moxie to pull off this project. Well show you some scribe-it, nail-it-up and cut-it-in-place techniques that greatly simplify the tough spots and speed up the project. In fact, another carpenter and I built the basic structure in three leisurely days and spent a fourth day finishing the decorative column skirts. Give yourself and a helper about twice as long and you may finish faster than you think.
Comparing the before and after photos, you can see that in addition to building the pavilion, we did some major stonework and planting. Those improvements aside, our total materials bill was roughly $4,000.
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What Is A Green Roof
A living roof or green roof is simply a roof that has plants growing on it. For many people this looks far more attractive than the traditional shingles and its a good way to integrate your building with nature.
This type of roof may be flat or pitched, but both work equally well for the growth of plants. However, there are also two types of green roofs that you should consider.
Extensive Living Roof
This sort of roof is designed to require minimal maintenance and to work best for homeowners who dont have a lot of time to fuss with their roof. Extensive green roofs are lightweight as they dont have a lot of medium growing or tall plants. They are ideal for roofs that are pitched and difficult to access.
With this type of roof, you can expect to see nearly solid, low level vegetation that is just a few centimetres tall and includes moss, sedum, or grass. There may be some small flowers in there, as well, to break up the green.
Intensive Green Roof
Youve likely heard of rooftop gardens and this is what is also referred to as an intensive green roof. They work best on flat roofs, since youll need to access the actual plants. The more intensive green roof is ideal for commercial or apartment buildings.
Keep in mind that as the name suggests, this is a more intensive style of green roof and will require maintenance and ongoing attention.
Other Options
Where Can You Grow A Green Roof
For most DIYers, a flat roof is the easiest option for a green living roof. Anything up to a 10° is considered a flat roof. This means that shed green roofs are a very popular choice along with log cabin and garage green roofs. Having said that, any outbuilding or garden building with a flat roof is a suitable route such as bike storage units.
Flat roofs are an easier option from a green roof construction point of view, but living roofs are able to grow on pitched roofs too. This means you can consider a house green roof or growing a green roof on an extension or conservatory.
With intensive green roofs, you can consider any size or type of building as long as it can cope with the structural loading and irrigation requirements.
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How To Fit A Green Roof
This guide shows you how to fit a green roof to a shed. If you want to fit a green roof to your house or garage it is always recommended that you take specialist advice as drainage and specific protective layers may be required that are usually out of the skills of most common gardeners! This sedum green roof and its components for my video guide were supplied by Green Roofs Direct. They are one of the only suppliers to be fully carbon neutral, cut their Sedum rolls only when ordered and also offer sea hardened Sedum. They really are the top dogs of green roof supplies!
When fitting a green roof to a shed make sure that your shed roof can take the increased weight load from a green roof. It is always best when buying a shed for this purpose to go for a reinforced shed. Alternatively, you can reinforce and brace the internal shed structure and roofing joists before fitting.
Diy Green Roof Maintenance
DIY particularly all sedum green roofs are likely to require less maintenance than their larger, intensive counterparts. The sedum grasses and vegetation used on extensive green roofs are hardier than larger shrubs and vegetation found on intensive roofs. But youll need to:
Because of this you will probably only need to weed your DIY extensive green roof a few times a year. Honestly it should take less than an hour in total.
Youll also need to water your roof particularly to help it bed in. Whilst sedum grasses are generally drought resistant, if there are long dry periods you should consider watering.
However if you dont want completely minimise your maintenance, you could purchase an irrigation system. Theyre relatively cheap and simple to use.
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Three Reasons To Go Green Roof
Green-roof installations are pricey, ranging from ten to fifty dollars per square foot, but there are significant economic and societal benefits that offset the cost.
LONG-TERM SAVINGS. An average roofs waterproofing membrane must be replaced every fifteen to twenty years because of exposure to ultraviolet rays and the thermal expansion and contraction that result from constant heating and cooling. Green roofs have proven to extend the life of the waterproof membrane by a multiple of four. A well-insulated home or building can save 30 percent on heating and cooling bills by reducing heat loss in winter and heat absorption in summer.
URBAN HEAT REDUCTION. Regular roofs, especially those covered in dark materials, absorb heat from the sun and act as hot stones, emitting that heat into the immediate environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the resulting overall heat island effect of a city of one million people can raise daytime temperatures up to 5.4°F and evening temperatures up to a shocking 22°F over temperatures in surrounding areas. Green roofs dissipate that heat and often create microenvironments that are actually cooler than the surrounding air temperatures.
Creating Your Own Green Roof
Green roofs are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas to provide green space and aesthetic diversity to a built up landscape. They provide many benefits such as improving air quality, providing a fabulous habitat for wildlife, slowing water runoff and preventing gutters from overflowing.
Small projects such as garden sheds and garage roofs can be undertaken by virtually anyone. Adding a green roof area to your home or garden does not only aesthetically improve your garden, but provides a great tool for assisting in tackling the effects of climate change.
There are three types of green roofs
1. Lightweight Extensive the simplest roof type that is very low maintenance using sedum plant.
2. Extensive the one we like! Using a mixture of sedum and wild flowers. Supports more wildlife than sedum alone.
3. Semi-intensive- more like a garden than a roof top. Using a mixture of ornamental plants, herbs and small shrubs. High maintenance and requires professional help to construct.
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Green Roof Structural Requirements
The structural requirements for a green roof are the most important aspect to consider. You need to make sure that the structure can cope with the extra weight of your green roof, especially when saturated with water. Additional structural support may need to be provided.
Most extensive green roof designs with sedum and other simple lightweight plants weigh between 60-150 kg/m2
Important note: Any weight calculations for green roofs must factor in the weight of rain and snow when the substrate is saturated, as well as the various components of the system.
With semi-extensive and intensive roofs, you will need to consult a chartered structural engineer, architect or surveyor around structural loading.
How Much Does It Cost To Install A Green Roof
The good news is that with an extensive green roof on a flat roof you can do the install yourself at no additional cost. If you want to get someone else to install the green roof, then the cost of green roof installation will depend on the contractor. Be sure to ask lots of questions around the design and how long it will take. Its best to get a few different quotes to compare before opting for one contractor.
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Root Barrier For Green Roofs
Its recommended to include a root barrier above the primary waterproofing layer to prevent any roots causing damage to the structure. These tend to be thin polyethylene plastic membranes that can simply be laid across the waterproofing layer and joined with tape.
In intensive roofs, root barriers are essential due to the potentially more wood-like and vigorous roots of the vegetation.
Photo of green roof plant roots by Kyle Ellefson on Unsplash
Building The Living Roof
Since I already wrote about cutting sod for my roof, I will describe how the sod was loaded. Once the perimeter of the roof was covered with sod, we covered the rest of the roof. Doing the edge was the trickiest part, since I had the fold the EPDM underneath itself and leave a little bit exposed to protect the edge logs.
Once that was done, it was only a matter of lifting the material onto the roof. People worked at ground level to pass the turf up to folks on scaffolding and ladders, who then passed the material to others on the roof. The turf squares were packed closely together so that there were no gaps. If any awkward gaps could not be filled with sod squares, loose soil was loaded into cracks.
It was all fairly simple. Heavy heavy, but simple. I still have to load some sod up at the very top of the roof to completely cover the tractor tire skylight frame, but the roof is effectively done.
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What Is A Green Roof How To Build A Green Roof
The green roof, also known as the living roof, is a roof system with vegetative layers. The green roof system is designed to be entirely or partially covered with the plant.
Today, with the increasing population, there has been an incredible increase in housing. Due to the high population, more and higher buildings were built and, unfortunately, green areas decreased. This has pushed the new projects to be more compact for people, and the buildings have to provide maximum social facilities in small areas.
Systems called green roofs have begun to be made on the roofs of buildings that do not have green areas. So what are the advantages of having a green roof and how to build a green roof?
How To Make Your Own Diy Green Roof
6 min read
How to make your own green roof 07.09.22 Green roofs are an ingenious way to give your garden extra wow factor. Seeing plants on top of the shed instead of a drab tarp is a great way of filling two needs with one deed. Youve doubtless seen them on programs like Grand Designs and been impressed with how they use their space to the utmost potential. You likely also wondered how theyre made, and youve come to the right place DIY green roofs are one of our specialities.
In this article, we will take you step-by-step towards making a living green roof of your very own. From tips on picking the right building, to when to use green roof fertiliser and preparing the roof with the correct edging, drainage layer and more.
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Where To Place Your New Green Roof
If you want to grow a sedum green roof, it is best to choose a building that gets a good amount of sunshine. If the roof is in the shade for more than half a day, sedum plants will not get the amount of light they need to survive.
Steep slopes can turn green roofing into a real challenge. Firstly, a slope of over 20 degrees just isnt practical at all, as it will be difficult to anchor the plants and not have them slump and slide off. Also, rainwater will run off before the plants have a chance to benefit from it. A steep slope might look good to start with, but in 6 months time, youll wish you never thought of it.
Slopes between 10 and 20 degrees show the plants off nicely. You can see them easily from the ground and the visual effect is great. However, you will need to irrigate them in dry weather because just like super-steep slopes, rainwater tends to runoff before the plants can benefit from it.
Can I Still Have Solar Panels With A Green Roof
For those of you that are looking to double-up on your environmentally-friendly efforts, you may be wondering if green roofs and solar panels are compatible. The short answer is yes they certainly can be.
Green roofs create a temperature difference that can help a solar panel function better. They also prevent dust build up on the solar panels – this ensures the electricity production isn’t negatively impacted.
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Benefits Of A Living Roof
Most homeowners would love to have a living roof on their homes, and thats because it comes with numerous benefits. Here are some of the advantages to consider.
Green roof installation could be expensive, but it has essential benefits like energy saving. The house does not get hit directly by UV rays, meaning the HVAC system has less work to do. This translates to low energy usage.
A home with a living roof on its shed has more value than one without. Besides, it increases the chances of getting a home buyer if you set up your house for sale because of the homes beauty and reduced energy usage.
When the shed has a living roof, its not directly hit by sun rays, which damage the shingles, lowering its lifespan. The foliage also reduces the roofs maintenance costs. Therefore, homeowners will save more with less maintenance and less need for roof replacements.
Having a living roof makes the house a more comfortable place. The views of the roof are aesthetically appealing, and the air is cool and clean. Also, some homeowners fill their living roofs with herbs that they can harvest and use.
Other Advantages Of A Living Roof
1. Flood prevention. Living roofs slow surface run-off and reduced flooding around your property.
2. Camouflage. I admit, my roof, with its huge straw flower, wouldnt fool a spy plane. But most green roofs blend into their environment making them less obvious from the air.
3. Sound proofing. If youve ever lived under a tin roof, you know how noisy rain can be. Tiles are not much better. A living roof is quiet.
4. Fireproofing. Living roofs, when theyre wet and alive, are not going to burn. Obviously, the semi-dead option, comes with no such guarantee. Though dont forget, there is 15-20 cm layer of earth under the straw to slow a fire down.
5. Wildlife habitat. This is my favourite part of the roof. Its a haven for birds, lizards, squirrels, and other creatures.
Atulya K Bingham is an author and sustainable building addict. She lives semi off-grid in Turkey in her beloved earthbag house. Her days are spent growing her own food, experimenting with natural building techniques, and writing. For a limited time you can download her ebookMud Mountain, The Secret Diary of an Accidental Off-Gridder for free!You can also finda free earthbag building PDFand other natural building tips from her website,The Mud Home. Read all of Atulyas MOTHER EARTH NEWS postshere.
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