Green Roof Design Layers

One important item to design for is an increased structural load.

Green roof design layers.

Green roof layers a typical green roof begins with a quality waterproof membrane a root barrier the drainage layer the soil referred to as media and plants. Flat green roof design considerations. Pitched green roof design considerations. However the difference between green roofs and an actual green roof is that a green roof comes with various layers.

There are a number of things to consider when designing for a green roof. The intent of this guide is to provide information regarding the state of the art of vegetative roof design and construction. Installing green roof layers will not only make your home look beautiful but also keep it warmer which will help you in reduction of electricity cost that you have to spend on heating bills. To make this process work various green roof layers are created to give it the most effective and solid chance of being.

Vegetative roofs also known as green roofs are thin layers of living vegetation installed on top of conventional flat or sloping roofs. A pitched roof reduces the risk of water penetrating the roof structure allowing the use of fewer waterproofing and drainage layers. If stormwater is not properly drained it will pool and create structural risks. The systems are designed to ensure that stormwater can be used by plants for longer periods of time without oversaturation of the system.

The design of the different drainage layers allows for a portion of the stormwater to be retained above where the water is allowed to flow freely off of the roof. The media will detain some. In short a green roof is made to purposely grow grass. All these layers work in a cycle to provide protection to your property as well as allow healthy growth for plants.

This is especially true of intensive green roofs which can have soil that is two feet deep or more. You just need to build up the core layers as per manufacturer s instructions when constructing a green flat roof. It also has plants and the like on top. Green roofs are suitable for any pitch of roof.

A green roof needs to be designed to hold enough water for the plants and to efficiently direct excess water off the roof. As a rule of thumb a pitch under 10 degrees is normal for green roofs where a minimum fall of 1 60 can help encourage drainage.