Green Roof Design Layers

However the difference between green roofs and an actual green roof is that a green roof comes with various layers.

Green roof design layers.

A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium planted over a waterproofing membrane it may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. The systems are designed to ensure that stormwater can be used by plants for longer periods of time without oversaturation of the system. In short a green roof is made to purposely grow grass. Drainage and permeable green roof layers are essential considerations for green roof projects.

The layers of a green roof. Pitched green roof design considerations. In some areas green roofs are installed just to create a specialized recreation place for local communities it also contributes to the establishment of habitats for various insects. If stormwater is not properly drained it will pool and create structural risks.

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. Container gardens on roofs where plants are maintained in pots are not generally considered to be true green roofs although. Green roofs can help reduce energy costs for a building by acting as another layer of insulation between the inside and outside of the roof. All three types of roofs require specific layers of roofing materials not found on regular roofs.

Regardless of the depth of growing media soil and plant types used above the underlying architectural elements of most vegetated roof systems are typically the same with each layer playing a crucial role. We have chosen to use the word vegetative rather than the word green in this guide because a non vegetative roof could be considered to be environmentally green without being vegetative. When constructing a flat green roof the design aspect is much simpler. To make this process work various green roof layers are created to give it the most effective and solid chance of being.

Flat green roof design considerations. It also has plants and the like on top. The basic anatomy of a green roof consists of vegetation growing medium filter membrane drainage layer waterproof root repellant layer roofing membrane support for plantings above thermal insulation vapor control layer and structural roof support. Green roofs are constructed by merging a number of layers over a normal roof in order to create a proper root barrier an irrigation system as well as drainage.

Vegetative roofs also known as green roofs are thin layers of living vegetation installed on top of conventional flat or sloping roofs. Green roofs are suitable for any pitch of roof.