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.
Green roof systems maintenance.
One weed may in turn into dozens between visits.
Most will have their plants trimmed plus you may need to water the roof and pay for that water and you may need to buy replacement plants if some die or succumb to pests.
Shaw further explains that a green roof will have more costs associated with it than other roof systems because you must plan for ongoing maintenance.
Green roofs will require a level of maintenance comparable to at grade landscapes.
If the green roof is installed in a warm and dry period we recommend watering the green roof regularly for the first 2 to 3 weeks.
With commonly invasive weeds this period is too long to prevent them from reproducing by flowering and setting seed.
Green roofs are low maintenance not no maintenance.
Maintenance for a living roof needs to be considered from the outset.
All new commercial buildings are required to have roof and gutter checks twice a year and an extensive green roof can be designed to align with this requirement.
The key to simple and easy green roof maintenance lies in frequent short visits.
Inspect the green roof at least 5 times a year for weeds and seeds carried by the wind and remove these.
Read more green roof maintenance.
The benefits of green roofs.
Some are obvious but others you may not be aware of.
There are a vast amount of benefits to having a green roof.
Lightweight low maintenance extensive green roofs.
Some green roof suppliers will suggest that 1 or 2 months between maintenance visits is reasonable.
In order to keep your green roof system in tip top condition you will need to show it some tlc.
Extensive green roofs are constructed using shallow depths of growing mediums known as substrates and vegetated with low maintenance plants.
Because a green roof is a living system the maintenance plan may require a certain amount of modification over time as the roof matures and you come.
This will enable the plants to sink their roots into the substrate.
The option to specify a substrate system allows for a wider variety of vegetation to be chosen.