Green roof layers – When you hear the term green roof, you probably think of something to do with Zamp Solar 115-Watt Expansion Kit, Add More Power to any Roof Top Solar System or something similar, right?
After all, green tech is becoming much bigger than ever before as we start to harness this fantastic power to benefit ourselves moving forward.
However, the difference between “green” roofs and an actual green roof is that a green roof comes with various layers. It also has plants and the like on top.
In short, a green roof is made to purposely grow grass. To make this process work, various green roof layers are created to give it the most effective and solid chance of being successful.
The layers of a green roof are as follows, from top to bottom:
- Plants
- Growing Medium
- Filter Cloth
- Drainage Layer
- Root Barrier
- Membrane
All of these work in tandem to provide an effective level of protection for both the property below and the actual plants themselves.
The benefits of having the various green roof layers installed properly will be obvious once you see it working as it makes an incredible difference to the insulation and quality of your home.
As well as making it warmer and helping you to save money on things like heating bills and energy costs, your home will be less likely to suffer from damp as a green roof is far more likely to maintain the overall quality and strength of its original structure.
UNDERSTANDING GREEN ROOF LAYERS
Each of the various layers of a green roof do something different, and therefore it’s important to learn about these various green roof layers to get yourself acquainted with what they do. The six main listings that were included above deal with the following:
- Plants – The plant layer provides biodiversity to the roof and also ensures that it can provide additional oxygen into your home. It helps to keep the roof cool as it takes in most of the light and, therefore, the heat.
- Growing Medium – The growing medium will ensure that you have a suitable area to actually grow in, especially if you have an extreme or rather uncongenial rooftop style. This mix is made up to ensure that materials can blend together effectively.
- Filter Cloth – The filter cloth layer, a useful extension to the green roof drainage layer, can be easily managed on its own as it works primarily to help remove clogs and excess organic material from the drain. This is very important as it provides the level of security needed to ensure safety.
- Drainage Layer – The green roof drainage layer provides you with a way to ensure there is nothing getting through and that excess water is drained away to avoid any waterlogging or increase in weight on the roof. The green roof drainage layer thickness makes sure that nothing can go wrong below, offering a solid and effective guard. Also, the green roof drainage layer material is made to be sturdy and strong so that piercing can be limited and that the integrity of the entire program can be retained with ease.
- Root Barrier – The root barrier is the system that avoids the membrane underneath from being pierced and penetrated by roots, ensuring that the system can remain in top shape for as long as it possibly can without needing any adjustments or changes.
ADDITIONAL GREEN ROOF LAYERS
Of course, this is not all that you might have in your roofing system. Another popular choice is to add in the things listed below.
- Protection boards
- Extra insulation
- Moisture retention systems
- Irrigation
- Erosion blankets
All of these help to retain the quality and performance of the system without ever really putting it under any excess stress or strain along the way.
By doing this, you ensure that the whole system can be a lot easier to use and a lot more enjoyable to be a part of.
It just takes a bit of time and patience to get it all right, but you will find that each of these additional layers can be a very useful addition as they stop the roof from being damaged or limited.
Depending on the green roof layers’ thickness that you go with, you will need to determine which are the most important to have included. One that we recommend considering is the green roof insulation layer.
This can add an extra level of comfort and make your property in general feel a lot better to be in. The whole thing, though, is more or less fine as long as you have the five mandatory selections.
Just make sure that the person carrying out the installation at your property knows what they are talking about, and they can give you the help that you need in making it all stand out and look the part, as well as pick the right additional green roof layers to add.
Just take the time that is needed to fully understand why you might want to add in the optional layers of a green roof.
If you are worried that your roof may not be good enough as it is to just be a green roof, you really will benefit by going and getting something like this carried out.
Additional layers might cost a bit more, but it will be a whole lot cheaper than dealing with problems that are created on the roof due to a lack of structure, quality, drainage or green roof layers to deal with the debris!
Whatever you decide to add in, you can be sure that green roofs are becoming far more popular for a reason.
Last update on 2023-07-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Hi, I’m Jim. I was a roofing constructor for 20 years, before deciding to start myrooff.com and gather the best content about roofing. I love woodworking and construction and it was only natural for me to start this passion project of mine. Thank you for visitng.