Flat Green Roof Construction

Sizes of joists needed for flat roof construction.

Flat green roof construction.

For a green roof installation that pitch should be at least inch per foot of run. A green roof is in ecological terms a great and simple thing to do. Before the plants go up a structural engineer should check to ensure that the roof can support the weight of the engineered growing medium and plants. Old asbestos roofs are often replaced with flat roofs.

When you re thinking about what goes into a green roof the terminology can really get in the way. Used over a whole roof a green roof will be the single overriding design influence on the house as well as impacting on the construction right down to the foundations. So any timber joists that are used need to be strong enough to support this weight. Think the hanging gardens of babylon.

Rigid slab insulation must be strong enough to withstand the additional loads. Vapour control layer placed above the roof structure. These things will affect the timing cost and overall running of your project. Yet for historic modern style buildings like this old house s cambridge tv project flat roofs are at the core of the architecture meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape.

As you may imagine there is a fair amount of weight involved here in terms of boards felt etc. Regular intensive maintenance is required for this type of roof. Flat roofs aren t architecturally logical as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof. Unlike pitched green roofs flat green roofs can either take the form of extensive consisting of a thin layer of turf or sedum matting or intensive characterised by a greater soil depth that can even accommodate shrubs and trees.

Make sure your comply with flat roof building regulations. Sometimes the excitement of starting a new construction project or building venture can lead you to forget about the finer details such as planning permission and local building regulations. Of course you don t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. On flat roof construction you can add more vegetation as it is easy to access.

In some highly civilized cities or towns you will find green flat roof construction over buildings that provide easy access to the complete portion and that offer easy maintenance. It replaces the ecology the new house sits upon thereby replacing the habitat that a house takes away. I liked the idea of having a bit more greenery in the property we live. The majority of green roofs both intensive and extensive are build from the following elements.

Even a flat roof should have some pitch so that it sheds water toward gutters. Make a normal flat or sloped roof into a beautiful living garden. Oddly enough though this style of green roof isn t a cool roof.