Any people with “green roof” experience out here? I am very intrested in the construction techniques used in them. Are they for comercial use mostly? – Pricey
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Try searching for the "Rooftop Bordello"
All your questions will be answered.
Joe H
My house has one. Veggies love it up there. Built another for a client. Have a 3rd started. It's the only design I'd consider for a heated space. Certainly not only commercial. Lots of variables in how they're put together.
You may be Pricey, but they aren't. Construction techniques? Need something to shed water and something to keep the dirt in place. Mine're heavy (thick dirt) so the weight must be anticipated.
Attached is a construction photo, more than a few yrs ago.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Thanks JOEH for the tip. Tom, how do you keep the soil from washing away? Silt nets of some type? I like the green roof look and it must save on energy also. Nice design btw.
Tom, how do you keep the soil from washing away?
Shallow slope, 10%. Grow something on it. Weeds work fine. Remember your title, green. In an arid climate, might be a challenge. Not here. But I well remember slopes in excess of 10% in the Sonoran Desert where I grew up. No substantial erosion problems.
A further complication is that I used, per PAHS, 6 mil plastic to keep the bottom layer of soil dry. Works fine with a 10% slope but I tried it on 45% behind my side retaining walls. Didn't work at all there. A little rain and the dirt slid right off. Solution was to use crushed stone on the plastic. Now the dirt's filling in a little a it's getting greener. Slope is the critical thing. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
How often do you mow? <g>
Jon Blakemore
How often do you mow? <g>
Not a bad place for croquet, but no mower lives here. Only problem I didn't forsee was... the natural order. Surrounded by a hardwood forest, it somehow didn't occur to me that the trees would naturally spread to the roof. Bad place for an 80' oak.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
I'm guessing your roof was not designed for a "live" oak design load.
Jon Blakemore
LOL Have to be a pretty small oak to be accommodated by my 75psf.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
> Mine're heavy (thick dirt) so the weight must be anticipated.
Especially important in earthquake country. A lot of weight up high becomes a real big problem when the foundation decides to go sideways.
-- J.S.
Great idea!
Here, with our dry weather and high, continuous winds, we would not be able to keep the dirt from blowing off, I think...
May work if it was on the side of a hill, with some protection.
Check out Greenroofs.com -there is lotsa good info there.
Stash
A thick tpo membrane as used on flat roofs can be had for half of normal if you pick up slightly damaged rolls from a roofing supplier--often they are slightly damaged in transit and the shipping company pays for a new roll and leaves the old roll with the suppler who then sells it at a deep discount.
Anyway, TPO roofs are easy to work with and are much much more durable than any solution that uses poly sheeting.