The Green Dream Gets Ready for a Green Roof

other than the obviouse space saver, what are the advantages of putting a garden on your roof versus an open area on the ground? and how will you deal with erosion caused by water, growing roots, and things like that. Just curiouse.

I´m not sure about the drain. "The slope goes from 6.5 inches to 1/4-inch to direct water to the scuppers, essentially drains that channel runoff to pipes."

Well, usually there sooner or later will be leaks when you have internal drain. Clogging can´t be avoided in the long run. Then you will have leakage as the water pressure will increase becaus of the depth at the deepest part of the roof.

Maybe you would be better off with a drain that can´t be clogged over the years. I think you need a "safe failing" option. If you lower the "wall" in the deepest part of the bassin, water will overflow if/when the drainage pipe is clogged. Actually you dont need drainage pipe at all. You might be better of with drainage via a scupper with a chain directing the water to the ground. On the ground you have some nice stones for good looks and to avoid splatter.

Eric- A green roof reduces the temp on the roof in the summer and insulates it in the winter, it's great to look at, provides storm water management and new wildlife habitats...

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jorkelman- The green roof areas all flow to scuppers that are cut into the curbs- I did not show that part of the process in the image gallery- The curb cuts have scupper boxes sitting outside the curbs and the water flows to modular water storage containers...

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Forfilling my inner saucer girl! LOL

CONGRATS on the roof! You're using an old tradition from Europe that has been used for the lst several hundred years. It's beautiful, and serves a very basic need, insulation. Good for you! Oh and hello John, it's only been 20yrs! LOLOLOL

Forfilling my inner saucer girl! LOL

CONGRATS on the roof! You're using an old tradition from Europe that has been used for the last several hundred years. It's beautiful, and serves a very basic need, insulation. Good for you! Oh and hello John, it's only been 20yrs! LOLOLOL

I see here that you mentioned your roof trays and I read in the current issue that you got them and the soil for about $5.50 per square foot. How are you getting them at these prices? It seems impossible.

(right now my highschool is planning a roof garden to install sometime in the spring, but our budget won't allow us to get any of the trays we've found so far. Most of which are around 30-40 dollars)

I applaud your endeavors and see alot of advantages. I was wondering how you prevent the light weight soil from leaching out of the trays. especially during months of rain when your foliage has died off. And in terms of maintenance, do you need to constantly plant new greenery according to the seasons? I rememberr how the Scotts would build into a mound ograss covered dirt, however it was covered by a climatized grass. Is this the main idea?Will it also be feasible to say that you will need to roate the trays regulary to ensure even grwth and coverage?

I am excited to hear that someone else in the capital region of NY has tried a diy green roof! I am also interested in a source for trays at $5.50.

We built a diy greenroof on our house in upstate NY near Albany two years ago and found that trays were prohibitively expensive and also unnecessary on a low pitch roof, since the plants themselves will prevent any loss of soil to erosion. However, now we want to green a steeper slope and need to hold the dirt back, so trays will help.

I would have done some things a little differently than the green dream. First, all that is really necessary on a low slope is drainage mat -- which itself can be somewhat expensive, but not as bad as containers. Good drainage is a necessity with a low pitch, so you don't end up with a bog. Containers tend to retain more water and can end up too wet unless the slope is adequate or your soil mix is very porous or the climate fairly arid. Second, I would have pitched the roof itself slightly, eliminating the necessity for the tapered insulation. (Of course, that might not have been feasible with your construction method.) TPO is plenty tough enough to handle the green roof and will last many years with the vegetation protecting it from the elements.(EPDM will work well also.) With the proper choice of plants, roots will never be a problem. You can make your own lightweight dirt substitute inexpensively with wholesale material from a greenhouse supplier, instead of a garden store.

Our green roof was on a low slope structurally adequate roof already covered in TPO. We used landscape fabric as a cushion, added drainage mat and 4 to 6 inches of 40% perlite, 40% coir (a waste product from coconuts that is a superior, sustainable replacement for peat) and 20% vermiculite and compost. We edged the roof with a small parapet consisting simply of bricks loose stacked two high. The roots have now bound them in tightly. We planted sedums, decorative grasses and ajuga, and the result is fantastic. It is aesthetic, the roof is cooler and well protected, the runoff is reduced to a minimum and an ice dam problem is gone. So far, our only problem is maple tree seeds from some nearby trees.

If you live in a warm weather climate, sedum mats might be something you could use for a roofing system. I believe you can get the mats for around $5.00 a square foot from Oasis Water Efficient Gardens in Escondido, CA. they have a website at www.Oasis-plants.com. You would need to put soil in under the mats though. Hope this helps some of you.

I am really interested in adding a green roof to my future home and using it as a garden, but I wonder how it would hold up under a extreme weather conditions. http://iheartcontainergardening.com/

jorkelman- The green roof areas all flow to scuppers that are cut into the curbs- I did not show that part of the process in the image gallery- The curb cuts have scupper boxes sitting outside the curbs and the water flows to modular water storage containers..
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بنينا ديي الخضراء على سطح منزلنا في شمال ولاية نورث كارولاينا قرب ألباني منذ عامين ، ووجدت أن الصواني وباهظة التكاليف وغير ضرورية أيضا على سقف الملعب منخفضة ، منذ النباتات أنفسهم سيمنع أي فقدان التربة لعوامل التعرية. ومع ذلك ، والآن نريد أن منحدر حاد الخضراء وضرورة عقد التراب مرة أخرى ، والصواني من شأنه أن يساعد
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jorkelman-Den gröna takytor alla flödet till spygatt som skär in i trottoarkanter-Jag har inte visat att en del av processen i bildgalleriet-Tjänstevikten nedskärningar har kullkasta lådor sitter utanför trottoarkanter och vattnet rinner till modulära containrar vatten lagring ..

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Complimenti per il tetto! State usando una vecchia tradizione in Europa che è stato usato negli ultimi centinaia di anni. E 'bello, e serve una necessità di base, isolamento. Buon per te! Oh, e ciao Giovanni, è solo 20yrs stato! LOLOLOL
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