Green Roof Construction Definition

Depending on the weight capacity of the building s roof and the aims of the design.

Green roof construction definition.

A green roof is a layer of vegetation planted over a waterproofing system that is installed on top of a flat or slightly sloped roof. What is a green roof. 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. But they also must create a growing area and potentially provide support irrigation and root protection barriers while staying as light as possible.

The layers of a green roof must like any roof accommodate drainage and protect the building from the elements with a waterproof membrane. This is most noticeable in intensive green roofs since there is a thicker and more consistent layer of soil which provides a higher insulating value. Although there are no precise definitions of. Green roofs are also known as vegetative or eco roofs.

Extensive green roofs are lightweight with a shallow layer of growing substrate of less than 200 mm deep requiring minimal maintenance. Container gardens on roofs where plants are maintained in pots are not generally considered to be true green roofs although. An extensive green roof can reduce sound from outside by 40 decibels while an intensive green roof can reduce sound by 46 50 decibels peck et al. They provide shade to the top of a building evapotranspiration.

Green roofs have excellent noise attenuation especially for low frequency sounds. It replaces the ecology the new house sits upon thereby replacing the habitat that a house takes away. The plants in a green roof absorb water through their roots and then use surrounding heat from the air to evaporate the water while some roofs can reach temperatures of up to 90 f in the summertime these two features can allow. They fall into three main categories extensive intensive and semi intensive.

Two types of green roof exist. Green roofs can increase a building s marketability. Green roofs reduce the temperature of the building and the surrounding air in multiple ways. Green roofs can help reduce energy costs for a building by acting as another layer of insulation between the inside and outside of the roof.

A green roof is in ecological terms a great and simple thing to do.