Germany, United Kingdom and Scandinavian are among countries that use eco-friendly roofing which contains actual vegetation because it saves the owners up to 50 percent in heating, cooling and insulation costs over time. Although, there are many different types of eco-friendly roofing, few are as good and beautiful for the environment such as the \’Living Green Roof” that integrates real green vegetation. Building your own eco-friendly roof is possible as there are easy-to-install kits that you can buy. Here are the steps on how to build it.
Things that you need:
- DIY manual Green roofing kit
- waterproofing layer (EPDM 1-mm-thick pond liner)
- filter layer (lightweight polyester geotextile)
- drainage layer (pre-fab plastic, gravel or shale)
- blankets or pre-vegetated mats
- plants
Steps:
- Meet a structural engineer to see if your rooftop will hold under the added pressure. You should also check with your town hall\’s city building codes to make sure that you can complete this project in your neighborhood. Any repairs or leaks have to be fixed before the new roof is put on.
- First, draw up a plan where the chimneys, flashing, satellite dishes and other obstacles are. Decide either you want to assemble the pieces on the ground and transport them up or does it layer by layer on top of the roof.
- Retrofit your roof with a waterproof membrane. If you want to use the Electric Field Vector Mapping to see there are no leaks before installing your roof, it is recommended that you hire a knowledgeable contractor to do this service. Add insulation for added energy savings. Your insulation should be ½ by ¼ inch drainage channels on the long edge and should be 1 to 4 inches thick. Attach this insulation to your waterproofing membrane by using metal fasteners, Grace Bistutik Tape or Chemind Chemflex sealant.
- Next, apply the green roof components such as the drainage layer, filter fabric and root barrier application. You can use DIY green roof system to save your cost. however, you can also create your own by making layers of biodegradable blanket root barrier, pebbles or gravel for drainage and curb made from steel, stone, aluminum, wood and concrete.
- Finally, add plants to your roof. Important note to remember that the suitable growing medium is a special formula contains mineral composites, shale and mushroom compost. If you are using DIY kit, the materials are provided together with everything you need to endure your plants grow healthy. The ideal plants that you can plant for your green roof are chives, sedum variaties, poppies, roseum, stonecrop and other specialty plants.
Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5121471_build-roof-green-home.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pnwra/460698511/
