Intensive Green Roof Weight And Structure

Other than the overall weight of the system dictating the construction of the supporting structure there s a huge scope for the design of a roof garden.

Intensive green roof weight and structure.

Intensive green roofs are far more complex than the sedum roofs. Green roofs may come in an endless variety of shapes and sizes from high rise public parks and lush rooftop gardens to tranquil urban spaces but there is one critical factor that has a major impact on them all weight. Green roof weight can range from hundreds of tons for an intensive green roof such as a small urban park or garden to just a couple of hundred kilos for a lightweight extensive green roof system like urbanscape featuring a lush mix of sedum vegetation. Unlike conventional earth covered structures garden roof assemblies are lightweight and can be installed on a wide variety of new and existing structures.

The venny green roof has shallow substrates on two types of roof the first roof is on shipping containers and is designed for a dead load of 250kg m 2 and live load of 100kg m 2. Once the plants are installed and the soil is moist these rooftop green spaces can weigh as much as 150 pounds per square foot. The second trussed roof is designed for a dead load of 160kg m 2 and a live load of 40kg m 2. Retrofit of existing structure to accommodate a green roof.

To bear this weight an expensive custom support structure is required. An interesting example of an intensive green roof is manaton the award winning private house on dartmoor that uses local meadow grass to blend the family home into the landscape. Intensive green roofs and roof gardens. However it is important to establish the landscape finish you are looking to achieve which will then have a direct impact on the system and.

You can compare an intensive roof to a normal garden and this is why an intensive green roof is also known as a roof garden or garden roof. Intensive green roofs are essentially roof gardens and may also need to allow for the additional weight of paving and terracing furniture and even trees. Even with lightweight materials being used in the soil substrate the depth of it means much higher weight loadings on the roof up to 600kg per m2 in some cases. Intensive systems allow the designer to create a park like setting so they are the best option for roof gardens that will be occupied.

A roof may have enough structural capacity built in to support a green roof of a given depth or reinforcement may be needed. Photo by andrew wutke. Intensive green roofs weigh from 35 pounds to beyond 100 pounds per square foot when dry it is all a matter of the soil depth which is affected by the amount of mounding that is used. Garden roof assembly hydrotech s garden roof assemblies combine the proven performance of our monolithic membrane 6125 roofing waterproofing with proven green technology.

The depth of an intensive green roof ranges from 15 cm to as much as 150 cm and can easily weigh as much 300 to more than 1500 kg m2. A feasibility study should be conducted on an existing structure to determine the capacity of a building to accept the weight of a green roof.