Green Roofs

Making Green Roofs Easy...

The Green Roofing has changed dramatically in recent years, bringing with it a lot of interest. This is partly due to the low maintenance of Green Roofs Systems, different roof-top gardens available, eco friendly, long term benefits and the newer bio-diversity roofs. now available

Benefits

• Polution Reduced
  
• Creation of Habitat
  
• Acoustic Performance
  
• Stormwater attenuation
  
• Thermal Performance
  
• Waterproofing Life
  
• Recreation
  
• Reduced Energy Costs
  
• Extended Roof Life
  
• Lower your carbon footprint
  
• Attractive
  
• Reduce the energy requirements of a building
  
• Provides insulation to the structure therefore reduces the cost of heating
  
• Reduces air and noise pollution
  
• Provides useable outdoor patio spaces
  

Architects and Designers have to sell a Green Roof on its economic criteria before its environmental benefits and in the long term a Green Roof can pay for itself, and prove to be economic, however, initially it has to be economic to install a Green Roof compared to more traditional roof finishes.

Keele University: The Hornbeam Building (Click to view larger version in new window)

The Green Roof protects the underlying waterproofing system from ultra-violet degradation and thermal shock. It is estimated that simply protecting the waterproofing system in this way will double the life expectancy, thus reducing future repair, maintenance and replacement costs, the life of the building, when compared to traditional roof finishes can be significant as well as Green Roof systems extending the life of waterproofing and provide biodiversity and sustainability to the environment.

Roof Gardens are often an opportunity to design attractive and exciting Roof Scapes. They are the most widely specified in Europe and have been installed on a wide range of prestigious buildings.

There are maintenance costs with having a Green Roof finish, but there are low maintenance or high maintenance intensive roofs that also offer the benefit of usable recreational space along with the added value to the building. In sensitive areas, planning approval for a particular scheme may hinge on the Green Roof finish.

Flat roofs are usually under used and In cities where land cost is at a premium, using the full building for a recreational space at roof level is an intelligent use of available space. The current drive by government to encourage us to limit the effects of global warming by conserving energy is having the effect of persuading everyone to introduce more eco-friendly system such as green roofs, which can also improve thermal efficiency in buildings. An extensive Green Roof at Canary Wharf was so effective at naturally cooling the building¡¦s interior during the summer than the air conditioning system it therefore became redundant.