Living Green Roofing

green roofing article

First time I heard the phrase “green roofing” I thought of a roof with green shingles but after more research, I found information that was interesting. After speaking to some professional roof contractors in Columbus GA I learned that basically a green roof consist of around 6 inches of soil on top of waterproof materials that lay on a roof for growing a garden with various types of vegetation including flowers, shrubs vegetables and fruits. I have not seen this much in the U.S. but green roofs have been used in Europe for over 25 years on mostly on flat rooftops. This type of roof has a waterproof layer over the sheathing and includes a drainage layer and root barrier. Because of the weight per square foot, green roofs need adequate structural support. This type of system extends the longevity of your roof in Columbus GA and Phenix City AL because it prevents long term damage from the sun. Also helps with insulation which can save on your power bill during extreme cold or hot weather seasons. Unless you plan to water your plants often, I suggest growing vegetation that is more drought tolerant.

Different types of green roofing can support anywhere from 20 to 140 pounds of vegetation per square foot and some require more maintenance that others. A sufficient barrier between the plant roots and the actual roof would have to be implemented to prevent plant roofs from damaging whatever type of roofing material you might have. Many articles I have read about green roofing did not mention you must have access to your roof to maintain the vegetation you are growing.

This is a complex process so you will need the help of a professional roofing contractor in Columbus GA. This contractor should determine if your roof is structurally capable of handling the weight of any green roof you decide to install. There is also the possibility the sections of your green roof could shift resulting in a major task for you to rectify this situation.

In large urban areas there are more asphalt streets and cement walkways with little to no vegetation so flooding is common and if more commercial buildings had low maintenance green roofs, this would help with the flooding issue. As a mostly cement city absorbs heat from the sun, it gets to a point where it starts to radiate heat causing large urban areas to be hotter than the suburbs so the more buildings in large urban areas that have green roofs can help reduce the radiant heat.

Another terminology you might hear for a green roof is a living roof which has a nice visual appearance which could help with the resale value of your property especially if you have vegetables and herbs growing. More people are looking for property in Harris County GA that is environmentally friendly so a green roof is definitely something you might want to consider if you have a building that supports the weight of a green roof with access to it. Speaking of being environmentally friendly, there are tons of old worn out roofing materials that are going to our landfills annually so a living green roof would reduce that dramatically by extending the life of your roof. The initial cost of a green roof can cost as much as $35 per square foot depending on the Columbus GA roofing contractor. Leaking can occur when plant roots damage the waterproof layer and causing more structural failures.

Conclusion

As mentioned above there are many advantages of having a green roof such as reducing your power bill and extending the life of your roof in addition to preventing large rainwater runoff from commercial buildings in large urban areas causing flooding. Also preventing radiant heat from asphalt and cement in urban areas as well. It is very expensive to have this type of roof installed so I am not sure if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Obviously this is something you would not consider if your home does not have quick access to your roof so I would imagine most residential homes do not have a green roof. The only application I can see for this type of roof would be large commercial buildings in Columbus GA with flat roofs but then you have the extra added expense of maintenance. Even though living green roofs have been popular in Europe for decades, I just do not see this taking off in the U.S.





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