Green Roof Maintenance Problems

This includes removing weeds carried by the wind and applying fertilizer several times a year.

Green roof maintenance problems. All green roofs and walls will require some form of annual maintenance. Green roof temperatures can be 30 40 f lower than those of conventional roofs and can reduce city wide ambient temperatures by up to 5 f. A typical extensive sedum or meadow roof will only require limited maintenance. According to pierce one of the most common roof problems is incidental water ponding.

They are strong enough to be able to compensate for this. Low or no maintenance o m. Common green roof problem 1. Plant loss plant loss is a common issue on green roofs and can happen for many different reasons.

It is perceived to be one of the largest barriers to their installation. An extensive green roof is almost maintenance free but your roof garden will always need a little maintenance. So much so that sedum roofs dominate uk green roof specifications comprising perhaps as much as 85 by area of a 100m annual market. No one visits them and they wonder why it s not alive months later.

Sedum is popular because it s claimed to be low cost less growing medium low weight less implied cost to strengthen the structure below and considered fit and forget i e. Extensive roofs require less watering and fertilizing but they require at least yearly inspections to remove unwanted self seeding plants. The most concerning and damaging error regarding green roof maintenance is not having a plan in place says andy creath owner and founder of green roofs of colorado a firm that designs installs maintains and consults on green roofs. For example that green roofs are only for ecobuffs they re high maintenance and they re experimental and risky.

Design deficiencies cost a lot of money to correct and they can only be fixed by replacing the roof. A faulty design of a roofing system can cause costly problems. The green roof will no doubt generate lots of interest so it is important to create a site specific maintenance plan to keep it looking and functioning properly. Maintenance for intensive green roofs can be labor intensive and expensive.

If you re noticing gradual or very quick plant loss let us highlight what some of the issues may be. The plants will not be damaged by walking on them when conducting this maintenance. 1 2 in addition green roofs can reduce building energy use by 0 7 compared to conventional roofs reducing peak electricity demand and leading to an annual savings of 0 23 per square foot of the roof. Unless design deficiencies are corrected the problems they cause will likely come back.

The exact level of maintenance needed will depend on the type and desired purpose of each specific installation.