All green roofs and walls will require some form of annual maintenance.
Green roof maintenance problems.
It is perceived to be one of the largest barriers to their installation.
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.
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.
Design deficiencies cost a lot of money to correct and they can only be fixed by replacing the roof.
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.
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.
Maintenance for intensive green roofs can be labor intensive and expensive.
According to pierce one of the most common roof problems is incidental water ponding.
Issues with the membrane drainage.
If you re noticing gradual or very quick plant loss let us highlight what some of the issues may be.
For example that green roofs are only for ecobuffs they re high maintenance and they re experimental and risky.
The exact level of maintenance needed will depend on the type and desired purpose of each specific installation.
Plant loss plant loss is a common issue on green roofs and can happen for many different reasons.
While extensive green roofs are generally considered low maintenance landscapes they do require specialized care at regular intervals especially during the period of establishment.
Low or no maintenance o m.
Extensive roofs require less watering and fertilizing but they require at least yearly inspections to remove unwanted self seeding plants.
This includes removing weeds carried by the wind and applying fertilizer several times a year.
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.
A typical extensive sedum or meadow roof will only require limited maintenance.
They are strong enough to be able to compensate for this.
An extensive green roof is almost maintenance free but your roof garden will always need a little maintenance.
Common green roof problem 1.
The plants will not be damaged by walking on them when conducting this 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.
