Green Roof Maintenance Problems

A faulty design of a roofing system can cause costly problems.

Green roof maintenance problems.

Plant loss plant loss is a common issue on green roofs and can happen for many different reasons. Maintenance for intensive green roofs can be labor intensive and expensive. The exact level of maintenance needed will depend on the type and desired purpose of each specific installation. 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. Extensive roofs require less watering and fertilizing but they require at least yearly inspections to remove unwanted self seeding plants. According to pierce one of the most common roof problems is incidental water ponding. Common green roof problem 1.

It is perceived to be one of the largest barriers to their installation. The plants will not be damaged by walking on them when conducting this maintenance. Issues with the membrane drainage. So much so that sedum roofs dominate uk green roof specifications comprising perhaps as much as 85 by area of a 100m annual market.

While extensive green roofs are generally considered low maintenance landscapes they do require specialized care at regular intervals especially during the period of establishment. All green roofs and walls will require some form of annual maintenance. No one visits them and they wonder why it s not alive months later. 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.

Low or no maintenance o m. They are strong enough to be able to compensate for this. Design deficiencies cost a lot of money to correct and they can only be fixed by replacing the roof. 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. 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. This includes removing weeds carried by the wind and applying fertilizer several times a year. A typical extensive sedum or meadow roof will only require limited maintenance.

An extensive green roof is almost maintenance free but your roof garden will always need a little maintenance.