The past decade has seen an increasing interest and popularity in the use of green roofs and they are now being utilised across all sectors. Green roofs benefit the wider environment through their positive impact on sustainability, biodiversity and the attenuation of storm water.
There are four different types of Green Roof to consider:
Extensive Green Roofs – Extensive green roofs have low management requirements and do not usually require artificial irrigation. Based on thin soil or substrate layers, planting styles are naturalistic with the object of establishing a self-sustaining plant community, such as sedums or hardy wildflower mixtures.
Semi-Intensive Green Roofs – Semi-intensive green roofs involve roof coverings with plants of moderate size and require less maintenance than intensive options. The level and style of plants make them a more attractive proposal than extensive green roofs.
Intensive Green Roofs – Intensive green roofs need similar management to a ground level garden, usually comprise a deep soil or growing medium and require artificial irrigation. They can be adapted to accommodate virtually any type of plant and often include hard surfaces for access. The main reason for installing an intensive green roof is to provide amenity space.
Brown/Bio-Diverse Roofs – Brown roofs are similar to green roofs in that they share many of the same benefits and construction methods. However, when a brown roof is designed, the overriding aim is to encourage biodiversity. Brown roofs usually utilise local soil and spoil to provide the substrate for the roof, the roof will often initially be brown in colour. However, over time plant species will grow over this substrate and the end result will be a green-coloured roof – albeit one that nature has had a large hand in “designing”.
Rateavon are approved contractors for Kemper, Alumasc Roofing and Bauder.
