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Green Roofs
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Benefits of Green Roofs
Reaching New Heights
A green roof is typically a partially or completely covered roof with vegetation and growing medium. Many green roofs incorporate layers of drainage and irrigation systems.
Over the last five years, the demand for green roofs has doubled and is expected to continue to increase by 50% across both rural and urban settings throughout the UK.
Some of the many benefits of green roofs:
- Creates natural habitats: Green roof vegetation will establish and provide a home for small wildlife, insects and invertebrates.
- Adds biodiversity: Green roofs encourage an extensive spread of species including plants, insects, birds and small animals.
- Provides stormwater management: Soft landscaping on green roofs can reduce the risk of flooding as the substrates and planting slows the flow of water. Many green roofs are now included as part of wider SUDS schemes.
- Disguises buildings: Green roofs help buildings blend into their surroundings and replaces the land lost by constructing the building initially.
- Reduces pollution levels in an urban environment: Green roofs can help to absorb noise and take out harmful pollutants from the atmosphere.
- Acts as an insulation layer: In Winter, green roofs can improve a building’s indoor temperature by 25% and can maintain a consistent temperature in Summer reducing the need for artificial cooling systems.
- Improves mental health and well-being: Accessible green roofs can effectively promote social interaction, physical exercise, stress reduction and can contribute to improving mood and attention span.
- Contributes to the reduction of climate change: Green roofs help turn down the urban heat island effect by deflecting radiation from the sun and releasing moisture into the atmosphere.
There are many types of green roof soils and substrates which cover a wide variety of applications. Our substrates have been incorporated into high profile projects across the UK, providing the correct amounts of fertility, nutrients and organic matter for a successful green roof.
Services
What we can offer
- Intensive green roofs which are much like a roof garden, providing public access and intricate planting and paving schemes.
- Extensive green roofs generally do not have access, require minimal maintenance and often feature sedum.
- Podium green roofs are typically constructed on top of a car park, residential space or commercial space at ground level.
A Sustainable Supplier
Environmental Credentials
Green-tree Roof Garden Substrates are manufactured using recycled materials, offering an environmentally sustainable product. All ingredients that make up this highly organic growing media are sourced locally to each production site. By sourcing all elements from the UK,
the Green-tree brand can guarantee a truly environmentally-friendly product from manufacture to installation.
UK Green Roof Substrate Test Methods
BS8616 is the British Standard code for the Specification for performance parameters and test methods for green roof substrates. This standard is currently only designed to test Extensive substrates meaning Intensive substrates are still to be tested to the guidelines set out in the GRO code.
Characteristics of a good substrate include:
- Lightweight to reduce weight loading on the roof
- Good aeration and water holding properties. It should hold sufficient water for plant growth but enable sufficient water to infiltrate to prevent water pooling on the roof
- Controlled fertility levels. It should be low enough in nutrition to prevent excessive
vegetation growth but hold enough nutrition for healthy long-term vegetation - Having appropriate chemical properties for the intended vegetation
By conforming to the relevant British standards, Green-tree has successfully demonstrated its ability to manufacture a quality substrate that will aid good vegetation growth in a green roof project.
Soil Testing
Each batch of substrate will undergo rigorous testing to ensure its consistency and compliancy before being loaded and delivered to your project.
Reputable and Reliable
Our green roof garden substrates have been installed on many projects across the UK, landscape and roofing contractors find the product easy to work with, of a consistent quality and dependable supply from start to finish.
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