DIY lawn on the roof

In Western countries, it is difficult to surprise someone with an oasis on the roof. But for many residents of the post -Soviet space, this is a miracle of natural design in a curiosity. Although, if climatic conditions allow, you can make a lawn on the roof of the house with your own hands.

Choice in favor of a green roof

The roof with the lawn is not only fashionable and stylish. She has a number of significant advantages:

1. Saves space. For those who do not have a large plot of land near the house, the lawn on the roof will be an excellent solution to the problem. You can sit on it, walk and even conduct classes of your favorite yoga.
2. Environmental friendliness. When heated, almost any artificial material begins to secrete harmful substances, and the roofs, especially in summer, heat up to high temperatures. The roof with grass will also serve to produce oxygen, which is very relevant for residents of the metropolis. Solar batteries can be installed on such a roof, then the owners will receive cheap electricity at the same time.
3. Absorbs moisture. For such a roof, the rain is not terrible, 40 percent of moisture is absorbed by the plant, and 60 evaporates into the atmosphere.
4. Heat and sound insulation- greens on the roof will bring additional heat in the cold season, and in the summer it will not allow to penetrate the harmful ultraviolet light. Fires are not afraid of her, noise from the street does not penetrate so much.

Types of green roofs

Depending on the construction technology, there are several types of plant roofs:

1. Extensive - in this form, use light soil, which has a thickness of not more than 15 cm. Plants are planted that do not require careful care. Typically, evergreen plants are used that grow by carpet. It can be Seduma. Per 1 sq. M. The area accounts for 20 kg of soil. Therefore, the base should not be strengthened additionally. This is the simplest technique, it is suitable for landscaping baths, arbors, and summer houses.                                                                                                                       
2. Intensive - in this option, a real garden is broken on the roof of the house, a lawn is made, paths are laid out, there are recreation areas, there can be gazebos. On such lawns, pools are often arranged, usually it happens on high-rise buildings and shopping and entertainment centers and on expensive hotels. The soil in this version has a thickness of about 1.5 m per 1 square. m, it turns out up to 700 kg of weight, so a reliable base is required.                                                                                                                             
3. The roofs are flat and with a slope. Previously, plant roofs were made exclusively on even surfaces, usually in large cities, but today you can increasingly see an oasis on the roofs with a slope, in private farmsteads. To make them, use special screens. And only simple green plants are planted, more often lawn grass.

DIY vegetable roof

The lawn on the roof is created for centuries of proven technology, only materials change, they become modern:

1. The base consists of a bearing roof structure. In a flat one - these are plates or concrete ceilings, for inclined - a crate. If there is a tile on the roof of the house or other roofing material, it must be disassembled. If the plate is completely flat, then you need to make a small slope, it should go to the drain and be at an angle of 5 degrees. To do this, you need to make a cement screed.
2. Be sure to put waterproofing on the base. Whatever plants you plant, they will need to be watered, which means that the moisture will leak on the materials under the lawn, and the house will begin to deteriorate. The waterproofing will fenced off the plants from the roof itself, it should be reliable, because if it starts to flow, it will be very problematic to replace with another, you will have to tear off the entire lawn, and this is long and expensive. Therefore, you need to immediately take reliable material, it is best if it is a plastic film, a polymer membrane or liquid rubber. The selected material must be laid directly on the roof. You can make a coating of sea plywood for even greater reliability. If you have boards, make sure that there are no gaps in them. Waterproofing should be laid in two layers, attached one layer with screws to the roof, and put the second on top and soldered at the seams.
3. Now it is necessary to carry out thermal insulation, for it they use cork slabs. They need to be laid, joining thoroughly with each other. The slabs of the upper layer are joined with glue. If the roof is inclined, then it does not need to be additionally insulated, because such a layer is already located between the rafters. And if you plant green moss on your roof, then keep in mind that he, in itself, is a natural insulation.
4. The next layer of a plant roof should protect the structure from plant roots. They make such a barrier from a polymer film, ideally it should have a metal coating. And you need to put it on a layer of waterproofing. If you look for it well, you can find waterproofing in the store with protection from roots. If you have ground cover plants, then this layer is not needed.
5. To delay water, you need to make a drainage layer. On the inclined roof, this layer is not needed, since the water will drain on its own through the openings for the drain. If the roof is flat, then you need to take care of the drainage of water yourself, it should not stagnate. For lower drainage, expanded clay or stab pumice can be used. Special mats that resemble washcloths are also sold. You can use cheaper material - gravel. During the installation of the drainage layer, it is necessary to mount perforated tubes intended for water drainage.
6. Filtration is needed in order not to clog drainage. As a filter, you can use geotextiles with greater density. This layer will not allow the soil and drainage to be mixed. You need to wrap the canvas.                                           
7. For an inclined roof, you need to put the crate, otherwise the unexpected soil will simply slide. You can use a geogrid that looks like plastic cells. It has a small weight. If the slope of the roof is small, then it is enough to make wooden partitions that will not allow the slide of the soil. An interesting drawing can be laid out with grates. Along the perimeter of the crate, you need to make sides.
8. You need to choose the soil based on those plants that will grow on the roof. For a lawn, a layer of 10 cm is enough. It should be noted that the soil should be light, warm, porous. It should be resistant to seal. Ordinary land from the garden is not taken for this purpose. Here a mixture of peat and small expanded clay, sand, clay and shales is suitable, you can add a little bark and wood chips. The soil needs to be mixed with fertilizers, as well as with seeds of lawn grass.

Greens on the roof

After the soil is ready, you can plant plants. It is best to choose the most unpretentious species so that they do not need to take care of them often and for a long time. On the roof, conditions are close to the desert - heat, wind and dust.
In the store, you can buy seeds of special lawn frost -resistant grass, then the roof will be green even in winter, for the same purposes, ground cover plants are planted such as phloxes, fellow, purifies and sedium. Naturally, the roofs of moss is good, as well as a lawn with meadow herbs, such as bells, oregano, lavender. The height of the grass cover should not exceed more than 30 cm height, otherwise it will not be a lawn, but a whole park.

Roofing

1. Before you make the lawn on the roof, you need to understand whether you are ready to take care of them, water, fertilize. An abandoned lawn will spoil even the most beautiful house.
2. It is best to build a lawn in April, at this time, grass and other plants will be well accepted, and the warmth of repair work is already enough.
3. The soil before planting plants should be with fertilizers and loosened.
4. Periodically, lawn grass must be mowed so that the roof has a neat look.
5. Plants need to be watered as the soil dries. In dry weather, this must be done every day. The soil should be well moistened.
6. Once a month, plants need to be fed with mineral fertilizers. After about six months, you need to feed less often, because the plants that die will turn into humus over time.
7. In the fall, the lawn must be treated from the fungus, for this, a poundsolo is diluted by 1 hundred hundred, a bucket of water and a matchbox of the drug, and thoroughly sprayed.
8. In autumn, bald spots are looking for on the roof, they are being repaired, they are corrected, they are sowed, and grass is sowed. The lawn is regularly cleaned of leaves and garbage, and you do not need to mow closer to winter. In November, no need to walk on the grass so as not to damage the lawn.
9. To move along the roof-gas without fearing for greens, you can make the paths like in the garden. You can also put a gazebo and benches, a rocking chair, in a word, all that in order to get a good rest in nature without leaving your own house.