Sometimes you want to break out of the chain hugs of stone cities and get closer to nature. To some extent, the technology of landscaping roofs will help to realize this insurmountable craving. The idea that interested the public is relatively recently, as the world. So, the Scandinavians still in the period of the Middle Ages watered the roof of the residential house by the turret, and the inhabitants of Central Asia were hidden under green roofs from the scooping rays of the sun. Modern project of landscaping roofs received broad fame in 1960 in Germany. Advantages and ways to implement this interesting idea will discuss in the article.

What is the gardening of this kind? At the roof of the building, the membrane canvas is installed on the roof, and the soil layer is poured from above - the basis of the green roof.

Gardening Roofs at home: Advantages

Urbanization with such perseverance dismands all new territories, which is soon, perhaps the only available place to break the small garden, the roofs will be the roofs of the houses. So, what "clings" is the know-how? Gardening contributes:

• improving microclimate;
• an increase in the absorption of heat heated roof. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of warming residential rooms in the heating season;
• establishing relative coolness in the house in the hot season;
• reduction of air pollution and dusting;
• reducing the incidence of diseases of the respiratory system;
• an increase in the percentage of green plantings in the metropolis;
• absorbing noise;
• implementation of the idea of \u200b\u200bgrowing agricultural crops;
• increasing the life of the roof;
• an increase in the market value of the building.

Roof garden: Disadvantages

Turning around the idea to leake the roof of the house, take into account the disadvantages of this extraordinary way of reunion with nature. In this project, unfortunately, there is one big "minus", namely, the large financial costs for booking the green roof.

1. First, not on all buildings there is a suitable roof, the coating of which would solve the additional load in the form of a real green corner. This means that you must certainly take care of the correct definition of the maximum burden on the roof design.
2. Secondly, it is necessary to choose such plants that adapt to extreme conditions of growth and will not spoil the general type of building.
3. Thirdly, in any way you revive the roof of your home, green coverage requires special care.

Alone here can not cope - you will need the help of specialists. Naturally, not free.

Ways to landscaping roofs

There are two options for the transformation of the roof of the building using vegetation - intense and extensive.

With an intensive method of landscaping the soil lay on the roof of a large layer: the minimum height is 15 cm, the maximum - 5 m. After that, the roof is suitable for growing trees with powerful roots. An intense way of landscaping makes it possible to grow a fruit garden on the building, arrange a fit of coniferous and deciduous trees. But these are the ways to implement free space are not limited: on the roof of the house you can now arrange a miniature pond, put benches, and in general to turn this place in a cozy and compact recreation park. From an ordinary garden, a green garden on the roof is no different, so it will require regular and full care from the owner. Intense way you can garden roofs of shopping centers, office buildings and residential buildings. The area for recreation and relaxation will be able to withstand flat, reliably fortified roofs.

Extensive method of landscaping involves styling of the soil with a height of 5 - 8 cm. This garden is designed to grow low-spirited shrubs, herbs and colors. The arrangement lawn will not burden you frequent and careful care, with special care you will need to follow only for its feeding. The main advantage of such a green garden consists in a relatively small weight - such a load, as with intensive gardening, the roof of the building will not experience. In this case, green plantings perform a decorative role: they are used to transform roofs of private houses, garages, warehouses and small industrial buildings.

Do you still doubt the feasibility of combining metal structures with alive plants in the urban kingdom? Then see how unusual and picturesque looks like roofs in the photo:

Specificity Technology Gardening Roofs

Before you settle a small piece of nature on the roof, you need to carefully examine the roof structure. Construction of reinforced concrete, monolithic floors is the best basis for breaking the oasis. The next important point is the indispensable presence of a waterproofing layer, on top of which thermal insulation will be fixed. The fourth layer, without which it is also impossible to do, will become drainage. The shut-off stage is the grounding of the soil, on which vegetation will be planted.

How to spend the roof

The cardinal transformation of the roof of the building is best to leave the professionals of this responsible case. There are many nuances, take into account and correctly implement which only experts will be able. Take at least the calculation of the optimal weight for the roof of the building. It is very important to determine the accurate carrying capacity of the base of the future garden, since the roof is already withstanding the squall load of the climatic conditions of the middle strip of Russia. In the autumn and in the spring, the fact and the case occasionally occasionally, the sultry sun falls in the summer, and in the winter on 1 m ² the average accounts for 75 kg of snow.

It is also worth objectively assessing the reliability of the foundation and the strength of the walls. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the additional burden, which the soil itself will give. So that the plants have full conditions for existence, it will be necessary about 50 - 100 kg per 1 m ². Only qualified specialists will be able to make the right calculations.

Alternatively, you can make an order project, and then start working on your own forces. We note that it is possible to break the garden in an intense way exclusively professionals of their case: it is necessary to study and analyze the specifics of the building structure, make an accurate calculation of all loads, coordinate the project, and not deviate from the nuances of the roof garden.

Roof gardening with your own hands

Its strength and skills can be tested on an extensive roof gardening.

Note! Before starting all the work, refer to experts to assess the reliability of the supporting structure. If necessary, the roofing surface must be strengthened - the specialists will prompt how. Neglect this recommendation is not worth it, since the additional load can be about 100 kg / square meters.

When you fully make sure the working surface strength, proceed to the green garden device on the house. You will need quite a lot of roof landscaping materials, but about everything in order:

1. Put a sand-cement tie, making a small bias on the roof construction, making a small bias (about 5 ⁰) For productive drain of water. The finished tie is filled with a special primer called primer.
2. Make waterproofing surface. To do this, you will need a vapor barrier film, liquid rubber and reinforced membrane. The edges of the film are laid by the brass - the integrity of the material you need to pay great attention. For outflow of water in the film make a hole.
3. Given the Russian cold winters, thermal insulation is very relevant. Put the insulation layer on the working surface. They may become polystyrene foam plates mounted with a special density.
4. Now there came a turn of a coating that protects the roof from germination into it the roots of plants. Fleece, foil or fiberglass can be used as a protective layer. From the root-protective film, you can only refuse if you plan to apply for landscaping a lawn grass or surcharge.
5. The drainage layer is a mandatory component of the design for growing the garden on the roof. It is needed to provide free water flow to the drain, as well as to delay the moisture needed in the soil necessary for the viability of plants. Special twenty mats are suitable, however, it is possible to quite apparently and conventional clay, pimple or gravel. An important part of the drainage system is a geotextile cloth. The material will prevent the flushing of small pieces of soil and, accordingly, will retain its nutritional value. In addition, this canvas serves as a kind of filter and protects drainage from clogging.
6. For extensive landscaping, it is recommended to use special soil substrates. Of course, they do not compare with a more nutritious natural soil, but considering the large density of the latter, specially intended for landscaping the roofing mixtures are more reliable. For the arrangement of a green garden, an extensive method of a soil layer should be about 8 cm.
7. To make a stay on the roof safe, protect the plot with grille around the perimeter.

Choose plants for roof gardening

When choosing the soil, buy a ready-made mixture. It certainly meets all the requirements for the successful arrangement of the green garden on the roof: it has a light weight, is an average for mechanical composition, resistant to pressing, moisture, porous.

Prevent the drying of the soil coating will help the mixture of mulch and gravel, full of top. Do not forget that the structure of the "alive" roof of a residential building should be facilitated by the maximum, so the substrates in each individual case are selected with special care.

If you set a goal, you can order an individual project, in which there is already a ready-made planting scheme of plants on the roof. However, there is nothing impossible, so if you wish, it is possible to warm the roof and on your own. In search of suitable plants, remember that they will bloom on the roof earlier than on Earth and will be painted in brighter shades than under normal conditions. Be prepared for the fact that in winter the soil on the roof may be fluent in completely, therefore the plant will not live on spring, and they will have to create a garden.

Picky exotic is not the best roof garden filling. Stay on copies already adapted to the conditions of your region. Comfortably there will be plants with natural resistance to the following volatile factors:

• seasonal and intersonic "jumps" of temperature;
• wind;
• sukhovi;
• surplus or moisture deficiency;
• insufficient nutritional nutrients;
• increased level of radiation.

The following plants will be the living roof decoration of your home:

• sedum;
• saxifrage;
• molded;
• thyme creep.

Rely on your fantasy and beautiful compositions from flowers will appear on your roof. Use cereals - they look great on a relatively smooth green surface. For green garden, bathing baths are suitable, luggage creeping, catula rough, oatmeal blue. Give the place in the shadows to Barwinkam and Trebaken Coops.

Simplified Green Garden Scheme on Roof

Unfortunately, the arrangement of the green island on the roof of the house for all the rules - the occupation is very troublesome and not everyone on the pocket. However, this is not a reason to abandon the tempting perspective to revive the dull type of building with the help of real plants. Why not put into the course of container flowers?

In this case, the preparation of the roof is simplified at times: you need only a screed and a layer of rubble. And then - all at your discretion and fantasy. There are stationary and mobile containers. Stationary capacity can be used in the creation of a composition with high trees according to an individual project, and mobile is convenient to rearrange depending on the position of the Sun. In the cold season, container plants move in warm rooms at home. With the help of a variety of containers - concrete, plastic, wooden - it is easy to come up with an original design for the roof. When installing stationary tanks, do not forget to put inside the heat insulating canvas.

For the arrangement of this garden on the roof, use only high-quality materials that have been certified. This is important with a purely practical point of view: if, due to poor quality, one layer will deteriorate ahead of time, you will have to disassemble the entire design. Despite the multistage realization of the conceived, you are unlikely to regret it later. The green roof will allow you for a while to abstract from the conditions of the city, will remove the visual stress and give a little healing energy of wildlife.

Green roofs of a big city. Video