Green Roof Soil Systems
Posted in Blog, Systems on March 29, 2024
All of us in the green roof industry love to see a project come together and see how a green roof can change a building and a neighborhood.
But green roof projects can be complex. Pulling together a successful green roof can involve many disciplines and specialties, from engineers and architects to roofers and installers. Because of this cross-discipline effort, it’s important to have proven solutions that work out of the box. Things that make your job easier and the overall green roof process smoother.
That’s why we created a new innovation in green roof soil: green roof soil systems.
Our green roof soil systems take the guesswork out of the soil build-up you need for your green roof project. It simplifies the process and helps keep your project moving along.
Let’s dig into some details.
Using the right soil on a green roof is critical. The soil is directly related to the overall success of a project. It provides a habitat for micro-organisms. It serves a regulator for water flow. It acts as a source and storage for nutrients. And topsoil doesn’t work on a green roof. It can cause all kinds of problems, so you need engineered soil that is tailored to the unique environment of a green roof.
Green roof soil needs a specific build-up to work. On the ground, you can take advantage of natural soil horizons. On a roof, you need to create an on-structure soil horizon. In addition, you need to consider any weight limits on the roof as well as your plant palette. That all determines the specific soil profile, depth, weight, and layers you need.
This is where our rooflite soil systems come in. They simplify the planning and design process because they are fully formed systems that meet your green roof requirements. We provide you with details on everything in the system from the membrane up, including the drainage layer, filter fabric, and soil profiles.
We have soil systems that can handle any type of design you create. We offer 10 complete soil systems for a variety of green roof applications on-structure. These 10 soil systems span everything from the shallowest, lightest weight green roof to the deepest, most intensive rooftop garden. We have you covered, no matter what kind of green roof you want to create.
For each system, we provide you with specifications and drawings. This makes it possible for a specifier to call out exactly what they need and for installers to buy exactly what’s required. It streamlines the process to make the soil selection much easier.
Each system is made up of our meticulously engineered rooflite soil products, which are all optimized for green roof performance and healthy plant growth.
We offer 10 complete soil systems:
- Sedum Roofs
- Perennial Roofs
- Rooftop Lawns
- Rooftop Gardens
- Rooftop Trees
- Rooftop Farming
- Planters & Containers (our most popular system)
Now let’s walk through a few different real-world green roof projects that used our systems.
First, a green roof in West Grove, PA that uses our Sedum Roofs Soil System. This project was part of an environmentally-friendly 80,000 square foot office complex, created for an international corporation to supplement their current office space and warehouse facilities. They wanted a green roof to help energy efficiency requirements.
To bring this green roof to life, the soil used needed to meet several requirements. It needed to have significant stormwater retention and drainage capacity. Plants on this roof like drought conditions, so a low humidity level was necessary. The plant palette needed a minimum depth of 3-6 inches.
Our Sedum Roofs Soil System fit the bill! This specific system build-up includes our rooflite extensive product at a depth of 3-6 inches and our rooflite drain product with a depth of 1-2 inches.
This beautiful green roof provides increased insulation to reduce the building’s cooling costs, manages rainwater and stormwater, and extends the life of the roof.
Up next, a 1.5 acre Central Plaza in Baltimore, MD that uses our Rooftop Lawns Soil System. This project provided much-needed green space with the creation of a park, built on top of a parking garage.
For this green roof, the soil used needed to provide deeper root space to grow the turf. The type of grass thrives on sandy soils without too much organic matter. It also needed to provide significant stormwater retention and drainage capacity.
Our Rooftop Lawns Soil System provided the perfect solution. This system includes our rooflite semi-intensive product at a depth of 6-12 inches and our rooflite drain product at 2-4 inches.
This flourishing roof provides a new gathering space for the neighborhood, all while helping with stormwater management.
Our last project is one in New Haven, CT that uses our Deep Planters Soil System. This accessible green roof features several plant palettes, including native plants, an ornamental garden, a large lawn, and trees.
This project had a long list of soil requirements. The design called for very tall plants that would have limited root space. It also needed high-performance growth media that would not lose volume over time. The depth requirement was more than 1 foot. It also needed better aeration and the right amount of organic matter to support the plants.
Our Deep Planters Soil System hit all the requirements and helped this project come to life. This system contains three of our rooflite soil products – rooflite intensive at 10-14 inches, rooflite intensive base with a depth of at least 4 inches up to several feet and rooflite drain at 4-6 inches.
This 25,000 square foot green roof is part of a luxury residential space and creates a lush oasis for residents to enjoy.
Our Soil Systems help you realize your vision for your green roof. Our entire goal in creating these systems was to simplify the planning, specification, and design process. We want you to feel confident that you can plan anything you want because you know you have a soil system that can stand up to your plan. Our systems are also available in a variety of weight classes, which give you the flexibility to design within your technical requirements.
Our Soil Systems can handle your project! You dream it up, and we can help you build it with our rooflite soil systems.
