If necessary this weight can be reduced to approximately 40 kg m for roofs that can only bear a lightweight green roof system.
Sedum roof weight.
So in dry state 50 m2 traditional green roof weighs around 5 tons while a similar sized urbanscape roof weighs just 1 ton.
Extensive built up.
Plugs or cuttings for plant material weight.
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In addition the weight also depends on the water buffering capacity of the drainage layer.
The thicker the substrate layer the greater the weight of the total roof structure.
A standard sedum roof has a saturated weight of about 80 kg m.
A variety of hardy sedums both native and non native.
Sedum roofs with a natural drainage layer are designed to maximize water retention while sedum roofs with a synthetic drainage layer may focus more on minimizing weight.
When sedum vegetation is applied to a green roof the weight is approximately 30 kg m2.
These provide aesthetic interest and diversity.
In addition the weight also depends on the water buffering capacity of the drainage layer.
Weight of standard sedum roof.
Weight of standard sedum roof.
Typically the total depth of the green roof would be 85 100mm 12 20mm drainage layer 70mm of substrate and have a saturated weight of approx.
Roughly speaking extensive green roofs have a substrate thickness of between 4 and 15 cm and a weight of 30 to 220 kilo per m2.
The thicker the substrate layer the greater the weight of the total roof structure.
When sedum vegetation is applied to a green roof the weight is approximately 30 kg m2.
If necessary this weight can be reduced to approximately 40 kg m for roofs that can only bear a lightweight green roof system.
A standard sedum roof has a saturated weight of about 80 kg m.
When using a biodiverse vegetation such as a mix of sedums grasses herbs plants and nectar plants the weight of the green roof is about 150 kilos m2 because a thicker substrate layer is required.
Add 2 5 lbs ft2 for sedum mats and tiles system depth dry weight saturated weight 5 25 media depth 17 22 lbs ft2 29 34 lbs ft2 6 media depth 19 25 lbs ft2 33 39 lbs ft2.
Scale this up and a 1 000 m2 traditional green roof space requires 100 tons of material to be brought on the roof and the urbanscape version only 20 tons and can be called a light weight green roof.
Low weight can be crucial for huge building structures and retrofit projects with limited roof loads.