A Guide to Building Your Own Green Roof with GrufeKit
Creating your own green roof might sound like an ambitious project, but with the right tools and guidance, it is much easier than you might think. At GrufeKit, we offer a simple and straightforward solution to transforming your roof into a vibrant green space. Gone are the days of green roof installation being a specialist trade. Using our GrufeKit system, any roofer or DIY self-builder can add a green roof to their project without the need for an expensive installation team.
Ensuring Your Roof is Green Roof Ready
A GrufeKit green roof can be installed on any flat roof that has a slope of less than 10 degrees. One crucial consideration before installing a green roof is whether your roof is strong enough to hold the weight of the green roof, or if you need to add additional supports to be able to install a green roof. When calculating this, make sure that you find the weight of the green roof when it is saturated by rain or snow, not when it is dry. GrufeKit’s lightweight design makes it versatile and suitable for a range of roof structures.
You will also want to make sure that you can access your GrufeKit green roof if you choose a style that requires regular maintenance. However, most green roof styles require no more than a check up once a year or after extreme weather conditions, so this is not a top priority.
The GrufeKit Components
Every GrufeKit comes with four things to ensure you will have a thriving green roof:
● A mix of between eight and twelves varieties of sedum,
● A soil mix that has been specifically designed for the plants your GrufeKit contains,
● A carrier made from recycled HDPE plastic that holds the natural material and provides structure and drainage,
● A layer of protection fleece that you lay between the roof and your GrufeTiles in order to create a waterproof layer.
Essential Tools for Installation
For a seamless installation process, there are a few tools that we recommend using:
1. Hacksaw
2. Pliers
3. Handsaw
4. Tape measure
5. Protective gloves
6. Utility blade
Installation: Bringing Your Green Roof to Life
Our green roofs are easy to install without experience, professional assistance, or lots of expensive tools. Here is a step by step guide on how to install your GrufeKit green roof, or if you prefer, here is a video which takes you through the process.
1. Preparation: Ensure your roof is structurally sound and water-tight. Clear away any debris and lay down your protective fleece layer.
2. GrufeTile Placement: Unpack your GrufeTiles and position them on your roof, connecting them using the double-action coupling system.
3. Customisation: Trim your GrufeTiles as needed to fit around any edges or obstacles on your roof, ensuring a seamless fit. If you have any spaces along the edge where you can’t fit a full GrufeTile, simply cut a tile into shape with a handsaw. We recommend facing the cut side of the GrufeTile inward wherever possible.
4. Accessories: If your roof doesn’t have a parapet, we recommend installing a GrufeGuard along the edge of your green roof. Simply clip the pieces together and slot them against the edge of your tiles. Scottish pebbles are also a great addition to create walkways or borders on your green roof.
Maintenance Made Easy
Once your green roof is installed, maintenance is a breeze.
It is best to check on your green roof once or twice a year to make sure everything is as it should be. This is also a great time to remove any debris and to check nothing is loose. If you notice any bare patches, this can be a good time to plant additional seeds or fertilise where necessary.
You may notice that your sedum GrufeTiles change colour temporarily, either due to the weather or nutrient levels. This is nothing to worry about - you can either wait for it to rain or you can irrigate your roof once a week for about an hour until it returns to its original green colour.
Our GrufeKit green roofs are particularly easy to install because they are delivered to you pre-grown in modules that easily slot together. If you have any further questions about the installation process, then please get in touch, we are more than happy to help! If you are ready to start building your GrufeKit green roof, then you can browse our range here.
