our local timber yard Griffiths Timber who offer a great service<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-6-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\")
Although we could have chosen various grass mixes for the green roof, we chose sedum for its low maintenance and pollinator friendly attributes. Woodworking skills are necessary for this project but once the structure is in place, the green roof itself is very easy to install and maintain.<\/p>\n
The following gives a general guide to creating a living green roof using various varieties of sedum. The varieties included Sedum acre auream<\/em>, Sedum<\/em>\u00a0album <\/em>Coral Carpet, Sedum album <\/em>Mini, Sedum album <\/em>Athoum, Sedum hispanicum<\/em>, Sedum<\/em>\u00a0Summer Glory, Sedum reflexum<\/em>, Sedum<\/em> Weihenstehaner Gold and Sedum<\/em> voodooedum.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-9.jpeg?resize=560%2C315\")
<\/p>\n
Materials needed for the small 1.5m x 1m green roof structure pictured included:<\/p>\n
Tape measure, spirit level, saw and drill
\nPlans or drawing
\nEnough timber and bolts to create the skeleton
\nMarine plywood for the top
\nHeavy duty plastic to cover the marine plywood
\nWaterproof sealant
\nEnvironmentally paint or wood treatment
\n*Green Roof Kit including drainage layer, substrate and sedum blanket<\/p>\n
\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/1-200x300.jpg?resize=200%2C300\")
Draw your plan, cut and bolt the pieces of timber together to fit and paint the structure with an additional protective layer to ensure it will last. We chose a treatment that isn’t harmful to the environment and is relatively long lasting.<\/li>\n- Once the skeleton of the structure was in place. We added a slightly angled piece of marine plywood on to the top, added more timber around the top edge of the roof to \u2018hold\u2019 the sedum and drainage materials in place. At the lower edge of the sloped timber we cut a few notches to allow excess water to drain.\u00a0 Finally a sheet of heavy duty plastic was placed over the marine plywood and all the edges were then sealed with a waterproof sealant, leaving the structure ready for the drainage layers, substrate and sedum.<\/li>\n
- Drainage: The root system is the work force of the plant. It\u2019s where vital food and water is absorbed. It\u2019s therefore crucial to make sure the root system is as healthy and strong as possible. The drainage layer is designed to give the plant roots extra room to breathe, expand and absorb more water. This will maintain healthy foliage and avoid the dark red shading of stressed Sedum. We ordered
![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/2-200x300.jpg?resize=200%2C300\")
our sedum blanket from Green Roofs Direct who supplied the drainage layer, substrate and sedum in kit form.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAdd the Drainage Layer and Sedum Blanket<\/h3>\n
Once the green roof structure has been built, adding the drainage and plants is easy. Simply cut the three layered drainage provided and fit it to size, add a 30mm layer of substrate over the top and rake it until smooth. Finally unroll the sedum blanket and cut the pieces to size, taking care not to overstretch it. Once covered, water the sedum until the water runs out.<\/p>\n
Maintenace<\/h3>\n
Green Roofs Direct recommend a straightforward maintenance plan. For the first twelve weeks simply water and weed. Watering in the first week is crucially important. If the sedum blanket is rolled out in very dry conditions it must be watered every other day during the first week. A quick establishment is very important for the plants to cope with the harsh conditions on a roof.<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-1-1024x363.jpg?resize=940%2C333\")
<\/p>\n
Slow release granular fertilizer can be applied in April at a rate of 10 grams per square metre. A handheld broadcaster is ideal for larger roofs and can be purchased in any hardware or DIY store or hired. Flowers can be cut and removed in August then slow release granular fertilizer applied again in October at 10 grams per square metre.<\/p>\n
Have you considered installing a green roof into your garden? This one never fails to bring a smile to our faces.<\/p>\n
*includes three piece drainage layers, 50mm depth of substrate and one year matured Irish Sedum Blanket.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Living green roofs can enhance the garden, make us feel better, attract pollinating insects and provide safe places for wildlife. What’s not to love!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[564],"tags":[20,1965,2508,2510,2509],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
How to Build a Sedum Living Green Roof Structure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Living green roofs can enhance the garden, make us feel better, attract pollinating insects and provide safe places for wildlife. What's not to love!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/how-to-build-a-living-green-roof\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Build a Sedum Living Green Roof Structure\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Living green roofs can enhance the garden, make us feel better, attract pollinating insects and provide safe places for wildlife. 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I am a horticultural and environmental educator, mentor, consultant and social garden designer and an URBACT expert on Food and the Circular Economy. Since 2009 I have been working with, designing and providing consultancy for many public and private horticultural projects across the country, in person and online. My primary focus is about helping people to create social gardening spaces where communities can grow organic food for themselves and the biodiversity around them. 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![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-10.jpg?resize=560%2C315\")
<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-11-1024x512.jpg?resize=940%2C470\")
<\/h2>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greensideup.ie\/media\/How-to-Create-a-Green-Roof-Gleann-na-Bearu-Community-Garden-2-300x192.jpg?resize=300%2C192\")
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