In urban environments, green roofs help attract birds and butterflies and provide cleaner air, offsetting our carbon footprint and thus reducing global warming. They can also help to lower the need for air conditioning in the summer, and offer a degree of additional insulation in the winter. The lives of flat roof waterproofing membranes are extended and sound insulation is improved. Not only that, water surface run-off can be reduced thereby helping to minimise flash floods following intense periods of rainfall. The most common types of green roofs include extensive, intensive and biodiverse. Extensive consist mainly of succulent plants that are highly adapted to our Irish climate and need little or no maintenance.
Intensive usually refers to the grasses often used for recreational amenities, whilst biodiverse feature small pockets of different microclimates, such as a small pond on a large roof, logs and stones for other habitats. Installing a green roof system is completely different to traditional roofing due to the increased loading, which requires a specialist installer that can specify any required strengthening of the original supporting construction.
Dormer issues
A common feature of Irish homes, dormers are generally a part of the original construction or a later addition. They create usable space in the sense that they add headroom and provide an opening for the addition of windows. The most popular type of dormer conversion is a simple flat roof dormer that offers the largest amount of additional www.SelfBuild.ie
internal space and light. When constructing these, particular attention should be paid to correctly specifying the details for insulation, wind and weather proofing and ensuring that these are followed on site.
Extension issues
If you are looking to extend the main roof of your house to accommodate an extension, it’s important that it looks like it is an original part of the house, instead of an afterthought. No matter how well the rest of the design blends and materials match with the house, unless you get the roof right, your addition will look like it’s been stuck on. n Kevin Taylor & Astrid Madsen www.nfrc.co.uk
Left: ‘intensive’ green roof Organic Roofs www.organicroofs.co.uk
Roofing Terms
Green roof covering
Right: natural slate Tegral www.tegral.com
info The companies listed below provide products & services relating to this article. C & M Construction Ltd (Builders) Cranny, Co Clare Tel: 065 689 5060 Roofblock (Masonry roof overhang) Newtownards, Co Down Tel: 9181 8285 www.roofblock.co.uk Roofing Systems Ireland Ltd (Flat Roofing Repair, Roofing Contractors) Omagh, Co. Tyrone Tel: 8224 4501 www.bsi-ltd.net
Tapco Europe Limited (Roofing Products) Beverley Tel: 1800 936 552 www.tapcoslate.com Tegral (Roofing Products) Athy, Co Kildare Tel: 059 863 1316 www.tegral.com
ROI calling NI: prefix with 048 NI calling ROI: prefix with 00353(0)
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