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Have you ever found yourself admiring a roof with greenery, vegetation, and plants?
What you saw is probably a green roof.
Green roofs, also known as a rooftop garden, is gaining popularity among establishments, especially in urban areas.
Green roofs serve as great decoration to the roofs of homes and establishments, but they also solve modern-day problems with heat and air pollution.
Urban Heat Island Effect is a common problem urbanized areas face.
There is an evident rise in temperature in urban areas as opposed to nearby rural areas despite sharing the same overall climate. It has set an alarm amongst people living in urban areas, especially during summer where heat waves can cause discomfort and even health hazards.
There have been many adopted means to try to solve this problem, but none of them seemed to be a cost-effective and at the same time sustainable method – not until the rising trend of green roofs.
Green roofs are basically rooftop gardens. It is when roof spaces are used to grow vegetation and greenery. Rooftop gardens could vary from simple grass and small plants to big gardens and trees, depending on the area and the preference of the establishment.
Plants naturally absorb heat and produce oxygen. This, in turn, helps reduce heat absorption. The greenery cools our roofs during hot summer days, and it causes the demand for air conditioning to lessen significantly. This helps us save more energy.
In terms of labor and costs, it doesn’t take much to have a green roof for your establishment. Much like any other roofing plan, it would only require a strong roofing foundation and a layer of insulation. Additional requirements would only include draining and root stopping, rolling a moisture blanket to keep it moist, adding soil, and planting.
Although some homeowners and establishments can DIY their means in having a green roof, many contractors nowadays offer green roofs as a roofing option. It is very easy to find a local roofing contractor to provide you with a plan and service for your green roofing needs.
Greeneries and vegetation provide an aesthetically pleasing finish to our roofs. According to color psychology, a vast amount of green provides comfort and safety – and in turn, can affect our moods. With urbanized areas dominated by colors of dark shades, a natural green finish with vegetation is comforting and helps us get in touch with nature.
Besides the beauty and the pleasing appeal of green roofs, they are also an investment that could help ensure that our hard-earned cash is properly allotted. Green roofs, though initially more costly than the common built-up roofs, are a great economic alternative as they prolong roof life by twice as much as opposed to traditional roofs. They do this by protecting the roof membrane from harsh weather and ultraviolet radiation.
Green roofs also help reduce Urban Heat Islands effects by evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is the process of evaporation where water moves into the air, coupled with the process of transpiration where there is movement of water within the plant. Through evapotranspiration, moisture is distributed in the air providing a much cooler environment. Plants are the basis for evapotranspiration.
Plants, being a natural producer of oxygen, also improves the quality of air. Air pollution in urban areas has always been a problem. There is an evident lack of space in urban areas. Thus, using rooftops and roof spaces for planting greenery helps in producing a better quality of air in urbanized areas.
Green roofs are not only cost-efficient but are also sustainable. Planting greeneries and vegetation on our rooftops helps the environment while not requiring too much resources that would ironically damage the environment.
Cost-efficient, sustainable, pleasingly aesthetic, and extremely beneficial — having green roofs as part of your roofing option for your next roof design is always a great choice. With the continuous rise of climate temperatures, having green roofs is definitely a viable solution to modern-day problems.
There is now extensive research being conducted to further support the green roof movement. Urban cities are now passing laws that would require new establishments to add eco-friendly and sustainable roofing options, including but not limited to solar panels and green roofs. Green roofs are still more favorable considering it is cheaper than installing solar panels on roof projects.
Your home roofs could also be converted to green roofs. Think it might be a tedious task? No problem! There are now multiple roofing project contractors that offer green roofs as an option when setting up a roofing plan or a re-roofing project.
With benefits mentioned, it is not far that one day, we would see urban establishments and homes with a greener, eco-friendly, and sustainable finish to their roofs. Green roofs could be the solution to a greener, better, and more sustainable planet – one roof at a time.
You know the benefits, but having a green roof can be overwhelming and confusing. The best way to start is by asking roofing contractors that you can trust. That’s the reason why Roofing Journey collected a list of roofing contractors we’ve personally vetted and trust so you can get the solution you need while sleeping soundly at night!
If you want to get a trustworthy roofing contractor, all you have to do is visit our list today!
