Sacramento Lofts Green Roofing Project

Posted on 08/11/10 No Comments
We are excited to announce the addition of our Green Roofing Systems! We completed our first green roof project this year at the Sacramento Lofts in NE Portland. We used a pre-vegetated system called Live Roof. The plantings were ordered 9 months prior to installation so that they could be grown. There are many advantages to pre-vegetated systems over grown on the roof systems:

  • In initial growing periods, plants need careful monitoring and nurturing. With this system, it is done at a nursery by professionals.
  • Many grown on roof systems die within the first six months.
  • There is no exposed soil for seedems to germinate in. This is good as may conifers like to grow where they are not wanted.
  • Immediate gratefication. You don’t have to wait for the plants to grow before you can enjoy them.
We put the TPO membrane roofs on all of these buildings. We then came back and put down another floating layer of TPO as a slip sheet.
The Live Roof system was installed, then we placed ballast rock around the plantings. This was done for many reasons:

  • It protects the portion of the roof that the plants did not cover from the sun.
  • It holds the plantings from sliding down the slope of the roof over time.
  • It provides a clear path for where you can walk to perform any maintenance tasks.
  • it is a natural product that aesthetically compliments the vegetation on the roof.

Each of the six condos at the Sacramento lofts has an upper balcony that overlooks each of the green roofs. These particular plantings bloom and grow to a height of about a foot and each year they will need to be mowed down to a height of roughly 4 inches.

The customer chose these plantings based on the blooms that will be enjoyed each spring and throughout the summer. Other types of plants can be selected that do not require mowing.

Most plants that are used on green roofs are drought tolerant, desert plats. they do not need irrigation and need only be watered if a period of 45 days without rain occurs. As we know here in Oregon, this does not happen, EVER!!!

Please contact us if you would like to request a free estimate for a Green Roof or if you have any questions about Green Roofs or the Live roof system,