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Ecology Ecoretrofit Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs Retrofit sustainability

Building a green roof in South London

I spent a few days building a new roof in South London. We used gabion cages filled with a mixture of large stones and logs to create habitat.

I also used a time lapse camera for the first time to try and capture building the roof. I have divided it into 3 sections, first the set up, including adding some insulation. We used gabion cages from Devoran metals for the edges https://devoran-metals.co.uk/

Edges and protective fleece in place

After this we added a drainage layer of aerated clay pebbles, these also add to the insulation and help to reduce overheating.

Drainage layer is added

I struggled a bit with the speeds and lapse times for the videos but slowly getting better. The next step for the roof was to top up the gabion cages and add the soil, we were using Shire substrates who supply an excellent green roof mix.

Soil goes on

Finally planting and seeding. I worked with Rotherview nurseries to get an excellent selection of plants that are growing well at this time of year, including several sedums, campanula and Armeria. We also added lots of wildflower seeds that will start to show their heads in spring or before.

Planting

Overall, we were pretty pleased with the roof as was the client. Looking forward to seeing it develop over the next few years.

Categories
Construction Design Ecology Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs

New green roof in Dulwich

Alex standing in front of the finished roof, looking smug.

I put together another roof in Dulwich recently and thought I would share a few pictures and details.

This one started out with a visit to the clients to have a look at the roof. They had initially asked about a sedum roof and possibly even a cartridge system so I hadn’t been that keen. However when we met they were open to a more interesting type of green roof with a wider range of plants and a roof that develops over time.

We also looked at the skylights in the roof and decided that it would be better to build the roof with something more adaptable than the tray system. We settled on an expanded clay pebble drainage layer that flowed around the obstacles with some gravel borders and the usual Shire Green Roof Substrate for the plants.

    I got an excellent selection of plants from Rotherview Nursery near the south coast.

    They have a wide range of green roof plants and have been really quick to deliver, the plants including sedum reflexum gold, campanula pusilla, Erigeron, saxifraga scenic red, sedum schoebusser blut, sempervivums, thymus minimus, stops pony tails, armeria splendens, chaenorrhinum, erosion flore pleno, frankaenia thymifolia, and sedum pachyclados. I also added in a selection of alium and armeria bulbs, the client will be putting in crocus bulbs come the autumn. Finally we topped it off with a selection of wild flower seeds including Field Poppy, Red Campion, Black Meddick, Common Knapweed, Ox-eye daisy, Ribwort Plantain, Yarrow, Lady’s Bedstraw, Bulbous Buttercup, Cowslip, Salad Burnet Grasses: Browntop Bent, Strong Creeping Red Fescue, Crested Dogstail, Meadow Fescue, Sheeps Fescue. Hopefully most if not all of them will find a space that suits them on the roof. I expect all the plants to develop and grow over the next few years finding their place on the roof. Not all of them will find that and not all of them will thrive every year but we should get a great selection finding their place.

    Tania planting the roof
    bench made from pallets

    Finally I made a bench from the pallets left behind by the delivery of the substrates and soils.

    After we built the roof I was left with a couple of pallets and some wood I used to create straight lines on the gravel. After a bit of online research I found a design for this bench and we need some garden furniture so I spent last weekend putting this together. A bit cold to sit outside at the moment but I think it will come in useful later in the year.

    For more details and to get a quote for your roof send me a message.

    alex@ecoalex.com
    020 8133 0190

    Categories
    Ecology Ecoretrofit Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs

    Thriving green roof in Welwyn Garden City

    This green roof on an extension in Welwyn Garden City is nearly 10 years old and has been thriving. This was the first green roof I made so I was a little cautious about the loading, the middle are is sedum on a foam drainage mat with very little soil. The edges have more soil and substrate so they are able to support wildflowers, grasses and self seeded local plants. Nowadays I would add a lot more substrate but it is still going strong and the recent rain and sunshine combination has got it growing beautifully.

    The sedums are quite persistent and even managed to self seed and create a little patch of growth on the gravel driveway which looks great and offsets the potted plants.

    This one was retrofitted which encourages caution, you don’t want the roof to fall down but you can find a combination of plants and sedums that will work on almost any flat or gently sloping roof. Even better if you are building a new extension you can specify the roof to take any depth of soil you want for a really fabulous roof with the plants of your dreams. Drop me a line if you want to know more alex@ecoalex.com

    • Blanket of sedum punctuated with wildflowers and grasses
      Growing green roof
    • Close up of sedum roof
      Lightweight green roof
    • A green roof with sedum and wildflower and blue sky in the background
      Thriving green roof
    • A close up of a green roof with wildflowers on the left and sedum on the right.
      Too much sun
    • Self seeded sedum growing in gravel driveway
      Sedum spores spread to the driveway.
    • Side view of green roof on wooden extension
      Looking good
    • Largely sedum green roof
      Well established green roof
    • Close up of sedum and grasses on a green roof
      Really dense and growing well
    Categories
    Design Ecology Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs

    Bike shed green roof in Dulwich

    I like making green roofs but one problem with them is that I nearly always build on extensions and garden buildings at the back of houses so no one but the home owner gets to see it. Bike sheds are usually at the front of the house so they are on show to the world.

    This one I built in Dulwich, London is for a client I built a sedum roof for last year. I persuaded them that this one would look nicer with a wider range of plants. I put in a selection of sedums including Sempervivum for long term coverage and then added herbs: creeping thyme, chamomile and rosemary. Then I added some saxifraga and a selection of plants that are flowering now for cover.

    • Green roof in Dulwich
    • Flowers growing in East Dulwich
    • Bike shed in East Dulwich
    • Japanese maple in the foreground
    • Growing like crazy
    • Sedum in the foreground
    • Growing well
    • Overhang
    • Flowers on a bike shed
    • Spreading over the whole roof
    • Some height but not too much
    • Responding well to the rain
    • Starting to spread
    • This will spread and replace the pansies when they die out

    I think you will agree it looks fantastic now. If you want one for your bike shed get in touch. alex@ecoalex.com

    Categories
    Construction PAS 2035 Retrofit

    TrustMark registration

    I have been working hard to get all the companies processes and accreditation in place so that we can provide services to the new PAS 2035 retrofit standard.

    This all went through last week and I can now proudly display their logo here:

    TrustMark logo

    This means I can help companies working on the ECO scheme and also offer advice to households applying for the Green Homes Grant.

    Contact alex@ecoalex.com 020 8133 0190

    Categories
    Ecology Green roofs Projects Uncategorized Using less water

    Marlow roof update

    Some gorgeous pictures from the roof I built in Marlow last year including some priapic sedums!

    Categories
    Ecology Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs Projects sustainability

    ‘Spectacular’ green roof in Dulwich

    Full extent of the roof

    I built this one last week on a garden office in Dulwich. I don’t do so many sedum roofs but this did come up looking really nice and is instantly green.

    The roof build up was using the Optigreen lightweight roof system. A protection fleece over the waterproofing, drainage layer, lightweight substrate and pregrown sedum on top. This was ideal for this garden office and really helped it blend in to the trees and plants at the bottom of the garden. The roof will drain into a gutter when complete (not that there will be a lot of runoff). I used aluminium edge trim all the way round to give it a nice defined edge.

    The substrate was incredibly dry when it arrived, I initially thought it was just sand! This made it really easy to get up on to the roof, the bags weighed even less than usual. Luckily it has had a good soaking with the rain since to get it nice and wet.

    Getting the sedum up on the roof was a little trickier, we left it out overnight and the client enthuisiastically watered it making it very heavy. After struggling with a couple of rolls I realised it was better to cut the mats in half to make them easier to handle.

    Once it was all up it looked really good. I spoke to the client again the week after to check on it and he said ‘It looks absolutely stunning. The wife and my nearest neighbours really like it – so a big thankyou. I have been diligently watering it and it is looking good. Many thanks‘ very pleased with the feedback.

    Categories
    Ecology Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs Projects Shabbihaus retrofit

    Lockdown green roof

    No flowers yet though

    This is one that’s growing right now. I built it with the kids using leftover materials from other jobs and an old pallet to stand in for the roof. The rocks in gabion cages look great and it is super green but lacking in the wildflowers that we seeded it with.

    Categories
    Ecology Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs

    Muswell hill roof

    Visible from the rooflights

    Another one on a new extension this one was specified with a sedum mat. Ever keen to increase biodiversity I also sowed it with wildflower seeds. I quite like it as a way to put the roof together, very simple and also quick, if a bit heavy getting the mat up to the roof. The sedum roofs often die out quickly but this one has a good layer of substrate underneath for it to grow into which should retain water and increase resilience.

    Categories
    Construction Ecology Ecoretrofit Encouraging wildlife and nature Green roofs Uncategorized

    SYdenham hill green roof

    This is a small green roof on a modern house in Sydenham Hill. It uses white painted railway sleepers for a frame to match the fascia boards on the house and I think fits in very well.