Extensive green roofs are used for family and residential buildings. They are most suitable for those facilities where people rarely walk on the roof surface. They are mostly found there for maintenance. That is why light vegetation that does not require daily maintenance is ideal for extensive roofs.

Since it is a standard multi-layer design, the extensive green roof has multiple layers for different functions such as vegetation growth, filtration, and drainage. There is a drainage layer to drain excess water, and a filter layer is placed between the substrate and the drainage layer. An extensive green roof or its final layer in which the vegetation is planted should be 5-15 cm thick. Florist experts recommend avoiding excessive diversity of the plant world to simplify the care of the entire vegetation and to make sure that all plants have similar moisture needs. During the dry season, the green roofs will turn brown, but with the rain, they will come to life again. Extensive green roofs are the easiest to install and are very often installed on existing roofs. Depending on the other characteristics of the roof, a green roof can add 4-15 kilograms of additional load per square meter.

Extensive green roofs waterproofing

Under the green roof, it is necessary to install a waterproofing system for water and moisture. The waterproofing system protects the building from the penetration of water and moisture that are present in green roofs practically constantly and all seasons. Such a roof is more durable than usual but requires very precise and high-quality execution of waterproofin. Possible remediation of such existing roofs is more demanding and expensive, as all the top layers must be removed.

In such cases, the excellent solution is the TPO membrane DRACO PLAN 150.

• High-quality ecological single-layer waterproofing membrane made of synthetic rubber, energy-efficient reflective white color, strong resistance to UV rays.
• The membrane is fully reinforced with polyester mesh. The upper white layer is characterized by very high resistance to precipitation and UV rays while the lower, black layer is characterized by high mechanical resistance.
• It is connected by hot air welding, and is intended for use in all climatic conditions.
• The DRACO® PLAN 150 membrane is not exposed to stresses during production and is completely protected, without the risk of water penetration.

Green roofs turn the roof surfaces into a green oasis and return to nature a part of it that has been taken away by construction. With extensive roofs there is less worry, drains should be inspected, weeds weeded, plants fertilized or replaced.

It is especially important to take care of waterproofing solutions and protect your green roof properly. Use only quality materials and pay the waterproofing the attention it deserves. DRACO waterproofing systems are designed precisely to make your homes, offices and premises safe and comfortable to live in. 

If you need help or advice from our experts, reach out to us.

Intensive green roofs are most often used on office buildings where owners want to have large green areas covered with a variety of plants. Such roofs have grass, earth, flowers, bushes, and even trees. On them, you will often find paths and promenades that lead between different architectural features to create a space where people in a beautiful and unique natural environment can communicate with each other.

Benches, tables, pots for growing plants, greenhouses, and even smaller fountains are often placed on such roofs. All this provides people with an ideal place to relax or do work in a beautiful environment.

Unlike an extensive green roof, an intense green roof needs to be deeper. Deeper soil allows the acceptance of large plants and more demanding plant groups. Another name for these green roofs is “roof garden”. The name is completely and, in most cases, justified. Intense green roofs need to be better and more maintained due to the diversity among plant species.

Gardens will fit well on such roofs and to a certain extent, care and maintenance are somewhat easier than gardens on the ground floor because fewer pests and weeds find their way to higher altitudes. All plants will require fertilizer and water, and many will need to be pruned. These green roofs are more attractive in dry weather and are often irrigated.

On intensive roofs, planting begins at a depth of 15 cm. Once all the plants have been planted and the ground has been soaked with water, these roofs can weigh up to 70 kg per square meter. Irrigation and drainage systems must operate at maximum efficiency to reduce the possibility of overloading the roof structure.

Waterproofing of intensive green roofs

Under the green roof, it is necessary to install a waterproofing system for water and moisture. The waterproofing system protects the building from the penetration of water and moisture that are present in green roofs practically constantly and all seasons. Such a roof is more durable than usual but requires very precise and high-quality execution of waterproofing works. Possible remediation of such existing roofs is more demanding and expensive, as all the top layers must be removed.

In such cases, the excellent solution is the TPO membraneDRACO PLAN 150, a high-quality ecological single-layer waterproofing membrane made of synthetic rubber, energy-efficient, strong, and resistant.

DRACO GARD 500 polyurethane coating

Waterproofing can be performed with the help of polyurethane coating DRACO GARD 500. It is characterized by high resistance to root ingrowth and mechanical and thermal effects. In order to ensure adequate adhesion of the coating to the substrate without the possibility of separation, the substrate is coated with a primer. The choice of primer depends on the type and porosity of the substrate and the installation temperature. Due to the thickness of the layers of the green roof that “store” a certain amount of water, the waterproofing needs to be raised along the roof parapets exposed to water.

The joint of the roof with the parapets is additionally sealed with DRACO BAND 120 self-adhesive tape. In addition to the joints, the expansion joints in the substrate are also sealed with tape. The coating needs to be additionally strengthened on large roof surfaces by installing DRACO BAND 210 reinforcement canvas. Due to the specific action of the green roof, the polyurethane coating can improve mechanical and chemical resistance and elasticity by applying DRACO TOP 510 top coat over the base coat.

In addition to the ecological and aesthetic function they satisfy, green roofs must be in the function of protecting the building from external negative influences. The external influence that can seriously impair the quality of life is moisture. As green roofs retain the collected water within the layers, the performed waterproofing must adequately respond to all mechanical actions and protect the building.

Use only quality materials and pay the waterproofing the attention it deserves. DRACO waterproofing systems are designed precisely to make your homes, offices and premises safe and comfortable to live in. 

If you need help or advice from our experts, reach out to us. We are here for you.

The term planter, in this particular case, implies parts in the construction of an individual object whose space we want to fill with soil substrates and other necessary layers in order to plant selected plants in them. If our small, intimate garden on the terrace or roof is still functional and easy to maintain, then we have our own green oasis.

In order to successfully establish favorable conditions for the growth and development of flora on our above-ground facility, we must know the natural solutions (in which all this beautiful flora is created) and we must be very close to them with our solutions.

In addition to natural laws, we must pay special attention to the technical and technological laws of construction of the building units themselves, or intensive green roofs – jardinieres in several very important technical areas.

The main technical and technological characteristics of the structural system of the intensive roof – planters:

• load-bearing construction of an intensive green roof – planters. The best load-bearing structure is reinforced concrete, however, in special cases it is possible to use some other load-bearing structures such as steel, wood, etc.
• horizontal layers for the fall of an intensive green roof – planters. Horizontal layers for the fall must be pronounced, ie in the range of 2.5 – 4% depending on the size of the intensive green roof. The horizontal pronounced drop is very important due to the waterproofing layers that affect the longevity and functionality of both the waterproofing layers and all other layers,
• waterproofing system of intensive green roof – planters. This layer is the most important part of the entire system, and the negative consequences of a poorly executed and poorly constructed waterproofing system can in this case be considered one of the biggest mistakes when building a building with great negative consequences.

Quality waterproofing prevents the passage of moisture and water into the structure, and in the case of waterproofing jardinieres we will use TPO membranes DRACO PLAN or, more often, liquid rubber, DRACO GARD 500.

DRACO GARD 500 is a one-component liquid polyurethane that is crosslinked in contact with moisture from the air. Creates a highly elastic membrane with excellent adhesion to various substrates.

The product has excellent weather, UV, chemical, mechanical and thermal resistance.

We approach each project individually and offer the best individual solutions, so if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Our DRACO expert team of engineers is at your disposal.