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Going Green With Green Roofing

Are you looking to promote environmental responsibility in your home or business? Green roofing is a great option! Also known as vegetative or eco-roofs, green roofs com in three main categories – extensive, intensive, and semi-intensive to best suit your needs, but what are the benefits and disadvantages to this new world-changing option?

Green Roofing Benefits

Green roofs foster the growth of vegetation with a waterproof layer, root barrier, drainage, and other components for growing grass, shrubs, and more. These roofs are energy efficient, look great, are environmentally friendly, and utilize an often neglected area of your home. On average, green roofs also have double if not triple the life expectancy of most rooftops.

The plants on your roof absorb the sun’s energy and reduce the temperature in your home during summer while efficiently blocking colder weather and locking heat inside during winter, saving you a few bucks on your heating and air conditioning bill! Due to its nature, green roofs are ideal for flat roofs of commercial buildings and income residential property buildings, but also function well in sloped residential properties with some reinforcing.

High Rise Green Roof
Residential Green Roof

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, green roofs are alive and require extra maintenance than normal shingle, thatch, or metal roofs, essentially being an extension of your lawn. Any trimming, cutting, and weeding still needs to be done and that can be very difficult on a non-flat roof without easy access. While green roofs are fairly inexpensive in Europe ($8 to $15 per square foot) where the practice has been popularized and encouraged, green roofs are still trying to find a foothold in the United States and can be rather costly ($15 per square foot as a base price on average), but can be offset with the use of special city, state, and government incentives.


Green roofing may also require more insurance due to the potential for droughts and storms overwhelming your water drainage system or foliage setup. With an already heavy load, the roof could bolster and sag without proper bolstering, leading to possible damage to foundational membrane and leaks, molding, rotting, and more. Plants might also any damage to the roof when roots become overgrown into shingles. This is why you should leave the installation to the professionals at ASAP Roofing & Exteriors. With our help, these concerns won’t even have to cross your mind as our installation experts are trained to guarantee your peace of mind.

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