How can you construct a model of a green (vegetated) roof?

Question

We are doing a science fair project on vegetated roofs. We need to create a model of a vegetated roof. We need to know the materials need.

kthanks :)

Answer 1

You might try grass or bean seed sprouting on a damp material like felt or paper towels some mosses might establish on a  scale model roof if you had time and the right conditions

Answer 2

The point of a vegetated roof is to absorb rain water and still insultate the structure below. Depending on the location / climate you are building the roof in, that would dictate what kinds of plants you would use, and how deep the roof would need to be to keep out the cold or the heat.

Some friends of mine have one, and they basically build a shallow box on top of their roof, lined it with plastic, filled it with gravel and soil, and planted things that aborbed lots of water and like full sun. They also put drainage holes on the bottom slope, so that if excess water was not absorbed, it would drain out the bottom into the gutter.

Answer 3

Buy some rolled up sod at Home Depot and use that.  It is what Gomez the gardener does.  Go Gomez or Go Home!  That is what I say!!

Answer 4

Google "living roofs".   Lots of info out there...

They all leak sooner or later you might find.

Answer 5

A lot of this will depend on the weather of the location . My idea would be have a glass roof with plants on the perimeter (maybe by hydroponic instead of soil.) The chosen plants would be the creeper type that grow across the surface of the roof.You will then only need to worry about a pump system that feeds nutrients to the plants and a drainage system . This is not difficult as the plants are along where the gutter should be anyway. So now you have a glass roof that you can enjoy from the inside of the building.