Turf on a roof

amias – posted 12 February 2001 07:46

Hello All ,

I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on how to go about turfing my roof . I have a 4*8 meter flat roof on the top of my flat (in London, England) that I would like to turf . The roof is covered with tar and has a 5 brick high wall surrounding it . Does this seem possible ? What would be the best kind of turf to use ? How much drainage might I need ? Any help would be greatly appreciated .

Toodle-pip Amias

jbarber – posted 01 May 2001 16:25

In the Los Angeles, CA area about 12 years ago we helped a homeowner lay turfgrass sod on his roof. Don’t underestimate the weight and drainange issues, which were the hardest parts of the job. We used a version of our Garden Carpet dwarf fescue sod, which was grown on a layer of organic mulch on top of plastic sheeting. The light medium made the sod easier and lighter to handle, but the initial watering schedule added weight to the roof. Additional support beams were added and braced before the installation on the roof.The homeowner was hoping to achieve energy savings through insulating properties of the sod, but it was a shoret lived experiment, since general maintenance (lifting the mower to the roof…) was extensive.A unique idea, but difficult to accomplish.’Good Luck!