Green Roofs

Ecoman has been installing green roofs since 2003, most notably the Science Centre, Honda plant and Markham Community Centre. We have also installed several residential green roofs on homes in downtown toronto. For more information on green roofs follow the link. If you are interested in having a green roof installed contact Jonas for more information. If you are interested in a residential green roof, you will likely want to start with an engineers report detailing the load capacity of existing roof. The key thing to remember is that load allowance determines depth of soil, which informs plant choices and/or green roof product that is appropriate.

After the above considerations have been made, quote, contract and installation follow. Maintenance of green roofs can be minimal, however, monitoring is critical to ensure that undesirable plant species do not colonize the roof. We have been closely monitoring the green roof at Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) since 2005. Basic knowledge plant identification and characteristics are of great benefit in helping to ascertain the possible impact of plant species that colonize the green roof. I would estimate that of the original species list installed at MEC only a handful remain (however the survivors account for a large portion of the vegetated roof in terms of percent cover). Several other species have successfully colonized the green roof and over time are becoming dominant competitors for resources. This has been observed from the rapid increase in individual plants and total percent coverage. Legumes in particular have done well:
Desmodium canadensis
Vicia cracca
and more recently Medicago lupulina.