A considerably large green footprint has been left ... on the roof

Challenge

An Auckland homeowner wanted to leave an extra green footprint when designing a kitchen-dining-living room extension their Mt Eden character villa renovation.

The extension resulted in a larger-than-normal proportion of the site being occupied by building. This required the designer to think outside the box as it ran the risk of putting too much pressure on the public storm-water system during periods of heavy rain; leading to surface flooding.

It was vital to the homeowner that the system installed would solve this potential issue as well as having insulation properties, required little maintenance, stood the test of time and had a unique aesthetic presence.

Solution

To address the possible storm water issue and to add an element of difference to their home, the homeowner decided to install a full Viking Roof Garden System, using Viking Enviroclad as the waterproofing membrane.

The soil of a roof garden system acts like a sponge to absorb, delay and slowly release storm water as well as acting as a filter to purify the water. The oxygen produced by the planted vegetation helps to insulate and shade the building; reducing the energy consumption of the building and greenhouse gases. It also minimises the exposure of the actual waterproofing membrane to climatic extremes, increasing the life of the roof and its long term performance.

With approximately 120m₂ of roof garden surface area supporting an average of 500mm deep of growth medium; this takes a huge amount of pressure off the public services, by providing an absorbent catchment facility of approximately 60m₃. This will feed rain water into the storm-water system in a more controlled manner than would be the case if a sudden downpour pelted the impermeable surface of a traditional roof.

To add to this, some of the water from this roof will feed into a grey-water tank used for watering gardens; cleaning cars and flushing toilets.

Result

The Viking Roof Garden system has drastically transformed the roof of this extension and overall look of the entire home.

The homeowner really likes the fact they were able to do their part when considering how their home and water usage effects public services, all while minimising the physical abuse his roof could endure if selecting a different waterproofing system.

This decision has led them making a considerably large, green, eco-friendly footprint. An additional advantage that a Viking Roof Garden system is backed by a 20*year product warranty.