Green Roof Dead Load

Soil does not necessarily occupy the full depth of the assembly.

Green roof dead load.

Arch 331 note set 13 1 s2014abn 2. The dead load of a green roof assembly should be determined on a project specific basis because growth medium composition varies from job to job. Astm e2397 is the established standard procedure for determining the dead and live loads associated with green roof systems. We can provide more information on individual products or systems on request.

D dead load l live load l r live roof load w wind load s snow load e earthquake load r rainwater load or ice water load t effect of material temperature h hydraulic loads from soil f hydraulic loads from fluids. The second most common conservative assumption found in the industry is to assume that the green roof is a soil load rather than a dead load. Roof shall balance drainage and water retention to meet drainage requirements but retain as much rain as possible while still meeting drainage and maximum wet weight dead load requirements. The use of reliable and established products that comply with green roofing guidelines is important.

The entire green roof assembly including plants and the water required to saturate the growth media is considered part of the dead load of the structure. The dead load on a roof is the weight of the roof structure itself along with any permanently attached materials or structures on the roof so it must be designed first of all to support itself. On the pages below we show a summary of our product range. Water in excess of that which saturates the growth media snow and people visiting the green roof are all considered part of the live load of the structure.

The long term performance of green roofs depends on many factors. Green roof shall provide suitable drainage and water retention capacity to support healthy vegetation cover according to specified vegetation performance.