Convert Your Garden Shed to a Green Roof

Do you love the look of a green roof? Even if you can’t currently change your home to this option, you can still make a green roof on your garden shed or summerhouse. It’s easier than you might expect.

You’ll need an existing or pre-fabricated garden shed with either a flat roof or a slightly sloped one. Steeply pitched roofs are not suitable for creating green roofs.

Create the Roof

The first thing to do is turn the roof into a space that can hold soil and greenery. You’ll need water-impermeable sheeting to cover the entire roof. This should be tacked down over the edges and will prevent water or moisture from reaching the shed where it could sit and cause damage.

Once the sheeting is attached, add wood pieces around the edges of the roof to form a sort of box. These will be attached to the edges of the roof and will give you a space that you can fill with soil and plants. You can reinforce the frame you’ve built by adding a small square block of wood in each interior corner and screwing it into place.

To ensure drainage for healthy plants, drill small holes along the base of the lowest board. This will let any excess moisture drip out.

Adding Soil

To prepare the rooftop for your plants, it needs to have excellent drainage. You should begin with 2-3 cm of gravel spread evenly over the base of the planting box. This allows the water to drain easily, without waterlogging the roots of your plants and it also helps prevent erosion.

Over the gravel, you’ll need to lay a piece of weed matting and tack it to the inside of the frame. It should just cover the gravel. This mat prevents soil from washing out through the gravel.

The next step is to add soil to within 3 cm of the top of the roof box. You can use ordinary potting soil for this. However, if the roof is fairly large and you don’t want to add too much weight, you may wish to place plant pots instead. You can then cover the area between the planters and over them with wood mulch. It will look lovely, but won’t have the same weight as the soil.

Plant Your Greenery

With everything prepared, you can begin planting. It’s best to choose plants that don’t need much care. Grasses and small perennials work well for this type of roof and will look lovely. You can also select groundcover plants that will cover the entire roof in green.

Natural precipitation should be more than enough for the plants, but you may need to check the soil humidity and add more water from time to time. The green roof will look amazing and help keep the space below nice and cool.

Need a garden shed to convert into a green roof? A1 Sheds & Garden Buildings has what you need! Contact us now to learn more.