green roof guide by John Little and Dusty Gedge

DIY Green Roof Guide

The online resource for building a small green roof system on a shed, garage, house extension or other construction or refurbishment projects. Useful whether you are a DIYer, Roofing Company, Builder, Garden Designer or Architect

green roof on shed at at a primary school

Green Roofs on New Builds

A step by step guide to creating a SAFE and LEAK FREE green roof system on a new small scale construction project. Learn from the vastly experienced authors how to accomplish it yourself or provide guidance to your contractors

plant suggestions for small green roofs

Planting Suggestions

Planting suggestions focussed on native species that can provide the maximum biodiversity. Separate lists for the UK, Eastern USA & Canada, Mid-West USA

a small green roof shed

Retrofitting a Green Roof

Even the smallest of roof spaces can provide a small haven of beauty and a wildlife oasis. The retrofitting section advice can be used to green roof sheds, cycle & bin shelters, garages and house extensions – the fundamentals remain the same!

demonstrating edge detailing for a small green roof

Green Roof Detailing

From suggested screw sizes through edge details to drainage suggestions, John & Dusty take you through the process step by step, using text, photos, illustrations and videos

Las Few Days!

2023 Spring Special Price Available

Take the opportunity to enjoy a £3 discount for new memberships.

Just use the discount code 945209A49E when you get to the checkout page to get a lifetime membership at £9.95 rather than £12.95.

Offer runs to 1st April 2023

 

A Comprehensive Guide to Designing & Building Small Green Roofs

How to Build a DIY Green Roof

Have you ever asked yourself the question – ‘I want to build a green roof…but it all seems so complicated’? If you have, then this DIY Green Roof Guide may well be ideal for you, wherever in the world you are thinking of building and whatever type of small scale green roof you are considering.

This online guide is designed to meet the needs of DIY enthusiasts looking to put a green roof on a garden shed or outhouse, as well as builders and landscaper contractors who want to gain insight into  building green roofs.

This website based guide builds on the material and information in our original pdf – ‘The DIY Guide to Green & Living Roofs’ which we published in 2008. That original information has been taken and updated, new and redrawn diagrams made, and multimedia items added. These include short ‘to do’ videos on specific tasksThere are also publicly accessible videos on our youtube channel if you want a quick preview.

This practical guide to small green roofs  has been developed to:

  • Provide members with the confidence in initiating & taking a project forward,
  • Set out the basic principles behind which things are needed (or not) and why,
  • Provide simple detailed instructions (down to what nails and screws to use) in a step by step format,
  • Supply construction illustrations that make the green roof building process easy.

In detail, how to build a green roof on a shed, extension, garage or other small building project

The DIY Guide aims to take the mystery out of how to build a small green roof. Whether you want to know how to safely build one for your garden shed, garage or house extension, we hope to provide a clear pathway to accomplishing it. This is in contrast to some other resources where the overly technical nature of the supplied information can easily confuse the beginner.

The first edition of this green roof guide was published in order to shed some light on the confused nature of some of the existing material available. Given the large number of emails that both authors were receiving requesting help and information, it was obvious that a DIY guide for green roof building was both needed and overdue. This latest web based version takes those ideas and principles forward in a form that allows information to be added and updated as necessary.

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Get immediate access to the all the information you will need to design and build your own small scale green roof.​

Green Roof Technical Support

Occasionally there maybe confusion over terms used in the guide. Or perhaps something is not completely clear. If you are struggling with specific details and need further illumination then queries should be addressed via the Members’ Support Form and we will do our best to answer as quickly and accurately as we can.