eco friendly roof membrane

passingthrough

does anyone know of any totally eco roof membrane, iv searched and searched but havnt found anything online that fits the bill

sas

passingthrough wrote: »

does anyone know of any totally eco roof membrane, iv searched and searched but havnt found anything online that fits the bill

What do you mean by "totally eco roof membrane"?

passingthrough

something that is fully bio degradeable or has no chemicals or plastics, im not even sure if its possible

sydthebeat

passingthrough wrote: »

something that is fully bio degradeable or has no chemicals or plastics, im not even sure if its possible

ins kind of counter intuitive to have a weather sealing membrane that's degradable.

If choosing the eco route, see grass or sedum roofs. Even these have some sort of membrane that tends to be oil based.
If the product was made from fully recycled material, would you consider it 'eco' ?

sas

passingthrough wrote: »

something that is fully bio degradeable or has no chemicals or plastics, im not even sure if its possible

Some of the softboard roofing products claim to be usable without a membrane. They are tongued and grooved and in theory could form a fully sealed layer.

However...

I don't believe any of them have any certification for use in such a manner and it would be my personal belief that you would struggle to find a certifier happy to go without a membrane.

Also softboard is outrageously expensive.

What about a thatched roof, that would tick all the boxes for you surely?

sas

sydthebeat wrote: »

ins kind of counter intuitive to have a weather sealing membrane that's degradable.

I completely missed that part

BryanF

passingthrough wrote: »

does anyone know of any totally eco roof membrane, iv searched and searched but havnt found anything online that fits the bill

depending on your preferred roof build-up, you could go with a low formaldehyde ply/osb board with a bitumen paper above, then slate etc. there area also membranes that claim to be 100% recycled:

Mods remove this link is if you think necessary (its just one I've specified in the past) http://www.visqueenbuilding.co.uk/download_file.asp?id=731

with building materials sometimes you have to compromise and weigh-up lifespan and its purpose against its embodied energy and whether it can be recycled at its end of life..

this is an interesting question but only one that I'd take seriously if you are intent on building the bulk of the house with 'eco friendly materials'(btw 'eco' imo is a phrase that has completely lost its meaning)

May I ask for instance what your roof covering is? slate has an associate embodied energy cost, as does recycled tyre slates. Recently I've seen a straw bale house builder call himself an 'eco builder' when the roofing covering on the straw bales house was clearly some type plastic tile look-a like roofing.. you see my point..

Poor Uncle Tom

sas wrote: »

What about a thatched roof?

Oldest and Best, from an eco point of view, as long as a local product is used.

passingthrough

Hi OP here, sorry for the delay, the project that im working on is actually a student project for college, we are designing a 'pavillion' by the coast and our concept is that it would be made of fully degradable materials, rammed earth walls and timber etc but the main problem we have run into it how to waterproof the roof with using plastics or chemicals.

BryanF

In Norway (any Norwegians here might confirm) a traditional green roof was waterproofed using birch bar. shingles might be another option, but as said above thatch would be Ireland's traditional natural solution given our moist moderate climate. slates with a variation of lime/straw/hemp beneath might be an option also.

hope you have designed good overhangs and dry DPC at plinth level for the rammed earth, in coastal situations you may want to think about what lime render or timber rain screen will be applied to exposed walls

sydthebeat

i assume you have some flat or low roof pitches to cover, because membranes are less of an issue in high pitched roofs where the run off is rapid. Thatch usually requires a pitch or approx 50 degs. Timber shingles etc also require a good high pitch.

if designing for a flat or low pitch and you need a degradable material, id do eveything in my power to get the water off the surface as quickly as possible. Allowing water to pond on a degradable material is not a good idea.
so i would try to design in falls wherever possible.