Not only a yard on the terrace area, having a yard on the roof of the house can also bring a certain pleasure to homeowners. This zone can be used as a green open space to gather, relax or unwind for a moment while enjoying the vast natural panorama.
For those of you who have a house with limited space or don’t have a garden that is large enough to create a yard, a rooftop garden can be the right solution. Before deciding to start building a rooftop garden at home, it’s a good idea to know in advance what things need to be paid attention to.
1. Strong roof structure and construction
The most important thing that needs to be considered before building a rooftop garden is the structure and construction of the roof of the house. Make sure that the roof of your house has a strong structure and construction to withstand the weight of plants, soil, water and people.
Structural and construction errors on the roof can be dangerous later. For this reason, the structure and construction of the roof of the house needs to be carefully considered and planned.
2. Install the fence
To protect security, put up a fence around the yard. Fence material can be adjusted to your tastes and preferences. You can choose a fence made of wood, mirror or iron. Make sure that the fence that you install has a strong and comfortable resistance.
3. Tub for planting plants
After preparing the structure and construction of the roof, you can start making the tub. This tub will later be used as a container for growing plants.
You can place these tubs on the edge of the roof. Next, you can familiarize the shape and size of the plant tub with your preferences and tastes. But even so, make sure that the area of the plant tub matches the dimensions of the concrete on the roof of your house.
4. Install the waterproofing material
To prevent water from seeping and seeping into the space under the roof, you need to cover the roof with waterproofing material.
Waterproofing material will prevent the roof of your house from being damaged due to exposure to water and humidity. The process of installing this material can consist of the process of preparing the surface from the rooftop, carrying out coating to adding a protective layer.
5. Don’t forget about the water installation
An equally important factor when you want to build a rooftop garden is the installation of a water installation. In this case, you need to pay attention to the type of water installation that you want to install.
Make 2 types of water installations in your rooftop garden zone. Why need 2? Because you need to prepare a clean water installation for watering plants, this installation will be connected directly to a water reservoir or water pump.
After that you also need to prepare a dirty water installation that will be used for disposal purposes, make sure that this installation is connected to the lowest edge of the roof and connected to a gutter pipe that concentrates water into an infiltration basin on the ground and finally to a water drain.
6. Take advantage of palm fiber or cocopeat
After installing the waterproofing material and installing water, you need to install palm fiber or cocopeat. Cocopeat or a type of coconut fiber will function to hold and filter water that seeps from sand and soil.
Install palm fiber or cocopeat with a thickness of about 10 centimeters to get more optimal filtering power.
7. Selection of planting media
After installing the palm fiber or cocopeat, you need to place the planting medium as a place for the plants to grow later. Choose red soil and humus to be a planting medium.
To help plants develop properly, make sure that the soil on your rooftop garden has a good pH content, which is around 5-7. For plants that require special soil to develop properly, you can plant them in special pots with selected soil and fertilizer.
8. Prepare a storage area
Because of the location of the rooftop garden which is located on the roof, you need to prepare a special storage area for your planting tools. Why is this matter significant? Simply put, this means that you don’t have to carry gardening tools back and forth every time you want to garden in a rooftop garden.
You can prepare a simple storage area such as a closed cupboard made of wood in the corner of the yard. This cupboard can be used to store your gardening equipment such as shovels, empty plant pots or plant seeds.
Cabinets that are closed will also prevent the tools from being blown away when blown by the wind. Arrange gardening tools neatly in the cupboard to make it easier for you when you want to use them.
9. Plant grass and plants
To complete the impression of your rooftop garden, plant grass on top of the planting medium. If you want to grow plants with a fibrous base, plant them in a vegetative zone.
Types of vines can be planted on the edge of the fence or roof booth. For plants that are quite low, you can plant them in tubs or on the edge of the yard.
Apart from planting plants directly on the ground, you can also place various types of ornamental plants that have grown in pots to enliven and liven up your rooftop garden.