Sedum Green Roof, Sheffield
A new stone-built garage in Sheffield with a Fatra FF810 warm roof and a pre-grown sedum green roof over the whole area. The membrane was electronically tested before a single plant went on, and the roof was in flower the day we finished.
- Client
- Private client
- Location
- Sheffield
- System
- Fatra FF810 PVC single ply warm roof with pre-grown Fatra Modular Tray sedum
- Area
- 48 m²
The Challenge
The job was a new stone-built garage below a house on the western edge of Sheffield. The owners look straight down onto the garage roof from the house, so the architects drew it as a living roof with a stone coping all round: something worth looking at, not 48 m² of grey. That is the design brief. The roofing brief is harder than it sounds. A green roof is a permanently wet, planted layer that sits on the waterproofing for the life of the building. Once it is down, nobody is lifting it to look for a leak. Every seam, corner and outlet had to be right first time, and proven right, before anything green went on top.
Our Solution
Fatra wrote the specification and we built to it. A warm roof build-up on the new 18 mm timber deck: Fatra FF818 vapour control layer, 150 mm foil-faced PIR insulation mechanically fixed through the deck, then Fatra FF810 1.5 mm PVC single ply in dark grey, mechanically fixed at the side laps and hot-air welded. Fatra's external angle trims form the perimeter under the stone coping, and the whole roof drains to a single Fatra through-wall outlet with a leaf guard. With a planted roof above it, that one outlet matters more than any other detail on the job. As on every green roof we lay, we ran an electronic integrity test over the finished membrane before anything went on top of it. Then a protection fleece, and pre-grown Fatra Modular Trays of sedum clipped together across the whole roof, with pebble margins at the edges and around the outlet so the drainage stays clear.
The Outcome
Watertight, tested, and in flower on the day it was finished. The membrane carries Fatra's manufacturer warranty, registered in June 2026, alongside Skyguard's own workmanship guarantee. Because the sedum arrives pre-grown, the roof was established and flowering yellow from the first day rather than bare growing medium waiting a season to fill in. The job ran in two short visits, the waterproofing in June and the green roof in early July, and the same contractor has since come back to us for their next green roof.
Why this one matters to us
More and more of our enquiries are for green roofs, and this is the kind of job that shows why we take them on differently from most installers. We are single ply specialists first. The planting is the pleasant, photogenic part; the membrane underneath is what keeps the building dry for the next twenty years, and it is the part nobody can inspect once the sedum is down. So the waterproofing is done to the manufacturer’s specification, tested electronically, and warranted, before a single plant goes on.
If you are weighing one up, what a green roof involves explains the build-up and the maintenance, our green roof cost guide works through real sizes and prices, and Green Roof Benefits in South Yorkshire is our honest take on whether it is worth it. Architects and main contractors: here is how we work with design teams.
The job, in photos
Spec, scope & references
- New-build garage roof: warm roof on a timber deck, stone coping to the perimeter
- Full-coverage sedum green roof with pebble margins
Other work we’re proud of
Fibreglass Lantern Roof Overlay, Hood Green
A failed fibreglass (GRP) roof round a long run of roof lanterns at Hood Green, Barnsley, overlaid in grey Fatra single ply.
Failed Rubber Roof Replaced, Flanderwell
A failed rubber (EPDM) roof round a big lantern in Flanderwell, Rotherham, replaced in Fatra PVC: old roof off at 9.15 am, new one on by 1.46 pm.
Curved Dormer Window Roof, Maltby
A small curved roof over a dormer bay window in Maltby, tucked under the main tiled roof and finished in grey Fatra single ply with a black edge trim.
Free quote visit · No hard sell · Transparent pricing
Ready when you are.
Speak to a real roofer in 30 seconds — or get a transparent price range in 60.