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Vegetated (green) roofVegetated (green) roof rough-in inspection checklist
Vegetated (green) roof rough-in is the last time the work is fully visible. Once the cover inspection passes and the walls, ceilings and slabs close, every defect left behind becomes a demolition bill. This checklist walks the rough-in in the order the work goes in, with the photo each item needs before it gets buried. Work is commonly verified against manufacturer's published instructions, the applicable building code. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.
The checklist
Every item, and the photo evidence it needs
The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.
Roof access and staging
Walk kept inside the site's fall protection plan
Guardrails, warning lines or tie-off points in place at the edges and openings of today's work area before stepping onto the roof, per the site's fall protection plan.
No photoStaged pallets set within the roof load and off bare membrane
Media, board and paver pallets placed where the structural drawings or the staging plan allow, on protection boards, never piled mid-span or rolled over exposed membrane.
Membrane and flood test
Membrane flood test witnessed and passed before overburden
Roof flooded to the specified depth and held for the required duration, no drop and no leaks reported below, held before any green-roof layers go on.
Membrane surface accepted clean and undamaged
Membrane free of punctures, debris and standing sharp material, roofing contractor's signoff in hand before covering.
Electronic leak-detection grid left in place where the design uses one
Where the design calls for permanent electronic leak detection, the grid or sensors are installed per the maker, with test leads labeled and reachable before overburden goes on.
No photo
Barrier and drainage layers
Root barrier continuous with sealed laps and upturns
Barrier laps to the specified width, upturned and terminated at walls, curbs and penetrations, no gaps at corners.
Protection and drainage layer and board placed
Protection layer over the barrier, drainage board or mat oriented the correct way up and lapped, continuous to the drains.
Barrier, protection and drainage roll labels match the submittal
Roll tags and board labels read on site against the approved green-roof submittal: product names and thicknesses, no substituted drainage core.
Filter layer continuous so media can't reach the drainage core
Filter fabric over the drainage layer lapped per the manufacturer's instructions and turned up at borders and curbs, no torn or open seams for fines to wash through.
Drains and edges
Drain access and inspection ports set and reachable
Inspection chambers over each drain, ports positioned so a drain can be reached after planting, not to be buried by media.
Edging and borders installed at perimeters and penetrations
Vegetation-free edging or gravel borders set at parapets, curbs, drains and penetrations per the layout, before media is spread against them.
Vegetation-free zone widths taped against the drawings
Border width measured at drains, parapets, walls and penetrations and matched to the dimension on the green-roof drawings, not narrowed to gain planted area.
Irrigation lines and sleeves placed before media is spread
Where the design has drip or subsurface irrigation, lines laid on the layer shown, sleeved through borders and curbs, and the supply point marked, before media covers them.
No photo
Before media is spread
Media supersack tags match the approved mix
Tags or delivery tickets on the bags on the roof read against the approved growing-media submittal, mix name and supplier matching, no blended or substitute loads.
Media saturated weight report matches the structural design
Supplier's lab report for this media on file, its saturated weight at or below the value the structural drawings assumed for the green-roof load.
No photo
What usually sends this back
The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work
- Media loaded before the membrane flood test is witnessed, so a leak can't be found until it shows up in the rooms below.
- Root barrier laps and upturns at penetrations skimped, letting roots find the membrane at exactly the spots that leak.
- Drain inspection ports covered over by the drainage board and media, leaving no way to reach a drain that later clogs.
Common questions
6 answers
- What does this vegetated (green) roof rough-in checklist cover?
- 15 items across 5 sections, covering roof access and staging, membrane and flood test, barrier and drainage layers, drains and edges, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
- Who should run this inspection?
- The green-roof installer's foreman with the roofing contractor, and the GC's superintendent witnessing the flood test.
- When in the schedule should this walk happen?
- After the roof membrane is complete and its flood test passes, and before growing media is spread. Once overburden is on, none of these layers can be seen again without tearing the roof apart.
- Why do these items ask for a photo?
- 11 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 17 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
- What most often fails a vegetated (green) roof rough-in inspection?
- Media loaded before the membrane flood test is witnessed, so a leak can't be found until it shows up in the rooms below. Root barrier laps and upturns at penetrations skimped, letting roots find the membrane at exactly the spots that leak. Drain inspection ports covered over by the drainage board and media, leaving no way to reach a drain that later clogs.
- Can I use this checklist in RTI?
- Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.
Related checklists
Run it with the Photo Gate
A checklist nobody can submit half-finished
Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 17 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.
See all 508 checklists · 6741 items and 5984 photo requirements in total.