The Brochs of Coigach are designed to sit perfectly on a remote Scottish hillside overlooking the sea. Designed by award winning architect, Stuart Bagshaw of SBA Architects Ltd, Stornoway, the cottages blend in perfectly with the landscape - thanks to the irregular contours of their dry stone walls and turf roofs.
The turf roof is designed to fit naturally into the escarpment and blend with the surroundings. The construction is 150mm turf over a Platon Xtra studded drainage layer and an Isola Mestertekk waterproofing layer.
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In the UK, green roofs are more commonly flat or of very shallow pitch, but their installation on to pitched or undulating roofs is becoming increasingly popular. In many parts of Europe and Scandinavia, pitched green/turf roofs have been a tradition spanning many centuries.
Isola Platon membranes are used extensively in Scandinavia and the Platon Xtra membrane system was developed specifically for pitched turfed roofs and has been used for this type of application for over 40 years.
Platon Xtra, the system’s drainage layer, is manufactured from HDPE, a material that is water repellent and resistant to chemicals. Mestertekk provides the primary waterproofing layer to the system and is a high quality single ply SBS modified bituminous roofing felt. Isola Mestertekk is loose laid and mechanically fixed (When used on refurbishment contracts it can be applied over the original covering with minimal preparation.)
At the Brochs of Coigach, the Mestertekk layer was applied directly to the Marine Ply, followed by the Platon Xtra membrane, a geotextile layer, top soil and finally the turf. Mestertekk and Platon Xtra are quick and easy to install and full installation guidelines are available to download from: www.triton-chemicals.com
(GK/KMcA)
