ASTM
With very few exceptions, building products must comply with accepted industry material standards. These standards allow differentiation among similar products; demonstrate specification compliance, and establish accepted thresholds for safety and quality. Amazingly, until recently, there have been no American green roof standards. In the absence of American standards, responsible providers of green roof materials and systems would typically demonstrate compliance with the German FLL standards, which are little-known in the general design and construction industries.
Within the past few years, the ASTM convened a Green Roof Task Force to create green roof standards. Charlie Miller, P.E., President and founder of Roofscapes, Inc., has been a very active member of this Task Force from the beginning. He is the primary author of four of the five standards recently published and listed below. We are very proud to be such an integral part of the movement to standardize green roofs in the United States.
The methods described in the new ASTM standards establish a common basis for comparing fundamental green roof properties, such as maximum weight and moisture retention potential. These methods are designed to measure critical material properties for green roof materials under conditions similar to those encountered in the field.
Roofscapes, Inc. has incorporated these ASTM standards in all of its Roofmeadow® specifications, and encourages all other green roof providers to do the same. The tests referenced in these standards can be run at a number of American laboratories including:
Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory
Penn State University
Tower Road
University Park, PA 16802
814-863-0841
GAI Consultants, Inc.
1055 Westlakes Drive, Suite 200
Berwyn, PA 19312
610-640-7456
Turf Diagnostics & Design
613 E. Street
Linwood, KS 66052
913-723-3700
The five new standards are in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Volume 04.12.
E2396 Standard Testing Method for Saturated Water Permeability of Granular Drainage Media [Falling-Head Method] for Green Roof Systems
Construction Details for fabrication of E2396 in plexi glass and stainless steel are available. You may have them fabricated on your own or,
if you prefer, we will have them fabricated for you.
E2397 Standard Practice for Determination of Dead Loads and Live Loads Associated with Green Roof Systems
E2398 Standard Test Method for Water Capture and Media Retention of Geocomposite Drain Layers for Green Roof Systems
E2399 Standard Test Method for Maximum Media Density for Dead Load Analysis*
E2400 Standard Guide for Selection, Installation, and Maintenance of Plants for Green Roof Systems
*Method E2399 includes tests to measure moisture retention potential and saturated water permeability of media.
To purchase any of these standards, visit the 
Penn State is the leading Tester in FLL and ASTM guidelines.