Green Roof Construction

It’s one of the challenges that had very few solutions until recent years.

Installing soil mixes into new buildings, some as high as 25 stories or more, has long relied on the deployment of cranes, lifts, and manual labour.

These traditional methods are great, but the PMB way is better. While conventional means of installation have been the norm, PMB’s innovative approach offers a superior solution.

The difficult and time-intensive challenge of installing green roof soil has now been met with the technology of PMB’s blower trucks.

Quicker

Our blower trucks can install 50 tonnes of soil into your green roof projects every day. For as long as you need us. When you need to shift volume quickly to get the project to handover stage, PMB is your best option.

Easier

Using hoses and a pneumatic system to install soil and other green roof materials such as mulch, we can work around obstacles, through finished buildings and reach a rooftop section or podium garden with ease.

Better

The PMB blower truck is designed for accuracy and precision when it comes to your soil installation. Soil is blown directly onto the designated green roof area, or straight into planter boxes. No mess, no fuss.

Safer

PMB will only need 3 of its team members onsite to deliver your tailored, site-specific green roof soil installation. Only your key staff members are needed on hand to assist and supervise. Moving equipment, crane and lift movement can be minimised or redeployed.

Free up your resources

By choosing PMB to install the soil into your green roof project, your staff and manual labourers can be deployed elsewhere onsite.

Your skilled staff do skilled work.

Let us do the hard work.

Here’s what to expect

when you partner with PMB

on your Green Roof design

Talk to us early

We’re here to work with you to find the most productive way of delivering your project. Top of mind for us is how we can supply, deliver and install your green roof soil and mulch in the quickest, easiest and cleanest way possible.

Whether you are a landscape architect or landscaper, we implicitly understand that you are outcome orientated – you have a vision and you want it to be realised and succeed in practice.

As your Green Roofs partner, we want that too.

PMB is your ally

and facilitator in

green roofs construction.

PMB is here to support you in delivering the project – from the planning stages, right through execution and to handover.

We have seen repeatedly that successful projects follow when we have been brought into the discussion right from day one. Being engaged as a partner with landscape architects, landscapers and builders from 12 -18 months before project commencement is the optimal approach to realise the outcome you want.

This early involvement fosters unity amongst PMB, as the green roof soil installer, and our landscape architect and landscaper partners, whilst simultaneously watching cost.

This ‘work smarter not harder’ approach has served our clients well. Let’s work together early so we can show you a better way of helping you achieve a brilliant result.

Step One – Quoting, Planning and Scheduling

One thing we know after doing this for as long as we have – every job is different.

Each project has different requirements. Each physical location is unique.

Your rooftop garden or green roof project is guaranteed to be different to the previous jobs we’ve completed – different building heights, different installation zone dimensions, different soil weights, different hose lengths and routes.

And so every solution is customised and tailor-made for each of our clients. Our expertise in blower trucks makes them adaptable for any soil installation.

At PMB, we implement a systematic process that establishes accuracy, transparency, and effective communication with you on your green roof project. We start with an exploration phase of gathering key information, asking critical questions about the intended green roof space, budget considerations, and preferred soil (and mulch) mixes and varieties.

Precise measurements from plans and blueprints are used, and we’ll define the project scope by clearly outlining the blower truck services to be provided and the soil and mulch volumes to be installed. We’ll also outline material installation depths, onsite time restrictions and allowances, even the maximum hose length.

It’s about making things as clear and upfront as possible – and early. Our detailed quote will reflect this.

Once you have (hopefully!) accepted this quote, we can move onto planning and scheduling the works, developing a detailed timeline with you for execution of the green roof soil installation.

By working with us throughout your planning process and scheduling of the works, this allows us to move through Steps Two and Three together with open lines of communication, minimising or removing any obstacles to a smooth execution before they even emerge.

Step Two – Scheduling, Site Preparation and Walk-Through

This part in the process is all about planning and coordination. Timing is everything.

As the building construction hits significant milestones we’ll be able to schedule the actual works, coordinating with you the availability of onsite personnel assistance to minimise and avoid unnecessary delays on installation days. A great example of this would be organisation of lifting the hoses from our blower trucks into position on day one – more on that later.

Before we commence soil installation, our Operations Supervisor will conduct a site walk-through as an essential part of our green roof project process, assessing any rooftop garden areas and planter boxes at podium and terrace levels.

This onsite meeting with the landscaper and builder usually happens around a week before we commence the works, and it’s blower truck logistics that are top-of-mind for us – where can we put the hoses up without too much interference? Where can we park the truck? Where can we park our slinger truck for reloading? How high do we need to go? How will we get the hoses up there? These are the scenarios we’ll be assessing from the get-go.

Our Operations Supervisor will confirm installation zones and the staging area for crane access and blower truck parking, and at the other end, hose routes are mapped out, noting any exclusion zones.

This visual inspection will reveal any problems or obstacles that may impede installation and need to be rectified. The kind of obstacles we’re looking for? Is the geomesh secured? Is there equipment or materials blocking the optimal route for our hoses?

The builder and landscaper will be advised with a request for these to be fixed, clearing the way for our blower trucks to arrive onsite.

Materials are next on the agenda, with specific soil mixes as per specs being confirmed and expected soil quantities to be loaded into our blower trucks finalised. Internal processes matching delivery dockets to approved soil blends occurs routinely on all our soil and mulch blowing jobs.

Finally, risk mitigation is worked through, particularly around consideration of weather contingencies, planning for the possibility of phased soil installation to align with anticipated weather events.

Step Three – Blowing soil into your Green Roof section

With all the preparatory work behind us, this is where the rubber hits the road.

Day one is setup day. Following on from our earlier site preparation and walk-through, our main task first up will be to deploy our blower truck hoses using mobile or tower cranes. Usually it will be the mobile solution using crane trucks, which are often already onsite for construction use.

Our hoses are lifted into place using soft slings, frames or spreader-bars, and we then secure the hoses using load-rated slings and anchor points, plus any existing infrastructure such as scaffolding.

Our priorities in this day one setup are clear – coordination between our blower truck operators and crane crews is paramount to comply with safety zones and optimise hose placement and routes so that the rooftop soil installation is executed seamlessly.

Day two is installation day. You can expect to see 50 tonnes of soil blown into place.

And the same for day three, four and five. That’s an incredible rate for soil to be installed, let alone at significant height.

Deliver. Install. Repeat.

We’re here for as many days as you need us, installed all in time for you to take over the project and do what you do.

Partners & Affiliations

Successful Handover of your Green Roof Construction

PMB has installed the soil to your green roof construction.

If the project calls for it, the mulch has been installed as well.

** Mulch is often blown in straight after the soil to optimise your budget – if we’re all setup to go with a soil installation, it makes sense from a cost and setup perspective to come back the following day and blow the mulch in.

So, now the hoses are packed up and the blower trucks have left.

But for us, our part of the project is done – executed quickly, cleanly and safely.

We often don’t get to see the finished product, complete with plants and furniture, but by doing the hard work PMB has now set up your skilled staff to do the skilled work and deliver a beautiful, spectacular landscaping project.

PMB is your ally – we’re here to support and work with you to help you achieve the amazing.

Perth Materials Blowing in Western Australia

Superior WA State-Of-The-Art Machinery

Our PMB blower trucks are specialised vehicles built-to-order, with only a handful available here in WA. They have established a benchmark in soil installation precision and accuracy via unique, advanced techniques and methodologies.

Soil logistics by Perth Materials Blowing. Design icon of soil delivery truck

Logistical Expertise

Our blower truck fleet, backed up by the deployment of coordinated reloading using our slinger truck, enables PMB to blow-in soil (and mulch) loads that are unmatched by traditional methods.

Fast Installation • Gauge • Design Icon • PMB • Perth Materials Blowing

High-volume Soil Loads

PMB’s experienced team members are highly skilled personnel, entrusted to operate our blower truck fleet with their hard-won expertise to simultaneously achieve precise soil placement and installation of high daily volumes. It’s what they do, day in and day out.

Challenging Site Conditions

PMB uses its fleet of cutting-edge blower trucks to blow soil to heights of over 25 storeys enabling access to constrained areas, allowing soil delivery directly to precise locations, even around existing infrastructure. This is the exact scenario we face on a green roof design.

Reliable Supply Chain

We only work with the top suppliers in Perth to source the best quality soil. Our supply network of soil specialists ensures we meet AS4419 standards, meeting the specifications laid out by landscape architects and the landscaping team.

Adaptability

PMB routinely is involved in large-scale projects with budgets ranging from several thousand dollars right through to multiple millions. Our capacity for ‘any scale’ via our fleet scalability makes us the perfect fit for green roofs where bulk material coordination is crucial.

CASE STUDY

THE DETAILS

PROJECT: Forbes Residences in Applecross

STAGING INVOLVEMENT FOR PMB: Landscaping

JOB TYPE: Rooftop Gardens Soil Installation

CLIENT: Deep Green Landscaping and PACT

DATE OF WORKS: November 2023

SERVICES: Blower Truck

THE PROJECT

Forbes Residences is a spectacular development project that required the expertise of various sub-contractors. PMB was tasked with delivering and installing a significant amount of lightweight rooftop garden soil, which was a crucial component of the overall design. The project demanded precision, efficiency, and collaboration to achieve the desired result.

One important thing to note is the collaboration with specialists like Deep Green Landscaping and PACT, which was essential to fully realize the benefits of the green roof system.

THE CHALLENGE

Blow soil up to 30m high
Install soil into large planter boxes across 4 x distinct levels
Minimise dust disturbance
Complete the project quickly
Manage logistical complexities
Coordinate with Deep Green Landscaping and PACT

THE PMB SOLUTION

Strategic Planning: Collaborated closely with Deep Green Landscaping and PACT to develop an effective action plan.
Soil Management: stockpiled soil at PMB’s yard to reduce travel time. Crucially, this approach gave us the opportunity to control moisture levels to minimise dust on-site.
Equipment Optimisation: utilised one of our blower trucks on-site for soil installation, whilst also employing our slinger truck for efficient reloading.
Productivity Enhancement: a combination of our blower truck and slinger truck achieved our maximum daily output.
Timely Execution: sourced, delivered and installed over 250m³ of Lightweight Rooftop Garden Soil on schedule and within budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is using our Blower Trucks safer?

By not having to utilise cranes, hoists, Alimaks and bobcats all day during the installation phase, PMB reduces the need for all those moving pieces continuously going up and down and all around on a busy worksite. Instead of 50 labourers, there are just three PMB team members.

Have you ever done Green Roofs before?

PMB is the go-to in Perth and Western Australia for multi-storey landscape materials installation. Green roofs are accepted as best practice for new high-rise residential and commercial buildings, and certain councils are mandating their inclusion. This growth in popularity has seen PMB install soil and mulch into multiple WA projects over recent years, and we don’t see this growth slowing anytime soon.

How far up can you blow soil and mulch?

Up to 25 storeys high. Our hoses can blow effectively to a range of 120m from the blower truck.

How do you secure the hoses on multi-storey projects?

We deploy several specialised techniques and equipment to securely install hoses on high-rise buildings, which include load-rated slings and rooftop anchor points, and attaching hoses to scaffolding already in place for building construction.

How much soil or mulch can you install in a day?

You can expect to see 50 tonnes installed each day. Or 150m³ of landscaping materials. Either way, that’s an impressive amount of soil and mulch to handle, and our blower trucks handle it with ease.

How much room do you need for the blower trucks?

All we need is a couple of parking spaces at the base of the construction site for our blower trucks and any support vehicles for continuous materials loading. This minimises the need for traffic management, but we can coordinate with you at Steps One and Two (see above) if required.

Do you use certified soils in your Green Roof projects?

Our preferred premium soil products are Australian standard AS4419 certified for quality, designed for fast installation through the use of our blower truck. Whilst we always defer to the soil specifications detailed by the project planning team, including landscape architects and landscapers, if you’re looking to us to suggest soil, we only work with the best soil suppliers in the state.

And what about your mulch? Is that certified too?

It sure is. PMB can source a wide selection of high quality AS4454 compliant mulches suitable for residential and commercial rooftop gardens and planter boxes, always staying in line with your project’s specifications.

We’ve never worked with a blower truck for Green Roofs - any tips for us new players?

Firstly, welcome! And here’s our tips to get us off to the strongest start possible :

Timing is everything: In our experience, finding the right ‘window of opportunity’ for us to install soil on a project is essential. Ideally, we’re on-site immediately after the waterproofing is complete, before any rendering, painting, tiling and other ‘finished’ surfaces are installed.

Finishing surfaces: hold off on any painting, rendering and tiling around the area where soil is to be installed. Soil and finishing products aren’t mates, you’ll be creating a new problem for yourself.

And finally, we have had excellent experiences when landscapers glue the geo-mesh, corflute and drainage cell in place. If it hasn’t been secured pre-install, we’re trying to hold it down while we’re blowing in soil. We’re at heights, which often means windy conditions, and being fabric the geo-mesh wants to flop around like a flag, then blow away like a kite.

We’ve seen landscapers use adhesives for this and the results have been excellent. From our perspective, this works far, far better than when the fabric joins are taped.

Quality and outcome is really important to us. We are an engaged entity that lives in this great city too – we care!

When PMB partner with you on a Green Roof design, we become part of the same team – we carry with us the same North Star, the same concerns, are motivated by the same things, are aiming for the same results and outcomes.

PMB works with Perth’s biggest and best landscapers with the most experience and we’re doing this type of work all the time.

We’ve partnered on hundreds of projects to help the leading landscapers and builders across WA achieve superb results.

It’s time to elevate your green roof construction with the PMB blower truck fleet.

Take advantage of our hard-won experience and expertise, joining the visionaries transforming WA’s residential and commercial construction landscape.

Get in contact with us right here.