A brown roof or sometimes called a biodiverse roof are designed to look natural and are usually not walk-able. Their popularity grows every year especially in busy urban areas.
If SENSOR DDS® leak detection technology is implemented into the design of the brown roof, we can identify leaks in the early stages and repair them before the stains on the ceiling are visible in interior.
Solution for flat roofs – SENSOR DDS® technology
The most used and effective way of testing the liner integrity on any flat roof is to survey using SENSOR DDS® technology. As the technology is based on the distribution of geoelectrical field Sensor has developed the Sensor Leak Detection Geotextile which is installed below the PVC, TPO, Bituminous or other non-conductive geomembrane. It is a direct replacement of standard geotextile so no additional installation is needed.
Below you can see the general design of flat roof with exposed liner. In case of brown roof, gravel layer is installed on top after whole roof is tested for leaks using Arc Tester – SENSOR DDS® MIT.
Sensor leak detection geotextile is installed as standard geotextile with overlap of minimum 100mm.
After installation of geomembrane we test its integrity using SENSOR DDS® MIT portable Arc Testing device. In this step we eliminate every pinhole found on flat area or corners.
As a next step a drainage gravel layer is careful installed on top of the tested roof liner. Final test of geomembrane integrity is completed using our SENSOR DDS® Mobile dipole testing kit which identifies small damages made by sharp stone when placing the overliner.
Where permanent 24/7 monitoring of the roof waterproofing is required we install SENSOR DDS® RFM system. This sophisticated Sensor system consists of buried components called Sensor tiles which divide the monitoring area into sectors. Each sector is monitored permanently in real time, and can be seen on the touch screen of the control panel inside the building.
In event of a leak, the system automatically triggers an alarm and informs the client via SMS/Email. The Identified sector is displayed also on the Sensor control panel screen. Precise localisation of the leak within the detected sector is made using Sensor’s dipole system SENSOR DDS® Mobile or SENSOR DDS® MIT Arc Tester.
Examples of detected damage on brown roofs using SENSOR DDS® technology
SENSOR DDS® technology allows tests for leaks on uncovered or covered brown roofs.
Sensor leak detection geotextile was installed on top of insulation on this roof to test for leaks in PVC liner.
We can test any type of non-conductive liner used on flat roof (PVC, TPE, Bituminous etc...).
Testing roof liner for leaks using our SENSOR DDS® MIT Arc Tester is very fast and easy.
Usually multiple leaks are found on the exposed flat roof using our SENSOR DDS® technology.
Before top sand or gravel layer is installed it is essential to test waterproofing membrane on the roof with our Arc Tester.
At this flat roof, 1.5mm TPO geomembrane was tested for leaks. Located damage was repaired and patches were retested.
Whether it's an old or new flat roof, SENSOR DDS® MIT Arc Tester can detect even pinholes in the liner.
