Gardener on the Roof

Umbra on green roofs

Posted by Bricolage at 11:35 AM on 05 Dec 2005

You see them sprouting up more and more: rooftops covered with growing plants. We're not talking ferns in pots, here -- we're talking grasses and other hardy vegetation taking root right there on the roof. Today, a reader wonders whether she ought to shed her shingles and go green. In response, advice maven Umbra Fisk climbs up on her ladder to poke around the topic.

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Green roofs

In addition to the type of green roof Umbra described, you can also buy trays of plants that link together to form a green roof. The waterproof membrane is also necessary, but it's neater and easier than spreading soil yourself. Not sure which suppliers sell them, but here's a link to some green roof providers, most of which are in the Midwest but may be able to refer you if you're not: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/providers.html

by eedaughton at 6:40 AM on 06 Dec 2005

Green roofs

I remember flying low over Chicago one time. I was impressed by the hundreds of square miles of asphalt desert: the hundreds of thousands of roofs. But my new house has three feet of earth on the roof, enough for substantial bushes and trees to grow. Any flyer looking down will see a lovely green landscape and not a desert. My house is also bermed on the east, north and west. Windows on the south. I won't have to pay the high heating bills everyone else has to pay. Same for cooling in the summer.
Everyone else should do the same and cut down on the greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.

Joel Welty, Blanchard, Michigan

by Joel Welty at 8:05 AM on 06 Dec 2005

A weighty issue.

My understading is that the weight of the roof is the main proplem. I have been thinking about putting in a green roof on our house for a long time, but the information I've found insists that you have to know that your house is engineered to hold the additional weight of weight soil, which can weigh an astonishing amount. (Is it clear I don't have the numbers here at my fingertips). I haven't found out how to judge the strength of the roof without hiring someone, and there doesn't seem to be anybody in town who is an expert in green roofs.

I want to make it a weekend project, but it seems to involve a lot more planning that that.

by pcooley at 10:49 AM on 06 Dec 2005

Green Roof

Umbra, i figured it out. just had to finish that cup o joe first. my apologies for cluttering your inbox. so my question...i live in south Florida, i am sure that my roof would grow well all year long, but for the others is irrigation a problem?

this past hurricane season i did enjoy living without power for two weeks, but it was nice knowing i still had a roof over my head. how would a green roof hold up in high winds?

by trisailor at 5:34 AM on 07 Dec 2005

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