Living With A Sod Living Roof

Planted with hundreds of low growing succulents the little flat roofed extension off their 1925 colonial revival helps slow down and filter rainwater runoff.

Living with a sod living roof.

With this type of roof planting mediums are much deeper which can be between seven and 24 inches and can consist of lawn shrubs trees and perennials for example. That shift is towards unique living spaces with communal benefits. An extensive green roof on the other hand is a thinner lighter version that looks more similar to a standard roof. Sod roofing in bellingham wa is just one part of a greater shift.

And it should look decent. While redeveloping our house we decided to install a living roof on our kitchen roof why you ask. So did 18th century germans and 12th century icelanders who carved these sod covered homes out of hillsides. Generally an intensive living garden is more likely to decorate the roofs of commercial and municipal buildings like the chicago city hall while extensive roofs are more often found atop a residence.

A good living roof edge detail should contain the soil on the roof while simultaneously allowing the excess rainwater to drain off all without puncturing your liner and allowing for some kind of gutter system. That s a lot of design details to weigh but i think we developed a. Often it will be planted with sedum stonecrop. We wanted somewhere for some wildlife to have bees etc 3.

1 intensive green roof. I liked the idea of having a bit more greenery in the property we live in central london 2. Doing the edge was the trickiest part since i had the fold the epdm underneath itself and leave a little bit exposed to protect the edge logs. The earliest settlers of the great plains lived in sod houses.

Since i already wrote about cutting sod for my roof i will describe how the sod was loaded. They found that the pesky vegetation that grew naturally on their rooftops provided needed insulation. Usually a roof slope of 40 degrees or more is required for runoff or else the living roof might end up in the home s living room. Make a normal flat or sloped roof into a beautiful living garden.

Places like apartment complexes have extensive structures and roofs that cover thousands of square feet. Allowing for snow loads and your family gathering for summer breakfast on top of the house figure that the beams and rafters under a sod roof will have to carry 100 pounds per square foot. One benefit we glossed over applies to communal living spaces. A solidly engineered roof helps protect your house against the elements of course but the one installed over sarah jack and scott harris s eat in kitchen does that and more.

Building the living roof.