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FIND YOUR DREAM HOME OR APARTMENT
27Comments
Apr 7, 2011 1:07PM
There are many ways to create greener spaces in your home. If you are really interested in retrofitting your home's roof to create a living roof, I suggest starting small to get a feel for the process and to understand the time, materials, effort and cost put into it.
First, search the web for sites that describe what all is included in making and maintaining a green roof.
http://www.roofmeadow.com/ is a fantastic site that includes specs and detail drawings to help understand the mechanics of a green roof.
http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/#/en/home is a site operated by Patrick Blanc who was a frontrunner in creating living walls, or "Vertical Gardens". It is full of inspiring images that may help with ideas, but finding technical information is difficult.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/most-popular/2008/10/11/how-to-grow-a-roof-for-your-garden-shed-115875-20792352/ This site offers the steps you have to go through to get the project completed.
Secondly, I would check with the city, or planning officials in your area, and see what benefits are available for green roof owners, as well as what permits you may have to acquire.
Third, try your hand at some smaller project, like outfitting a dog house, tool shed or other small scale outdoor structure with a green roof. If you can handle that, you may have a better idea of how they work, look and what it takes to complete the process.
Finally, contact a reputable contractor or two, or *three* and see how they could help you. Replacing a few shingles isn't really a big job, and it's easily accomplished by someone who can get onto a roof. But completely refitting a roof is a big job, and in order to do it well, it has to be done by someone with construction experience. Make sure the design is something you are happy with. It's the job of the architects, engineers and contractors to make you happy and provide you with a design that is safe, effective and beautiful.
Happy Planting!
PS: GODVOX is a moron. Just thought I'd mention that. Go ahead, flag me. It's not going to change anything.
First, search the web for sites that describe what all is included in making and maintaining a green roof.
http://www.roofmeadow.com/ is a fantastic site that includes specs and detail drawings to help understand the mechanics of a green roof.
http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/#/en/home is a site operated by Patrick Blanc who was a frontrunner in creating living walls, or "Vertical Gardens". It is full of inspiring images that may help with ideas, but finding technical information is difficult.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/most-popular/2008/10/11/how-to-grow-a-roof-for-your-garden-shed-115875-20792352/ This site offers the steps you have to go through to get the project completed.
Secondly, I would check with the city, or planning officials in your area, and see what benefits are available for green roof owners, as well as what permits you may have to acquire.
Third, try your hand at some smaller project, like outfitting a dog house, tool shed or other small scale outdoor structure with a green roof. If you can handle that, you may have a better idea of how they work, look and what it takes to complete the process.
Finally, contact a reputable contractor or two, or *three* and see how they could help you. Replacing a few shingles isn't really a big job, and it's easily accomplished by someone who can get onto a roof. But completely refitting a roof is a big job, and in order to do it well, it has to be done by someone with construction experience. Make sure the design is something you are happy with. It's the job of the architects, engineers and contractors to make you happy and provide you with a design that is safe, effective and beautiful.
Happy Planting!
PS: GODVOX is a moron. Just thought I'd mention that. Go ahead, flag me. It's not going to change anything.
Feb 23, 2011 6:09PM
Dec 9, 2010 2:22PM
Sep 11, 2010 8:46PM
Watch weight capacity. Remember that sand weighs far less than gravel. Plant design care.
Sep 11, 2010 8:27PM
This is an interesting concept however it appears very complex and expensive for the common man to implement it.
Also I would be very worried of my roof caving in. I think I prefer the concept of green walls instead where they have plants growing on the wall.
Sep 11, 2010 5:06PM
wowSep 11, 2010 4:31PM
Sep 11, 2010 3:17PM
Rule number 1...If it says "green" or "eco" or "enviro" anythng its a complete lie, scam, myth and a hoax. This is a bigger scam than Amway by far. PT Barnum said , "Thre's a sucker born every minute."
Find a GED toting liberal/hippie, bathe it give it a job then kill it dig it up and kill it again
Find a GED toting liberal/hippie, bathe it give it a job then kill it dig it up and kill it again
Sep 11, 2010 1:49PM
If a person wants to spend their own personal money this way, fine. But creating green roofs on governent buildings and schools is wastefull. These roofs are very expensive to build and are a maintenance nightmare.
Money for books and money for teachers and money for basic education should not be wasted on green roofs. Its just stupid when there are much higher priorities.
Sep 11, 2010 1:09PM
I was under the impression that this week the Senate was pushing through a bill (S.510) that will outlaw all home gardening and organic farms. The FDA and Monsanto are pushing this through as an "uncontested" status which is a sneaky to get a law passed in your favor before anyone has a chance to object. The Natural Solutions Foundation at HealthFreedomD OT org has a form you can send to your senator right away to request a hold on the bill, which is the only way to get it delayed, otherwise it will become law in a matter of days. How do you like that? Nobody knew this was happening while you wrote this article, did you? Only millions of requests, calls and emails to your senator can get any attention and it would have to be immediate to have any impact. The big AgriBiz corporations are using a power push, and the FDA have written letters to every senator to implore them to let the bill pass under the guise of "food safety", when what it actually is doing is giving control of your food to the government and big AgriBiz, who will then dictate to you what you will eat and what kind of food and it will mass industrialize all food production, and make it a criminal activity to grow your own food or to be a small farmer or an organic farmer. The strictures on food production contained in this law will be mandatory, and will be so expensive that only huge multi-million dollar or billion dollar conglomerates and corporations will be able to afford to follow the legalized requirements. Check it out for yourself. If you think it is harmless, you are not aware that it's only another small step before they are putting micro-chips in the food itself to scan you to measure what you eat, what brands, how often you eat it, where you bought it, and maybe even vaccinate you with bananas whether you want it or not. No one knows what the presence of innumerable numbers of microchips in the body will cause or how they will interact, but it will increase the amount of radio scanning of your body, and that's just the next turn in the path. Unless you do something now. HealthFreedomD OT org
Sep 11, 2010 12:34PM
Sep 11, 2010 12:30PM
Sep 11, 2010 10:20AM
Natural Beauty ?? that home shown above with weeds growing on the roof is natural beauty ?? I bet you think Pond Scum is beautiful also.. wouldn't want that thing next to my home...and all the insects it attracts I suppose feeds the children..ILMAO at all the high brow comments..sorry I shook up your little Love in, Ill go away....
Sep 2, 2010 12:48PM
Also known as “living roofs”, green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and combat the heat island effect. There are two types of green roofs: intensive roofs, which are thicker and can support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are covered in a light layer of vegetation and are lighter than an intensive green roof.
Sep 2, 2010 12:47PM
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. (The use of “green” refers to the growing trend of environmentalism and does not refer to roofs which are merely colored green, as with green roof tiles or roof shingles.
Sep 2, 2010 12:45PM
The harsh coastal winds of Santander, Spain can make enjoying this rocky shore quite difficult. Where most houses in this stretch focus back inland, the OS House by NOLASTER Architects is centered around the water below. It is built in a low-profile fashion that merges with the plot’s topography, as well as continuing the foliage around it with a full-size green roof. Unlike many others on this list, the green roof design of OS House is habitable, a soft, grassy bed on which to enjoy the coastal nature of Spain’s north shore.
Sep 2, 2010 12:44PM
The California Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano is a stunning achievement in green roof design. Such structures are no stranger to Italian architect Renzo Piano, who designed a long time favorite of TheCoolist, the Vulcano Buono in Nola, Italy. The CAS building in San Francisco, California features a 2.5 acre green roof that is blanketed by local plants, acting as a habitat for bay area wildlife. Within, the CAS features a planetarium, an aquarium and a man-made rain forest, all three of which rest right under the dome sections of this amazing green roof.
Sep 2, 2010 12:41PM
For example, a green roof that is home to numerous plant species, insects and birds is an ideal location to learn about ecology. It is also a place where agriculture can be taught in an urban setting, as people are often far removed from places where food is grown. Even being able to see an inaccessible green roof through windows has a positive effect on the learning environment
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