Green Options » vegetated roof

Showing the Green Building Process

Philip Proefrock — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:22:10 +0000

What does it look like to build a house with lots of green features? We see pictures of the finished buildings, and we read about the features that make them green. We know about the importance of good insulation and reducing electrical loads and choosing efficient equipment. But what does it look like while it all goes together?

Greener Roof Replacement Options

Philip Proefrock — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:54:00 +0000

At some point in the useful life of most houses, the roof needs to be replaced. An EPA report prepared in the late 1990s calculated that almost 4 million homes per year have their asphalt roofs replaced, leading to the generation of 6.4 million tons of asphalt roofing waste. (Table A-8) Because of this, roofing materials are one of the larger contributors to landfill construction debris. And most of the materials used in making shingles (the prevalent form of roofing used in North America) are not readily recycled into other useful forms, leading to a stream of materials filling up the landfills.

Roofs are subject to extremes of temperature, receiving the full exposure of the sun as well as suffering from the extremes of cold. No other part of the average home sees a wider cycle of temperatures. Precipitation and wind also provide a constant eroding force that wears at the roof and gradually contributes to breaking it down. Because of this exposure to the elements, roofs are typically elements that need to be replaced several times over the life of a building.

Are there greener options than a basic shingle replacement?

Weekly DIY: Green Roofed Dog Veranda

Philip Proefrock — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:03:15 +0000

We noted a few weeks ago that Instructables, in conjunction with TreeHugger, was holding a Go Green! Design contest. We wanted to feature some of the DIY projects here on Green Options as well. We won’t necessarily be featuring the winners, nor will we be spelling out the steps of the projects (after all, that’s what the Instructables site is for). But we want to spotlight some of these wonderfully inventive green projects.

User "Tool Using Animal" created a ‘Green Roofed Dog Veranda‘ that we were immediately drawn to as a project we wanted to feature on Green Options. While this wasn’t the overall contest winner, vegetated roofs (or green roofs) are a regular feature in some green buildings (and even more green building discussions).

Green roofed structures are appealing to many people, but they aren’t necessarily willing to take on putting one on their own home without more information. So there are growing numbers of green roofed doghouses and green roofed garden sheds and green roofed garages as people who are interested in green roofs try them out in less vital places where they have an opportunity to try it and see without putting their personal comfort at great risk.

This project doesn’t require any special materials or skills beyond those necessary for some of our other projects. A hammer and a saw and a few other woodworking tools are about all that is needed.

I personally would look for alternatives to using ACQ treated wood, even for a doghouse. A doghouse is not going to need decades of longevity, and cedar or some other naturally decay-resistant wood would seem to be a better choice. It should last as long as the structure is needed, but without the need for chemically treated wood.

I should also point out that this is not a complete green roof system. Commercial green roofs are more involved, but this should produce a working version that replicates some of the same principles. While it should function fairly well, even treated wood will eventually break down when in constant contact with wet soil, as is the case with this roof. But "Tool Using Animal" wasn’t trying to replicate a commercial green roof, and I think this is a great project.

The entire project can be viewed on one page here on the Instructables site.