The Huron Village Green House providing an example to entice owners of similar roofs to pursue such eco-sensitive alternatives. The hope is to reduce infrared restitution during hot summer nights and to increase insect and plant proliferation in urban areas.The roof is typical of all “triple deckers” in the region but it has been thoroughly insulated with >R60 blown-in insulation in the 3-ft interstice between the 3rd floor ceilings and the roof. This insulation caused serious problems in the winter of 2008-09 when a 2-foot thick layer of solid ice and wet snow caused massive leakage in the ceilings. We calculated that we chiseled and shoveled over 50,000 pounds of ice and snow off the roof. The roof currently has one layer of heat-sealed modified bitumen over an old layer of tar and gravel, which weighs about 6lbs/sq.ft. Consequently, I estimate that my roof will have no problem supporting the weight of an extensive grass roof so long as we maintain easy access to remove excessive snow during intense winters.

We are currently researching affordable and easy to use materials. Most likely, we will use an EPDM or TPO waterproof membrane, a root barrier (unless the manufacturer of the waterproof membrane certifies that it is inherently root-repelling), and a drainage layer (possibly as simple as burlap). The soil will be mixed in the 1/3 ratios recommended on this excellent community website.