There are so many ways to make your home greener these days. You can install eco-friendly flooring, counters and appliances. You can repurpose old furniture instead of throwing it out to take up more space in a landfill. You can plant a garden that boasts water conservation.

Now even your roof can be green, both literally and figuratively. Green roofs, also known as “vegetated roof covers” and “living roofs,” are literally roofs made of thin layers of plants installed on top of conventional roofs.

There are two types of green roofs, an extensive green roof and an intensive green roof.

Extensive green roofs are the thinner with only two to six inches of a growing medium, less expensive and lighter. They are low maintenance and are generally covered with low growing, horizontally spreading root plants with maximum heights of 16 to 24 inches. Extensive roofs typically cost, on average, about $14-$25.

Intensive green roofs look more like a lush natural roof garden with two to four feet of soil. They use a variety of plants and the maintenance is more involved. They are the more colorful and visually stimulating of the two types of green roofing. They can even incorporate features such as fountains.

Each roof contains a waterproofing layer, a drainage layer, a growing medium (like soil, peat and soil) and vegetation of some sort. The plants chosen for the green roof should be tolerant of extreme weather conditions and resistant to bugs and diseases. Succulents, mosses and grasses are typically the best choices and come in a variety of colors.

As with all home improvement projects, there are considerations you’ll need to make before you install a green roof. You need to consider the climate you live in and well as the rainfall patterns of your area. You need to find out the strength and support of your current roof to make sure it can hold up the addition of a green roof. If it’s not structurally sound enough, you’ll have to reinforce it. The size and slope of your roof needs to be considered. Flat roofs are probably best, but green roofs can be installed on sloping roofs too.

 What are your personal aesthetic preferences? These will play a part in the design of your green roof, and so will the architectural style of your home. Budget is another consideration to be made, and it’s an important one. Like all projects, research first, then decide on a budget before you get started with any physical work.

Not only do green roofs add visual interest to your home, but they can help reduce those pesky heating and cooling bills that show up like clockwork every month. In the summer, the green roof stays cooler than a traditional roof so less energy is used on air-conditioning. Similarly, in the winter the insulation of the green roof can help cut down those heating costs! Green roofs can also help improve water quality, extend the life of your traditional roof, help get more oxygen into the air!

Green roofs are stylish and unique while simultaneously helping the environment. What could be better?

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