Grow The Roof Off The Place

Big little environmental site Grist Magazine speaks to a global audience, but we love them the most when they cite environmental object lessons from their home city of Seattle. Today's "Ask Umbra" feature involves a question from a reader on the "living roof." Seattlest has lived in a fair number of arrangements under "living roofs," in this damp city, but we have to admit that none of those roofs were living by design. As a matter of fact, our current residence boasts not only a moss-covered pulpy mass standing in for a "living roof," but also odd scurrying sounds above a few rooms that lead us to believe that we are also the proud posessors of a "living attic."

The Grist column isn't talking about Seattle's accidental living roofs, of course. They're talking about green roofs: vegetation and drainage installed on top of a structure to increase a roof's insulating properties. It also looks real granola, if that's the aesthetic you're going for, and will last longer than a standard roof. Umbra includes a link to an article that promises a bunch of information on Seattle municipal buildings that sport living roofs, but instead goes to an outdated P-I article on the subject that mentions exactly one municipal structure in Seattle that has a roof lawn. The Grist piece is worth checking out anyway, though. If you're a Seattle home-owner who's losing a battle with nature's living roof than it might make sense. Just be careful with the lawn mower up there.