I have been looking into a green roof for my duck house as well. I saw them on scandinavian looking houses in California and just loved them!! DH said no to planting the entire roof on the house with plants, so I decided to start small... maybe someday the whole house..
There are roofing "systems" out there for green roofs, however, they cost a bunch and must be installed by professionals. I saw a tray system in This Old House magazine (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20473692,00.html) that the professionals install right on the roof that is held in place by edging. I decided to modify that by using the discarded 2' x 3' plastic trays from a nursery instead. We have already reinforced the inside of shed with 4" x 4" posts to help with the weight of the roof. I want to put 2" x 6's around edge of roof, then put a piece of used rubber roofing (from craigslist $30) over existing shingled roof to make it water proof again. Then lay the already planted trays in place. The trays are planted with about 2/3 lightweight potting soil and 1/3 perlite, so they are not really that heavy. I'm not sure how the drainage will work yet... I'm thinking if we angle the roof on the back to one side, then to a downspout into my water tank for the automatic waterer... Not sure about the front yet..
These are the trays (on top of the chain link kennel) that I'm talking about. I gave the local nursery a couple dollars for a huge stack. I am just trying out a few different types of sedum here before I plant all of the trays.
This is the barrel that I would like to have the back of the roof drain into.
There is also another member on here who I've bounced ideas off of because he has completed several green roofs on his buildings. Here is the link to his duck hut.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491456&p=1
(Is it legal to copy a thread and put it here without the original poster's permission?)
There are roofing "systems" out there for green roofs, however, they cost a bunch and must be installed by professionals. I saw a tray system in This Old House magazine (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20473692,00.html) that the professionals install right on the roof that is held in place by edging. I decided to modify that by using the discarded 2' x 3' plastic trays from a nursery instead. We have already reinforced the inside of shed with 4" x 4" posts to help with the weight of the roof. I want to put 2" x 6's around edge of roof, then put a piece of used rubber roofing (from craigslist $30) over existing shingled roof to make it water proof again. Then lay the already planted trays in place. The trays are planted with about 2/3 lightweight potting soil and 1/3 perlite, so they are not really that heavy. I'm not sure how the drainage will work yet... I'm thinking if we angle the roof on the back to one side, then to a downspout into my water tank for the automatic waterer... Not sure about the front yet..
These are the trays (on top of the chain link kennel) that I'm talking about. I gave the local nursery a couple dollars for a huge stack. I am just trying out a few different types of sedum here before I plant all of the trays.
This is the barrel that I would like to have the back of the roof drain into.
There is also another member on here who I've bounced ideas off of because he has completed several green roofs on his buildings. Here is the link to his duck hut.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491456&p=1
(Is it legal to copy a thread and put it here without the original poster's permission?)
