sod roof houses

[bergere]

Saw this picture and got me to thinking about Sod roof houses.


Did watch a show in the past about it,, was pretty neat. But can't remember the name of the show?
They did show how to keep the sod roof from leaking with a rubber membrane of some sort.

Here are a couple of links? Does anyone else have some good links and pictures?
www.motherearthnews.com/Green_Home_Building/1972_November_December/The_Return_of_the_Sod_Roof

www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tvprograms/asktoh/qaarticle/0,16588,408422,00.html

[antiquestuff]

Looks neat, but I couldn't imagine having to mow the roof. ;D

Then again, I suppose something vining like beans or grapes could be planted if the soil were deep enough?

[bergere]

Could always get goats or sheep like Soay. They would get on the roof with no problems!! ;D

That show had someone planting other plants of the roof.
Still can't remember what channel it was on!! Sigh ~ ~

[Deleted]

Bergere,

I just took a workshop that covered sod roofs. Not sure if the'd meet code in our area (blah!) but if you're just doing a small building, you could probably sneak by.

First, your roof beams have to support a really heavy load. Second, after your roof decking, you'll put a waterproof membrane--pond liner works well. But to keep the dirt from sliding off, you'll want to lay down some sort of soil reinforcement--chicken wire, etc--but make sure it doesn't poke the membrane.

You'll also want some structure around the edge of the roof to keep dirt from falling off. I've seen chicken wire used, or board edging.

This is a really rough overview, but there are quite a few books and websites on the subject. One good resource is the links page at House Alive! www.housealive.org/links.htm

I took a workshop from these folks--great people, good practical info and experience.

I just got a green building book that looks extremely promising...and lookie! It covers sod roofs!
www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579905323/sr=8-3/qid=1150254948/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-8131833-6193709?%5Fencoding=UTF8

[Deleted]

To add to my earlier post, I gave the above book a closer examination the past couple days. It does a great job of diagramming and describing sod roof construction in detail This book takes green building to the point of overengineering, and contains a great glossary of building terms.

For those who have read many of the other green/natural building books that cover cob, cordwood, strawbale, etc...most of which are more theory than practicality--this book is an awesome counterbalance.