MetaChat - OMG.

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08 February 2006

OMG. Best. Idea. EVER. I swear to god, this is beyond brilliant:→[More:]I have a flat-topped tar-and-gravel roof. I am interested in "turning it green" — that is, planting grass (and whatever other magic is required to do that properly) — and, this is the brilliant part!, Bunnies.

Imagine it: a suburban rooftop lawn with happy fluffy bunnies safely living a bunny-heaven life atop my home. Why, I'd be practically forced to install webcams!

The only downside I can foresee concerns the abundant raptor population around here. I'm not confident bunny hutches would suffice...

post by: Five Fresh Fish at: 02:16 | 18 comments

As surreal and silly as it sounds, it really is a pretty cool idea. I'd replace the bunnies with chinchillas and drawf armadillos though.

Fully enclosed chainlink also laid on as a roof would be the simplest solution I could think of.

posted by fenriq 08 February | 02:20

I'm totally into the green roof thing.

*runs out of garden room in the yard, promptly contacts landlord for permission to dump compost on the roof*

posted by mudpuppie 08 February | 02:27

Nope, I'd use electric fencing. A wire running 2" above the sill would do just fine. They're not lemmings, after all.

It's not a cool idea. It's a brilliant idea.

And the ideas keep rocketing through my brain: I could put in a Habitrail system from the lower roof, inclining through the livingroom, up to the upper roof!

posted by Five Fresh Fish 08 February | 02:28

It sounds like a great idea. I'd have some sort of contractor/building inspector check out how much weight the roof can support before ordering the bunnies, though - wet sod can get pretty heavy.

posted by bmarkey 08 February | 02:31

Get an engineer in. Wet earth is very heavy. I would hate to read about FFF crushed in home collapse. Also, you would need to be sure of drainage. I got electrocuted when the flat roof of my apartment did not drain right. Not fun.

posted by arse_hat 08 February | 02:32

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

posted by bmarkey 08 February | 02:33

Sweet reclining Buddha! Why is it raining bunnies? That one just burst upon yon taxi like a veritible melon from upon high! This is madness! They aren't even properly cooked or stewed!

Do not do this. The weight of moist grass and soil alone could damage the roof, and would very likely collapse the roof if it rained. Sod roofs need reinforcement, drainage, containment, etc.

Also, the grass will eventually take root and break up the tar/paper/gravel membrane and make thousands if not millions of what would effectively be called "holes" in your roof and it's water barrier.

It can be done, it just needs to be done right.

However, I've seen "grass flats" on wheels for apartments that were awesome. Big shallow wood tray, grass grows in it, big squishy wheels on it, can be rolled about, etc. The key is to avoid allowing debris to build up beneath, say, just stationary flats, and avoid providing conditions the might promote roof rot, and, of course, not putting so many of them up there it overloads the roof.

Also, you should read Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? because in it there are grassy roofs with animals on them.

But you shouldn't expect Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer trading deathblows 'n witticisms when you do read it, 'cause it's not really that kind of story.

posted by loquacious 08 February | 02:38

Bill Ford did this a few years back.

posted by arse_hat 08 February | 02:42

Re-read the post, Loq: I specifically addressed the "magic" of which you speak.

I was monitoring a green roofs blog a few months back, but gave up on it for lack of information flow. Suffice to say, the roof is built for it (it has to be capable of supporting X feet of wet snow) and the technological solutions are available.

Mucho dinero.

And, of course, the hawks, osprey, falcons, owls, and a couple dozen other types of raptor. We're awash in them. (Hence a marked lack of both bunnies and free-roaming cats in the neighbourhood...)

posted by Five Fresh Fish 08 February | 02:54

The building I work in has a green roof.

posted by chewatadistance 08 February | 07:54

Ford is one of the worst green washers out there. Must find supporting links. Boo ford.

posted by richat 08 February | 10:59

And your firm seems really cool chewatadistance.

posted by richat 08 February | 11:00

Okay, here: Boo Ford

posted by richat 08 February | 11:10

If your roof can support it (please have someone certified check it out in person, though), this is an awesome idea.

Will carbon fixation be a problem (grass turns atmospheric CO2 into, er, starch and cellulose) in the future? ie., the stuff on the roof is going to get heavier every year.

Can you plant brush on the roof, as cover for the adorable little lagomorphs? Chickenwire would be an eyesore, but it'd be like a forcefield for the bunnies.

posted by porpoise 08 February | 12:13

This is totally do-able.

Also: there's a building in.. Denmark I think, that has guinea pigs that live on their green roof! They have a little hutch and all the grass they can eat.

posted by Specklet 08 February | 12:50

Can I bring my dog over? She's a 25 pounder who loves to chase squirrel and bunnies all day. While she catches squirrel fairly regularly, she has yet to land a rabbit.

An afternoon in a lawn with captive bunnies is exactly what she needs.

posted by sourwookie 08 February | 14:07

torchdown roofing. piece of cake. (assuming the static loading is cool.)

posted by warbaby 08 February | 14:19

I'm pretty sure it's do-able. This house is overbuilt on the whole. And like I said, what with living in Canada et al, it has to meet spec for wet snow-bearing loads.

The only downside is that the bunny enjoyment would pretty much be limited strictly to my uphill neighbour. There's no place in my yard where I can actually see my own roof.

Maybe I could install a bunny-ramp, a webcam, and bunny identification software (to keep cats from getting onto the roof.)

posted by Five Fresh Fish 08 February | 16:01

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