Green Roofs and Living Walls

Pacific OpenSpace installs Green Roofs for homes and businesses.  Our work begins after the roofers install the waterproof membranes, seals and flashing.  We install the root barrier, green roof modules, soil, plants and irrigation system.


Green roofs have been used for thousands of years as roof gardens and sod roofs.  Starting in the late 1960’s in europe, green roofs have undergone a major transformation, and have become an important option in modern construction.

Green roofs offer the following benefits:

From an environmental point of view, green roofs take some pollutants out of the air and provide habitat for birds and insects.

Green roofs are usually more expensive to install than a standard roof, but they often pay for themselves in reduced energy costs and the extended life of the roofing materials.

The green roof materials, particularly the soil, add weight to the roof, so that it is necessary to determine the weight loading capacity of the roof before proceeding.

A green roof can be installed with as little as four inches of soil.  With such a thin layer, the only plant materials to be used are succulents and some grasses.  It is possible to grow vegetable gardens, shrubs and even trees on a green roof, but this requires greater soil depth, which in turn requires a stronger roof structure to support it.

We have a concern with installing green roofs in California, due to the restricted water supply.  Many people are already switching to drought tolerant landscaping, in order to save water.  Irrigating a roof may not be a wise use.  We favor green roofs, particularly when they use recycled water or well water.  In other cases, you may consider other options.  One choice is to paint the roof white, and add more insulation.  You may also choose to install the green roof waterproofing, modules and a neutral 14pt, but not install plants.

We would be pleased to discuss the benefits and costs of the various alternatives.