chuvaness

I was thinking why the crabs died.
All this time I was thinking the weather was cool because my bedroom is always cool. So I thought it would be safe to leave the aquarium on the deck. But no.
After the crabs died, I started hearing people say it was hot outside. Wha??? I never felt it.
Is it really hot outside?
My hairstylist who does home service confirmed it. She said it was hot outside and very hot in other houses in our village, but it is really cool in our house. And I figured it out. It must be our roof deck, which I covered in grass upon the suggestion of a reader, when I was wondering what to do up there.

Our roof deck used to be concrete and would be scorching hot especially during summer. Like you couldn't put your bare palm on it and not get burnt. This translated to heat within our house, which felt like an oven during summer.
Our two-tonner aircon wasn't strong enough to cool our bedroom, not even with the assist of a ceiling fan.
I thought about building a tent over our room among other things. I even tried watering the roof, but our water bill went up. And then Rona suggested an eco-garden.

Twas not easy. First, you have to waterproof your roof before putting on the soil and the grass. Otherwise, you will have crazy leaks within your house!
You have to consult a professional landscaper, because if you get an ordinary gardener, which we did in the beginning, he might put the cheapest soil that is not thick enough, etc.



Before



and after



Here's what our roof deck looks like today. This is on top of our living room, which is now habitable, even in summer.



This is me using Bayantel Wireless Landline. Yes it works up there!
(and my brother had his roof painted)

(Photo: Melissa La'O)

Our house has been cooler by a few degrees. Our aircon doesn't have to work double time during summer and doesn't conk out anymore.
I can't say our electric bill has gone down because Meralco continues to increase their price even though we have reduced consumption.
But I can say it has all been worth it—for the environment and for our sanity.