A green roof cover is a layer of living vegetation that is installed on the top of a conventional flat or sloping roof. It offers an innovative approach for protecting conventional roofing systems, typically doubling the service life of the underlying waterproofing membrane, While &
Dramatically reducing runoff volume and peak flow rate
Conserving energy and cooling the air
Restoring the ecological an aesthetic value of open space
Green roof covers add value by:
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Extending the service life of roofs
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Reducing energy costs
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Conserving valuable commercial space that would otherwise be
required to provide stormwater runoff controls
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Increasing property values
The multiple layers protect the underlying roof materials from the
elements by:
- Protecting from mechanical damage (mostly from humans,
but also from wind blown dust and debris, and animals)
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Shielding from ultraviolet radiation
Buffering temperature extremes, minimizing damage from the
daily expansion & contraction of the roof materials
What about Weight
Green
roof covers can be readily engineered to conform to the load
requirements of most roofs. Beautiful vegetated roof covers
weighing 15 pounds per square foot have been installed. This
weight is comparable to the weight of gravel ballast placed on many
conventional roofs.
Where heavier loads can be supported, dramatic landscaping accents
can be incorporated, including garden walks, flowering shrubs, and
rock gardens.
Vegetated roof covers furnish many of the amenities of open space,
by:
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Moderating the temperature on and surrounding the roof
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Filtering dust from the air
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Absorbing rainfall
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Insulating the host building from the elements
What About
Control of stormwater runoff is achieved by mimicking the
processes that occur in nature, intercepting and delaying
rainfall runoff by:
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Capturing and holding precipitation in the plant foliage
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Absorbing water in the root zone
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Slowing the velocity of direct runoff as it infiltrates
through the layers of vegetated cover
For
small rainfall events, little runoff will occur and most of the
precipitation will eventually return to the atmosphere by
evaporation and transpiration. For larger storms, vegetated roof
covers can significantly delay and attenuate the discharge of
runoff from roofs.
Green
roof covers are effective methods of retarding runoff from roof
surfaces during storms:
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Compared to many other stormwater management practices,
vegetated roof covers are unobtrusive, low maintenance, and
reliable management systems. Vegetated roof covers are
particularly effective when applied to extensive roofs, such
as those that typify commercial and institutional buildings.
They can be designed to achieve specified levels of
stormwater runoff control, including reductions in:
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Total annual runoff volume (reductions of 50 to 60
percent are common place for vegetated roof covers)
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Peak runoff rates for selected design storm events
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Stormwater runoff for a 3.35-inch, 24-hour rainfall
event. This Roofmeadow incorporated a 3-inch deep layer of
growth media.
© Roofscapes, Inc.
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The deployment of vegetated roof covers may offer the only
practical "at-source" technique for controlling runoff in areas
that already are highly urbanized. Due to their potential for
addressing flooding impacts in our cities, vegetated roof covers
have been featured in many recent stormwater management
handbooks.
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Services: Consultation, Design, Installation, & Maintenance
The mission of Enviroscape, Inc. is to introduce, design, and
install advanced measures for the control of urban runoff and
for the preservation of air and water quality. In addition to
green roofs, these include bioretention systems and created
wetlands. We accomplish our mission by furnishing up-to-date
consulting advice and construction services through our network
of licensed landscape contractors.
We work hand-in-hand with architects, developers, and planners
to design Roofmeadow" vegetated roof covers that are tailored to
the specific requirements for:
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Runoff management
- Load
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Appearance
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Energy conservation
We can furnish detailed engineering evaluations of our design
proposals that include:
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Computer simulations of storm water runoff using rainfall and
climate data from nearby weather stations
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'Building envelope' analysis of energy conservation benefits.
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Laboratory analysis of green roof media, using European (FLL)
protocols
Our services include:
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Design Consultations
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Final Design, Specifications, and Bid Packages
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Construction Management
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Installation
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Lifetime service and maintenance
We can subcontract related roof
construction, including:
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Demolition of old roofs
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Rehabilitation of existing roofs
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Roof membrane installation
Consumer Check List... The RoofmeadowÆ is a thoroughly engineered system that addresses critical aspects of design, including:
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Saturated weight of the system and load bearing capacity of
the underlying roof deck
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Moisture and root penetration resistance of the waterproofing
membrane
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Resistance to wind shear
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Management of drainage
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Suitability of the plant community proposed for the roof
More Information available at : Roof Meadows
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