September 30, 2008

Back on Track

So . . . we're back from a summer hiatus – and things did happen – for one, our structural engineer said that the roof could hold the additional weight of an extensive green roof – about 12–15 lbs/sqft. As you may remember we are planning a green roof and deck for our private rooftop in our co-op building in Park Slope, Brooklyn. As far as the wood deck part of the design goes, after doing everything in our power to avoid having to use steel for the structure, it seems to be our only option at this point. The positive side of things is that using steel allows us to accommodate a lot more plant material – like vegetables, shrubs and even trees.

Another summer surprise is that, I became our new co-op president! I was fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you view the new load of responsibility) to have the departing co-op president lobby the other building shareholders on my behalf.

In any case, the new responsibility of managing the building required me to dig through the building’s pile of halfheartedly organized records – meeting minutes, old boiler info, tax documents and the like. In the most recent building inspection report I came across a full assessment of the roof condition that had been conducted in 2006. The recommendation from this inspection was to replace the roof in its entirety. At the time, in true short-sighted fashion, the co-op board decided only to patch up certain parts of the roof, leaving the long-term plan for the next group to deal with.

Our roof was installed about 15 years ago with no warranty (at least not that anyone is aware of), by a company that no longer exists. Water damage has been reported before and recently in my own observations I have noticed some bubbling up of the paint on the fourth floor hall ceiling. The roof membrane does look cracked in certain areas – specifically around certain roof penetrations and the central bulkhead. So, for our plans, what this means is that the co-op needs to install a new roof prior to us moving forward with the deck or green roof installation.

So although this throws a wrench in our timetable, we feel better knowing a new roof and waterproofing layer will be installed. Typical EPDM roofs can have about a 15 year lifespan. Putting a green roof on top of a newly installed EPDM roof will extend the life of the typical roof by two to three times – this long-term “payback” of saving on the cost of a future replacement roof is one of the bigger economic incentives green roofs have to offer. We’ll be getting roofing estimates over the next week or so – if you have any recommendations for trusted roofers we would appreciate it . . .

Due to the rapidly approaching winter, we have decided to do a “Phase One” green roof installation. With twenty 2ft x 2ft anodized aluminum trays, we will create a series of test plots. This is by no means a real integrated green roof like you would normally find – just a testing ground, a little flair, a small intervention of 80 sq ft of green onto a rooftop in Brooklyn - hey - you’ve got to start somewhere. Plus, we’ll be able to move these trays temporarily while the new roof gets installed.

This will be an experiment of sorts, to see how different plants respond to the overwintering and harsh roof conditions. The planting time is also rather late in the season and may affect the success of the plants. Technically the frost date isn’t until mid-November, but realistically the sooner the plants get established to the new soil and conditions the more plants will survive the cold winter months. We have chosen a variety of sedums, sempervivums, and delosperma as the guinea pigs. The trays are on a UPS truck as I write and we eagerly await their safe arrival . . .

Finally, some good news, as many of you I am sure know, NY State has passed a green roof initiative. Property owners will now receive a $4.50/sqft property tax abatement for every square foot of garden or green roof they install. Sponsored by Assemblyman Ruben Diaz of the South Bronx, this new initiative is a step in the right direction for Albany lawmakers. Although it is not nearly enough to boost this emerging green market, it is a start.

Posted by Green Roof Guy at 1:47 PM | Comments (8)

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