EcoRoofs Everywhere

Portland refines approach to ecoroof goal

Greg — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:18:41 +0000

From the Daily Journal of Commerce:

http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/04/20/portland-refines-approach-to-eco-roof-goal/

Ecoroof Portland!

Greg — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:32:05 +0000

Ecoroofs Everywhere will be at Ecoroof Portland 2010 Event Friday, March 12th and Saturday March 13th. Come visit our booth! For more information, see: http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=52308&

Ecoroof Class

Greg — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:29:29 +0000

Greg Haines is teaching Introduction to Residential Greenroofing at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus. Class meets Saturdays, for 4 weeks: 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 9:30 am to 2:20 pm. Click on the following link for more information:

http://www.pcc.edu/schedule/default.cfm?fa=dspCourse2&thisTerm=201002&crsCode=BCT115&subjCode=BCT&crsNum=115&topicCode=BCT&subtopicCode=BUICON&crnList=27202

Build It Green Tour Seeks Projects

Greg — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:15:41 +0000

Do you have an interesting residential project you’d like to have considered for this year’s tour? Click the link for more information: http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=51589&a=287449

Portland Greenroofing in the 1970s

Greg — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:35:56 +0000

Lonnie Currier called us to have us bid a greenroof restoration. What sets this one apart is the original install dates back to the 1970’s! Lonnie’s dad was a real do-it-yourselfer. He used sand as a drain layer and native soil from the back yard. He waterproofed it himself with what we call a hot-mop roof; it’s a system that’s not really meant for subsoil applications. And it started leaking in the 1980’s, so they removed the soil and plants. Lonnie is going to see if he can find photos of the original greenroof. I’ll post them here if any turn up.

Ecoroofs Everywhere on Greenroofs.com Frontpage

Greg — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:12:20 +0000

The current “Project of the Week” is our very first ecoroof project over at www.Greenroofs.com

Harpoon House

Greg — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:56:49 +0000

Check out one of our latest installations in progress, atop an award-winning house:

http://www.harpoonhouse.net/?p=198#more-198

Portland State University ‘Lab Roof’

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:27:25 +0000

Up on the roof at Science Building 2 at PSU, there are scientists, professors and researchers conducting all kinds of interesting experiments. One of them, between a dead whale and a bear carcass, is one of the most interesting ecoroof installations I have seen in months. Back when we started Ecoroofs Everywhere, I made sure we were constantly testing different soils, different plants, different designs. Nowadays, we can no longer turn every project into 4′x4′ test squares anymore now that we’re a legitimate company. So, it’s extra exciting for me to be working with researchers whose very reason for having an ecoroof is purely for experimentation. This group is measuring the performance of increased solar panel (PV) efficiencies when paired with an ecoroof. Not only that, but they are testing different plant mixes to see how much different plantings cool the panels. This will give much-needed quantititative data that exists no where else in Oregon. Here’s more about the project from Research Assistant Seth Moody, who brought Ecoroofs Everywhere into the team after finding us at the Build It Green tour last month:

“A collaborative effort between Portland State University departments of Chemistry, Biology and Mechanical Engineering is studying the combination of typical and atypical green roof treatments and photovoltaic arrays in the urban roof-top environment of Portland, Oregon. Green roofs and roof-top photovoltaic arrays are two important strategies for enhancing the environmental sustainability of the built environment. Green roofs have increased in popularity because of their favorable impact on building energy utilization, local heat island effects and storm water control.

The manufacture and installation of solar photovoltaics is rapidly growing based on improving economics and their preeminent role in generating renewable, carbon-free energy. Despite the promise of these green technologies, there have been relatively few quantitative studies of the interactions between green roofs and roof-top mounted photovoltaic panels under actual field conditions. Prior studies indicate that green roofs thrive better with partial shading and that silicon solar cells operate at higher efficiency at cooler temperatures, suggesting that the combination of these two systems in the rooftop environment may have favorable reciprocal effects. In this study we are focused on addressing the fundamental question: Can green roof design and/or management be altered to enhance both photovoltaic energy production and green roof function in a combined technology system?”

More from the ‘Lab Roof’ next week after Dan and I meet with another experimenter with yet another project up on the roof!

Trebol Ecoroof

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:42:19 +0000

Last November Ecoroofs Everywhere installed a roof at Trebol Restaurant on N Albina. Katie Colgan, our intrepid intern taught local schoolkids about ecoroofing and brought them out on a field trip to help out with the planting. Amy Whitworth of Plan-It-Earth Design provided the planting plan. Dan and Amy and I revisited the roof Friday. We weren’t sure what to expect after such a dry summer. (From our experience, many full sun ecoroofs without even a “typical homeowner style” sprinkler setup don’t fare well through the drought.) Kenny, the chef and restaraunt owner was able to water twice a week until July, but the plants were on their own for the hottest part of the summer. What we found was that the sedums fared well, while some of the other species did not. This is what we’ve seen elsewhere over the years. But the interesting thing here was that even of some of those species that did die, they bloomed and went to seed and I found some new seedlings. For those of you who are plant nerds like Amy and me, here is the list of plants and their level of survivability in the 4″ of well drained lightweight growing media:

Fescue – Died, but reseeded

Oregon Sunshine – Died but reseeded

Yarrow – Died, but reseeded

Mountain Avens – Died

Honeysuckle – Died

Knickinick – Died

Phlox – Died

Sedums and Sempervirens – Lived

Iceplant – Lived

Sedum Infestation!

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:34:13 +0000

I’ve always thought of a sedum infestation as a good thing involving only sedums, but this time it also involves…. Aphids!! Yuck. I just got an email from a couple clients about aphid problems. Jason Roberts and Jennifer Marsicek sent me the attached photos of their aphid covered sedums. In past years we have seen large aphid colonies on Sedum Autumn Joy, or other more aphid-friendly plants spread to other, otherwise pest-free species. (Look for a big maple above the roof, crawling with aphids that then fall onto the ecoroof.) But this year, it seems to be more of an issue. We’re not sure why this is the year of the aphid, but the good news is that aphids are relatively easy to control with earth friendly horticultural soap. Don’t use horticultural oil, as this can damage your TPO waterproofing! Get your spray bottles and your Dr. Bronners! Does anyone remember the correct ratio? It’s been a few years since I’ve had to spray, but I remember the ratio used very little soap to lots of water.

Stay tuned next week for the other big issue of ‘09.