Garland GreenShield Modular Green Roof
August 4, 2010 — You know a cutting-edge idea has gone mainstream when someone comes up with a shortcut way to do it. Take green roofs, for instance. Seems like Habitat was just writing this newfangled idea and its myriad benefits like insulation, reducing heating and cooling costs; reduced rainwater runoff, which the soil absorbs; noise reduction to upper-floor apartments; improvement of oxygen levels and air quality; reduction of urban heat-island effect; and protection of your roof's membrane layer. Next thing you know, we start seeing newspaper photos of green-roof gardens in Brooklyn and elsewhere.
And now? Modular green-roof systems for... well, not instant roofs, and it's still not do-it-yourself. But going green up top still probably has never been easier to do.
The employee-owned Cleveland company Garland is at the forefront here, with movable, interlocking, 46-inch square container modules that hold plant material and the underlying growth. Trademarked as GreenShield, it's molded with pallet channels for fork lifting, as well as drainage perforations.
The modules can incorporate standard lightweight soils, aggregates, filter fabrics and roof plants, while allowing the pretty easy flexibility of having distinct plants in each module. They can be cut and shaped, and sprinkler heads can be cut into the modules where needed.
You'll still need a good commercial roofing contractor to make sure your particular roof can support the weight of soil and is otherwise suitable for going green. And, obviously, you'll want to read our article "Greening Your Roof: You Can Do It, and It'll Be Great. Here's How, and Why…" and our article on New York State's Green Roofs Tax Abatement program, which continues through March 2013. So raise high the roof beams, carpenters — we're goin' green!
The Garland Company, Inc. • 3800 East 91st Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44105 • (216) 641-7500 • toll-free (800) 321-9336 E-mail contact page here
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