Here is an example of a roof repair we just did. New York City has mostly flat roofs but once in a while we come across shingle slanted roofs. It is important to do shingles right because otherwise the slightest wind will blow them off again. In this case the roof was only a couple years [...]
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As New York green contractors we follow the latest developments in NY building codes very closely. Yesterday, the New York City Council enacted three proposals from the Urban Green Task Force. The new codes, effective July 1, 2012, mandate more stringent regulation of waste, recycling, and pollutant filtration, representing a step forward for green [...] This week we had CUNY students come by to the green show house. One of Eco Brooklyn’s interns Michele Fonzi, who has a degree in Landscape Architecture, showed the model of our green roof she built. Above you see the side view of the green roof installation. First there is the [...] As a New York green roof installer I have a special affection for my own green roof. Check it out after all these summer rains. It is bursting with life. I threw a couple handfuls of Native North East wildflower seeds a couple years ago and now the roof overflows with sunflowers both big [...] We just finished applying the EPDM roofing membrane to the Harlem Passive House renovation. The owners plan on growing vegetables on the roof. We like EPDM over all other roofing applications because it has a good combination of price and durability. A recent study lists Styrene as a possible carcinogen. This is important news since one of Eco Brooklyn’s green roof medium providers, Gaia Soil, has polystyrene as one of its main ingredients. Our concern is that we are installing green roofs in New York with materials that may cause cancer. Years ago when Eco [...] The answer is no. Here is what the Green Roof and Solar Department at the NYC DOB told me: The building code does not explicitly provide a threshold for when a green roof installation would require a permit. The department is currently developing rules to provide guidance. In the meantime, a green roof installation [...] If you ever wanted to know the full legal verbage to the New York green roof tax rebate bill green_roof_legislation. It goes into great detail about definition and requirements of a legal green roof installation in New York. The reason it is important to have this document is that the Brooklyn and New York [...] As part of our service in the green renovation of a brownstone Eco Brooklyn looks at the brownstone plot in its entirety. This means we don’t just gut and renovate the interior. We also look at how the interior effects the exterior. As a NY green contractor we look at the whole system, from [...] We just wrapped up a green roof job in East New York. Here is a photo essay from start to finish. We planted late in the year and the nights were already freezing. But we trusted the hardiness of sedum and so far they have shown to be very happy on the new roof. [...] Here is an interesting PDF giving key facts about green roofs. The most interesting thing is a study they did comparing an R18 insulated roof with a non-insulated green roof. The green roof was a lot cooler in the summer. They also give costs and life assessment numbers. Very interesting. Read the green Roof PDF [...] A green roof is engineered to partially duplicate normal soil only without the depth. In normal soil the earth is deep but with a typical shallow green roof (aka extensive) the soil is no more than 6 inches at the very most. You replicate an earthen environment using drainage mats and water retention mats [...] In my ongoing obsession with putting earth and plants on city walls I have found some more resources. My ongoing research is for several jobs Eco Brooklyn has in the works to put living walls on Brownstone exterior walls. There are many ways to do this and I have not decided which to go [...] Here is a great page full of information on green roofs, green roof installers and green roof supplies. An extensive green roof is a green roof that is less than 6″ thick. As opposed to an intensive green roof that is more than 6″ thick. Because of the thickness of the growing medium an extensive green roof can only support sedum and drought tolerant small plants. The reason for this is the limited root [...] The primary ecological benefits of Green Roofs are as follows: The Reduction of Urban Heat Island Effect. An urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings. As population centers grow in size from village to town to city, they tend to have a corresponding increase in average [...] The book Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnet and Noel Kingsbury is an authoritative book and should be on the shelf of any Brooklyn green roof installer. I bought it in the hopes it would help improve the Eco Brooklyn living wall technique for Brooklyn brownstones where plants are actually growing [...] Here is a great pdf doc on green walls. It is created by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an excellent resource for urban green roofs and living walls. We install living walls in Brooklyn and are constantly looking for better techniques. The art is still very new and we are still very much in [...] We went to check on one of the green roofs we installed last year in Park Slope. It looked good! Some of the edges were a little wind bare but for the most part the sedum were happy and growing. Park Slope, Brooklyn, green roof installation We are Brooklyn green roof installers [...] You have to check this picture out. It is of a strawberry on the green roof of the Brooklyn Green Show House. Notice the pine cone, sedum, flowers in the background. It is a world as seen from a field mouse or bee. We can see things like this too. [...] We’ve been experimenting with exterior wood paint with some great results. The research is based on the traditional Scandinavian red paint, which is a base of linseed oil with various things added. One description: Centuries ago, European farmers sealed the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil, which was a sort of tawny-colored [...] In our pursuit to turn Brooklyn green we are very excited about growing living walls on the facades of brownstones. A living wall differs from a climbing/hanging wall. The first has the plants ON the wall. The wall becomes the medium from which they grow. A climbing or hanging wall simply has plants that [...] Mother Plants is an upstate NY garden company that specializes in green roof plants. As a green roof installer in Brooklyn we find it quite convenient to buy from them. Whatever you order basically gets to Brooklyn in a day or two. They have just put out their 2010 catalog and is full of [...] It is that time of year to plant your native flowers and edibles. Here we are planting strawberries onto a Brooklyn brownstone green roof! Yum! Eco Brooklyn prides itself in green roof installations on New York brownstones, condos and coops. We offer the full line of services: Structural analysis of existing roof by an engineer Removal of old roof if needed Structural reinforcing of roof if needed Installation of green roof Pergolas for solar thermal and PV panels above [...] Check out page six on this pdf “Health & Horticultural Therapy“, it mentions some studies concerning the restorative attributes of green roofs and living walls in hospitals and nursing homes. -Decreased patient healing times – Given that many hospitals are located in highly developed areas, green roofs are a good way to expose [...] The Book “Green Roof Construction and Maintenance” by Kelly Luckett is a thorough overview of green roof installation, maintenance and return on investment. The book is published by McGraw Hill, a publisher of many good green building books. The book is on the dry academic side. There aren’t any cutesy pictures or graphics. In [...] Please read to the end: there is an invitation for designers and architects to submit work to Eco Brooklyn. After hearing that Malcolm Wells, pioneer of underground architecture, had died I bought a couple of his books and read up on him. I regret not meeting him when he was alive. He had a [...] Here is a great picture of a green roof installation for a Brooklyn brownstone. I like it because it is simple. There are a lot of ways to install a green roof on a Brownstone. They simply have to meet the low weight requirements but apart from that you can do it many ways. [...] This book has a long title: Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale * Cordwood * Cob * Living Roofs. But then again it is a big book. Written by Tim Callahan and Clarke Snell this book overflows with 600 pages and 1500 images. The [...] |
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