New Single Source Warranty Option for LiveRoof

Sika Sarnafil Announces Agreement with LiveRoof, LLC To Provide a Single-Source Green Roof Warranty

CANTON, Mass. – Sika Sarnafil, the worldwide market leader in thermoplastic roofing and waterproofing membranes, announced an agreement today with LiveRoof^®, LLC, the horticultural science company that developed and manufactures the LiveRoof^® Hybrid System, to warranty the plant material of the LiveRoof system as well as the performance of its waterproofing membranes and accessories in green roof installations using both companies’ products.

“Sika Sarnafil is excited to partner with LiveRoof on a single source green roof warranty,” said Brian J. Whelan, senior vice president of Sika Sarnafil. “Single source warranties provide the building owner with peace of mind and single point-of-contact responsibility for their green roof projects.”

 The LiveRoof Hybrid Green Roof System is a turnkey green roof solution pre-vegetated with fully grown plants at the nursery – eliminating the need for on-site expert horticulturists and decreasing maintenance requirements. Designed by horticulturists and experts in soil science, architecture, roofing, logistics, and ergonomics, LiveRoof modules can be vegetated with various plant mixes to address regional climates and particular project design goals. The modules are easily moved aside for roof inspections or repairs.

Green roof systems have evolved from simple planters to complete engineered systems, specially designed for climate, storm water management, and aesthetic objectives. The LiveRoof system is typically installed by roofing contractors enabling quicker completion and contractor responsibility. The Sika Sarnafil and LiveRoof 20-year single source warranty provides building owners with the best protection offered in the industry.

“Facility managers, general contractors and roofers have to be confident in the performance of every product used on the rooftop, and they want clear, comprehensive warranties,” Dave MacKenzie, horticulturist and president of LiveRoof, LLC. “Our agreement with Sika Sarnafil provides them with the ability to offer a single source warranty on green roof installations using LiveRoof.”

Sika Sarnafil has been waterproofing green roofs and other landscaped areas across Europe for over 35 years and in the United States for over 25 years. With over 15 billion square feet of roofing and waterproofing membrane installed worldwide, architects, specifiers and building owners know they can depend on Sika Sarnafil for proven products and system performance.

The Sarnafil G476 membrane is specially designed for sub-grade environments, compounded to remain watertight in extreme conditions, including constant dampness, ponding water, high and low alkaline conditions, and exposure to plant roots, fungi and bacterial organisms.

With the increased desire for high-performance buildings and sustainable building products, green roofs have become a “growing” roofing option in North America. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) reports the green roof industry grew by 16.1 percent to more than seven million square feet in 2009 despite the severe economic conditions.

Benefits of Green Roof Systems

• Storm Water Retention – Green roofs greatly lessen erosion and storm water burden on sewer systems.
• Reduction in Energy Consumption – Green roofs can reduce peak energy demand by lowering a building’s heating and cooling costs.
• Reduction in the Urban Heat Island Effect – Dark roofs absorb and retain heat while plants naturally cool their surrounding environments.
• Waterproofing Membrane Protection – A green roof protects the waterproofing membrane from damaging UV rays and freeze-thaw cycling, extending its lifespan.
• Improved Air Quality – Green roofs filter air and produce oxygen.
• LEED and Green Globes – Green roofs contribute to certification within these programs.
• Sound Insulation – Soil and plants can be great sound insulators.
• Aesthetics – Green roofs are visually stimulating and can make great areas for recreation and pleasure.
• Increased Property Value – Installing a green roof can increase property values by providing a valuable building asset.

Sika Sarnafil and LiveRoof are exhibiting at the International Roofing Expo (IRE) on February 16-28, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center (North Halls). Sika Sarnafil will be at booth #426. LiveRoof will be at booth #460.

About Sika AG

Sika AG, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, is a globally active company supplying the specialty chemicals market. It is a leader in processing materials used in sealing, bonding, damping, reinforcing and protecting load-bearing structures in construction (buildings and infrastructure construction) and in industry (vehicle, building component and equipment construction). Sika’s product lines feature high-quality concrete admixtures, specialty mortars, sealants and adhesives, damping and reinforcing materials, structural strengthening systems, industrial flooring and roofing and waterproofing membranes. Sika AG has subsidiaries in more than 70 countries worldwide, including Canton, MA and approximately 12,000 employees link customers directly to Sika and guarantee the success of all of its business relationships. With this business structure, Sika generates annual sales of CHF 4.2 billion. For more information about Sika Sarnafil in the U.S., visit www.sikacorp.com.

About LiveRoof^®, LLC

LiveRoof, LLC (www.liveroof.com) is the horticultural science company that developed the LiveRoof^® Hybrid System: the only green roof solution installed as a naturally functioning ecosystem with thriving, fully mature plants. Combining the best elements of proven green roof technologies, LiveRoof establishes a seamless vegetative surface rooted in a continuous layer of soil to maximize environmental benefits, energy savings and rooftop aesthetics. Regional growers in its national network adapt LiveRoof plants for local conditions and customize plant selection for every project. LiveRoof’s natural function and natural beauty offer the highest level of green roof performance at the lowest level of acquisition-installation-maturation-maintenance costs. The proof is on the roof — showcased in LiveRoof projects that stand out as signature elements on commercial, public, university and school buildings in more than two-dozen states and Canada.

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Notes to Editors: (1) A detailed corporate backgrounder on LiveRoof is available upon request. (2) LiveRoof press kits will be available in the press room at IRE.

Media Contact:

David Aquilina

612-716-5628

davida@strategicstoryteller.com  

Sika Sarnafil Media Contact:                                                                                                        
Kathleen Van Gorden

KVG Communications, Inc.

401-480-1840

kathleenv@kvgcom.com

Heart-shaped Green Roofs for Valentines Day

No, this roof doesn't actually have a heart-shaped swatch of red plants and we admit we "PhotoShopped" it.  BUT, this design is totally possible using two plant mixes and the LiveRoof® system.  In fact, we specialize in developing plants for green roofs which offer unique colors which can be used to achieve nearly any design effect, including shapes, letters or company logos using contrasting plant palettes.

LiveRoof®, the Horticultural Science Company, will Showcase its Naturally Superior Solution for Modular Green Roof Design at the International Roofing Expo (IRE)

Press Release – link for photos & more detail

Modules in the LiveRoof^® Hybrid Green Roof System Enable Green Roofs to Function Naturally as a Unified, Sustainable Ecosystem 

SPRING LAKE, Mich. — February 8, 2011 — Green roofs offer substantial benefits, including: decreasing stormwater runoff, protecting flat roofs so they last longer, reducing building energy costs, and moderating the urban heat island effect. Modular systems, composed of a series of pre-planted modules made of plastic, offer ease of installation on rooftops for “extensive” green roof applications (soil depths of six inches or less). The design of conventional modules, however, causes aesthetic and horticultural problems that diminish the performance of green roofs. The modules in the LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System overcome these problems and maximize green roof performance.

Problem: Modules that Inhibit the Health of Green Roofs
Most modules are designed like trays with built-in moisture reservoirs: cups that hold water. Stored water can become oxygen-deprived. Roots sitting in water can then become diseased with fungal and bacterial rot.

Conventional modules compartmentalize the soil and plants into segregated grids. The sides of the modules act as walls between them, isolating the soil in each tray and preventing natural sharing of water and nutrients. The tops of the trays form a series of unnatural plastic grid lines visible across the rooftop. The combined effect is like setting out separate trays of turf in a backyard and calling it a lawn. That would not look like, or function like, a real lawn.

Grid lines are not only unsightly but harmful to plants. Plastic or metal edges exposed to the sun within the vegetative field heat up and stress the plants adjacent to them.

Solution: LiveRoof Modules Put the Green in Green Roofs
Compatible with many different roof systems and single-ply flat roofing membranes, LiveRoof modules are the most advanced and horticulturally sound in the industry. Manufactured in the U.S.A. with 100 percent recycled plastics, LiveRoof modules are naturally superior to the trays of the typical modular system. “LiveRoof modules establish a green roof as a dense, seamless planted surface rooted in a continuous, interconnected layer of soil,” said Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist and president of LiveRoof, LLC.

LiveRoof’s patent-pending Soil Elevator™ technology is a removable insert that lines the inside of the modules. They allow soil to be filled to a level the reaches above the top of the modules. When the modules are installed side-by-side, and the Soil Elevators then removed, there is an uninterrupted layer of soil and vegetative surface extending above, and across, all modules. This unifies the soil over the entire roof — and conceals the modules, unseen under the soil and plants even during dormancy. Thus, no unsightly grid lines on the rooftop; no seams between modules to allow air to escape from the roof below and reduce green roof benefits; no module edges in the vegetation exposed to the sun to get hot and stress adjacent plants.

LiveRoof’s patent-pending Moisture Portal™ is a second innovative feature that serves as an open entryway on the sides of the modules. This establishes soil-to-soil contact between them. That makes a LiveRoof a unified green roof both above and between modules.

“Unifying the soil across the entire roof maximizes the cohesiveness of the soil and plant roots and allows natural sharing of moisture and nutrients,” said MacKenzie. “Connecting the soil above, across and between modules leaves no air gaps. That eliminates hot, wet and dry zones and optimizes R value, cooling value and stormwater absorption.”

“Because they were designed with horticulturalists who could envision the rooftop as a total biological system, the LiveRoof modules are tops in the industry,” said Daniel Lakstins, director of operations, Cool Construction Concepts, McAllen, Texas. “The roots of LiveRoof plants bind the soil together and hold it in place. The soil itself stores and releases water naturally, so there are no moisture reservoirs to trap too much water.”

According to Roger Bertolini, an associate with Limited Systems Consulting Group (Franklin, Tenn.) and one of the “Flat Roof Guys,” commercial flat roof and low-slope roof specialists, LiveRoof offers aesthetic advantages.

“You can cut LiveRoof modules to the size and shape you want. Then when you set the cut side up against the non-cut side of another module, the soil stays contained,” he said. “You can fit LiveRoof modules to odd dimensions and angles and shape them into creative designs.”

LiveRoof at IRE
LiveRoof is exhibiting at the International Roofing Expo (IRE) on February 16-28, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Las Vegas Convention Center (North Halls). LiveRoof will be at booth #460.

About LiveRoof®, LLC
LiveRoof, LLC (www.liveroof.com) is the horticultural science company that developed the LiveRoof® Hybrid System: the only green roof solution installed as a naturally functioning ecosystem with thriving, fully mature plants. Combining the best elements of proven green roof technologies, LiveRoof establishes a seamless vegetative surface rooted in a continuous layer of soil. This design maximizes environmental benefits, energy savings and rooftop aesthetics. Regional growers in its national network adapt LiveRoof plants for local conditions and customize plant selection for every project. LiveRoof’s natural function and natural beauty offer the highest level of green roof performance at the lowest level of acquisition-installation-maturation-maintenance costs. The proof is on the roof — showcased in LiveRoof projects that stand out as signature elements on commercial, public, university and school buildings in more than two dozen states and Canada.

###

Notes to Editors: (1) A detailed corporate backgrounder on LiveRoof is available upon request. (2) LiveRoof press kits will be available in the press room at IRE.

Media Contact:

David Aquilina

612-716-5628

davida@strategicstoryteller.com 

LiveRoof® Système de toiture verte hybride

French Language Green Roof Information:

LiveRoof® Système de toiture verte hybride

View more documents from LiveRoof Green Roofs.

Tis the Season

Happy Holidays

from

LiveRoof, LLC will close our office to observe the holiday season on December 24 and December 31, 2011.

In the spirit of the season, we wanted to share some of our favorite Green and Red green roof plants:

Sour Cherry™ Sedum (Sedum spurium Sour Cherry™ ('Noned') PPAF)

'Summer Glory' Sedum (Sedum spurium 'Summer Glory')

BELLA Bluegrass™ (Poa praetensis)

The following selections will make a bold statement in the LiveRoof® Deep System (6" Soil Depth).

 'Red Velvet' Yarrow (Achillea 'Red Velvet')

 'Hot Papaya' Coneflower (Echinacea 'Hot Papaya' PPAF)


Red Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum 'Rotstrahlbusch') 

... and here are a couple of 'festive' red & green patterned LiveRoof® installations.

 Grand Rapids Community College

Grand Rapids, MI

Muskegon Community College

Muskegon, MI

Choose Sunshine Sedum to Cheer Up your Green Roof

Maybe one of the best recent introductions to the LiveRoof line of plants, Sunshine Sedum (Sedum album 'Chloroticum')is truly unique amongst Sedum album cultivars.  This tiny, compact grower is named for its vibrant yellowish-green miniature beadlike leaves which maintain their green foliage color throughout the winter months.  Sunshine Sedum grows along the ground in a mosslike fashion and reaches only 1/2 inch in mature height.  In the summer months, it blooms sparsely with white, star-shaped flowers.

Absolutely beautiful all 12 months of the year, this low-growing evergreen is sure to please.  We recommend combining Sunshine Sedum with spring blooming ornamental chives, such as Allium schoenoprasum var. sibiricum 'Pink Giant', and fall-blooming tall Sedums, such as Sedum telephium 'Munstead Dark Red' and Sedum sieboldii 'Nana'.  For summer blooms, Sunshine Sedum will look spectacular with the florific Sedum spurium 'Salsa™' and the blue-leaved Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum.'

Sedum album 'Chloroticum' is an evergreen selected for USDA Hardiness Zone 4.  It is ideal for green roofs in direct sunlight or light shade.  The flowers appear in June & July and attract butterflies.

Contact your local Licensed LiveRoof® Grower to incorporate Sunshine Sedum into your green roof plans.

SEDUM ALBUM 'CHLOROTICUM' - APRIL 1
CONSISTENT, CHEERFUL GREEN FOLIAGE

SEDUM ALBUM 'CHLOROTICUM' - JUNE 1

SEDUM ALBUM 'CHLOROTICUM' - JULY 15

SEDUM ALBUM 'CHLOROTICUM' - IN BLOOM
CROPPED SPARSELY WITH TINY WHITE, STAR-SHAPED FLOWERS

Check out the NEW 'Cherry Blush®' Sedum

Cherry Blush™ Sedum is named for its olive green, lustrous cherry-red edged foliage.  Borne upon arching stems, the foliage of Cherry Blush® becomes more red-infused as the season progresses, and during summer is topped with dusky pink, star-shaped flowers.

Sedum spurium 'Cherry Blush®' ('Nonio') is a semi-evergreen selected for USDA Hardiness Zone 3.  It is ideal for green roofs in direct sunlight or light shade.  The flowers appear in June & July and attract butterflies.

Cherry Blush® Sedum is only available in the LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System.  Contact your local Licensed LiveRoof® Grower to incorporate Cherry Blush® into your green roof plans.

Sedum spurium 'Cherry Blush™' ('Nonio') - May 1

 

Sedum spurium 'Cherry Blush™' ('Nonio') - May 15

Sedum spurium 'Cherry Blush™' ('Nonio') - Budding 

Sedum spurium 'Cherry Blush™' ('Nonio') - In Flower