While sustainability is on the forefront of clients’ minds, it is often perceived as the more expensive option. In fact, a McGraw-Hill Construction study showed the largest obstacle to green construction is the perception of an increased cost. Educational institutions in particular are concerned with achieving sustainable design at a value, as they are often dealing with limited budgets and public money.
Something new may be learned from nearly every retrofit roofing project. Every roofing project is completed with different materials in different places on different structures and often with different clients. The renovation of the roof and parapet of the Green-Meldrim House in historic downtown Savannah, Ga., is one project that provided more than its share of lessons.
The Arlington Grove neighborhood in north St. Louis has seen its share of hard times in recent years, but through the efforts of the community’s dedicated church officials, residents and aldermen, plus developer McCormack Baron Salazar, KAI Design & Build, the City of St. Louis and the St. Louis Housing Authority, its future is looking brighter and greener.
With more metal being integrated into today’s exterior designs, and recession-resistant re-roofing demand and other necessary replacements, metal fabrication efficiency is a contractor’s secret weapon for profitability. Power and portability are combining to give roofing, gutter and siding installers a cost- and time-saving edge.
Guided by its Quaker values, the prestigious Sidwell Friends School is committed to practicing responsible environmental stewardship. Sidwell’s Middle School Building is the first K-12 school in the United States to earn a LEED Platinum rating and the first-ever LEED Platinum building in Washington, D.C.
Liberty Lines Inc. is one of the largest privately owned transportation companies in New York. Headquartered in Yonkers, the company has 750 employees and operates a fleet of 350 vehicles.
Retrofitting flat roofs with sloped metal roofs is a concept that is tailor-made for these declining economic times. Interestingly, of the 40 billion square feet of roofing annually installed in the United States, only a fraction of that amount entails retrofitting roofs with sloped metal systems.
Rooftop gardens or living roofs offer several environmental advantages. Their increased use in urban areas has been due their ability to decrease water runoff from the roof area. The primary intent of the living roof application is to filter the stormwater and minimize the stormwater runoff from reaching the underground infrastructure.