Edmund C. Snodgrass - The Green Roof Manual: A Professional Guide to Design, Installation, and Maintenance

A Professional Guide to Design, Installation, and Maintenance

Edmund C. Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre

Frontispiece: This extensive green roof at Penn State University
uses a few perennials and grasses to increase the ornamental value.

Copyright 2010 by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre.
All rights reserved.
Photographs are by Edmund C. Snodgrass unless otherwise indicated.

Published in 2010 by Timber Press, Inc.

The Haseltine Building
133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450
Portland, Oregon 97204-3527
www.timberpress.com

2 The Quadrant
135 Salusbury Road
London NW6 6RJ
www.timberpress.co.uk

Printed in China

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Snodgrass, Edmund C.

The green roof manual : a professional guide to design, installation, and maintenance/Edmund C. Snodgrass and Linda McIntyre.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60469-049-1

1. Roof gardening. I. McIntyre, Linda, 1964 II. Title.

SB419.5.S65 2010

635.9671dc22 2010005074

A catalog record for this book is also available from the British Library.

Campanulas light up a green roof on a dormitory at Swarthmore College outside Philadelphia.

This book would not have been possible without the generous help of all the people who have given time and support solely to advance green roof technology. Penn State University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, The University of Maryland, The University of Auckland, The California Academy of Sciences, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Chicago have all shared their research and their time and opened their facilities for photographic visits. The American Society of Landscape Architects headquarters, the Library of Congress National Audio Video Conservation Center, Swarthmore College, and Dansko gave me an open invitation to show up any time with my camera. Many thanks to all the peopletoo numerous to mention individuallyfrom all corners of the industry who shared their insights and gave us feedback.

Thanks to the crew at Emory Knoll Farms who supported my time away and who are the most fabulous folks to work alongside. Big thanks to my wife, Lucie, who supports me always without fail.

Most of all, this book would not have been written without my coauthor, Linda McIntyre, who has put in countless hours writing, interviewing, and sweating all the details to produce what we hope will be a book of value.

E D S NODGRASS

Writing this book was a truly collaborative processnot just between Ed and me, but among us and a slew of generous and patient experts. Properly thanking everyone who deserves it would require an additional book, but Im obliged to give a special shout-out to a few of these experts. Charlie Miller of Roofscapes has been the go-to engineer for this English major since my first acquaintance with green roofs as a staff writer and editor at Landscape Architecture magazine. While I have not had the opportunity to take his classes, I know from experience that Rob Berghage of Penn State Universitys Center for Green Roof Research is a great teacher. Peter Philippi and Jrg Breuning of Green Roof Service unstintingly shared the expertise they developed on both sides of the Atlantic. All of these busy people withstood my incessant questioning with good grace and provided the substance that fills these pages.

Bill Thompson, my former boss and the steward of Landscape Architecture until autumn 2009, encouraged me to pursue my interest in green roofs, demanded critical analysis rather than superficial cheerleading, and impressed on me the importance of providing readers with useful, accessible, and well-organized information. His comments and suggestions, as well as those lessons, improved this book immensely.

I would also like to acknowledge the help of the following individuals, whom graciously shared insights from the field: Jason Abbey, Associate, FXFOWLE Architects; Glen Abrams, Philadelphia Water Department, Office of Watersheds; Paul Bassett, founder of Hydro-Logix Solutions, Inc.; Ed Beaulieu, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aquascape, Inc.; Michael Berkshire, Green Projects Administrator, City of Chicago; Jeffrey Bruce, President, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Landscape Architects and Planners; Jim Burton, Construction Services; Stephen Bushnell, Product Director, Firemans Fund Insurance Company; Ayehlet Cooper, Horticulturist, Furbish Company; Patrick Cullina, Vice President of Horticulture and Facilities, Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Lance Davis, Sustainable Design Expert, U.S. General Services Administration; Darren De-Stefano, Horticulturist, U.S. General Services Administration; Laura Dickinson, graduate student, Columbia University; Angie Duhrman, Green Roof Manager, Tecta America Corporation; Michael Furbish, President, Furbish Company; Stuart Gaffin, Associate Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University; Drew Gangnes, Director of Civil Engineering, Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Mark Gaulin, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Tecta America, and founder of Magco; Dusty Gedge, wildlife consultant and cofounder of livingroofs.org; Robert Goo, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Alan Good, Landscape Exhibits Supervisor, California Acade my of Sciences; Chris and Lisa Goode, owners of Goode Green green roof design and installation; Denis Gray, owner of Denis Gray Horticulture; Ken Hercenberg, Associate Vice President and Specifications Leader, Cannon Design; Elizabeth Kennedy, Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects; Nancy Kiefer, Director of Facilities and Office Services, World Resources Institute; Jason King, Landscape Architect, Greenworks; Peter Kjellerup, founder of Dansko; Chris Kloss, Senior Environmental Scientist, Low Impact Development Center; Michael Krawiec, Project Manager, URS Corporation; Tom Liptan, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services; John Loomis, SWA Group; David MacKenzie, owner of LiveRoof LLC; Hanna Packer, Design Associate, Town and Gardens Ltd.; Matt Palmer, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University; Daria Payne, Facilities Manager, Dansko; Greg Raymond, Managing Member, Ecogardens; Steve Sawyer, Plant Manager, Sidwell Friends School; Mike Saxenian, Assistant Head of School and Chief Financial Officer, Sidwell Friends School; Mark Simmons, Ecologist, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; Jennifer W. Souder, Assistant Director and Director of Capital Projects, Queens Botanical Garden; Jim Stamer, President, Prospect Waterproofing Company; Jeanette Stewart, founder and President, Lands and Waters; Brian Taylor, Civil Design Engineer, Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Dennis Wilde, Principal, Gerding Edlen Development; Mary Wyatt, Executive Director, TKF Foundation; and Jennifer Zuri, Marketing Communications Manager, Aquascape, Inc.