PoCo firm helps rooftops go green
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - May 3, 2006 - Lauri Tuomisto was designing breezy rooftop gardens long before they were trendy. His favorite is the herb garden at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel, built in the early ‘90s.
“Guests felt like they were in the Garden of Eden,” he says, “even though they were in the middle of a city.”
Tuomisto is a Service Manager at Design Roofing & Sheet Metal Ltd., a PoCo based business specializing in green roof technology.
The term “green roof” refers to any rooftop planting, but most involve raised beds of shrubs, trees and flowers. Newer green roofs are flatter, lighter and use layers of membranes containing water and soil. Design Roofing creates these membranes which are later planted with hardy, slow-growing grasses.
“Because it’s not like you’re going to be mowing your roof,” Tuomisto says.
The benefits of either kind of green roof are “endless,” he adds.
“In the winter it will cut down your heating bill…and in the summer [the building] will be a lot cooler.
That’s because plants absorb heat, keeping the roof’s temperature relatively consistent.
Tuomisto says this buffering effect will prolong the roof’s life by several decades.
“A green roof can last two or three times longer than other roofs. The average roof lasts about 25 years, so if you’re talking about a green roof, you’re looking at maybe 70 years.”
Including more green roofs in new housing developments would ease the load on sewer systems, he says, since the plants soak up rainwater instead of letting it run into the storm sewers.
“PoCo and Coquitlam are building all these buildings up the hill, but their sewer system is only built to handle so much.
“A green roof will soak up rainwater so the plants can use it, and then slowly release it.”
Initially, green roofs are pricey, costing up to twice as much as a traditional roof.
But Tuomisto believes they pay off in the long run, because of reduced heating and cooling costs, and because they last longer.
The benefits far outweigh the costs. And it looks like a lot better than your average roof, especially after a few years.
Green roofs are starting to catch on in the Tri-Cities. Tuomisto says Design Roofing will be working on rooftop courtyard as part of the expansion of Douglas College’s David Lam campus.
Port Moody’s recreation centre expansion will also include a green roof. (Design Roofing bid on this project).
“The rec centre expansion and renovation includes a green roof on the gymnasium and on the fitness area.” Says Gaetan Royer, city manager for Port Moody.
Coquitlam Coun. Fin Donnelly says private developers are starting to see the benefits of green roofs too.
“In many cases, developers choose to build a green roof over parkades because it provides additional green space for residents… It’s now looked at by many developers as a marketing feature.”
But he believes the roofs of commercial and industrial buildings have even more potential.
“Actually, there are institutional and commercial uses that would probably be a far greater benefit when you look at the amount of available roof space.
“If you start to look at the warehouses and the commercial buildings that have big flat roofs, that’s the place where you could start to make major gains.
“I just think that rooftops are totally untapped potential that we have to start looking at.”
By: Brooke Larsen
About Design Roofing
Design Roofing is the premier Vancouver and Lower Mainland commercial roofing contractor, providing Quality on Top since 1984. Our professional approach to commercial, industrial and institutional construction has earned us a reputation of excellence among general contractors, roof consultants, and building owners alike.
As a member of the Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia (RCABC), Design Roofing is highly recognized by architects and engineers for providing quality roof system applications on all projects.
Contact:
1385 Kingsway Avenue
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
V3C 1S2
Email: design@designroofing.ca
Phone: (604) 944 2977
Fax: (604) 944 2916