b'Member Profile APioneer in Green Roofing Regional W many in the roofing industry continue to debatee loStorm-water management. On the plus side, Bo stresses hileth ng ettcher term viability and profitability of green roofing, one M mem that green roofing is ideal for managing storm wa~r. "Roofers don\'t RCA ber companyisflourishing as ain greengrooftalk about storm water that much, bute roo gstorm-water reputed leaderroofin andgr enfin and waterproofing in its region of southernand in other areas ofmanagement really are co d." Wisconsinnnectethe Midwest.He points to,,hea rainstorms flood sMilwaukee WI wherevyewer Pioneer Roofing,Johnson Creek, WI-a-year-oldsystems and result in untreatedw eg-into Lake Michigan.If LLC,46 company,se ag spillin "currently65 employees-decided to go "all in"green roofingyou eliminated or minimized water running off thesey wowithinroofs,ouuld about aago and has since reaped the benefits of thatmitigateproblem without having to dig big [sewer] holes to decadedecision.theger Today, the specialty roofing company boasts annual sales of $10 millionaccommodate heavy rains. That relates back to the roof." and has built areputation as an innov expert in theche solidativeni Boettcherays that he s little sign that interest in green roofing is s ees ,landscapew Rather manyo reserving spacetheir roof industry providing everything from engineering strategies, aning.,pe ple areindesigns design, and waterproofing syst to its own specialized engineeredfor agreen g "It\'s not justernment,"says. "Private emsfuturearden.gov he media orproducts. soilbusiness is thinking thisy." For more info on gre roofing, wa rrnationen contact Boettcher atg.net. Green Roofing: "More than \'One and Done\' Roofing"info@pioneerroofinJohn Boettcher, principal, says that every involved in green roofing, one from the roofing contractor to the building owner, needstoknow thatMadison (WI) Children\'s Museum itfirm long-term committhis market is not for dabbling in;takes a, ment on the part of all parties to make it work. For contractors,"this is more than \'one and done\' roofing," he says. "If\'re going to do it, you want to go into ityour e open. It\'s you withyes not just ayou do and then walk away. You have to organize it so that job plants are taken care of and the facility is maintained properly." Boettcher stresses that new plants need to be maintained at least monthoryears one time afor the first 23so that they can take root and propagate properly. After that, plant maintenance, along with roof maintenance, including cleaning drains,be conducted at least should four times per year. Moreover, commitment means having to have maintenance agreements, Boettcher says. "You needtopresent written maintenance warranties on the front end,"says. "Irrigation,, heweeding and fertilizing have to be done regularly or it won\'t be successful. Otherwise, you\'ll end burned, \'up with dead,out planting. Then people could say Green roofs don\'t work here.\' But they do workifou use the correct media and yplants for your climate and take care of them." Boettcher notes other considerations before trying green roofing, including Safety. This is aissue,says, which will come as little hugeBoettcher surprise to MRCA members who have had longtime success with their SHARP safety program. plants, "You need to have people who know how to take care of but who also understand that they are working on aSaf ty-wise, roof.eyour landscaper needs to think like a"says. "Ifsend a roofer, heyou landscaper up on a,\'sthinking about a harness and being roof he not tied off,about appropriate flags or amonitor. He thinks he is orsafety working on the ground," which of course he is not.This 6 0 sq-ft intensiveeno knownthe Roo Ramble, is designed to ,00 gre ro f,asftop Proper equipment. Proper landscaping tools are needed to av ustainableardeningtiv pl nt teach children about s g and na ea species. It includes oid an e n root deck g ma of wood a paddedrs nvironmentally-frie dlyin dendpavepenetrating the waterproofing membrane underneath plants. Boettcheron all pedestals says that he has seen instances in which subcontracted landscapers with an o a talrvious rottedranite pathwrn men pe g aycus fabricated metal cop sfasc , twoariety of little or noin green roofing used hoes and spikes and quicklytoming andia green walls,vaexperienceroof plantings, a afallfish poncompromised protective membranes and drainage systems.ndwater andd. 16www.mrca.org- Midwest Roofer'