The green product resource for your home remodel.

We don’t cover the topic of “green roofs” that often at GetWithGreen.com.  Our focus is on the more common upgrade to your existing roof, while doing it with products that are more eco-friendly than asphalt for example.  We do get questions from time to time about “green roofs”, and when we found this interesting article we thought we should share it with you.

The team over at Facility Blog recently wrote about the topic, and their write-up is a quick read that answers some of the most common questions about a green roof (e.g. How often do you water it?  Will it make my roof leak?).   The article is focused more on buildings, but we believe it is still educational for most GetWithGreen.com homeowners who have an interest in green roofs.  Take a look at Common Questions About Green Roofs.

Related Articles on GetWithGreen.com

- Looking for an eco-friendly alternative for your flat roof?
- Eco-friendly roofing materials

Fall is here and the leaves are starting to fill your gutters, unless you have RainTube that is.  We covered this product several months ago, and it remains one of our favorites here at GetWithGreen.com. 

This week the RainTube team garnered several awards at the Green Building Industry Awards.  Read on below, and make sure you check out RainTube’s product made from 100% recycled materials…

RainTube product recognized for outstanding achievement in environmental sustainability — Wins Four International Green Building Industry Awards.
 
GLI Systems Inc. of Jacksonville, Oregon, manufacturer of the RainTube Gutter Protection System, has been awarded an unprecedented four 2007 Green Building Pages Benchmark Sustainability Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental and Social Sustainability.  The awards were presented at the US Green Building Council “Build Green Exposition” in Chicago, the world’s largest building products exposition focused on sustainable, eco-friendly building products and methods.  RainTube won in four of seven categories including:

• The top award – The Sustainable Product Award – for the highest overall product sustainability rating,
• The Global Climate Change Award,
• The End of Product Life Award, and
• The Installation, Use and Maintenance Award.  This post continues… �

Do you have a flat roof, or an area of your roof that is flat?   Some of us do, and when you talk to almost any roofer they will give you standard options such as tar and gravel, or large asphalt sheets.  Both of which are not good for decreasing urban heat.   Well there is an option that is a bit greener.  Foam.  Yes a foam roof. 

Cedric, and his wife Mai, in Redwood Shores, CA, recently installed their foam roof as an alternative to tar and gravel.  Using a product from Sierra Spray Foam Roofing the couple simply removed the gravel from their existing room, and applied the foam product from Sierra Spray. 

 
                    OLD ROOF                                                              NEW ROOF

GetWithGreen.com does not know the chemical breakdown (environmental friendliness) of the actual foam contents itself, or its sustainability, but we like the other eco-friendly positives This post continues… �

It’s been available for sometime, and we wanted to bring it to your attention.   Wellington Polymer Technology, Inc. offers a composite roofing product that resembles the look of an antique cedar shake roof.  The product is called Enviroshake®. 

The company claims Enviroshake is “predominantly” made from reclaimed materials such as post industrial plastics, recycled rubber elastomers, and cellulosic fibre materials.  The composite formula is designed for durability, UV protection, wind and hail resistance combined with superior mold, mildew and insect resistant properties.   Wind rating on the product is approximately 110 mph.  The product does not require any maintanance and carries a 50-year limited warranty!

Enviroshake comes in one color.  It starts out as a brownish grey color and ”weathers” over 3-6 months to a silver-grey color that resembles cedar shake.  The product does not require breathing like a cedar shake roof, so it can be applied to the same plywood that exists under your present asphalt roof for example.  

What can you do for roofing that is a bit greener and eco-friendly?  Performing a Google search will have you growing Kentucky Bluegrass on your rooftop.  I don’t know what neighborhood or climate that is practicle in,  but I haven’t seen a house growing a lawn on their roof around our offices here in California.  So we decided to highlight some green alternatives that are more in line with familiar, traditional, and practical roofing options that we are most familiar with — the shingle roof.

Fiber-Cement Composite Roofing
Fiber-cement roofs are long lasting, fireproof, and often use recycled wood fiber in their composition.  At the end of the life of this product, it can be ground up into sand so it is recyclable.  According to sources, these roofs do well in wet or humid areas, but not so well in freeze-thaw climates - check with the manufacturer for where their warranties apply.   

Re-Con Building Products
Naturals product fall under two brands, Rustic Shake and Quarry Slate.  These cement composite roofing products are simulated shake and slate products respectively.  Both products carry a 50-Year Limited Warranty, and they are warrantied against wind damage, breakage, and appearance - read the details of Naturals’ warranty.  The products have a high concentration of recycled materials in their ingredients.  All carry a Class A Fire Rating, Class IV Hail Rating, and a wind rating up to 200 mph.  Their products are resistant to moss, mildew and of course termites.  No maintenance is required with this roofing material according to Re-Con  Re-Con is a subsidiary of Stone Mountain Holdings.   

Metal Shingle Roofing (yes metal shingles)
Metal shingles have a high concentration of recycled materials that contribute to the eco-friendliness in the roofing category.  These shingles have come a long way in their resemblance to wood, tile and stone.  In most cases they are light weight and can be applied over two layers of asphalt that may exist on your roof already - saving tear-off, installation and the landfill waste (National Association of Home Builders Research Center reports 20 Billion pounds of asphalt shingles are dumped into U.S. landfills each year).  And noise?  The roofs are designed in a way so that This post continues… �

Fall will be here soon, and the tree leaves will find their way into the gutters on your new roof to clog your downspouts - resulting in potential water damage, dryrot or mold on/around your newly remodeled home.  There are several types of solutions to help prevent gutter clogging, and here is one eco-friendly option that we wanted to bring to your attention.

The RainTube System is a tubular piping system that fits snuggly into your existing or new gutters.  The system is designed to prevent large debris such as leaves and pine needles from entering.  Tiny particles such as dust, fine seeds, and roof grit may still enter, but with proper sloping and drainage these particles will remain in solution and flush out through the downspouts according to the RainTube team.

The RainTube team outlines the installation process as follows:

• Your gutters and downspouts are inspected to ensure they are in good condition
• All gutters and downspouts are cleaned.
• RainTube technology is fit into your existing gutters. 

RainTube is manufactured by GLI Systems Inc., and it is made from 100% post-consumer high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and can be recycled again if needed.   The products are manufactured in Oregon.  Ballpark pricing for the product is $5-6/ft (that includes installation) - pretty good!

 Some interesting recycled plastic factoids from Raintube:

• The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle will power a computer for 25 minutes.
• 17 one-gallon milk jugs are reused to make one 13′ length of RainTube.
• 227 one-gallon milk jugs are reused to protect the gutters of an average home with RainTube.
• There are about 1,000 milk jugs and other bottles in a recycled plastic party bench.
• If you lined up all the polystyrene cups made in just 1 day they would circle the earth.
• Americans toss out 14.4 million tons of plastic every year according to the Plastics Museum.
• Americans go through 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
• Half of all polyester carpet manufactured in the U.S. is made form recycled soda bottles.

Other products created from recycled plastics:

• 14 20-ounce green soda bottles = one extra-large T-shirt
• 85 20 ounce soda bottles = filling for one sleeping bag
• 96 one-gallon milk jugs = one 6 foot long piece of 2/4 plastic lumber
• 1,200 plastic bottles = one 200 pound railroad tie
• 68,000 milk jugs (reinforced with fiberglass) = one 30 foot long bridge in New Baltimore, NY

Better insulating your home while remodeling reduces your need for heating and cooling, thus saving $$. If you are interested in helping the environment at the same time (afterall you are on a Green site), what products can you turn to for insulation? Below is a list. If you know of others or have used one of the products below, please tell the GetWithGreen audience via Comments!!!

Eco-Friendly Home Insulation:

Air Krete, Inc. - Cementitious Foam Insulation

Applegate Insulation

Ark-Seal - Blow-In-Blank Insulation System and Fiberiffic Insulation System

BioBased Systems - BioBased Insulation

Bonded Logic - Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation This post continues… �

One of our our employees had two solar attic fans installed during a recent home re-roof project.  The fans are installed on the roof, are powered 100% by the sun, and pull heat out of the attic as the temperatue in the attic rises - reducing the load on your AC system if you have one, and assuming you have good sealing between your attic and the inside of your home. 

Here is a short list of manufacturers This post continues… �