Bill Buehl has come a long way since he started in the roofing industry with a used truck and a gutter machine while he was a student in college. At the time, he had an eye on a career as a fireman.
Designing and choosing a sustainable roofing system is not a new idea to architects. Garden roofing systems give architects another avenue of design while providing building owners the best of all worlds - beauty, innovation and energy efficiency.
In early October of last year, Congress/former President Bush signed the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, virtually ensuring the continued health of the solar roofing industry through 2016. Solar-powered roofs qualify for a 30-percent federal tax credit (directly reducing the property owner’s federal tax bill) as well as a five-year accelerated depreciation.
Roofing isn’t the easiest of trades, and each roofing project presents its own challenges. The installation of a traditional roofing system can be summarized, albeit simplistically, as the installation of the insulation, membrane and, possibly, surfacing, followed by the installation of all of the flashing work necessary to complete the roofing installation.
Increasing raw material costs, higher landfill tipping fees, legislation to restrict disposal of construction materials - and an architectural community that demands the lightest environmental footprint achievable - all are leading toward the mainstreaming of post-consumer recycling and the day when specifiers routinely call for recycling of roofs at the end of their service life.
Since 1913, Rice Fruit Company in Gardners, Pa., has distributed fresh fruit throughout the United States. As the largest apple-packing facility in the eastern half of the United States, Rice has developed a reputation based on quality and high standards.
Selecting green products for new hospital construction can have a positive impact on patient outcomes and the productivity of its medical staff. Therefore, the owners of the 12,000-square-foot LEED-certified hospital within Washington state's Gateway Medical Center specified the hospital's building envelope with great care, including a durable ENERGY STAR single-ply roofing system from IB Roof Systems.
Failure to provide proper fall protection consistently ranks among OSHA’s top 10 most cited violations; in 2008, it was second only to scaffolding. In accordance with OSHA standards, fall protection must be provided any time a worker is at a height of 6 feet or more in the construction industry.
Slate is one of the oldest and most durable roofing materials. It’s also one of the most beautiful. Slate roofs have crowned landmark buildings for centuries, and some of these roofs have lasted hundreds of years.
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