For Roof and Ground Covering

Sedum Vegetation Blankets

The Sempergreen® vegetation blankets consist of a coconut fiber blanket, a layer of substrate, and various sedum species.

The growth and development of the plants creates an integrated blanket.

Sedum has water-storing leaves and therefore can withstand harsh environments. By combining creepers and ground covering plants you can alternate between growing and blooming. An additional advantage is that these plants can withstand extreme weather conditions. To add diversity, you can also have grass and herbs growing in the vegetation blankets.

Extensive Roof Gardens & More

Sempergreen® vegetation blankets can be applied to nearly every roof. Is your roof sloped or is it a flat roof? Our lightweight and insulating green roofs provide instant and spectacular results. With its rapid application and instant effect, the vegetation blanket feels at home immediately on any roof. In addition, the purchase and maintenance costs are most competitive even compared to bulk and modular roofs, while offering 85% coverage instantly. The blankets have a protective function such that green roofs last two to three times longer and you save a great deal on energy costs in summer and winter.

Green roofs, blossoming roundabouts, erosion-resistant embankments, green-covered sound barrier walls and magnificent ground covers. Sempergreen® vegetation blankets can be used everywhere. They can be applied quickly and are as good as maintenance-free. Take advantage of our 14 years of international know-how and experience to further increase the success of your vegetation blanket!

Roof Garden Products

To ensure the full success of your vegetation blankets, you can order a complete package from us. Follow-up, consulting and free project advice, and the delivery of your Sempergreen® vegetation blankets, we supply everything else that you might need for your green roof. For example: substrates, drainage material, protective sheets, foils, membranes, inspection pits and eave profiles.

Growing Together

Extensive support, straightforward advice, good products, competitive prices, excellent references and making the impossible possible… That’s how our customers know us. In addition, we are happy to be a partner to an installation contractor and not a competitor. That is the reason that we support projects free of charge and do not install down the vegetation blankets ourselves.

Why is it that our customers truly want to do business with us?

We join forces for the best possible projects results!

With Sempergreen® vegetation blankets you immediately see mature growth with little or no maintenance. A green roof with vegetation blankets has water retention of around 45-70% and provides substantial energy saving.

Other benefits are:

• Visually attractive appearance
• Simple, quick and easy to apply
• Very high growth percentage (at least 85%)
• A lightweight solution (a green roof is possible starting from 19 lbs/square foot (100 kg/m2)
• Only a thin substrate layer is needed compared to other extensive systems (2-5 inches depending on the region and the structure)
• Uniform drainage and purification of rainwater
• Resistant to nearly all weather conditions where people can live as well biodegradable
• Suitable for nearly all types of roofs and slopes
• Insulates in summer and winter
• Sound damping
• Unlike freshly planted bulk roofs its hardly sensitive to damage by birds

For more information on vegetation blankets for roof and ground covering, and for specific product information, contact:

Sempergreen USA
19315 Carrico Mills Rd
Stevensburg VA 22741
Tel.:540-399-5055
Fax :540-399-9085
office@sempergreen.com

www.sempergreen.com

Here you can also request custom-made quotes to your specifications. Do not hesitate to call us. We will gladly respond to your requests.

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• Sustain Your Sustainable Landscape With Mulch (2)

Proper landscaping is as important to energy and water efficiency in a home as anything else.  And eco-friendly mulch is the easiest way to keep that landscape healthy. Using mulch in flower beds, around sidewalks, and around trees is great for controlling erosion, keeping in the moisture, and making your plants look fabulous.

These days shredded tires, peanut shells, and pine bark and other recycled materials are all being used for sustainable landscaping projects instead of the traditional composition.  Of course, your environmental footprint will most likely be greater in the long run if you have to buy an eco-friendly mulch that’s been shipped halfway around the world, but there are easy ways to create mulch with your own recycled materials.

Old newspapers make great mulch. Just shred them into small strips and spread the strips around your flower bed.  Due to their tendency to clump when wet, however, its often recommended to apply them as a bottom layer, and then add different mulch on top.   They will biodegrade over time and add nutrients to the soil.

Peanut shells, if you have enough of them, also work.  They make a great mulch due to their chemical composition.  You can mix them with leaves or compost to make a nice-looking finish.  However, according to gardeners, they’re not good food for worms and therefore the natural nutrient cycling is not as effective.  What’s more, there is often a risk of mold accumulation with peanut shells that can spread to your plants and harm them.  Therefore, nut shells are not necessarily the best bet for your mulch, but they definitely work.

What about recycled rubber? Old tires are filling up landfills across the US—what better way to give them new purpose than to add them to your home’s landscaping?  You can buy preshredded rubber at your nearest garden center or you can make it yourself.  It is insect-resistant and aesthetically appealing.  Rubber mulch applications are particularly common on playgrounds, but they are just as good for your sophisticated landscape bedding.

Pine bark and pine needles are the best tree materials for mulch. They have a high moisture retaining capacity and keep away insects.  The substances’ high acidity contributes well to plants that require increased acid in the soil.   Pine bark also retains its color longer than most other tree barks, meaning that it needs to be replaced less often.

While pine makes a great mulch, other tree products that have the same characteristics might be slightly more sustainable.  Eucalyptis, for example, grows rapidly like bamboo and is highly abundant, allowing it to be harvested and regenerated in a more predictable manner than pine.  But remember, it is usually more sustainable and simple to use whatever product grows nearest you.

Unfortunately, however, mulch can never beat the advantages of the compost pile. You can create a compost bin with food waste and yard clippings, then spread it throughout your flower beds.  This is by far the most nutrient-enhancing mulch option for plants.

When in doubt, you can mix together most organic substances to create a fine looking and eco-friendly mulch.

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MIT is world-renowned for its pioneering role in sustainable technology, and boasts some of the best architecture and planning programs in the nation, and has a handful of LEED-certified buildings on its campus.

The Brain and Cognitive Science Center, completed in 2008, was awarded a LEED Silver rating; unlike the Sloan and Koch buildings that were planned from stage 1 to be green, it was an old building that was retrofitted to meet the highest standards in green design.  One of the project’s highlights is the conservation of water throughout the building.

The retrofit features a collection system that recycles rainwater that can be used in various applications throughout the building and landscaping.   Additionally, low-flow water fixtures were installed in all bathrooms and laboratories.  The Center also took a step outside of its own surroundings to address the preservation of the larger ecosystem by installing a comprehensive storm water management system to reduce the University’s impact on the Charles River.

Since 2007, M.I.T. has undertaken three more LEED-certified building projects.  Two of their buildings, the Stata Center and Simmons Hall, were green even before the LEED standard came about.  And the University started a Green Building Policy in 2001, before most schools were on board with the green movement.

Still, the Sustainable Endowments Institute “Green Report Card” gives the school an overall sustainability rating of B+.  In comparison, Harvard has achieved an A-.

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There is no reason why vast parking lots must be covered entirely by pavement.  Besides being a heat-trap, paved surfaces disrupt local ecology and cause serious problems with rainwater runoff.   Fortunately there is a sensible alternative.  Known as grass pavers, these honeycomb-shaped connected pavers (which can be made from recycled plastic), provide the foundation of your driveway or parking lot, allowing grass to grow through and water to be absorbed.

The primary advantage to having a permeable surface is the absorption of rainwater and a reduced need for sophisticated storm water runoff management.   Throughout the country, runoff from suburban and urban development unnaturally accumulates and negatively alters stream geography and flow.  The millions of gallons that cannot penetrate the ground due to the presence of concrete structures and endless areas of asphalt can not only overwhelm drainage areas, but they also bring considerable pollution into our wetlands.

While the recycled plastic pavers are a good bet, there are countless other permeable surface materials to help you lessen your building’s environmental impact.  Usually loose gravel can be added to the spaces in between pavers, or used by itself to complete the driveway.  You can also use regular hexagon-shaped concrete pavers, which mean more surface area, but still allows for permeation. An equally effective yet slightly more complex and costly option is Pervious Concrete, which looks like a traditional concrete surface but with small holes and cracks to allow water infiltration.

One of the most recent and comprehensive examples of a permeable surface installation is the Chicago White Sox stadium, U.S. Cellular Field, which includes roughly 265,000 square feet of permeable paving, completed in 2008.

The up-front cost for pavers (concrete or recycled plastic) is higher than a traditional asphalt installation.  Generally, permeable driveway or parking lot requires slightly more maintenance (mowing, snow removal), yet there are considerable cost reductions when extensive underground drainage systems are eliminated, and the long-term environmental benefits should make it worth anyone’s consideration!

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Up a winding dirt drive, emerging out of blooming meadows…three normal-looking houses–passive solar homes that are the start of a community where both individuality and sustainability can flower.

At White Hawk Ecovillage, living sustainably isn’t just the latest hype; it’s an everyday experience.  Green communities are not some bastion of exclusivity to which only the patchouli-scented and sanctimonious are admitted.  Now sustainable living is fully accessible to Joe Schmoe…er, rather…Joe Italiano.

Joe Italiano, father of two, perfectly normal American male, and ecovillage resident:  “Sustainable living shouldn’t be hard, and it isn’t.  It’s about simplicity, and at a place like White Hawk, learning from your neighbors.”  He notes how his neighbors are experimenting with green roofs and rainwater harvesting.  “It’s a living laboratory, so it’s easy to pick up information about what you might want to try next.”

Joe shares his 1000-square-foot home at White Hawk with his two young children and wife Julie Boerst.  “Our home and our hot water are heated with one on-demand water heater connected to a radiant heating system,” she says.  “Water for washing hands is used a second time to flush the toilet.  Both of these solutions are simple and low-cost.  Green living can and should be attainable for everyone.”

Everyone including the cable guy.  Steven Woinoski climbs ladders by day for the local cable company, and he’s the first to admit that he’s not wealthy in terms of dollars.  “We are technically low-income by government standards, so we are proof that a low-income family can live well in an ecovillage.”  Woinoski’s home is constructed from energy-efficient structural insulated panels (or SIPs) and sided with locally harvested hemlock.

From the beginning, the founding members of White Hawk Ecovillage wanted to make their community affordable and accessible.  Looking at the other available opportunities for green living in community, they saw that most people are easily edged out of pricey eco-developments.  At White Hawk, residents can design their own homes and put in sweat equity to lower the cost.  “We loved taking the lead in designing our home because it saved us money, and that’s important because we’re a one-income family.  We have also completed much of the finish work ourselves,” notes Joe Italiano.

The neighborhood at White Hawk includes thirty homesites clustered around a pedestrian walkway that encircles a common recreation area.  The developed area is about ten acres, with the remaining 110 acres of the property available to residents for hiking, farming, and any common projects they dream up, like solar showers.  Laura Woinoski appreciates the benefits of raising children in a green community.  “It’s a wonderful place for children to really prosper…like the old days when we’d just explore for hours!”

Seven children from three families play in the Woinoskis’, living room in front of a sunny expanse of south-facing windows.  “It’s such a relaxed and nice feeling here,” says Julie Boerst.  “At-home parents don’t have to guzzle gas or cram kids in the car in order to socialize.  Beyond the obvious ecological benefits, I cannot overstate the social benefits of living in a green community.”

Outside, chickens range freely, far beyond their community-built coop.  Organic gardens have popped up at White Hawk, along with compost piles and a playground.  The residents of White Hawk Ecovillage are looking forward to learning and playing with their new neighbors.  Will you be one of them?  For more information, visit http://www.whitehawk.org.

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Saves you and the environment some green

Rainwater harvestingis “the process of intercepting storm-water runoff and putting it to beneficial use.”  Pretty simple concept.  Oddly enough, it is illegal in some states.   The Colorado legislature, in its 2009 session, legalized rainwater harvesting for residents with private wells.  Other states and municipalities are in the process of changing their laws.  You’ll need to do a little research to determine what is lawful in your state.  Whatever the case, I don’t think the police are going to show up at your door if you choose to harvest rainwater.

Why would I want to harvest rainwater anyway?

According to the EPA, a homeowner can save 1,300 gallons of water a month.  That will help with your water bills or reduce stress on your well.  You can use the water in your evaporative coolers, to water plants, your lawn, your pets or livestock.  It reduces your carbon footprint by saving on electricity to pump water and then deliver it to your home.   Besides, it simply makes good sense to have water stored to guard against times of drought or emergency.

So I’m building or rebuilding a home and want to incorporate this.  How?

You can begin by designing your home, buildings, and surrounding landscape to maximize the amount of rainwater catchment.   You can do it like Jerry Brock of Monte Sereno, California and use four gravity-fed 5,000 gallon tanks.  Or, there are companies like Rain Harvesting Systems (RHS) that specialize in elaborate and wonderful systems for your home or commercial building.

You can do it like people have been doing it for thousands of years—with some type of cistern.   Cisterns, now, aren’t some Biblical clay container thing , but are usually some type of composite plastic.  Here are some links to places you can buy one and also some “do it yourself” harvesting systems.

http://www.plastic-mart.com/class.php?cat=187

http://www.rain-barrel.net/category/rainwater-harvesting

http://www.ehow.com/how_5126202_harvest-rain-water.html

http://www.off-grid.net/2009/06/20/how-to-harvest-rainwater/

Bottom line:  it can be as simple as putting a big bucket out under your rain gutter and using the water for dry spots on your lawn.   Get an elaborate rainwater harvesting system or get a container with a cover (keeps mosquitoes from breeding and slows evaporation) and do your part to help your budget and your planet.

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Perhaps we can’t credit Warren Buffet specifically for the good news, but Clayton Homes, a subsidiary of Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, announced earlier this month that they will be rolling out a line of LEED Platinum rated prefab houses. These new prefabs, titled “i-houses,” appear to offer the best in affordability and sustainability. The base, 1 bed 1 bath, 723 sq. foot model starts around a reasonable $75,000, and moves up to a 4 bed/2bath, 1643 sq. foot model with sundeck and Energy Star appliances model for only around $135,000.

Core2 Flex2 LayoutD. A spacious 4 bed/2 bath.

For that price, Clayton Homes throws in a bevy of green features like a tankless water heater, dual flush toilets, low-flow faucets, low –e windows, high-efficiency heat pumps, and rainwater catchment. The truly dedicated can also upgrade to Energy Star appliances, bamboo flooring, and energy saving solar panels.

In terms of design, the i-house is aptly named. It shares the same passion for compact design and sleek, modern lines of other i-products that will not be named. The floorplans are open, simple, and clean, and the classic lines of the interior rival the finest of Ikea models. Although the house will arrive on the back of a truck, it remains spacious and modern.

However, despite all these great features, it still seems a risky endeavour. With the housing market struggling, sustainable housing still taking root, and prefab housing unproven in the U.S., Clayton Homes is putting a lot of faith in America’s dedication to down-sizing and greening. It will be interesting to see if Americans are willing to grab hold of this and other great, but perhaps foreign, solutions for sustainable living.

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