Tellus 360 green roof days after planting – Jorg Breuning

During one of the hottest weeks in the summer a couple of Irish lads with no fear of heat stoke began the challenging task of putting a garden on their roof.

Joe Devoy and Martin Donnelly are the proud owners of the Irish antique and furniture store Tellus 360 in Lancaster, PA.  The store is an incredible treasure trove of home goods and furniture crafted from reclaimed wood.  Thier slogan “old wood, new story,” beautifully describes not only their products but also their roof.

The roof at Tellus 360 was in disrepair and needed replacing.  After finding out about possible funding for a green roof through Live Green in Lancaster the search was on to find a suitable candidate to make this green roof a reality and affordable.  Green Roof Service met the challenge and was able to work with the grant program providing a comprehensive design while staying on budget.

Being a store full of hand crafted products it only seemed fitting that the lads at Tellus 360 get their hands dirty and build the green roof themselves.  Under the supervision of Green Roof Service the lads of Tellus 360 managed to beat the blistering heat.  Despite temperatures of around 110, they managed to get everything up and assembled on the roof to a very fine quality indeed.  With a beak from the heat as added motivation they were even able to complete the project in record time.

One of the most challenging parts of the project was keeping the plants happy while they were waiting to be planted.  The extra efforts to keep the plants shade and in the ground as soon as possible were rewarded though.  While we were setting up our sprinkler system to help the plants establish, mother nature decided to lend and helping hand dropped what felt like the equivalent of a small lake from the sky.

It has been a few weeks now since the install the plants are doing great.  The roof is also much cooler and more bearable thanks to the greenery.  It took a while to get a permit for the patio area, but it is in and a design competition will soon follow!  Before long the project will be complete and a lovely bar with the best view of the city will be in place.  Sounds like a perfect way to end a strenuous day of shopping in Lancaster.

The principals participated in the largest research green roof endeavour ever undertaken (at Optigrün International AG in Germany, begun in 1994/1995, still ongoing) and have access to the resulting data (not fully translated into English) and an intimate knowledge of the “behind the scenes” circumstances that affect data output. Having one of the largest libraries for green roof research and products in the US, they continually update their resources and knowledge of ongoing research and new projects even when they are done by others.

The unmatched experience of the principals, acknowledged by the German FLL e.V. the FBB/EFB (German/ European Green Roof Association) and the German Landscape Association (GALA-BAU e.V) brought them in 1999 to the United States of America. The City of Chicago was the first project in the US which was built according modern Green Roof technology and starting with this project the principals were able to promote, educate and train today’s and nation’s key-player in the green roof industry.

The founders of Green Roof Service LLC understand modern Green Roof technology which is the basis for successful projects. They also understand related roofing details and the execution of highly skilled on-site monitoring which makes the green roof reliable and lasting as long as the building itself.

The experience of 120 Millions square foot of annual new Green Roof construction in Germany, with all ordinary and extra ordinary solutions, with all the competitiveness and all the efficiency is represented by Green Roof Service LLC in the United States of America.

Their extensive background affords them the right to boast the ability to ensure the outcome of each project they tackle.

At Ship Yard