Blog by Beebe Cline, PREC*

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6 Green-Roof Myths, Busted

Green roofs, living roofs, vegetated roofs, ecoroofs — whatever you want to call them, they are sprouting up everywhere lately, including atop residential homes. And with that increase in popularity comes general assumptions and misconceptions. For example, that green roofs are only for ecobuffs, they're high maintenance and they're experimental and risky. All untrue.

Let's take a look at some common green-roof myths and see if they, er, hold any water.

Every green roof installation should come with a service contract to address annual maintenance. The extent of that maintenance will depend a lot on how you want to use your green roof.

According to Boyter, the maintenance plan should be part of the initial design and installation, with a two-year and a five-year plan included, or perhaps an even longer plan in certain circumstances.

The life spans of residential green roofs are still largely undocumented, but some professionals say they can be double the lifespan of a traditional roof. The green roofs of Rockefeller Center in New York City, for example, have the same waterproofing membranes that were installed in the 1930s.

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