Landscaping companies and contractors pride themselves in making their clients’ dreams come true. Unfortunately, sometimes those dreams are just a little too high in the sky – literally.
Did you know that Superior Groundcover can provide efficient material placement, even when the project is several stories up in the air? Take a look at how our advanced equipment and expert crews came to the rescue during this green roof building project.
The Challenge: Designing a Green Roof for a Birmingham, MI Apartment Complex
Donato Landscaping, located in Shelby Township,, had been hired to install large planters on a rooftop garden. Donato is a full-service landscaping company who provides creative landscape solutions for a variety of clients. They’re not one to back down from a good challenge. Although the project was ambitious and on a tight timeline, that didn’t stop them from saying yes.
The job required precise material placement several stories above ground level. To top it off, the deadline was just days before Thanksgiving and there was no room for error. This wasn’t your average landscaping project. It was going to take some intricate planning and innovative solutions.
The Benefits of Green Roofs for Apartment Complexes and Organizations
Adding “view of green roof from rooms” to their list of amenities wasn’t this apartment complex’s sole motivation for investing in a green roof. Green roof gardens also reduce energy costs, help clean and cool the air, and mitigate stormwater runoff. Not only that, adding a green roof to your building or organization unlocks valuable tax incentives, making it an attractive investment.
The Rooftop Material Placement Challenge
From the outset, Donato Landscaping faced some daunting logistical hurdles. They needed to place roughly 40 yards of lightweight aggregate in rooftop planters, followed by 45 yards of lightweight soil.
On the ground, that would be a pretty, simple straightforward job. However, transporting bulk materials to the top of a multi-story building made it anything but small and simple. They had some tough choices to make.
Moving the materials manually would have been labor-intensive and time-consuming, putting an immense amount of physical strain on the crew. The other option was to use cranes for the material placement. However, cranes are extremely expensive. To be able to meet the deadline, Donato needed an efficient, streamlined, cost effective way to get materials on top of the roof with minimal disruption.
The Superior Solution
Donato Landscaping had worked with Superior Groundcover on previous projects. They knew that we could use our blower trucks to overcome the material placement dilemma.
After more than 100 successful green roof projects on the books, we were confident that we could help Donato complete their green roof install quickly to help them meet their deadline.
Building a Green Roof on Top of a Hotel
Although the project seemed daunting to Donato and their crew, for us it was pretty simple. We were able to bring our expert crew and equipment to Birmingham to take the weight—literally—off Donato Landscaping’s shoulders. Using our blower trucks, we first installed the aggregate into the planters for drainage purposes. Then, we placed a lightweight soil on top of the drainage layer.
Our part of the project took just two days, even though it would have taken weeks to do by hand. We were able to help Donato meet their deadline and keep their clients happy. Our efficiency saved everyone a lot of stress and pushback.
The Superior Groundcover Approach to Green Roof Projects
At Superior Groundcover, we are always experimenting with new, innovative ways to use our equipment. We take great pride in saving companies time, labor, and hassle.
For most contractors and landscapers, the biggest obstacle for a green roof project is getting the materials up to the roof. It’s time-consuming, labor intensive, expensive, and often messy. Superior Groundcover eliminates the inefficiency and risk, transforming a laborious obstacle into a simple, streamlined process.
For this green roof project, we were able to use our blower trucks to safely and accurately place both aggregate material and lightweight soil into rooftop planters. Our blower trucks are attached to long, flexible hoses that can place material up to 195 feet in the air and 500 feet in distance. We are able to place around 100-150 cubic yards of green roof material in a day. With our equipment and expert crew, the sky’s the limit (or at least up to 195 feet)!
Superior Groundcover: Your Partner for Green Roofs and Beyond
This Birmingham green roof apartment complex project was a resounding success. Because Donato Landscaping trusted Superior Groundcover for their green roof material placement, they finished the project on time. They were able to enjoy their holidays without the stress of a missed deadline looming overhead.
Whether it’s a green roof for your campus, a playground mulch upgrade, or hydroseed for a new neighborhood, Superior Groundcover makes time-consuming material placement fast, neat, and simple. Landscapers, contractors and facility managers choose us for our efficiency, reliability, and unmatched customer service. We save you time so that you can use your crew for more profitable tasks.
If you’ve been tasked with installing a green roof at a hotel, store, campus, or workplace, contact Superior Groundcover today for an estimate. Instead of exhausting your crew and compromising your timeline before the project even truly begins, we’ll make the process seamless and stress-free.
