# My 15 minutes of fame



## BucksCoBernie (May 7, 2010)

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/

We've installed 2 rooftop gardens for high end restaurants in Philadelphia so far. This one at Noble, a film crew from Philly.com came out and interviewed the business owners. Im the dude in the orange Flyers shirt in the background.


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## SolarAndWood (May 7, 2010)

Looks like a cool restaurant and good pr if nothing else.  Before we elected to put trusses over our flat roof, we considered a green roof/rooftop garden arrangement.


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## daveswoodhauler (May 7, 2010)

Whoo hoo....way to go....looks like a cool project.
Way to smile for that camera too


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## Jags (May 7, 2010)

Hey - that was only 2 min. and 10 seconds.  You got gypped. 

I think the idea of roof top gardens is awesome.


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## webbie (May 7, 2010)

Great!
15 minutes was in the old days when the media was more controlled. We get a couple days now with the internet and all. Maybe longer.

I know I am fading fast. I think the high point was the article in Kiplingers in 2005.


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## Adios Pantalones (May 7, 2010)

I love this.  Rooftop gardens are a win in more than one way


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## begreen (May 7, 2010)

What a neat job. I like seeing this happening too. Thanks for posting. Philly has some great restaurants. I love eating there. 

Seattle has been aggressively installing complete green roofs with city projects, including Seattle City Hall and the Ballard Library being designed with living roofs. It's even part fo the building code. 
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/GreenBuilding/OurProgram/Resources/TechnicalBriefs/DPDS_009485.asp

Here's the latest restaurant to install a rooftop garden. 
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2010203442_pacificplife15.html


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## BucksCoBernie (May 7, 2010)

Its fun. The real estate market sucks, as we all know, so I started doing this last fall, mostly as a learning opportunity but still making a couple bucks a week. She asked if I could come back this spring and we've been installing 3 days a week so far. It pretty much turned into a full time job working 3 12hr days haha. Its a hell of a lot less stressful than real estate plus I feel great, a lot more energy.


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## begreen (May 7, 2010)

Has she had to do any load analysis on the rooftop installations?


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## BucksCoBernie (May 7, 2010)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Has she had to do any load analysis on the rooftop installations?



We just design and install. Its up to the owner to get a roofer out there and protect the roof. Everything is done before we come in and start planting.


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## fossil (May 7, 2010)

Does your design/installation work involve the planters themselves (the "hardware")?  Making them watertight?  And the watering/irrigation?  Cool stuff!  Rick


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## BucksCoBernie (May 7, 2010)

fossil said:
			
		

> Does your design/installation work involve the planters themselves (the "hardware")?  Making them watertight?  And the watering/irrigation?  Cool stuff!  Rick



We help the client pick out planters if needed. You dont want planters watertight.....soggy soil is bad. We make sure the planters drain well. We do some irrigation work if needed.


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## fossil (May 7, 2010)

Well, yeah, of course...I know that much, anyway.  Bad choice of words on my part.  The planters need to drain, and that drainage needs to be collected and directed to someplace off the roof.  So it's up to the owners to get that all in place (according to your design guidance), and then you come in & plant...am I beginning to understand?  Rick


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## kenny chaos (May 8, 2010)

Now there's a respectable job.
Good for you.


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## Hogwildz (May 8, 2010)

You shoulda scratched your nuts a few times while the camera was rolling.


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## BucksCoBernie (May 8, 2010)

fossil said:
			
		

> Well, yeah, of course...I know that much, anyway.  Bad choice of words on my part.  The planters need to drain, and that drainage needs to be collected and directed to someplace off the roof.  So it's up to the owners to get that all in place (according to your design guidance), and then you come in & plant...am I beginning to understand?  Rick



All the roofs we've worked on have been flat with a slight pitch into one corner and there is a drain in the corner. the owners have a roofer install a waterproof membrane on the surface and make sure the water drains correctly before we get there.


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## renewablejohn (May 13, 2010)

Jags said:
			
		

> Hey - that was only 2 min. and 10 seconds.  You got gypped.
> 
> I think the idea of roof top gardens is awesome.



I dont know whether the River Cottage series has crossed the pond yet but we were filmed for our Landshare project for 3 days and I think the final tape is approx 45 seconds but then they keep doing a remix for later programmes


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## Jags (May 13, 2010)

renewablejohn said:
			
		

> Jags said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



John, is roof top gardens a big thing over there?  It seems to be a "new" and upcoming trend here, but I know your city dwellers over there are usually a resourceful bunch.


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## renewablejohn (May 18, 2010)

Jags

Roof gardens have been around a long time in our cities. One of the more famous

http://www.roofgardens.virgin.com


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