Spring planting was a tall order on Lancaster's East Fulton Street. It took place about 25 feet up.

And rather than your typical crops or garden-variety plants, landscapers working on the new National Novelty Brush Co. building spread cuttings from sedums onto a coconut fiber mat.

The small, plump water-sucking sedums are expected to root there, transforming the top of the warehouse into Lancaster's first "green roof."

National Novelty, 505 E. Fulton St., may be the first, but it won't be the last to sprout atop the city. Four other buildings are in line to get vegetation-topped roofs under a state grant program.

Rick Seavey, president and CEO of National Novelty Brush, said he was taking a long-term view when he invested in the technology that is new to the area. Seavey's company makes plastic bottle caps, some with attached brushes such as those for fingernail polish.

"I've been reading about it for a long time," Seavey said. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."

The green roof, with plants growing in a sandy soil spread on drainage matting, is expected to insulate in the winter, keep the building cool in summer and soak up rain that falls on the 18,000-square-foot area.

It also is expected to protect the rubber roof underneath the soil, making the 25-year-roof last about 75 years.

"All this technology is not new. It's been around for 25 years in Germany," said Seavey, who had to import the drainage matting, made from recycled car seats, from the Netherlands.

Although not the first area to use it, Lancaster County still can get in on the cutting edge of it in North America, said Mary Gattis-Schell.

Gattis-Schell, senior environmental planner with the Lancaster County Planning Commission, said county companies can get environmental benefits from installing green roofs.

But she also said other companies — such as landscapers, plant nurseries, roofers and construction companies — can carve out a niche for themselves or at least expand their businesses by adopting green technology.

Gattis-Schell led the county's efforts to secure a $479,333 state grant to create 79,000 square feet of green roof in urban areas. Those roofs will become showpieces for the pilot program, where planners, business owners and construction industry officials can see how the technology works.

She and fellow county planner Mike Domin will host a June 5 workshop for contractors and commercial building owners interested in green roofs.

Gattis-Schell said the high cost likely will dissuade homeowners from installing them. They are suitable for large, flat roofs that are sufficiently strong to hold the additional weight of the soil and the water the plants and soil will hold.

Besides the cost of installing the green roof, Seavey's company had to construct its warehouse building — about a $1.5 million project — to hold the additional weight. They tested it by pumping a foot of water onto the roof.

But it offset the cost by not excavating the site to create a drainage area underneath the warehouse as it did in a previous project.

Black rubber roofs can reach 180 degrees in the summer, Seavey said. That creates a "heat island" effect in the city. Green roofs don't get above 85 degrees. He estimated it will save the company 25 percent of its energy costs.

For the community, green roofs improve air quality, create a habitat for birds and insects and help provide cleaner water by reducing pollutants flushed into streams and rivers by stormwater, said Gattis-Schell.

She estimated the cost of a green roof at $15 to $20 a square foot. A rubber roof alone runs about $4, she said.

The grant money is providing $5 per square foot to Seavey and the other companies trying the technology.

Along with National Novelty, the Lancaster County Roof Greening Project also will put vegetation atop the Bare Building, the former city public safety building at 202 N. Duke St.; the Box Company Flats, a residential condominium building at 225 E. Grant St.; Penn Stone, 190 W. Ross St.; and Two Dudes Painting, 744 Poplar St.

Gattis-Schell said the pilot program wants to add a non-profit building and a government building to the list of examples. More information is available from Gattis-Schell at 299-8333 or Fritz Schroeder at 669-5990.


Staff writer Bernard Harris can be reached at bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022.