G-SKY | Planning | Maintenance

Inspection Checklist		Recommend- ations	Necessary Action	Grade 1 (Low)	Grade 2 (Mid)	Grade 3 (High)	Grade 4 (Full)

				G-SKY-T G-SKY-N G-SKY-L	G-SKY-L-100
						Sky Garden GR-S
	Check Green Roof edges for physical damage, water seepage, membrane peeling, etc		Repair all damage without delay.	3 Visits Mar/Apr June Sept/Oct	4 Visits Mar/Apr May/June Jul/Aug Sept/Oct	6 Visits Mar/Apr May June July Aug Sep/Oct	12 Visits
	Outside Green Roof area check for physical damage, water seepage, membrane peeling, etc
	Check for root penetration into the roof membrane	Remove roots and invading plant species
	Check for accumulation of fallen leaves, mud, soil and weeds in the drain.	Remove and clean
	Check for accumulation of fallen leaves, mud, soil and weeds in the drain.	Remove and clean
	Check for weeds growing among the plants	Remove by chemical or by hand
	Check plant growth condition. Are the plants healthy?		Fertilize and/or complimentary planting
	Check for dead plants	If negligible, remove dead plants	Remove and replant with a different species
	Check for signs of disease or pest damage		Chemical spray or introduce a predator
	Check soil depth for erosion and for signs of soil overflow at retention walls	Add erosion controls	Supplement the soil base
	Check for un-controlled or over-growth	Prune and train	Remove excess plant material
	Are there any additional concerns?
	Top Dressing	As required
	Fertilizing	As required
	Mowing	As required
	Check for thatch buildup	Rake and aerate
	Check for moss buildup	Apply a lawn sand or moss inhibitor.
	Accumulation of fallen leaves, mud, soil deposits, or weeds?	Remove and clean		3~4 visits / year (1x before first frost, 1x in spring to inititalize system, 1~2x during the hot season. If long periods of drought occur, additional checks should be scheduled)
	Check for blocks or breaks in the irrigation hose	Inspect the line flushing valve	Exchange faulty irrigation timers, moisture sensors and valves with new ones
	Check to make sure the electromagnetic value is operating properly	Perform a general operation test
	Check for problems with the filter, low-volume control and pressure regulator	Perform a general operation test
	Check for problems with the air/vacuum relief valve and line flushing valve	Perform a general operation test
	Check for problems with the timer, power, battery system and moisture sensor (if installed)	Perform a general operation test
	Check to ensure the irrigation timing or moisture sensor is set correctly for proper health growth	Make proper adjustments
	Is the water faucet operating correctly?	Perform a general operation test	Exchange faulty hose bibs and modify schedule to suit plant health
	Is the watering schedule being upheld and properly executed?	Discuss with maintenance manager

Maintenance Grades & Green Roof Systems Categories		Grade 1		Grade 2		Grade 3		Grade 4
		G-SKY-T G-SKY-N G-SKY-L Sedum Green Roofs				Sky Garden GR-S Systems
				G-SKY-L-100 Grand Plant System (depends on plant selection)
		m²	ft²	m²	ft²	m²	ft²	m²	ft²
up to 100m²		$525/yr	$525/yr	$850/yr	$850/yr	$1300/yr	$1300/yr	$2600/yr	$2600/yr
150m²~200m²		$4.50	$0.42	$13.75	$1.28	$20.75	$1.93	$41.25	$3.83
200m²~400m²		$3.50	$0.33	$13.00	$1.21	$19.00	$1.77	$37.75	$3.51
More than 400m²		$2.75	$0.26	$10.50	$0.98	$17.25	$1.60	$34.25	$3.18
N o t e s	Schedule	3 times/year		4 times/year		6 times/year		12 times/year
	Fertilization	Once a year ($0.85/m², $0.08/ft²)		Once a year ($0.85/m², $0.08/ft²)		As required ($0.85/m², $0.08/ft²)		As required ($0.85/m², $0.08/ft²)
Many maintenance tasks can be undertaken by regular maintenance staff, such as watering and weeding resulting in a significant reduction in overall maintenance costs. The above prices are based on visits by 1) a professional landscaper, 2) irrigation maintenance specialist and 3) a roofing inspector. A single visit by each professional consitutes a single maintenance instance in the above chart.

Maintenance Management & Insurance
Caring for a Green Roof is quite different than caring for a regular garden or landscaped area. Irrigation systems, pruning and fertilization requirements are not the same and require special knowledge to properly care for them. A Green Roof requires regular check-ups to determine what work should be performed and when. While learning how to maintain the plants, perform pruning and fertilization schedules for a Green Roof is not difficult for a professional gardener, the building details such as waterproof membrane checks and drainage system maintenance is outside their scope of knowledge. It is, therefore, required, for insurance purposes, that a trained roof inspection professionals, irrigation professionals and gardening professionals perform Green Roof check-ups and work with other maintenance personnel to ensure that it is properly maintained

Scheduled Inspections & Insurance
In order to properly insure a Green Roof, the properly trained professionals are required to perform scheduled inspections on an annual basis. These inspections assess the work that needs to be performed on the Green Roof, such as pruning, grass cutting, fertilization, weeding, weed killer spraying, preventing insect damage and breeding, treating disease problems, applying lawn topdressing, lawn aeration, lawn pressure spread and release, tree support checks, transplanting, irrigation, waterproof membrane protection measures, waterproof membrane repairs, etc. Regular site inspections will ensure that expensive problems such as plant overgrowth (that can severely damage a building) and over-breeding of damaging insects does not occur. If these problems are detected late, solving the problems will become more difficult and expensive. For example, if insects are allowed to breed out of control unchecked, removal can become extremely difficult and very costly. However, if problems like insects are detected early, simple, low-cost, environmentally-friendly removal options can be explored (such as introducing a natural predator, removing them by hand, or removing the plants on which they feed), if detected late, environmentally friendly options will be limited and the use of expensive, complicated and environmentally-damaging products may be required in order to protect the greater asset, the building.

The Four Green Roof Management Principles

Initial Planting Management: Monitoring the Green Roof during the first year after installation is vital to its success. Frequent weeding is required to prevent the plants from being smothered out and proper watering schedules must be strictly followed.
Life-Cycle Management: During the life of a Green Roof, three maintenance principles must be applied to ensure a successful and healthy installation.

Protection: Protect the plants from disease and pests to ensure a high survival rate.
Training: Continued and up-to-date training for maintenance personnel to empower them to perform regular and proper maintenance, irrigation and fertilization, ensuring a healthy Green Roof.
Control: Keeping the growth of the plants under control through pruning and cutting will maintain a good-looking and well kept garden while at the same time protect the building from damage.

Obstacle Management: New development will continually introduce new obstacles for the Green Roof over the life-cycle of the building. For example, the installation of a new tower beside the building would cause shade and changed wind patterns that could be disastrous for a Green Roof. Proper transplanting and planning must be performed to ensure a healthy Green Roof.
Upgrade Management: Replacing damaged plants with healthy plants, removing damaging insects, preventing disease, root cutting, transplanting, soil supplements, soil exchanges, etc must be performed to ensure the plants environment remains healthy and conducive to a high rate of survival.