Baltimore – June 30, 2015. Furbish Releases White Paper on Stormwater Management Solution EcoCline: Strong outcome for using mineral wool in green roofs to reduce runoff
Furbish, an innovative living systems company specializing in green roofs, today announced its release of Mineral Wool In Green Roofs, an extensive study on the efficacy of mineral wool in a green roof profile to manage stormwater.
The paper highlights various phases of Furbish’s R & D for technology currently being used in over 500,000 sf. of green roofs between Delaware and Virginia. It documents what has led to its current stormwater runoff solution: EcoCline.
The Eastern United States averages 3 ft. of rainfall a year. Although we need the rain, mismanaged runoff strains municipal drain systems, causes soil erosion, pollutes water bodies, and ultimately costs billions of dollars. Green roofs are an effective and increasingly common tool in storm water management.
For decades, mineral wool has been used to insulate buildings, but Furbish, known for its unorthodox approach to living systems engineering, has another use for it: highly efficient green roofs. Mineral wool is extremely stable. It’s lightweight and environmentally safe. It’s extraordinarily absorbent- holding up to 94% of its own volume in water. There are highly functioning green roof installations using mineral wool over 30 years old, still performing as designed with no evidence of deterioration.
There are two essential functions in a green roof: holding rainfall and growing plants. EcoCline separates the two functions using dedicated materials for each. An ordinary 8-inch thick green roof weighing almost 60 lbs. per SF can hold two inches of rainfall. Furbish EcoCline is less than four inches thick and has documented equivalent rainfall capacity in less than 30 lbs. per SF. EcoCline is engineered to maximize stormwater capacity and minimize waste. It’s low maintenance and resolves concerns of overbearing weight on roofs on lightweight structures like warehouses, vastly increasing the potential market for installations. Read the full report at www.mineralwoolingreenroofs.com. For more information about Furbish products and services, visit www.furbishco.com.
Furbish is a living systems company based in Baltimore, Maryland that researches, engineers and manufactures systems for green roofs, walls and retaining walls. Furbish services commercial building owners, architects and developers throughout the eastern U.S. region. The company has three brands: EcoCline, BioWall and SmartSlope.
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