If replacing a rock-ballasted roof with an ENERGY STAR rated roof membrane, would you include all the roofing materials (including ENERGY STAR rated membrane, insulation, adhesives) into the MR Cr 3 facility alterations calculator? Would the roofing membrane qualify as a sustainable purchase for facility alterations?
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11474 thumbs up
February 17, 2010 - 4:51 pm
Chris, what criterion were you hoping to use to qualify the Energy Star roofing membrane for this credit? I just reviewed the credit requirements and I don't see a provision that would allow this.
I think your better bet is try to earn SSc7.2.
I'm curious—I thought that Energy Star rated membranes that were light colored—cool roofs. Does it really jive to have an Energy Star light-colored membrane with rock ballast?
Chris Munn
Director, National OperationsChelsea Group, Ltd.
125 thumbs up
February 17, 2010 - 10:14 pm
No, we are removing the rock ballast and reusing it at another site for landscaping. We are hoping to help achieve MR Cr9 by doing this. The Energy Star roof is now going to be just a solid white. The adhesive and bonding materials being used to attach the new roof all qualify as low-VOC. Therefore we were hoping to use these materials for MR Cr3. However, if we must include the roofing and insulation in MR Cr3 as construction materials, and these materials are not compliant, then that could completely throw our percentages off, since the roof would obviously be the bulk of the cost.
Jenny Carney
Vice PresidentWSP
LEEDuser Expert
657 thumbs up
February 22, 2010 - 9:33 am
Hi Chris, In my opinion you would definitely need to include the purchased roofing materials in the MRc3 calculations. The membrane wouldn't qualify as compliant just based on its SRI value, but would have to meet one of the sustainability criteria established in that credit's requirement. Recycled content, maybe, would be a possibility?
Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
February 26, 2010 - 2:41 pm
Folks - I'm not confident the roof replacement should be included in MRc3. The EBOM Ref Guide front matter notes that alterations and additions "refers to changes that affect usable space in the building. Mechanical, electrical or plumbing system upgrades that involve no disruption to usable space are excluded."
Jenny Carney
Vice PresidentWSP
LEEDuser Expert
657 thumbs up
March 2, 2010 - 1:26 pm
Fair enough, Dan. But I think this is a case where there's a few difference conflicting definitions. The MRc3 credit requirements state that it covers materials that are "base building elements permanently or semipermanently attached to the building itself." Based on this, a roof would definitely qualify.
I think both this definition and the one in the front of the Reference Guide could both use a little tweaking to be more expansive - if you consider the analogous credits in NC, everything but MEP is basically included, including materials used on the exterior of the structure, like the roof, facade or semiattached structures (e.g., canopy or trellis materials in an exterior seating area).
Maybe the project team should use a CIR if they can't tolerate the risk associated with not knowing for certain how this fits into the calcs, or based on the intent of the credit, just explain the special circumstances in the LEED form and see how the reviewer reacts.