Accessing the roof, and safety while cleaning, can be issues for some buildings. If necessary, contract with a roof-cleaning service to conduct regular roof maintenance and cleaning. Your project team can also consult with the roofing manufacturer for advice on cleaning your building’s roof.

Many buildings don’t have an official procedure for roof cleaning, so this will need to be established. If you are attempting SSc2: Building Exterior and Hardscape Management Plan, you can add this task as part of that plan.

For SRI-compliant roofs, implement a maintenance program to ensure that the roof is cleaned at least every two years to maintain its reflective properties.

Determine the load-bearing capacity of the building before investigating different vegetated roofing types. Consider these issues: 

the weight of the system, 
maintenance issues and access, 
upfront and long-term costs, 
and irrigation needs.

Vegetated roofs consist of layers that are generally installed as a layered system or all at once as a set of interlocking trays: 

waterproofing membrane, 
root barrier, 
drainage layer, 
lightweight soil or engineered growing medium, 
and vegetation.

Vegetated roofs are less often pursued due to a number of factors, including the structural capacity of the roof, the local climate, and cost. However, green roofs can also have a number of other environmental benefits beyond heat-island mitigation. These include stormwater management (SSc6), wildlife habitat (SSc5), and increased roof life, which can lead to capital costs savings in the long term. See LEEDuser’s green roof strategy page for more information.

Though coatings are available to increase the SRI value of a non-compliant roof, this strategy is not often pursued. This may be due in part to the cost of cool-roof coatings, which can run from $0.75–$1.50 per square foot. Teams should consider the payback from reduced cooling costs when considering this option.

High-SRI coatings tend to work best on low-sloped roofs, and non-metallic coatings provide the best reduction in roof heat gain.

If roof replacement is not necessary, project teams can investigate coatings that are applied to a roof retroactively to increase the SRI value.

Most buildings in this circumstance will already have money allocated for roof replacement, and compliant roofing materials are consistently cost-neutral or cost-competitive compared with more conventional options.