Gale Helps the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Determine Feasibility of Installing a Green Roof

Herter Hall is located on the central campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMA). The existing roof systems on this building have reached their useful service life and are potentially contributing to moisture intrusion into the building.

Since the roof systems need to be replaced, UMA (in their ongoing effort to "green" their campus) is considering installing vegetated roof assemblies. UMA has asked Gale to determine the feasibility of this endeavor.

Gale first performed an in-depth evaluation of the current roofs and structural systems to determine if they can support the additional loads of a vegetated roof system. We then wrote a report that detailed the options for various vegetated roof assemblies (i.e. intensive vs. extensive) and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Our report also specified the structural limitations they were facing and the maintenance that would need to be performed if they do install vegetated roof assemblies.