a:28:{s:9:"weblog_id";s:1:"2";s:8:"entry_id";s:0:"";s:6:"sticky";s:0:"";s:14:"allow_comments";s:1:"n";s:16:"allow_trackbacks";s:1:"n";s:10:"entry_date";s:19:"2008-07-14 08:26 PM";s:15:"expiration_date";s:0:"";s:23:"comment_expiration_date";s:0:"";s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;s:2:"15";}s:9:"author_id";s:1:"2";s:6:"status";s:4:"open";s:14:"trackback_urls";s:0:"";s:18:"versioning_enabled";s:1:"y";s:5:"title";s:43:"Tom Suter Creates Beauty \"Up on the Roof\"";s:9:"url_title";s:39:"tom_suter_creates_beauty_up_on_the_roof";s:6:"submit";s:6:"Submit";s:10:"field_id_5";s:44:"Tom Suter Creates Beauty \"Up on the Roof\" ";s:10:"field_ft_5";s:4:"none";s:10:"field_id_9";s:184:"In early July a dedication ceremony was held in an unlikely location - the rooftop of a two-story storefront at the corner of Marconi and Bischoff in the Hill neighborhood of the city.";s:10:"field_ft_9";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_13";s:0:"";s:10:"field_id_7";s:34:"Suter, Shield Systems, roof, green";s:10:"field_ft_7";s:4:"none";s:10:"field_id_8";s:4053:"<p>Tom Suter Creates Beauty \"Up on the Roof\" <br /><br />\"When this old world starts getting me down<br />And people are just too much for me to face<br />I climb way up to the top of the stairs<br />And all my cares just drift right into space<br />On the roof, it\'s peaceful as can be<br />And there the world below can\'t bother me...\"<br /><br />From the song \"Up on the Roof\" by Gerry&nbsp; Coffin and Carole King<br /><br />In early July a dedication ceremony was held in an unlikely location - the rooftop of a two-story storefront at the corner of Marconi and Bischoff in the Hill neighborhood of the city.&nbsp; Attending was St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. The roof was blessed by Father Vincent Bommarito of St. Ambrose Church. Holding court on a corner of the roof was Hill \"royalty\", Rich LoRusso of LoRusso\'s Cucina<br /><br /><img alt=\"rooftop garden\" class=\"image-left\" height=\"273\" src=\"/images/uploads/rooftop-garden.jpg\" style=\"float: left;\" width=\"240\" />So what brought Mayor Slay, Father Bommarito, and Rich LoRusso up on the roof?&nbsp; Sustainability, technology, and heck of a view all came into play. Tom Suter of Shield Systems, Inc. has transformed the building\'s roof into a garden with a sculpture, flowers, and herbs.<br />&nbsp;<br />Suter has been an architectural representative in the St. Louis area for 30 years, specializing in moisture protection. His product lines include below-grade waterproofing, sealers for masonry and concrete, waterproofing systems for plaza decks and garden roofs, traffic membrane systems for concrete exposed to vehicular or pedestrian traffic and a full range of exterior and interior expansion joints.<br /><br />About nine years ago Suter bought a boarded-up tavern in the Hill neighborhood. Doing much of the work himself, he has restored the building into offices for his own company, a salon, a caterer and two apartments on the second floor. The rooftop garden serves as both a demonstration center for a green roof system developed by CETCO, a line that Suter reps, and as a tenant amenity. <br /><br />The lightweight assembly allows the 2\" X 12\" roof timbers to carry five inches of lightweight growing medium. The first task in installing the green roof system was to remove the existing built-up roof and add decking to receive CETCO hot, rubberized, fluid-applied CETCO waterproofing. Ninety mils of hot rubber membrane was reinforced with scrim cloth. A second coat of hot rubber at 125 mils was then applied and a protection course was placed in the curing rubber. <br /><br />To increase energy efficiency two inches of Dow Styrofoam was placed over the entire deck area. On the non-garden area, CETCO pedestals were then used to level the deck area. In the pathway areas, precise Wausau pavers were placed directly on the pedestals in a similar manner to that used for raised computer flooring. <br /><br />On the garden sections of the roof a heavy polyethylene roof bock material was installed, followed by the Dow Styrofoam covered by a reinforced scrim to help with loading. <br />CETCO Aquadrain - an eggcrate-shaped material with cups that collect and store irrigation and rain water - was then placed on top of the scrim and covered with four inches of engineered soil, a lightweight material filled with organics. <br /><br /><img alt=\"finished garden\" class=\"image-left\" height=\"124\" src=\"/images/uploads/Finish-Garden-5_1.jpg\" style=\"float: left;\" width=\"185\" />\"From an educational viewpoint I wanted a living a garden and an exhibit to be able to show architects and owners CETCO Greenscapes roof systems,\" Suter said. \"And I wanted my tenants to be able to enjoy the space.\" <br /><br />Suter said that the both the commercial and residential tenants are enjoying the views and quiet afforded by the garden. The herbs are actually used in the catering business.&nbsp; <br /><br />A plaque on the roof dedicates the garden to Suter\'s mother, Theresa Suter, who died just before the dedication ceremony.<br />&nbsp;</p>";s:11:"field_id_42";s:34:"/images/uploads/rooftop-garden.jpg";s:11:"field_id_43";s:0:"";s:11:"field_ft_43";s:4:"none";s:10:"category_0";s:2:"15";}