Chicagoland Roofing Council Leads in New Technology
The Chicagoland Roofing Council Contractors have been leaders in the industry for over 135 years. The Low Sloped Roof Concept was invented in Chicago. Then, the use of a Gravel Surfaced Built-Up-Roof originated in Chicago to prevent fire spread from building to building through the gravel topping. Both innovations were a result of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Chicagoland Roofing Council Professional Contractors installed Chicago's first Vegetative Garden Roof on Chicago's City Hall in 2000, starting a trend that has caught on throughout North America.
Since then, millions of square feet of Vegetative Garden Roofs have been installed. The CRC Contractors have also installed photovoltaic and solar thermal panels on rooftops working in conjunction with electrical and piping contractors to bring building owner and managers rooftop energy harvesting.
The Chicagoland Roofing Council conducts and funds research projects on subjects to provide the building owner and manager, design, specification and the professional roofing contractors in the roofing industry communities the value they expect to get day in and day out from CRC Contractors.
Silica Dust and Roofing
There are new regulations for exposure to silica dust on roofing project sites. CRC provided funding to the National Roofing Contractors Association for researching silica exposures and OSHA's requirements.
Structural Lightweight Concrete Research
The Chicagoland Roofing Council has provided funding for research, together with NRCA and others to SRI, Inc., for research on the effects of drying, moisture content, insulation facer selection and more over Structural Lightweight Concrete Roof Decks. This research is vital to understanding the results of installing roofs over concrete roof decks and how performance is affected by the substrate.
Vegetative Garden Roofs, Ballasted Roofs, Reflective Roofs
Chicagoland Roofing Council Contractors researched the performance of reflective, ballasted and garden roofs to provide information to the Chicago Energy Code Development Process. Check out the Chicago Energy Code and see the requirements.
Photovoltaic Panel Research
The Chicagoland Roofing Council has provided Funding to Technical and Research (T&R) Committee of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association, (MRCA) for PV research. The T&R Committee is researching the performance of Photovoltaic (PV) Panels integrated into the roof membrane at a facility in Kansas. In addition to PV energy monitoring, the project is studying the effects of the dark black panels on various roof membrane performance and longevity. SRI, Inc., is providing a web portal to view performance of the MRCA PV Project.