So, I promised to elaborate on my last post and provide a more detailed explanation of what’s going on. Also, I realize this is a little delayed but I had to write a huge paper, a copy of which will be attached in the next update. Anyway…
Monday morning I requested the services of Mr. Whitmyer to examine the internal piping and draining systems of the Colburn building to determine the structure and dimensions of the pipes. After getting the necessary data, i met with Professor Shine to plan the next course of action. We decided that we need to construct a lab system design to mirror that of the roof’s drainage system. The design we agreed upon consisted of a 3 inch PVC pipe inside a 4 inch PVC pipe, with the 4 inch pipe being representative of the drain. Why do we need to create a mock up of the system instead of testing the actual drain you may ask? Well, due to very stringent restrictions on roof access, I would need to acquire clearance from many different groups of people to be able to step foot on the roof. Because some of these people are very important and busy, and worried about the roof’s safety, odds are I would not get permission to access the roof. This is frustrating because even though I was able to acquire some of the measurements from inside the building, they are nowhere as thorough or concise as they would be if I had just five minutes of roof access. I just need to insert the pipe to determine the vertical distance of the drain and measure the pipes’ diameter. The measurements I obtained with George’s help only give me details about distance of roof to tile; I have no way of knowing how thick the ceiling is. So, instead we are setting up the system in a lab and testing it. If it works, then once the green roof project is well underway, we will be able to apply the calculations to the real thing…I just hope the measurements are credible…
On Wednesday, I was finally introduced to the staff that has been working on the green roof since last year. After Jenn and I were formally introduced, there was a short presentation about possible designs and the staff discussed possible monetary issues, grants, needs for further improvements, and future projects. I did not realize how much cooperation and effort went into a project of such magnitude. It was truly shocking to see how many people approval had to go through and how much time all this took. Project such as this really test an engineer’s ability to cooperate and work well with others…
I also got started on the lab system by going to Lowe’s for the necessary supplies. We bought PVC, PVC cement, screw caps for the pipes, etc…Looking forward to starting the lab part of project soon…
