The Rooftop Solutions Grease Guard Introduction

NOTE: This information is subject to change. I will do my best to keep it up to date. Your help would be appreciated.

The roof on a building is often considered the largest investment in the building process.  In this industry the term “as long as you have a roof over your head” is taken to literal extremes. There are a myriad of companies that will be on any given rooftop providing service to make sure that investment is well protected. Everything from the roof membrane itself to the equipment on the roof is covered by a company that provides preventative maintenance in order to keep things as pristine as possible. It is vital to facility management to make sure the rooftops are well protected at all times. With the elements, grease, wear and tear, service errors, service gaps, and whole list of things can go wrong, the job of keeping a rooftop pristine takes a lot of time, energy, intelligence, experience, and the ability to save money.

With this in mind it is important that you know what Rooftop Solutions offers in this ever-growing industry. It is also important for you to know how our products and services work, and why they are superior to other companies providing similar products and services.

Rooftop Solutions has a variety of products and services designed to coordinate and bundle service programs as efficiently as possible. Most of these products and services pertain to rooftop preventative maintenance. Most of these products and services are of a forward thinking with price, quality, environment, and impact all taken into consideration. What we offer is something that you can stand by.  What we offer is something that truly is a solution.  

The G2 Grease Guard Rooftop Grease Containment System is the most superior on roof grease protection equipment on the market today. With over 20 years of R&D and extensive product testing, our UL Listing does not lie. The Grease Guard is on tens of thousands of rooftops nationwide. So what is it? Really? Well in order to answer that question, you must first understand a little bit about our biggest enemy, grease. NO NOT THE MOVIE JOHN TRAVOLTA!

From the Encyclopedia Britannica:

“Grease - thick, oily lubricant consisting of inedible lard, the rendered fat of waste animal parts, or petroleum-derived or synthetic oil containing a thickening agent.

White grease is made from inedible hog fat and has a low content of free fatty acids. Yellow grease is made from darker parts of the hog and may include parts used to make white grease. Brown grease contains beef and mutton fats as well as hog fats. Fleshing grease is the fatty material trimmed from hides and pelts. Bone grease, hide grease, and garbage grease are named according to their origin. In some factories, food offal is used along with animal carcasses, butcher-shop scraps, and garbage from restaurants for recovery of fats.

Greases of mineral or synthetic origin consist of a thickening agent dispersed in a liquid lubricant such as petroleum oil or a synthetic fluid. The thickening agent may be soap, an inorganic gel, or an organic substance. Other additives inhibit oxidation and corrosion, prevent wear, and change viscosity. The fluid component is the more important lubricant for clearances between parts that are relatively large, but for small clearances the molecular soap layers provide the lubrication.

Synthetic grease may consist of synthetic oils containing standard soaps or may be a mixture of synthetic thickeners, or bases, in petroleum oils. Silicones are greases in which both the base and the oil are synthetic. Synthetic greases are made in water-soluble and water-resistant forms and may be used over a wide temperature range. The synthetics can be used in contact with natural or other rubbers because they do not soften these materials.

Special-purpose greases may contain two or more soap bases or special additives to gain a special characteristic. “

Alright, now you have a definition and a general idea of where it comes from, but why would it matter if it was on our roof? Well, what types of roofs are there? What is a roof made of?

According to the NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association) the different types of roofs are as follows:

Roof systems and materials generally are divided into generic classifications: low slope and steep slope. Low slope roofing includes water impermeable, or weatherproof, types of roof membranes installed on slopes less than or equal to 3:12 (14 degrees). Steep slope roofing includes water shedding types of roof coverings installed on slopes exceeding 3:12 (14 degrees). 

Low-slope roofing

There are five generic classifications of low slope roof membranes or systems.

·         Built-up roof (BUR) membranes

·         Metal panel roof systems for low-slope applications

• Polymer-modified bitumen sheet membranes
• Single-ply membranes
• Thermoplastic membranes (e.g., PVC, TPO)
• Thermoset membranes (e.g., EPDM)
• Spray polyurethane foam-based (SPF) roof systems

Most low-slope roof membranes have three principle components:

• Weatherproofing layer or layers — the weatherproofing component is the most important element because it keeps water from entering a roof assembly.
• Reinforcement — reinforcement adds strength, puncture resistance and dimensional stability to a membrane.
• Surfacing — surfacing is the component that protects the weatherproofing and reinforcement from sunlight and weather. Some surfacings provide other benefits such as increased fire resistance, improved traffic and hail resistance, and increased solar reflectivity.

With some roof membranes, a component may perform more than one function.

Steep-slope roofing

there are six generic classifications of steep slope roof coverings.

·         Asphalt shingles

·         Clay tile and concrete tile

• Metal roof systems for steep-slope applications
• Slate
• Wood shakes and wood shingles
• Synthetic

Steep-slope roof systems typically are composed of individual pieces or components installed in shingle fashion. Steep-slope roof assemblies typically consist of three primary parts:

• Roof deck — a roof deck is the structural substrate and usually is a wood-based material such as plywood or oriented strand board (OSB).
• Underlayment — underlayment provides temporary protection until a roof covering is installed and provides a secondary weatherproofing barrier. Sometimes underlayment is referred to as "felt" or "paper."
• Roof covering — the roof covering is the external water shedding material.

So what are these roofs made of?  Wiki says it best:

Synthetic Rubber (Thermoset) – This type of membrane roof is made of large, flat pieces of synthetic rubber or similar materials. These pieces are welded together at the seams to form one continuous membrane. The finished roof’s thickness is usually between 30 and 60 mils(thousandths of an inch) (.75mm to 1.5mm). Other types of related materials are CSPE, CR, and ECR.^[2]

Thermoplastic Membrane – This is also similar to synthetic rubber, but the seams do not form a continuous membrane. The 'lap' seams are bonded (melted or dissolved) with heat or solvents, and can be as strong as the rest of the membrane. Other related materials are CPA, CPE, EIP, NBP, PIB, and TPO.^[2]

Modified Bitumen – This type of roofing is an evolution of asphalt roofing. It is made from asphalt and a variety of modifiers and solvents. There are several ways of connecting pieces of this material. In a heat application process the seams are heated to melt the asphalt together and create a seal. There is also a cold-applied adhesive application process, and some self-adhesive forms of this system. This material is also referred to as APP or SBS.^[3]

High quality synthetic rubber membranes such as Prelasti EPDM rubber can be used for creating a roof. This involves placing soil and plants on the membrane roof, which helps to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Now you understand about roof types and what a roof is made of. You also understand grease and what it is made of. So why do we not want to two together?

As you read grease is a mixture of an animal byproduct or synthetic material with a thickening agent, usually soap. In order to understand why FOG’s (Fats, oils, and greases) are bad for rubber roofs is all about acids. Remember this in high school? Acids and bases?

The grease is neither acidic nor basic. Whilst the thickener is made by reacting a fatty acid (e.g. stearic acid) with a base such as lithium hydroxide, this forms a neutral soap, so grease should be neutral. However, in order to get the best properties, the grease usually uses a slight excess of base leaving it slightly alkali. Solidified frying oil is actually more neutral when used, but oxygen during the cooking processes creates what is known as acidic oxidation. That basically means when the grease is used in fryers and found on grill tops it becomes acidic from the oxygen in the air.

Basically, Acids don’t react well with rubber. The acids actually break down the polymers of isoprene units in the roofing membranes and cause them to harden and erode. Along with exposure to the elements of nature, the roof can easily become damaged.

So wait? How does grease get onto the roof in the first place?

Grease, much like water, can vaporize at high temperatures. This vapor rises up with the heat from the cooking surface or fryer because as we all know, heat rises. During the building process, a hood and exhaust system is put in place to draw the heat and smoke from the cooking processes out of the building safely. Who wants to eat at a hot restaurant filled with smoke? As that heat rises and gets carried into the exhaust system, the vaporized grease goes with it. As it works its way up the duct work it sticks to every surface it can.  To make matters worse, as the grease vapor cools it re-solidifies back into its original state. Eventually the whole exhaust system is covered in grease.   Some of this grease gets pushed out onto the rooftop via the exhaust fan. This is where grease meets rubber. This is one of the problems the Grease Guard solves. There are a few more that we will discuss a little later.

Now what you need to know here is two things. One, grease is fuel to a fire, and two, regulatory bodies such as the NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency), and most local building/city codes require that you get this ductwork cleaned at least once a month. This is known as kitchen exhaust cleaning or KEC for short. It is an extreme fire hazard to have fuel to a fire right above your cooking surface as you can imagine. What you won’t read in any book is that very few grease producing facilities in the world follow this regulation. Most restaurants have their ductwork cleaned on an 8 or 12 week interval. Sounds dangerous, doesn’t it?  Check out these statistics:

-          Over 98% of all restaurant fires are due in part to kitchen exhaust grease and oil

-          120,000 fires are reported each year and cooking equipment is found to be the culprit

-          Kitchen fires result in 3,660 injuries and 220 deaths per year in the US alone

-          Kitchen fires result in an annual average of  $362 million dollars worth of damage

Now then, are you about to fall asleep? The stats didn’t wake you up? Don’t worry; we have come to the exciting part! The Grease Guard.

 

G2 Grease Guard Rooftop Grease Containment System

As you have probably gathered by now the Grease Guard is a grease collection system that gets built around grease producing exhaust fans to collect fats, oils, greases, and other chemicals and effectively prevents them from damaging rooftops. You can see above what it looks like.

  

In this product overview you will learn everything about this system from how it works to what each piece is made of. You will also learn about the maintenance of a Grease Guard and how our Service Team makes sure these units stay in proper working condition.

Grease Guard Important Points:

Collects Grease – The Grease Guard prevents grease from reaching the membranes of the roofing system. It also prevents grease from getting into the storm drains which can cause blockages in the sewage system. Blockages in the sewage system can lead to floods, sewer fires, and contamination of water supplies. Grease also damages rooftops as we have discussed. This could lead to expensive roof repairs, voided warranties, and a host of other issues.

Fire Retardant – The Grease Guard is fire retardant. This is to ensure that grease collected into the system does not make it a fuel tank. It is also to make sure that if a fire does break out that it does not spread across the roof system. This ensures the safety of the staff inside as well as the neighbors.

Waterproof – There are other containment systems out there. The Grease Guard however is the only one that takes water management into consideration. If you have a bucket collecting grease, what happens when it rains and that bucket overflows? BOOM! Grease on your roof. The Grease Guard allows the successful passage of water without letting a drop of grease out. It is to grease what a sponge is to water. 

Safety – Slip and fall accidents are very dangerous and are happen so frequently they are recorded by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Grease is slippery. If there is grease all over the roof, someone could fall and get hurt climbing up and down a ladder or even worse over the edge of the roof deck. 

Cost Effectiveness – The Grease Guard is an advanced system. This system is being offered at prices lower than ever before to ensure that clients can afford them. While the cost of the units drops, the maintenance for the units stays consistent enough to make it one of the cheapest maintenance programs on the roof. The saying goes it only cost you a cup of coffee a day! 

Experience – The Grease Guard product has been around for almost 20 years! We have revised and reworked the products and services we offer to make sure they fit the industry and the needs of the people. We know the system works. We have millions of instances to prove it!

Other Services Bundled – Because Grease Guard is just one of the services we offer, if we service your Grease Guard we will do the other services for just the cost of parts. We are not going to charge an additional service charge!

Professional Account Management – Our people have been trained and retrained. They know how to engage the customer. They know the products. They know how to devise the solutions needed to solve problems for good. Our sales process provides the client with full account reviews with pictures.

Now let's break down a Grease Guard into individual parts. You need to see just how it works.

Parts:

The Grease Guard is comprised of multiple parts that all play a vital role in its purpose.  

Extrusion – (4) extrusions build the frame of the Grease Guard unit. Each extrusion can be up to 120 inches long, although we tend to cut them down smaller to accommodate for shipping costs and unit sizes. The frames are made from an anodized aluminum that is super strong and light to protect against all forces that may act upon it.

Quick Connect Corner – The quick connect corner connects the extrusions in order to hold the frame together. On the inside of the corner is a locking mechanism that allows the extrusions to be slid into the corner for a quick tight fit. The corners are made of a hard copolymer plastic for durability and survivability.

 

Hold Down Pole – The hold down pole keeps the filter set in place in the frame as well as offers more structural stability for the unit. The hold down poles are connected with a flexible polymer cross connector to make sure the hold down poles remain properly placed.  The hold down pole is made of pultruded fiberglass for flexibility and durability.

 

Flashing/Flashing Corners – The flashing is installed on the base of the fan to ensure that grease is redirected into the containment system. The flashing corners connect the pieces to make sure there is 360 degrees of protection. The flashing is made of a 22 gauge galvanized steel for strength and stability. The flashing corners are made from a hard copolymer plastic for durability and survivability.

 

Filter Media: The Grease Guard filter is the most complex piece of the system and is comprised of multiple layers that each plays a role in the unit’s performance. We will now take a look at the filter system, layer by layer.The top layer is number 1. The bottom layer is number 6.

                  

1 – Top Pre-Filter - A pass-thru, noncombustible, self-extinguishing filter constructed from an open cross-section polymer. Helps to protect the layers underneath from damage and collects thicker greases, oil, and chemicals.

2 – Transfer Layer - Constructed from polyolefin fiber. Designed for quick transfer of oil based fluids to the absorption layers, while repelling rainwater. UV stability protects the absorption layers from damaging sun rays.

3 – Advanced Filter Composite - Constructed from an engineered open cell polyolefin fabric. Over 50 layers of absorbent microfibers wick and contain oil based fluids, while repelling rainwater. Absorption capacity is up to 39 fluid ounces per square foot.

4 – Barrier Layer - Constructed from a closed cell polymeric blend that provides a leak proof barrier.

5 – Bottom Layer - An airflow layer constructed from an open cross section polymer. This layer supports the absorption and security layers while allowing air to circulate throughout the entire filter system.

6 – Fire Shield - A fire-proof barrier that protects the roof & building from any potential exhaust system fire hazards.

Now that you are familiar with the parts of the Grease Guard you need to know a how to define one grease guard from another. Each system can have its own size, shape, and performance level to meet the needs of the application.

XD & XHD – There are two levels of performance the Grease Guard currently offers.

XD -The XD model stands for “Standard Duty”. The standard duty Grease Guard has four layers of AFC grease absorption material built into the filter system. It has an absorption capability of approximately 39 fluid ounces per square foot. The XD is suited for low to moderate levels of FOG production. You will use an XD on most restaurants and low level industrial production facilities.

XHD – The XHD model stands for “Heavy Duty”. The heavy duty Grease Guard has eight layers of AFC grease absorption material built into the filter system. It has an absorption capability of approximately 78 fluid ounces per square foot. The XHD is suited for High levels of FOG production. You will use an XHD on most industrial facilities and some high grease output restaurants.

Sizing – Each grease guard size is defined by the number of inches the unit is (or by level of grease production from the fan). We have instituted standard sizes based on the curb sizes most frequently found in the field. In order for a Grease Guard to be effective the manufacturer recommendation for protection is 15-18 inches on each side of the unit. That would mean, in order to size a Grease Guard correctly, we would need  the OCD’s or outside curb dimensions of the curb the fan is mounted on. Let me explain:

 

Let’s say a curb is 24 inches square. That would be 24x24 inches. In order for containment to be effective we would need 15-18 inches of coverage on each side of the unit. So how do we calculate that? Easy, add 30 inches to the provided curb dimensions. In this case, the math would suggest we need a Grease Guard that is 54x54 inches. Our closest standard size Grease Guard would be our 60x60 inch unit or 5x5 feet. Now what is the model number for a 60x60 inch unit? Let’s take a look:

Is the unit XD or XHD? Let’s say the above example is XD or standard duty. OK. Now what size is the unit? 60x60 correct? So the model number for this unit would be XD60 (only one dimension is used as they are both the same size). If a unit has a curb of 24x36 we would first add 30 inches, 54x66. Our closest standard size unit would be a 60x72 (smaller dimensions always go first). So the model Grease Guard you would need would be our XD60x72. Easy right? A Grease Guard can be designed for any level of protection or size. Our current record is 200x200 feet! For a complete list of standard unit sizes please contact your Account Executive.

 

Drip Guard – There may be cases where a four sided containment system is too much based on the volume of grease coming from a unit. This could be a dry cleaner or pizza making restaurant. There also may be locations who want both four sided and single sided containment. For these instances we have a product called the Drip Guard. The Drip Guard replaces the catch pan that most fan manufacturer’s put on exhaust fans. The Drip Guard has the same exact make up as a Grease Guard, but smaller. See below.

Large & Custom Units – You may encounter a situation where a unit is too large for the extrusion sizes we offer. You may also encounter situations where custom fitting and creative installs are needed to get the job done. For these processes, we have what is called an Extrusion Connector. See below.

The extrusion connector allows for extrusions to be connected at the ends allowing for limitless sizing potential. Make sure to take this into consideration when pricing and submitting orders.

Grease Guard Maintenance

As with anything in this world you need to take care of your Grease Guards to ensure they stay working as they are designed to. Over time the filter media can fill with grease which is very dangerous. Other concerns such as missing hold down poles, missing flashing, bent extrusions, and whole list of other unforeseeable events could happen with a Grease Guard on your roof. It is necessary for the Grease Guard to be checked periodically for these issues.

Rooftop Solutions boasts a National Service Team that is able to access any rooftop with a containment system in the US and make sure to keep it in working order. In this part of the overview we will learn everything there is to know about maintaining a Grease Guard.

Rooftop Solutions currently operates on a quarterly maintenance schedule. Each Service Technician travels a 3 month route that allows them to target all of the locations currently on a maintenance program. This means we service Grease Guards every 3 months! Three months is a perfect frequency for servicing a Grease Guard as in most cases, the unit has not reached its maximum absorption abilities. As new locations are added, Operations makes sure to get those locations in route. We currently guarantee new installs within 45 days of sale plus one day for processing.  You will come to know these technicians over time.

Servicing a Grease Guard

The Grease Guard filter system is sectional in most cases. That means it is cut into sections. See the below diagram.

Here is an XD60 Filter layout. Each side of the unit has its own layers of the filter. This means for one XD60 you would actually need:

(4) 30x60 Whites (Top Layer and Air Flow Layer)

(2) 30x60 Blues (AFC, the Transfer Layer and Barrier Layer are included in the AFC)

(2) 30x60 Fire Shields

This makes servicing a Grease Guard much easier as grease production is typically on one side of a fan. This means we can rotate the filter set if there isn’t much grease on the other side. This also makes replacing individual pieces much easier and much more cost effective.

So what does our Technician do? This is often called our Scope of Work.We will provide the following services:

·         Inspection of the Grease Guard Unit(s) to determine performance and roof protection the unit is providing at the beginning of each service

·         Evaluate the unit(s) have been protected from chemical and waste water from exhaust cleaning services

·         Inspection of unit(s) for any damages or missing parts and materials

·         Replace or rotate parts and materials to ensure optimal performance of the system until the next service interval

·         Check compliancy of NFPA 96 code pertaining to hinges, fan access, grease containment, and cleanliness of inner fan bowl

·         Identify hazards such as exposed wiring, broken equipment, slip fall hazards, loose ladder access, and roof hatch issues

If a Grease Guard is not maintained it will stop working; the grease will overflow onto the rooftop causing a huge mess. The fire retardant parts of the system will be nullified making it a fire hazard. The problem will continue as if a solution was never proposed. This is why it is important to make sure a service agreement is attained with every unit. Service agreements are not required, but someone must be in charge of maintaining the unit or there is no purpose for its purchase.

That’s it! With a little bit of practice and some experience you should know the Grease Guard in and out. Here’s a review of what we covered:

-          What is grease?

-          What are the sales points of the Grease Guard?

-          What types of roofs are there?

-          What are the roofs made of?

-          Why do we want to keep grease off the roof?

-          What is a Grease Guard?

-          How does it work?

-          How/why do we maintain the Grease Guard?

If you have any questions, which you certainly may, please contact me directly. I can answer it all for you. You can email me at Greg.Stark@RooftopSolutions.com or even just call me at 224-293-1061.

Thanks for reading another exciting post. Thanks to all of my sources for their information. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

The Wonders of Polypropylene

You may wonder why I would ever get excited about a thermoplastic polymer popularized in the 1950's.Sometimes I wonder the same thing. The truth is though, once you know more about polypropylene, you will not only be able to spell it without a Google search, you will have a better appreciation for everyday things around us, including rooftop containment systems. It also needs to be realized that many rooftop containment systems in existence currently believe the only thing they need is polypropylene in their systems, and I will prove that just polypropylene or NO polypropylene is a bad idea. Also, there is a whole industry based on sorbents. I will only be discussing the capabilities of polypropylene as it pertains to rooftop containment in this post.

CLICK HERE FOR ONE POLYPROPYLENE MSDS (Material Safety and Data Sheet)

This is going to get very technical very fast, but I will make my best efforts to keep it easy to understand, fun, and, if possible, humorous (I will bring my best thermoplastic polymer jokes). If you want a head start, read this from the Encyclopedia Britannica Online: CLICK HERE.

First, you need some definitions and explanations of polypropylene. Well, you may not NEED it, but it will help appreciate it. I would encourage you to explore on your own as well. : CLICK HERE FOR WIKI.

Propene Molecule

For that, you first need to know about propene, more popularly known as propylene or CAS No. 115-07-1 if you work at Dow Chemical. Yes it is related somewhat to propane for you Hank Hill fans. For those of you Organic Chemistry fans, propene is an unsaturated, organic, double bond, alkene, hydrocarbon. It is one of the most abundant in the natural world. Simply put, it is a plentifully naturally occurring compound made up of carbon and hydrogen that is mostly mined into gas state. It is colorless, smells unpleasant, and is flammable. It is produced from the same animal remains and waste that make fossil fuels. Propylene is the second most important catalyst in the petrochemical industry (next to ethylene) meaning it is used A LOT. Like, 154 billion pounds globally just in 2002. Propene is used in making  films, packaging, caps, enclosures, and more as you will soon read. You can also check out this link to Google Images to see the variety of pictures of propylene objects:


https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=polypropylene&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=764&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=3RQIULHNOsa5rQHujv3eBA#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=propene+products&oq=propene+products&gs_l=img.3...0.0.0.8793.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1c.nT_pp21H6Sg&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=3263aedd0f623abf&biw=1440&bih=764

Polypropylene Molecule

So now the "other part of the word". The "poly" prefix comes from the art of polymerization. This means that the propylene is chemically joined together to form chains. These chains are then joined to make a polymer or "plastic-like" material that can be used to make a variety of different objects.

Polypropylene Pellets

To wrap up the definitions, polypropylene is in the family of polyolefin fibers (polyolefin because it is an unsaturated hydrocarbon made through polymerization, also known as alkene). It a thermoplastic because it becomes mold-able with certain amounts of heat, and then returns to solid state after cooling. This makes it a wonderful material to use in roofing systems, plastic bottles, water filters, and nearly everything that can molded including quite possibly the chair you are sitting in or monitor you are reading from.

Polyolefin Film

As it was developed in the later part of the 1950's, is it any wonder that everything was made of plastic in the 60's? Quite amazing how much it has effected our everyday lives if you think about it really. 

With that, we move on to make some connections. How does any of this apply to rooftop containment? Let's talk medical first. Then the answers will come.

PP (polypropylene), because of its chemical resistance, radiation resistance, and flexibility, it is amazingly well suited for use in hospitals. Everything from hospital beds, face masks, sutures, and even implants may use PP to help prevent infection as well as reduce weight, amongst other things. This is because PP is the lightest of all natural fiber. It also is completely water resistant.  It is these features that sparked interest in PP for grease absorption in other industries.Check here for more medical information on PP:

http://www.touchbriefings.com/pdf/753/mdev02_r_25.pdf

All Can Include Polypropylene...

In many rooftop containment applications, a threaded fiber version of polypropylene, much like the medical version, is used to absorb F.O.G.s of all sorts while allowing the safe passage of water. This is because PP, because it is oil based, is hydrophobic. It does much the same with the whole range of chemicals including butyl acetate, toulene, sulfuric acid, and a long list of others. PP's ability to absorb these chemicals is partly due to the fact it is oil based in nature. That along with the fact it is made into a resin fiber via polymerization only increases its absorption capabilities.This makes it a great filter as these chemicals will go in, but will not be washed out from the rain. Thus rooftop containment was born. I will address more on this in a future post.

Polypropylene Fiber

There are many downsides to using PP in rooftop applications though. This is where other rooftop containment companies need to focus on their design. For one, it is not very UV resistant by itself. Long amounts of sun exposure will erode the chain and degrade the filter. It is also not fire resistant past about 171 degrees Celsius.  90% of all restaurant fires are caused via the exhaust system and reach temperatures of about 1000 degrees Celsius . PP is also susceptible to just about every cleaning chemical around. Anything that can wash or remove grease will nullify the PP's water resistant capabilities. So Just having PP around your exhaust fan will not help. You need something more.

JOIN THE NFPA TODAY AND STAY FIRE SAFE!

SIDE NOTE: In roofing systems that use PP in thermoplastic roofing membranes, it is often coated, mixed, or chemically altered to be more resistant to UV and fire. This version of PP is much more like rubber that can expand and contract with heat giving the roof great durability. Click here for more information.

Despite these downfalls, many companies have found ways to use PP as the main component of their rooftop containment system, including us here at Rooftop Solutions. Some companies just place PP fiber inside a box, others find different ways to incorporate it. Whatever the application, you can pretty much say that if it doesn't have PP in it, it is not very effective as rooftop containment. Even the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has listed synthetic sorbents with absorption capabilities up to 70 times their weight in oil. Synthetics are one of the most cost effective absorbents on the market today!

Our Grease Guard product is actually made up of several layers of modified PP fiber with an F.O.G. absorption capability of about 39 ounces per square foot (that number is doubled for our industrial application). Along with a Fire Shield, and other protective layers, we have found a patented way to overcome the downfalls of PP and bring a product that holds F.O.G.s and chemicals without having to worry about UV damage, fire, "the elements", destroyed rubber roofs, and many other liabilities. You must have these additional layers of protection to make sure the PP is in someway made fire retardant, UV resistant, and carefully handled by anyone on the roof with chemicals, mostly the kitchen exhaust cleaner. The problem is, most customers are not educated on cons of the products they are purchasing. Either that, or it just isn't in the budget. I hope this post will help.

The G2 Grease Guard Filter System

Many other applications have been devised and invented using PP. I encourage you to look into it! You will be surprised. Even better, have your child do an experiment on PP for their next science fair project!

http://www.weirdsciencekids.com/Oilspillexperiment.html

If you would like to read more about PP and it's applications I encourage you to check out the following links:

http://books.google.com/books?id=AWaSJd9Non8C&pg=PA14&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.dow.com/productsafety/finder/pro.htm
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/upload/2002_10_15_mtb_sorbmat.pdf
http://www.lenntech.com/polypropylene.htm
http://www.ides.com/info/generics/39/Polypropylene-PP
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469069/polypropylene
http://www.nicnas.gov.au/publications/car/new/plc/plc0200fr/plc210fr.pdf 

Watch videos on YouTube from here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=polypropylene&oq=polyprop&gs_l=youtube.1.0.0l10.215.1592.0.4297.8.7.0.1.1.0.133.550.6j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.siMNJsgWazM

I hope you enjoyed reading about polypropylene and can now realize at least one of the benefits of this amazing compound. I hope you can also see why I like it so much. Without it, I wouldn't have a job! More so than that, imagine the waste that could be making its way off of rooftops and into our water supply. Couple this will all the benefits of keeping grease off of your roof and you have quite the product.

Thanks for reading. As always if you have any ideas, want to add or edit something, or just want to chime in, please let me know. Have a great week!

Welcome To My Blog

As someone who writes quite regularly as a hobby, it only makes sense to start a blog about another passion of mine, my job. Even now, I am using my lunch breaks to get this blog rolling. This first post is a long general overview, which is meant to give you the background on the topics I will be posting about. Also, make sure to browse the side bar for more content. --->>>

My name is Greg Stark. I am a National Salesman for Rooftop Solutions. We are the manufacturers, patent holders, and primary service providers of the Grease Guard Rooftop Defense System. Much like John Krasinski talking about Dunder Mifflin in certain early episodes of "The Office", not very many people outside of the industry have heard of it. I guess rooftops fall under the adage "Out of sight, out of mind." This blog, in hopes, will not only increase awareness of the dangers of grease in today's "Eat-out" mentality, but also provide you with some insight into the day to day life of someone who is "Working In A Field of Grease". Sorry for the shameless blog name plug there. ;) Let's get started.

Rooftop Containment is not an industry recognized trade. You will not find an NAICS or SIC code to help you define what it all means in a nice orderly fashion. While I agree it may not be large enough for such classification, it would certainly make my life easier. In many a vendor application, architect specification, food court tenant conversation, and more, have I struggled to explain what it is. From my best efforts, I have come up with the following explanation:

"Rooftop Containment is the business of providing rooftop grease, F.O.G., chemical, and other harmful pollutant producing facilities with the means to protect their internal and external, tangible and intangible assets from the dangers of roof damage, rooftop OSHA incidents, EPA violations, NFPA fire code violations, structure fires, voided building warranties, and environmental damage by means of containing these substances at the rooftop level with equipment designed specifically for the protection of said assets from the aforementioned potential consequences."

At this point you are asking yourself, and I have heard it 1000 times, "How does grease get to the rooftop?" In addition, you may be asking "Why do I care if grease is on my roof?" Don't worry, I will get to all of the answers to all of the questions. First, I want you to know some history. Granted there is a lot left out, and I apologize to those I have offended, but I want you to have a basic understanding of where this all comes from.

Rooftop Grease Containment in large part, has been around as long as kitchen exhaust systems. Going all the way back to some of the earliest restaurants, contractors, mostly kitchen exhaust cleaners (companies that specialize in the cleaning of duct work above cook tops to remove smoke from the kitchen amongst other things) , have had to worry about grease on the roof deck. Many attempts were made at washing it away, containing it in buckets, and preventing it from touching the roof with extra layers of roofing material called sacrificial sheets. This is because kitchen exhaust cleaners and contractors alike realized that grease is a rubber roofs worst enemy and fires best friend. Problems like fires and roof leaks created the demand for better solutions.

Love this photo..had to add it somewhere.

 In most cases, kitchen exhaust cleaning was just done more frequently or exhaust fan manufacturers would modify the designs of the fans to include sheet metal boxes called "catch pans" amongst other counter measures. For a long time, this system of pickle buckets, modification, and frequent cleanings worked great. At the time, serving sizes were much smaller, less restaurants existed, and therefore less grease existed. Without needing to say it, in most cases it was less than adequate to say the least and consequences came along with it. 


As far as industrial buildings went, most of the harmful chemicals that may have ended up on the rooftop were contained much of the same way. The rest of it was just washed off the roof by rain and most likely ended up in some water system somewhere. I am crossing my fingers that no one was ever hurt from rooftop chemicals infecting water supplies.


Now, with the choppy history lesson out of the way, I can talk about Fats, Oils, and Greases; the reason I am here. I will definitely have to add in the history of Rooftop Solutions in a different post.

Rooftop Containment covers more than just grease. There are many oil based chemicals and compounds that can cause damage. The most popular is cooking grease in restaurant concepts, so I will focus on those for this explanation.

What is grease? Without scientifically breaking it down for you (which I will in a different post), grease is oil. It is found in cooking oils, fat of animals (including me...I really need to exercise), clothes, fuel, make up, and a ton of other things you may not expect that we make today. Now some of the oils listed are naturally forming, i.e. crude oil we pull from the earth or fat in animals. Others, in today's scientific world are synthetic. Whether it be in industrial or commercial manufacturing of goods, natural or synthetic, it is all over the place these days. In most cases, this is a good thing. Very beneficial things like fuel, plastics, lubricants, and even butter are made from F.O.G.s (Fats, Oils, Greases). So why such the fuss?

Let's zoom on a prime cut steak in a fancy restaurant.

mmmmmmm....

 This New York Strip is mostly meat, however, about 9% is made up of fats, oils, and greases. Thrown on the grill after marination and oiling the grill, that could be even more. As the meat is heated, it vaporizes, and some of the animal fat is infused with oxygen and carried away by the heats updraft. If you want to feel the effect of this, work in a restaurant kitchen for a full day then look at the layer of grease on your skin, not to mention the smell. This airborne grease has another downside. Due to the infusing of oxygen, it has oxidized.


Now let us go back to high school chemistry. In that class, which I got a C in thanks to a random explosion (not my fault ;) ), we learned about acids and bases. We learned about the pH Scale and how to measure the acidity of things. We used soda pop in our class experiment. I am sure it is because the teacher wanted to lobby for us not drinking it, but I digress. To avoid the long explanation, acids breakdown certain molecules, but grease is naturally a base. There is no acidic value. When grease is oxidized, it moves slightly into the acidic pH range. This makes this heated grease dangerous to certain acid sensitive structures (Hydrofluoric Acid being the worst of the worst).

 As we follow the floating grease molecules up the kitchen's exhaust system, we see it sticking to the side of the duct work designed to carry smoke and smells out of the restaurant. The longer you go without cleaning, the thicker the layer of grease gets. Even worse, as the grease cools back down, it re-solidifies and hardens. This is where kitchen exhaust cleaners need to come in (on a monthly basis according to the NFPA 96 guidelines) and clean that duct work. If they didn't clean it, the fire hazard would only grow for as you may already know, grease is fuel to a fire, which no one wants.

Some of that same grease gets all the way up to the rooftop exhaust fan that is sucking the air from below. As the grease gets into the fan, it will either drip out of a special spout on the fan or find another way out of the duct work and onto your roof. Rubber is the most used roofing material in the world. It is used for its strength, durability, and importantly, flexibility. As the roof heats due to the sun, rubber has the ability to expand, and as it cools, contract. This allows for the roof membranes to endure the elements without fear of cracking, breaking, and damaging the roof system. Unfortunately, it is prone to grease damage. The acids in the grease breakdown the flexible rubber molecules and then bake into those cracks with prolonged sun exposure. Grease can damage a roofing system in as little as two weeks. Repairs for this damage can reach thousands of dollars. Certain roofing systems are F.O.G. resistant, but the key word is resistant, not proof.

Fire damage on rooftop with grease present.

A damaged roofing system and a leaky roof are just a few of the troubles of grease on the roof though. Check out this list of other harmful side effects:

-OSHA Violations
-Fire/Heatlh Inspection violations
-Municipality fines from storm drain clogging
-Potential lawsuits
-Voided roof warranties
-FIRE (90% of restaurant fires start in the exhaust system)
-Polluted water sources
-Killed plant life and animal life





That is a lot of consequences for just cooking a steak! Something else should be noted here as well. Different hood systems, grill types, food types, cooking temperatures, hood filters, and various other factors can change the level of grease accessing your rooftop. It is important to work closely with your contractors to determine the best method of preventing grease from reaching the rooftop in the first place.

But, for grease that does reach the roof, Rooftop Containment comes to save the day. There are many products and solutions available. I will discuss them all in a future post. For now, I will talk about my product, the Grease Guard Rooftop Defense System.

G2 Grease Guard - Standard Four Sided Containment

The G2 Grease Guard has been in a constant development process for almost 20 years. This low profile, multilayer filter system is designed to collect F.O.G.s as well as many other harmful chemicals and keep them there. This isn't a sales pitch so I won't brag too much, but let me say, that no other system accommodates so well for grease absorption, rain water management, UV protection, fire protection, wind protection, and a host of other things, as well as this product. It is UL listed and tested for all of our claims, and prevents the consequences of grease from happening on your rooftop. I no doubt will dive into this in future posts.


As I have said, I am quite passionate about this industry. It seems slightly uneventful and down right dirty, but it is the one industry where I can really help promote awareness and help facilities protect their investments.

So there you have it! You are up to date and most of the background needed to read more of this blog. I encourage you to comment and help me keep my information straight. If there is something you would like to be added or said please let me know. If you have any ideas for a different post feel free to ask. Thank you if I used one of your images. If you want me to take down, just say the word. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks!