Permaloc GeoEdge highlighted on a “green” episode of the hit television series.

Permaloc’s GeoEdge^TM product was selected as the restraint for a permeable pavement driveway, as well as a green roof, for an episode of the Emmy-award winning hit TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”.  The episode, filmed in Buffalo, NY, will air on ABC Television in early 2010.

A crew led by David Homes, and consisting of over 5,000 volunteers, descended on downtown Buffalo to surprise a lucky and deserving family with an extreme home makeover.  Delores Powell and her four children were whisked away on a luxury vacation while their home was removed, and a new one was put in its place.

The builder is known for building “green” homes, and the practices of green building were used on this makeover.  The original home was not demolished, but “deconstructed,” a method which allows items removed from the home, such as trimwork, to be reused in another building.  There were also many green features to the home, including the permeable driveway and a green roof above the garage.

GeoEdge, a sustainable, aluminum green build restraint manufactured by Permaloc, will keep the interlocking concrete permeable pavers in place, providing long-term sustainability.  A permeable driveway allows water to run through the surface and collect in an aquifer instead of running off into the storm water system.

Volunteers install a permeable paver driveway, using Permaloc’s GeoEdge restraint system, at a build for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” in Buffalo, NY.

“Permaloc has developed an edging system for permeable pavers that allows for a simple installation, while providing long-term performance.  Our product was ideally suited for the accelerated construction schedule, as well as the spirit, of this Extreme Makeover build,” stated Bob Anderson, Permaloc’s Vice President/General Manager.

GeoEdge was also used to surround pre-vegetated green roof modules provided by LiveRoof of Spring Lake, MI.  Much like the permeable driveway, the green roof helps to reduce stormwater runoff, as well as providing other environmental benefits.

Permaloc has established a long history of championing sustainable design.  For over 26 years the company has operated as an environmentally-friendly organization.

“Since our inception in 1983, Permaloc has made a commitment to environmental stewardship,” says Permaloc Founder/President and Registered Landscape Architect, Daniel Zwier, ASLA.  “From the recycled content in our products to our involvement in community projects, our company has dedicated over 25 years to stewardship and sustainable design.”

Permaloc Corporation is proud to announce that our GeoEdge aluminum green roof edging system has been used to edge a green roof on one of the 150 houses that the Make It Right Foundation is building in the 9th Ward of New Orleans.

The Make it Right Foundation was founded by Hollywood Actor Brad Pitt after he visited the Lower 9th Ward for the first time after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August of 2005.  Pitt was disturbed by the chaos and upheaval in the area, and more so by the lack of a plan to rebuild the area.

So far 15 of the 150 homes the foundation has pledged to build have been completed, and these homes are among the first buildings in the city to earn LEED Platinum certification.  Green features that take these houses to the next level include insulation making them five times more air-tight, photovoltaic systems, groundwater heat pumps for both heating and cooling, and green roofs.

“We are the greenest neighborhood in the United States already, and that’s only with 15 houses,” Pitt said.   “It’s really a bit sad.  We will be 150 houses next year.  It’s an extraordinary success … we got families here that have moved in.  And they’re coming home with $20 utility bills, $12 electric bills.”

Permaloc is proud that GeoEdge, the leading edge restraint system for the blossoming green roof industry, is able to play a roll in the rebuilding of New Orleans, and a good cause like the Make It Right Foundation.