CHECKLISTS

Only Well-informed Client is able to make a justified decision

An informed customer is a satisfied client. Below we are answering all your questions and make you aware of everything you need to know before investing in the living wall.

Residential Project

Whether it is a condo unit or a pool patio or fence, your choice

Commercial Project

Restaurant, Office, Entertainment, Medical, Educational and counting

1. Condo vs. Single Family Home

Make sure to check with the Condo Association if any exterior installations in the terraces and balconies are allowed. In most smaller exterior residential condo installations such as balconies, the best solution is a free-standing modular system with the built-in irrigation. The water is being collected and recycled within internal closed-loop irrigation.

In interior residential applications if there is no direct access to the water source and water drainage a closed-loop application is a solution.

In cases where the water source is direct open-loop application is recommended. Any minimum residual water is collected into a drip tray to further drain.

In the single-family home, there are practically no limitations on the spectrum of living wall applications.

2. Wind

It is critical to evaluate how windy a potential living wall location is for two primary reasons described below. If the property is located on the high floor and especially if it is waterfront balcony or terrace, the upkeep of the living wall may cause challenges due to unpredictable forces of mother-nature and salty particles in the air.

3. Interior Lighting and Sun Exposure

For most interior projects special lights are recommended to ensure healthy plant growth.

Severe direct sun exposure limits the choice of plants and sun tolerant plants are recommended.

4. Turn Key Installation

The turn-key installation is a manicured living wall in the desirable full-grown condition. With monthly maintenance service, typical expectations on the plants living and evolving within the vertical garden medium are minimum 12 months. Most top performing tropical species develop and create gorgeous foliage for up to 48 months without replacements.

1. Initial Proposal

Our cooperation with architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and general contractors start with a detailed proposal based on the following information:

Dimensions
Total SF
Interior / Exterior Application

2. Potential Additional Costs

Rental of special installation equipment: such as lift, if not available on site and based on installation timing requirements.
Additional insurance based on specific insurance requirements.
Additional lighting to ensure plant growth. The decision depends on the light tests on site.
Any decorative living wall framing. It depends on the design concept and finishing material. Typically is the scope of millwork.
Any plumbing labor is typically a scope of a contracted plumber on site based on living wall specifications
Any electric labor is typically a scope of a contracted plumber on site based on living wall specifications
Parking fees

3. Lead Time

The lead time will depend on the scope of work, with a minimum lead of 6 weeks.

4. Turn Key Installation

FAQ

1. How long will it last? What is the lifespan of the product?

The living wall lifespan primarily depends on the plant selection and environmental condition of the specific location: (sun exposure, wind, water quality, salt particles in the air - for Outdoor Projects; AC, temperature, sunlight, water quality – for Indoor Projects) assuming that proper maintenance of the irrigation equipment is performed once a month (checking the timer, cleaning filters, adding nutrients and trimming plants).

Think like this the plant variety that we use are the pot-based plants, how long will they live in the pot? In general, without replacement, the tropical plants are to last 1-3 years.

The advantage of our panel-based system is that ones the panels are installed with complete irrigation system and hydroponics used as a growing medium the cost of plant material replacement is a proportionately small contributor to the overall cost of the installation. This allows flexibility in wall design modification and plant replacement vs. other systems such as fabric-based or pocket-based in which you need complete removal of the entire wall.

2. Will it create mildew or mold? Will my wall be affected by it?

The main product advantage: the filling of each panel is a multilayer “sandwich”. The top external layer is a very porous foam (black color), which prevents the growth of mold or fungus and is a strong competitive advantage not only for indoor projects but for Floridian high humid climate in general.

The back of the panel is made of plastic which solves two issues: protecting the actual wall from moisture and being lightweight.

The weight of the final product is extremely critical. Consider that the weight of the living wall is based on the wall structure, framing, saturated growing hydroponic medium vs. soil and plants. The saturated weight is (each panel is standard size is 3Feet x 3Feet): 12 Pounds / Square Feet.

3. Is it a lot of maintenance? How can I be sure the installation will always look nice?

A fully operational wall does not require maintenance performed by the client except trimming and pruning at his own desire. The irrigation system functions based on the calibrated timer. For indoor projects, the use of the special lights is recommended to ensure plant growth.

As part of the Installation Proposal, we provide 1-month complimentary maintenance as follows: twice a month.

We are extending our service to make sure that the living wall has fully adapted to the conditions and the irrigation works properly. As much as the client is happy with the project result we want to be proud of the long-term relationship with our clients.

Starting the 2nd month we offer monthly maintenance program depending on the project size and location.

4. Can I be part of the design process?

We ask the client for their preferences in terms of color pallet, symmetry vs. abstract composition. Plant selection is certainly affected by availability.

If the client has a particular plant preference, we can source it, however, the recommended size of the plant material is 4-inch pots. Water consumption and sun exposure are certainly primary criteria for the plant recommendation.

5. What is the lead time?

On an average project size (12 panels) the lead time is 6 weeks.

Construction wise it is very beneficial to get involved in the construction process at an early stage in order to plan out irrigation and location of the equipment.

We preplant all the panels in our nursery and bring the finished product to install. It takes us a day to install them at the site considering that all prework has been completed (plumbing, lighting, support framing).

6. How does Irrigation work?

Open-loop: the water drains to the ground or sewer.

Closed-loop: the water is recycled back.

7. Are nutrients safe?

All nutrients, regardless of the type and system they are used in, should be kept out of reach of children. This applies to even organic fertilizers/nutrients. Many are in a concentrated form so they should be maintained in a safe location. Additionally, we always recommend having a lock on the irrigation cabinets/controls so that there is limited interaction with the nutrient water.

All nutrients that we use are safe and common brands (20-20-20) that meet EPA standards for food production. Most codes and regulations require nutrient concentrate to remain out of reach from the general public and locked. We also specify back-flow prevention mechanisms in our irrigation equipment to prevent contamination with drinking water.

Walls to Inspire