2019
Toronto
Roofing of the Roger Center
Opened in 1989, the Roger Center is the very iconic multi-putpose stadium of Toronto. Known to be the first stadium to have a fully retractable motorized roof, its construction was a real challenge. After 30 years of good existence, the compagny which owns the building (Toronto Blue Jays) wanted to get a new roof while respecting sustainable issues. They naturally turned to those who had built the old roof, which was more than 30 years old and still in perfect condition: Sika
Details of the project
About 5 years ago Sika Sarnafil was approached by Dean Chandler and was asked for budget numbers on materials to reroof the facility. Although the roof was still performing well they were looking at the costs to possibly re-roofing the facility.
Two years ago Walter P. Moore approached Sika and we started to work with them on specific details for the re-roof.
During this time a thermal scan was done of the roof system and the results came back that the majority of the insulation was dry and the vapour barrier was still in good shape.
Understanding that a large amount of the roof components had weathered well over the 30 year time frame a decision was taken :
- 20 % of the vapour barrier was going to be replaced
- 20 % of the Insulation was going to be replaced
- the 30 year old Sika Sarnafil roof membrane would be replaced
Contractor
- The reroof was tendered by Ellis Don Construction (General Contractor who built the original facility)
- The reroof was awarded to a joint venture team of Dean Chandler Roofing and Flynn Canada Ltd.
Sustainable Goals
As a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the construction and manufacturing sectors, Sika Canada is engaged in the transparency process associated with sustainable construction. For this project, the main objectives were :
- Install a roof membrane that can lasts for another 30 Years or more. Sika belives in using better, high quality, low VOC materials that can last for years. Sika Sarnafil exists since 1958 and is well known for the high quality and the long lasting of its membranes.
- Recycle the 'old' membrane. This was a key goal for Sika: The original Sika Sarnafil roof membrane is being removed and packaged on site and it being put into bins on site by both Dean Chandler and Flynn Canada. Once a bin is full of the original Sika Sarnafil PVC roof it is then shipped to grinding processor in Ontario where the old membrane is pulverized and the PVC powder is then palletized and shipped back to our Sika Sarnafil Canton Facility where the estimated 86,000 lbs of recycled PVC will be incorporated into the manufacturing process of a new Sika Sarnafil Membrane.
- Reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect. An urban heat island occurs when a city experiences much warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas. The difference in temperature has to do with how well the surfaces in each environment absorb and hold heat. The sarnafil membranes, thanks to their very white colour, reflect solar reys instead of holding them and thus participate to the reduction of pollution in the cities.
A 30-Year-Old Story
In January 1989 the SkyDome now known as the Rogers Center had the first test opening of the retractable roof, which has a Sika Sarnafil roof system installed on it.
Material used in 1989
The original roof assembly consisted of metal decking by others, one layer of Sarnavap 10 vapour barrier, one layer of 1.8” thick Sarnatherm polyisocyanurate insulation, and Sarnafil S327-12 (48 mil membrane).
The complete roof system was fastened to the metal decking using the Sarnabar fixation, also known as the Sika Sarnafil Engineered System.
The original roof (440,000 sq.ft) was installed by Stadium Corporation which consisted of a joint venture team of Dean Chandler Roofing and Heather & Little Roofing.
Over the 30 year period from the original opening to today Dean Chandler has done periodic maintenance of the facility and has had a strong relationship with Toronto Blue Jays and has also supported Sika Sarnafil.
Material used in 2019
The new roof membrane that would be installed would be a Sika Sarnafil S327-20 (80 mil membrane).
The method of fixation that would be used for the new Sika Sarnafil membrane would again be the Sika Sarnafil Engineered Roof System.
The reroof was tendered by Ellis Don Construction (General Contractor who built the original facility) and the reroof was awarded to a joint venture team of Dean Chandler Roofing and Flynn Canada Ltd., the work began in late November 2018 and is ongoing today.
Award
Sika Canada wants to congratulate Flynn Canada Ltd. (Toronto) and Dean Chandler Roofing Ltd. for their outstanding reroofing work of the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) .
Sika Canada, proud partner in high performance and sustainable roofing solutions.
Paul Perreault, Vice President of Roofing division
This project has been a team effort with strong support from Dean Chandler Roofing, Flynn Canada Ltd., Walter P. Moore and Ellis-Don Construction. At the same time the Technical Departments of both Sika Corp in the US and also Sika Canada Inc. have been called upon to review special details and participate in doing wind calculations and to participate on numerous site meetings and inspections while the roof is being installed.
With this new high performance Sika Sarnafil roof we can keep enjoying the home runs of the Toronto Blue Jays and bringing home another World Series Championship under our roof.