The iconic Rogers Centre got a new roof for its 30th birthday. The revolutionary retractable dome first opened in 1989.

For this project, Flynn crews had to work off swing-stages, and be tied off at all times while on the mammoth roof. The dome nature of the roof meant workers adapted to the various incline changes with custom tools and equipment. Constant communication with general contractor EllisDon and the owner was also required for site logistics, coordination with venue events, and of course the opening and closing of the roof.

As a subcontractor, Flynn was responsible for panels 3 and 4 on the roof’s north side. The crew is replacing the full system at the bottom eight inches of the roof which consists of sheet metal girts, through wall flashing and cap flashing, Sarnavap Vapour Barrier, Polyisocyanurate insulation and Sika Sarnafil PVC membrane. Sika Sarnafil 80 mil White PVC is the roofing membrane being installed. Crews began work last winter. As any roofer knows, roofing in the winter is a major challenge. The first month was not too bad, with just some frost. But then it started to snow. The gutters where our crews set up their equipment filled with snow very quickly. Because of the dome’s large surface area, even a few millimetres of snow were enough to cause many feet of snow in the gutters. Crews had to constantly dig out snow from the gutters and our snow melt systems were overwhelmed.

No crew or contractor has ever used this stage before because it is very project specific. To ensure maximum safety and performance, we gave our crews special swing stage training.

Swing stages are set up in the gutter. Crews use one stage to ride up to the leading-edge cart swing stage. From there, they rappel down the face of the building while the leading-edge cart swing stage hangs off the building. At one point, there were three stages on panel 3. On the leading edge of panel 3, crews were doing three drops in a day. They install ten rolls or 25 squares a day. To do this, they go up to the top and lay a 5x50ft roll. Then they go down and get another roll and bring it back up. They do that ten times. On top of that, we coordinate with the Blue Jays and general contractor Ellis Don for the roof to be opened on the days the Jays are playing at home. When the Jays are in town, we have to stop work at 2:30 in the afternoon. And when the dome opens, we have to remove all of our materials from the gutter. On such days, we start earlier in the morning.

On top of that, we coordinate with the Blue Jays and general contractor Ellis Don for the roof to be opened on the days the Jays are playing at home. When the Jays are in town, we have to stop work at 2:30 in the afternoon. And when the dome opens, we have to remove all of our materials from the gutter. On such days, we start earlier in the morning.

Despite the weather and logistics challenges, Flynn crews persevered and completed the project on time in September. Best wishes to the Jays and their fans next season!

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