For many commercial roofing systems, the challenges of Ontario’s winters mean “wait until spring” for installation, because they cannot effectively be installed in sub-freezing temperatures or during weeks of lake-effect snow storms.
This situation was confronting Olympia Tile & Stone, a Toronto-based manufacturer and distributor of ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone tiles.
Olympia’s main office and flagship showroom facility was covered with an aging and deteriorating roofing system, and leaks had begun to occur, disrupting business operations.
Olympia needed an immediate fix. A built-up roof (BUR) was on the building, and initially, the company wanted to replace it with another BUR.
Guycan Aluminum, Ltd. was the roofing contractor called in to do the job. As project plans moved forward, it became clear that a winter installation would be necessary. According to Guycan Marketing and Sales Manager Sean Claveria, “with a built-up system, we would have needed to postpone the project until spring when the snow and ice melts. Olympia Tile could not afford to wait because the current roof wouldn’t withstand another winter season. Leaks were already causing damage to their product inventory.”
Guycan and Olympia began to consider alternatives, and the single-ply Duro-Last roofing system was discussed. Guycan is an authorized Duro-Last contractor.
Alber Crimi, Olympia’s Facility manager, had heard about Duro-Last from a former colleague. “After his recommendation, we started comparing the cost of the Duro-Last system with the built-up option,” said Crimi. “Once we included the value of Duro-Last’s 15-year warranty and the fact that our maintenance problems would be gone, it became an easy choice.”
Guycan began the project in November of 2008 and despite challenging weather conditions, including cold temperatures, high winds and record snowfall; Guycan was able to install the new 50-mil Duro-Last roofing system in 28 working days.
“The Duro-Last membrane stayed flexible and easy to work with throughout the whole installation process,” said Claveria. “And because the system was manufactured in Duro-Last’s factory to fit the roof, we were able to install the Olympia project relatively quickly.”
The job was completed in February 2009 and, at 12,000 square meters (130,000 square feet), is the largest Duro-Last installation in Canada.
Winter weather in Ontario clearly presents many roofing challenges, but “we’re able to overcome them with the Duro-Last system,” concluded Claveria. “It’s a great year-round solution for our customers.”
Before
During Installation
Completed Project
