Boston – The TD Garden is home to the six-time NHL Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, the 17-time world champion Boston Celtics and, thus, more championship banners than any other arena in the country, so when the arena needed a new roof to cover them, Delaware North Companies – Boston, owner and operator of the Boston landmark, looked to bring in the experts in the roofing industry. DNC-Boston found the best to be in local companies, and commissioned Wessling Architects of Quincy to design the new roofing system. Both owner and architect selected Shawmut Design and Construction of Boston, as general contractor and Shawmut hired Greenwood Industries of Millbury as the roofing contractor for the project. Wessling Architects specified Sika Sarnafil of Canton as the manufacturer to provide both the liquid applied and PVC membrane roofing systems.
The existing roof systems on the 16-year-old arena had reached their serviceable life expectancy and required
replacement. The roof project began on 8/6/2010 and was recently completed on 11/21/11. Under Shawmut’s
direction, Greenwood replaced the various roof and gutter systems in a two-year phased project. Workers
removed approximately 156,000sf of existing roofing from the arena’s roof and gutter systems. The
salvageable total of the existing roof membrane was recycled in conjunction with the new roof manufacturer Sika Sarnafil. Approximately 113,000sf of insulation was recycled in conjunction with Disposal Alternatives
of Brookline. The existing systems were replaced with 132,047sf of Sarnafil 72 mil Rhinobond PVC roof membrane and 23,747sf Sikalastic RoofPro Liquid Coating (in Phases 1 and 2).
There were many challenges presented in executing the total roof and gutter replacement of a building with
12 roof levels. This includes a barrel roof totaling 113,000sf and 10,317sf of gutter in conjunction with parapet wall reconstruction and masonry thru-wall flashing replacement/coordination. Given the TD Garden’s status as a landmark of the Boston skyline, the aesthetic appearance of the barrel roof system was paramount. The barrel roof design has visible truss caps spaced approximately 40 feet apart. Sika Sarnafil custom manufactured 72 mil membranes to 80 foot lengths in order to minimize the exposed seams and insure that the vertical seams joined under the truss caps. Greenwood also custom fabricated the truss caps using .080 inch aluminum and installed a 2- piece flashing to insure the water tight integrity of the truss cap system.
Numerous improvements where integrated into the new roof design such as a self-adhered air/vapor barrier, Sika Sarnafil’s EnergySmart white reflective roof membrane that reduces building energy usage for cooling and minimizes the building’s contribution to the urban heat affect in Boston. The Rhinobond system improves the wind performance of the roof and reduces sheet flutter lending itself to a long lasting aesthetically pleasing installation.
Wessling Architect’s Senior Project Manager, John Karman said, “Shawmut’s extensive resources, in collaboration with Greenwood, Sika Sarnafil, OMG Roofing Products, & United States Gypsum Company, resulted in a highly successful project.”
The TD Garden stands as a monument, museum and home to NBA and NHL Champions. Similarly the TD Garden also stands as a monument to teamwork and excellence in the roofing industry. The project team including Delaware North Companies-Boston, Inc., Wessling Architects, Shawmut Design and Construction, Sika Sarnafil, Sikalastic RoofPro and Greenwood Industries combined to design and install a custom product under demanding conditions.
Innovative building products in conjunction with Green building solutions, all locally sourced, combined at the TD Garden to provide an environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing product to the arena on time and on budget.