Spectacular, iconic and inspiring are just some of the words being used to describe the new home of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team.  Rogers Place expects to be the first LEED Silver National Hockey League arena in Canada – yet another glittering achievement for the 5-time Stanley Cup champions.  To protect 130,000 square feet of tile, a complete tile installation system from CUSTOM was specified and installed throughout the project.

All levels of the new indoor sports arena and entertainment venue display highly decorative tile work.  Large format porcelain and glass mosaics are prominent in the public as well as private team spaces.  However, tile dimensions reach their pinnacle in the Oilers’ locker room showers and steam room.  These distinctly designed wet rooms were set with Ergon Cornerstone porcelain tile in 18″ x 36″ and 12″ x 48″ formats.

Surface Preparation

Surface preparation began with crews shotblasting all floors to a level 3 roughness prior to application of primers or membranes.  Leveling was also required in some areas to attain the completely flat surface required by large format tile.  To improve the bond and seal the surface, LevelQuik® Advanced Acrylic Primer was roller-applied to these floors.  Then, LevelQuik® RS Rapid Setting Self-Leveling Underlayment was bucket poured from a feather edge up to 1-1/2″ deep.  LevelQuik RS achieved an extra heavy duty service rating for this high-traffic commercial venue and cured in just 4 hours to allow same-day tiling.

The facility’s many shower floors in home team, visiting team and other locker rooms were floated with CUSTOM’s Thick Bed Bedding Mortar.  This 3:1 pre-blended underlayment provided an easy to install, high strength surface.  Non-porous substrates on the site were treated with MBP Multi-Surface Bonding Primer before setting tile.  MBP is formulated with aggregates that improve mechanical adhesion where proper bonding can otherwise be difficult.

“MBP worked very well.  It was easy to use and the ‘stick’ was great.  We are already using it on other jobsites,” said Craig Henkelman, President of Cralan Enterprises, the tile contractor at Rogers Place.

Waterproofing, Vapor Barrier and Crack Isolation

Throughout this large project, RedGard® Liquid Waterproofing and Crack Prevention Membrane was applied on floors to help protect tile by isolating cracks from in-plane substrate movement.  RedGard liquid is a ready-to-use, elastomeric membrane that creates a continuous waterproof barrier behind tile in addition to reducing transmission of cracks up to 1/8″.  Structural slabs were treated with RedGard in compliance with TCNA F125 and ANSI A118.12.

RedGard was also extensively applied on walls and floors to waterproof all showers and other wet tile assemblies in the facility.  This versatile membrane exceeds the requirements of ANSI A118.10, is listed with IAPMO as a shower pan liner and delivers outstanding adhesion to drain assemblies for monolithic protection.

“It was very important to us to have RedGard specified for both crack isolation and waterproofing on this job,” offered Henkelman.

RedGard is the first liquid-applied membrane to exceed industry standards as a low-perm moisture vapor barrier for continuous-use steam showers.  Treatment with RedGard ensures the highest level of impermeability in the Oilers’ steam room.

To ensure the team’s steam room looks great for years to come and to guard against movement from thermal cycling, specifiers selected MegaLite® Ultimate Crack Prevention Large Format Tile Mortar.  MegaLite was perfect for these very demanding requirements, as well as setting the large 12″ x 48″ tiles on the ceiling.  In accordance with industry standards, the steam room ceiling is sloped 2″ per linear foot towards the back wall to manage condensation.  MegaLite performance was also called on to install the massive “Blue Jeans” marble slabs measuring 4 x 6 feet on a wraparound fireplace in the hockey team’s executive offices.

Tile Setting

The high percentage of large and heavy or difficult-to-bond tile drove most the mortars chosen for Rogers Place.  ProLite® Premium Large Format Tile Mortar was the most frequently and diversely specified.  A lightweight formula with excellent handling characteristics, ProLite offers high flexibility and bond strength.  ProLite® will not slip on walls or slump on floors, and can be placed up to 3/4″ thick to support heavy tile.  ProLite was used to install up to 48″ tile on walls and for select floor tiles up to 18″ x 36″ throughout the project.  Because of its tenacious bond, ProLite was also specified for installing 20,000 SF of glass mosaics .  Both MegaLite and ProLite meet ANSI A118.15TE for thixotropic and extended open time performance.

“Our employees really like using ProLite and we use it everywhere we can.  It performs especially well on walls,” said Henkelman.

The balance of the ceramic and porcelain tile was set on floors with VersaBond® Flex Professional Thin-Set Mortar or VersaBond®-LFT Professional Large Format Tile Mortar, depending on size and location.   This included traditional quarry tile at concessions, dramatic black ceramic tile in washrooms and wood-look planks to add a sauna-like feel to the hydrotherapy room.  The tile contractor mandated optimum mortar coverage throughout the installation, which was achieved by backbuttering and ensuring that all tile in wet areas reached 95% coverage.

Grouting

Four CUSTOM grouts in 12 different colors were used to complement 40 types of tile materials and formats.   Most of the dry and intermittently wet areas received PolyBlend® Sanded Grout.  Non-sanded PolyBlend was chosen to grout the extensive mosaic installations to prevent any scratching of the glass.  Prism® Ultimate Performance Grout was applied in some of the high-traffic wet areas like the community ice rink showers and public bathrooms.  CEG-IG 100% Solids Industrial Grade Epoxy Grout was used in spaces such as the steam room for its resistance to high temperatures.  Movement joints within the tile assemblies will remain permanently flexible after treatment with color-matching CUSTOM Commercial 100% Silicone Sealant.

Building Green with CUSTOM’s Emerald System™

The use of sustainable, lightweight products such as ProLite mortar and Prism grout help to meet environmental standards and LEED goals at projects like Rogers Place.  Both ProLite and Prism are part of the Emerald System, a green building program with a proactive approach to stewardship and compliance.

Custom Building Products is committed to environmental responsibility in both products and manufacturing practices.  Over 100 CUSTOM Build Green® products contribute to LEED certification with low emissions, recycled content and regionally sourced materials.  To help ensure the beauty and integrity of the tile assemblies, an Aqua Mix care and maintenance system was implemented.  The Aqua Mix line of low VOC, pH neutral and biodegradable cleaners are formulated for safe every day as well as deep cleaning of tile, stone and grout.

Partnership

PCL Construction, an international firm known for its expertise with airport and entertainment projects, served as Construction Manager.  Edmonton area large commercial specialist Cralan Enterprises, Ltd. was the tile contractor at the arena.  Both of these construction partners worked closely with CUSTOM to ensure that every detail of the tile installation at Rogers Place exceeded expectations.

In describing the level of service the contractors received on the project, Cralan’s Henkelman offered, “I was very impressed with how responsive CUSTOM was and how quickly they could get us product when we needed it.”