Duro-Last® Recognizes Commonwealth Building Systems, LLC with 2017 Edge-to-Edge & Deck-to-Sky™ Award 

The award is for a new roofing system designed to stand up to the wind gusts that come in off the nearby Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. 

The CBRE Group, Inc., property, located at the foot of the busy Longfellow Bridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts – across the river from Boston – is home to a variety of technology, business, and retail tenants. When the structure’s aged roof needed to be replaced, RMX Northeast, Inc., specified the use of Duro-Last® materials to replace the previous stone-ballast system and invited local contractors to bid on the project. Commonwealth Building Systems, LLC, located in Rockland, Massachusetts, was awarded the 27,300-square foot job and quickly began coordinating the removal of the old roofing system.  

Due to construction taking place on the Longfellow Bridge at the time of the project, traffic in the area was diverted around the building and use of large on-ground machinery was limited to Saturday-only operation. With time and budget in mind, the Commonwealth team commissioned the use of a 300-ton crane and industrial vacuum services over two consecutive weekends to remove the stone ballasts, pavers, existing EPDM membrane, and debris from the 180-foot-tall multi-level roof.  

The new roofing system was designed to stand up to the wind gusts that come in off the nearby Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. Leaving the existing insulation in place, the Commonwealth crew covered each roof area with two additional inches of Duro-Guard® ISO II insulation before attaching the custom-fabricated Duro-Last membrane using the Duro-Bond® induction welding system.  

Custom-fabricated Duro-Last curbs and stacks were utilized to help reduce rooftop labor, and EXCEPTIONAL® Metals worked with the Commonwealth team to custom-manufacture the entire edge metal system, including coping caps of different sizes. Finally, Roof Trak® III walkway pads added a polished and practical finishing touch to the project, thanks to Commonwealth’s careful attention to detail.  

Despite adjusting daily construction hours considerably to reduce noise interruptions for the tenants below and battling busy city traffic, the Commonwealth team was able to complete the project efficiently with minimal complications.  

Products used include: Duro-Last® 60 mil membrane, Strip Mastic, and custom-fabricated curb flashings and stacks; Roof Trak® III walkway pads; Duro-Guard® ISO II; EXCEPTIONAL® Metals pitch pans, coping, and 2-piece snap-on compression. 

Learn more about Duro-Last Solutions at www.duro-last.com.