Roofing the big top

During the 1960s when most Las Vegas establishments catered primarily to adults, Jay Sarno conceived Circus Circus for families. Opened in 1968, the landmark hotel is known for its family-friendly atmosphere and the largest permanent circus in the world.

The property has weathered decades of extreme heat, causing the once-vibrant pink and white stripes on the roof tent to fade, crack, peel, blister and deteriorate into holes and other deficiencies throughout the roof. To maintain its symbolic status on the Las Vegas Strip, the hotel’s owners wanted to give the property’s exterior a fresh new look.

Commercial Roofers Inc., Las Vegas, was selected as the roofing contractor for the iconic roof project.

Aerial prep and safety

In February 2023, the Commercial Roofers team began work on Circus Circus Hotel and Casino. The one-of-a-kind roof shaped as a circus tent presented uniquely complex challenges. The tent sits at the front of the property and is seen by millions of visitors walking along the Las Vegas Strip every year. The roof is a concave, mansard-style roof with a 1:12 sloped base and a gradient that ascends 30 feet high, ending at a 9:12 slope at the peak of the tent.

The 43,500-square-foot tent roof spans multiple interconnected sections and is above an entertainment and gaming venue that is open every day and never closes. Shutting down or interrupting operations was not an option. This meant the team had to devise a reroofing solution that balanced technical performance, safety and guest experience without compromising daily operations.

The Commercial Roofers team called on GAF, Parsippany, N.J., for help.

“From the outset, we recognized conventional reroofing methods would not be sufficient for this high-profile, high-traffic location,” says Charles Farrington, GAF’s technical sales representative for southern California and Nevada. “We developed and implemented a series of innovative strategies including advanced roofing materials, phased and zero-downtime scheduling, and custom safety and containment systems.”

This included a precise work schedule that allowed roofing work to proceed without disrupting casino operations as well as incorporating protective barriers and overhead containment to safeguard guests, staff and delicate rooftop equipment from construction debris.

GAF’s Kymax™ Coating System was selected because it met the owners’ specific design and warranty requirements. The GAF team customized a color in Exuberant Pink to match Circus Circus’ vivid pink color brand.

Most of the roof tent’s perimeter exposed workers to falls greater than 6 feet with some exposures being up to 45 feet. There also was an active pedestrian walkway directly below the work area with valet operations and a porte cochère where vehicles passed through.

“We had to plan not just for the safety of our own team but also for the safety and experience of hotel guests, employees, pedestrians and vehicles on the property,” says Ashley Jager, CPSM, marketing and business development for Commercial Roofers.

Fencing barricades were erected designating a restricted work area, protecting hotel patrons as well as construction equipment and material. A guardrail system, personal fall-arrest systems and warning lines also were implemented for worker safety.

Seamless project coordination between the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino facilities team and Commercial Roofers was key to the project’s overall success.

“Our crews worked meticulously to not affect operations as any negative impact would create a loss in revenue for the property,” says Matt Lott, project manager for Commercial Roofers. “The hotel and casino were operational throughout the duration of the project.”

The main act

The first step in preparing the roof for the new coating system was removing the existing lightbulbs that illuminate the stripes that provide a circus tent effect. The bulbs were installed throughout the roof system and up the steep slopes of the roof in multiple lines.

“Circus Circus was purposeful with its goal to save and reuse the lightbulbs,” Lott says. “Reusing the lightbulbs was a positive effort toward sustainability and waste reduction.”

Removing debris from the roof tent’s steep slopes, and operating and handling spray guns, hand and power tools, and hoses successfully was difficult.

“Our team had to be innovative, coming up with a rappel method that would be used for almost all aspects of the project,” Lott explains. “To execute precision in our work, team members had to be able to work with both hands, so our experienced members found a solution that involved walking down the sides of the steep-slope roof and conducting work as they descended.”

The team also incorporated a rope-and-grab system for crew members to use as they walked backward down the sides of the sloped areas. All tools were tethered to workers to ensure tools and equipment did not slide down the roof.

Commercial Roofers team members power-washed the existing coating on lightweight concrete to remove debris before applying GAF BarrierGuard® Surface Coating with HydroStop® PremiumCoat® Fabric to prepare the surface for subsequent coatings.

Two teams were assigned to apply the coatings. One team was assigned to spray the primer and base coat, and a second crew followed with spraying the midcoat. Two coats were required to meet GAF’s specified thickness. Each crew had a team member assigned with back rolling the coating after each pass, ensuring proper coating adhesion.

Crews then applied GAF’s Kymax Coating System in white and the customized pink color. To mark the lines of the circus tent design, workers used a laser during nighttime hours and masked off adjacent sides to protect the existing finished areas from overspray. Material pumps were staged at ground level with coating hoses running to the rooftop for application. Two pumps were used to ensure color and material preservation.

“We exceeded all safety requirements and are proud we did not have to rely on a safety monitor during the application process,” Lott says.

A masterpiece

In June 2023, the Commercial Roofers team completed work on Circus Circus Hotel and Casino with no safety incidents. The project not only met but exceeded client expectations for performance, safety and minimal operation disruption.

“The Circus Circus Hotel and Casino roof revitalization project stands as a model for what can be achieved when technical expertise is paired with creative innovation,” Farrington says. “It pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in large-scale commercial roofing while upholding the highest standards of craftsmanship and environmental stewardship.”

For its work on Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, Commercial Roofers was selected as a 2026 NRCA Gold Circle Awards finalist in the Outstanding Workmanship: Steep-slope category.

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