GAF Roofing

Founded in 1886 GAF Roofing claims to be North America’s largest residential and commercial roofing manufacturer. They claim, “GAF is your best and safest choice.”

Let’s examine the claim by taking a look at their own explanations. The company has manufacturing locations across North America – to serve you better. They have a lot of locations but do not sell through large retail merchants such as Home Depot [correction: yes, they do sell in large retail chains]. They invented the Timberline shingle which is the #1-selling architectural shingle in North America. If they didn’t make good products, people wouldn’t buy them. Their company was Awarded #1 visual brand by Life Magazine, which means their products look as good as they perform. GAF’s Fireshield brand roof restoration system was named “Best Product” by the editors of Buildings magazine. The company was rated #1 in shingle quality by home builders and was the winner of the Builder’s Choice award. Their home builders named Cobra ridge vents # 1 in quality. Of course, which home builders and how many would be natural follow up questions. Leading publications and networks such as HGTV feature their products. Their company is the premium designer roofing shingles and is a two time recipient of the Architects Choice For Excellence award. Commercial Building Products magazine chose their Freedom TPO self-adhering roofing systems Product Of The Year. Modeling contractors named GAF the most-used brand of shingles and roof vents, but again the question is which contractors and how many contractors agreed with this. This company was named #1 in innovation for shingles and ridge ventilation by home builders, and most-recommended brand by upscale remodelers. Lastly, their company was the first to produce an energy-efficient asphalt shingle available in rich colors, called the Cool Color Series.

Of course all of that is marketing material, but it points to GAF being well known and respected in the roofing industry.

The residential brand for roofing is GAF-Elk. This brand includes quality shingles, 100% watertight leak barriers, roof deck protection, low-slope membrane roofing, fiber cement siding, ridge cap shingles, attic ventilation, starter strip shingles and accessory paint. Good Housekeeping awarded GAF-Elk it’s Good Housekeeping Seal, a sign of quality. Their products are not carried by large chains such as Home Depot, but they do list distributors on their web site gaf.com.

GAF Roofing also offers other products such as stones, decking and siding to complete the look of your home. When selected a roof or any product do some comparison. No matter how good the company or how many awards it has, it’s always best to consider a number of companies.