Training and education
Why train with GAF?
More than a quarter of a million roofing and design professionals have trained with GAF, both in person and on demand. From specification, to sustainability, to installation, there’s a GAF curriculum to move your business forward.
A dedicated Building & Roofing Science team
Our professionally diverse and regionally dedicated Building and Roofing Science team of architects is available for consultation and problem-solving, at industry events nationwide as well as by appointment during dedicated “office hours.”
GAF CARE training
For design professionals seeking hands-on understanding of roofing products, installation methods, and in-the-field challenges, the GAF CARE (Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence) team is making its industry-leading installer training courses available for architects, designers and specifiers.
Learn at your own pace through the GAF Learning Portal
The GAF Learning Portal offers self-guided and self-paced trainings on a wide range of topics, including architect-specific information and techniques as well as installation insights to help drive more informed design decisions.
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Continuing education by topic
Whether you’re looking to reinforce your specialty, fulfill an AIA credit requirement, or simply close a knowledge gap, we have the courses, white papers, webinars, and blog posts you need to get there.
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Blog | Air Barriers and Vapor Retarders: The Current Conundrum | The roofing industry continues to discuss vapor retarders but should be discussing air barriers. | |
| AEC Daily Online Course | Air Barriers And Vapor Retarders: The Conundrum | This presentation provides the practical side to the AB/VR discussion and identifies common VRs and ABs, how they're installed, and why AB/VR approaches vary according to the type of construction and building use. | |
| Technical Paper | The impact of air barrier systems on energy efficiency. | Learn to recognize the changing building and energy codes and their interaction with building enclosure systems, how to implement an air barrier strategy to comply with the code and owner performance requirements, and explain how specific air barrier systems can be applied to current and future project designs. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| AEC Daily Online Course | Building Energy Efficiency & Roof Design | This course examines how the roof of a building—one of the few parts of a building envelope that undergoes periodic replacement—impacts energy efficiency. It also explores how roof design can be a key contributor to meeting both sustainability and energy operating cost goals. | |
| White Paper | Cool Roof Use in Commercial Buildings in the United States: An Energy Cost Analysis | Solar radiation absorption and reflection on roof surfaces affects heating and cooling energy demand. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Cool Roofing for Cool Climates | TPO and PVC membrane reflective roofs continue to prove their effectiveness in all climate zones, debunking myths that cool roofing is only suitable in warm environments | |
| Blog | Energy Efficient Roofing: The Race is On | More roofing products are becoming energy efficient, including a thermally broken roof hatch manufactured by BILCO. The roof hatch (shown is the Type S model) has an R-value of 20.3 in the cover and curb, and meets code requirements and standards currently in line with today’s commercial roofing systems. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Maximizing Roof System Energy Efficiency and Performance | This webinar will review air flow withing roof systems, the impact of insulation levels and fasteners, thermal bridging, the role of reflective roofing and the impact of geographic location, and the components needed to design and energy efficient roof system. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | R-Value Optimization for Low-Slope Roofs | Are you getting what you paid for? | |
| White Paper | Reflective Roofing Use on Commercial Buildings in the United States: An Energy Type and Cost Analysis | Reflective roof membranes have been shown to lower air conditioning costs by reducing the influx of thermal energy through a roof assembly and into the building. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| White Paper | Structural Concrete Decks, Vapor Retarders, and Moisture - Rethinking What We Know | Low-slope roofing assemblies include a wide range of insulation and single ply membrane attachment methods. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Lunch and Learn | Modified Bitumen Systems | Participants will be able to differentiate between the two most common modified bitumen roofing systems including APP and SBS. Installation methodologies will be outlined including best practices for waterproofing odd details and penetrations. | "Presented by your local GAF Territory Manager Contact designservices@gaf.com or call 877-423-7663, Option 4, then Option 3 for virtual or in office presentation Note: Due to Covid 19 all presentations are currently scheduled as virtual meetings" |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Addressing Moisture Durability and Energy Performance in Roof Assemblies | A Critical Review of Multiple Voluntary Green Building Certification |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Blog | Parapets — Continuity of Control Layers | The parapet is so much more than the intersection of roof and wall. It's also the junction where building aesthetics meets structural performance, air and moisture management, energy efficiency, construction trade sequencing, and operational maintenance | |
| Continuing Education Center Article | Parapets — Continuity of Control Layers | Parapet continuity of detailing required to manage moisture, air, vapor and thermal performance, as well as wind resistance requirements at the critical wall-to-roof interface. | |
| Continuing Education Center Article | Parapet Predicaments and Roof Edge Conundrums | Discuss requirements to manage moisture, air, vapor and thermal continuity. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Blog | Are You Considering Adaptation in Your Roof Design? | Your Roof Designs Are Resilient and Sustainable – Great Job! But Are You Considering “Adaptation” in Your Planning? | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Resilient Roof Systems | Roofs are the first line of defense against ever-increasing and ever-stronger weather events. How do you design roofs for long-term wind resistance; are you making the correct assumptions? Do you consider roof edges when designing for wind? What about impact resistance; are you including the correct components to increase toughness? Did you know overall system attachment, insulation design, and roof color affect long-term resilience? Let’s discuss how to build truly great roofs! |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| White Paper | Insulation Value Optimization For Low Slope Roof | Low-slope roofing assemblies include a wide range of insulation and single-ply membrane attachment methods. | |
| Lunch and Learn | Nail Base Insulation | This course presents an overview of insulated panels in above deck applications defining design criteria, the environmental benefits of an insulated panel deck system, and trends in product utilization. | "Presented by your local GAF Territory Manager Contact designservices@gaf.com or call 877-423-7663, Option 4, then Option 3 for virtual or in office presentation Note: Due to Covid 19 all presentations are currently scheduled as virtual meetings" |
| White Paper | Polyiso Foam Insulation: A Refresher | Thermal insulation is an important part of commercial roofing assemblies, with polyisocyanurate foam, or polyiso, being the most common form today. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Commercial Rooftop Solar Design Explained | Building codes provide the minimum requirements for the construction of roofs in North America. This session looks at how the model codes and standards influence and guide low-slope commercial roofing. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Commercial Rooftop Solar: Maximizing a Stellar Opportunity | Expanding Solar Power Generation through Design | |
| Blog | Roof Design Considerations When Incorporating Solar | For commercial rooftop solar, it is often cost-prohibitive to remove the solar arrays, install a new roof and reinstall the solar arrays. | |
| Blog | Solar-ready design for low slope roofs | Though photovoltaics are increasingly a key component of commercial projects, they may create challenges for the roof system. AIA partner GAF offers best practices to consider to ensure the roof and solar array perform as designed. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Lunch and Learn | Commercial Roofing Trends | This course presents a market analysis of the low slope/commercial roofing segment, defining code drivers, environmental implications, influencing factors of decision making, and trends in product utilization. | "Presented by your local GAF Territory Manager Contact designservices@gaf.com or call 877-423-7663, Option 4, then Option 3 for virtual or in office presentation Note: Due to Covid 19 all presentations are currently scheduled as virtual meetings" |
| AEC Daily Online Course | Low Slope Roofing: Why Choose Thermoplastic Single-Ply Roofing Systems? | With a focus on commercial roofing systems, this course explores the drawbacks of traditional asphaltic roofing, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of single-ply roofing systems and their attachment technologies | |
| White Paper | Proven Performance — An Aged TPO Field Study | A recent study of EverGuard® TPO roofs installed between 8 and 16 years ago found they all performed above ASTM standards for newly manufactured TPO. | |
| Lunch and Learn | "Single Ply Membranes Comparison Between Thermoplastic and Thermoset Membranes TPO vs. EPD " | Side to side comparison of the features of Thermoplastic single ply membranes and Thermoset Single ply membranes. This course will also discuss the environmental impact of each, including LEED. Different installation methods will be illustrated | "Presented by your local GAF Territory Manager Contact designservices@gaf.com or call 877-423-7663, Option 4, then Option 3 for virtual or in office presentation Note: Due to Covid 19 all presentations are currently scheduled as virtual meetings" |
| AEC Daily Online Course | Single-Ply Roofing Systems Exposed | This course reviews the most prevalent membranes and describes the advantages and disadvantages of EPDM, PVC, and TPO. An overview of attachment methods is presented as well as a discussion of single-ply system strength, cool roof benefits, and condensation issues from a building science perspective. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Cold Storage Roof Design | Cold storage buildings are often thought of as a typical building turned inside out. These buildings are designed to keep heat out, instead of keeping heat in during cold weather. But is it that simple? We will review the importance of unique construction assemblies, the primary control layers, and how we need to think about them in this inside out scenario to reduce the risk of condensation. | |
| Blog | How to specify roofs for cold storage and freezer buildings | This AIA blog explains what architects need to know about vapor drive and thermal bridging for cold storage applications. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| White Page | Assessing Retrofit Single-Ply Roof Systems Installed Over Existing Metal Panel Roof Systems | Metal buildings with metal panel roof systems are commonly used across the United States, and a retrofit single-ply roof system is frequently installed after the metal roof is no longer providing useful service. | |
| White Page | Physical Testing for Wind Resistance of Retrofit Single-Ply Roof Systems Over Structural Metal Panel Roof System | Wind uplift is a primary concern when installing a retrofit single-ply roof system (RSPRS) over a structural metal panel roof. ASTM E 1592 physical testing was performed on three test roof assemblies in order to determine the wind uplift resistance of an RSPRS installed over existing structural metal panel roof systems fastened directly into purlins. This paper presents the findings and conclusions of that analysis. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Retrofit Single-Ply Roof Systems over Metal Panel Roofs | What are current market practices, best practices and industry concerns for wind resistance? |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| AEC Daily Online Course | Steep Slope Roofing: Ventilation Solutions | This course discusses principles of proper ventilation in houses with steep-slope roofing—from the science behind moisture and airflow to the products used to assist ventilation through a structure. | |
| Lunch and Learn | Steep Slope Roofing: Ventilation Solutions | An improperly ventilated house is susceptible to a range of problems, from mold growth and structural damage to increased energy costs. This course discusses principles of proper ventilation in houses with steep-slope roofing from the science behind moisture and airflow to the products used to assist ventilation through a structure. | Presented by your local GAF Territory Manager Contact your local Territory Manager |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| White Papers | "Eliminating Fastener Thermal Bridging in Low Slope Roofs: Energy Efficiency Savings versus Installation Cost " | Low-slope roofing assemblies include a wide range of insulation and single ply membrane attachment methods. | |
| Technical Paper | Assessment of Thermal Bridging of Fasteners Through Insulated Roof Assemblies | Learn how the research team used a series of laboratory tests to compare the thermal performance of physical models of simple roof assemblies under controlled laboratory environmental conditions with computer simulations of the same conditions. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Decoding Commercial Roofing Codes | Building codes provide the minimum requirements for the construction of roofs in North America. This session looks at how the model codes and standards influence and guide low-slope commercial roofing. | |
| Technical Paper | Six Frequently Misunderstood Topics Related to Commercial Building Enclosures | Discussions between architects, building enclosure consultants, product manufacturers, and contractors frequently center around common misunderstandings regarding commercial building enclosures. This presentation will address five common topics using case studies, specific project examples, and citations from previous literature. |
| TYPE | TOPIC | OVERVIEW | LINK |
| White Papers | Simplifying the Complicated Process of Wind Design for Roof System | This paper discusses the similarities and differences between the three versions of ASCE 7 and the roofing industry-developed methods to determine loads. | |
| Continuing Education Center Webinar | Wind Design and Value Engineering | Roofs are the first line of defense against ever-increasing and ever-stronger weather events. And, contrarily, value engineering (VE) is becoming, if it isn’t already, much more of the norm in the roofing and construction industries. This presentation will present the complexities of wind design and options for long-term performance. The potential pitfalls of value engineering of roof systems and ways to assess overall performance based on life cycle versus initial costs will be discussed. | |
| Technical Paper | Wind Tunnel Testing of Edge Metal | Wind resistance of edge metal continues to be a concern during high-wind events. Edge metal at perimeters and corners is often determined to be the initial point of failure of roofing systems during wind events. The loss of edge-metal functionality can lead to progressive failure of a larger portion of the roof system, potentially allowing water infiltration and damage to or loss of assets in the interior. |
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