Case Study

Being an owner-builder, you hope that every detail of your new house runs smoothly. Though we can’t say this for the entire build, we know Arthur Papas had a flawless execution on the most important part of his house, the roof.

We asked Arthur why he decided to go ahead, against the traditional roofing choices and with an asphalt shingled roof, specifically the Royal Sovereign.

“The look was something I always dreamed about, and I really liked the GAF product. But you don’t really know until you put the roof on, but when I did, I made my mind up straight away and the roof now speaks for itself,” Arthur said.

Other than an unparalleled street appeal, asphalt shingles have a sleeker and more refined look compared to any other roofing material. They are built to withstand the harshest of weather conditions. GAF Roofing asphalt shingles are BAL 29 fire rated, BRANZ certified, ASNZ/4020 drinking water certified, and include an up to 50-year warranty.

Arthur knew what he wanted before approaching GAF Roofing and that was an authentic, Long Island Hampton’s styled home. The typical Hamptons home includes Linea weatherboards, large windows, French doors, an abundance of natural light and of course a high-pitched roof with GAF Roofing’s asphalt shingles.

Bowen’s product and innovation specialist, Andrew Healey, says the product is a market leader that will change the way the nation builds their homes.

“Whilst not a new product, it is new to the Australian market. After conducting some research, I found that this product was the market leader in the US which meant we at Bowen’s felt very confident partnering with GAF.”

“The product looks great. It is tested for Australian conditions and is really going to give a competitive edge in the marketplace,” he said.

Installed on over 90 million homes in the United States, this product has been used in America for more than 100 years. Despite its popularity in the Northern Hemisphere, the product is fresh to the Australian market meaning there is a lack of education from both a consumer and carpenters’ perspective.

Arthur being both, he initially had some concerns with installing the roof himself. That’s why GAF Roofing provided one of our qualified installation technicians to teach Arthur and his crew how to install our product, on-site.

The GAF technician spent multiple days onsite both instructing and training the team to become installers.

Gaf roofing being installed over frame

We asked Arthur how he found both the onsite training and service from the GAF team.

“We found the installation process at the start very daunting, but just like anything new, you pretty much adapt straight away and after a day or two, we got the hang of it and it was like, we’re doing it for 10 years,” Arthur said,

GAF Roofing offers two training options: A session at Bowens Training and Innovation Centre with a technician or alternatively an onsite expert during the installation process.

Arthur chose the latter because he believed he was more of a hands-on learner.

“I know that being in an enclosed environment you can get proper training from experienced technicians, but I always find that being on-site, there are elements that wouldn’t arise in the classroom. While we were on-site, we got to experience different weather conditions and you’ve got different textures and angles of the roofs,” he said.

Like Arthur, one of the reasons this product is projected to be a leader in the Australian market is due to the fact that carpenters can install their own roofs.

GAF Roofing co-owner Damien Long believes the product will reduce the dependency on other trades and expedite the completion of new homes.

“The main reason this is such an innovative product is that tradespeople can now finish their newly built house without waiting around for roofing installers which will ultimately save them time, money and they will have full control from build to lockup,” Long said.

The innovation of this product eliminates the need for other trades like roof tilers and plumbers ultimately giving the builder total control of the project.

We asked Arthur how likely he was to recommend our product to other builders and homeowners.

“People who are sitting there on the fence I’d tell them it looks fantastic on my house, but the easiest decision-maker is to just come and have a look. Once you look at the product on a roof the roofing system ultimately sells itself,” he said.

GAF Roofing: The Hamptons Look

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