By Steve Panosian
Photos: CertainTeed
It is fascinating to discover an American company with more than 120 years of dedication and service in the building industry. In this case, a company that has evolved to meet the ever-changing environmental conditions that challenge the sustainable home design specialty and commercial markets. CertainTeed, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is a Saint-Gobain company, which develops comprehensive solutions for addressing the latest design trends that meet the demands of ever-evolving building construction codes. The company offers a broad range of products that include roofing, siding, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and other building materials.
Founded in 1904 as a General Roofing Manufacturing Company, CertainTeed was acquired in 1988 by Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies. Their roofing product line includes asphalt shingles, solar roofing, underlayment and accessories. Their siding portfolio includes vinyl siding, metal, polymer shakes and shingles, and insulated siding, along with options made from recycled materials and expanded metal and engineered wood technologies. CertainTeed offers a wide array of insulation solutions, gypsum drywall and finishing products. Acoustic ceiling panels, suspension systems and specialty ceilings allow for customizable solutions for unique aesthetic and performance needs. CertainTeed also uses many of its products to build prefabricated customized assemblies for turnkey building of residential homes through its ONE PRECISION ASSEMBLIES™.
Sustainability and Innovation
CertainTeed is committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Many of their products are designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of buildings. The company’s recycling programs, such as RenuCore™ and Build Circularity™ are dedicated to materials like asphalt shingles and vinyl siding. Ongoing research and development continue in the creation of advanced building solutions that meet the evolving needs of the market.
Certifications, Awards and Corporate Reach
- Many of CertainTeed’s products carry third-party certifications for sustainability and performance, such as ENERGY STAR® and GREENGUARD®.
- ONE PRECISION ASSEMBLIES™ (OPA) offsite construction system was awarded the Offsite Construction Award for Innovative Product or Service, along with the Supplier of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Offsite Construction Specialty Awards.
I recently sat down with Stan Gatland, Manager of Building Science and Comfort, to discuss CertainTeed’s product design insights and strategies for the development of fire-resistant products.
“Developing fire-resistant building materials has been a long-standing priority for CertainTeed. Most recently, this commitment has been driven by a combination of stricter industry regulations and building codes, heightened safety concerns, and changing environmental conditions. Overall, safety and resilience remain core values, with building solutions that are designed to stay ahead of evolving market demands.”
Steve: Hello Stanley, let’s begin with a little bit about your background.
Stan: Hi Steve. I’ve been with Saint-Gobain’s North American building science organization for a little over 25 years as a building scientist. A lot of my work involves marketing, sales and R&D in order to communicate system performance for all the various solutions that we have to offer to the different marketplaces.
I have a mechanical engineering background and a master’s degree in Thermal-Fluid Sciences and Energy Systems. Prior to joining Saint-Gobain, I have about seven years of lab experience for fire and materials testing and I’ve been involved with that on and off over the years.
Steve: What drove the need to develop a wider offering of fire-resistant building materials?
Stan: Developing fire-resistant building materials has been a long-standing priority for CertainTeed. Most recently, this commitment has been driven by a combination of stricter industry regulations and building codes, heightened safety concerns, and changing environmental conditions. Overall, safety and resilience remain core values, with building solutions that are designed to stay ahead of evolving market demands.
Steve: Are your fire-resistant certification products offered in both the commercial and residential markets?
Stan: Yes. CertainTeed’s fire-resistant materials are designed to meet a full spectrum of needs, from commercial to residential projects and from interior to exterior applications. Several of the brand’s residential roofing shingles, including the versatile Landmark® PRO and ultra-durable Landmark® ClimateFlex®, as well as commercial ceiling and wall solutions such as Petals and Ecophon® FADE™ Duo, are Class A fire-rated, offering peace of mind without compromising aesthetic appeal.
Several of CertainTeed’s drywall products, including the all-new FireLITE® Type X, offer superior fire protection and can be used for interior walls and ceilings in both residential and commercial applications. Made with gypsum, a naturally fire-resistant material, these solutions not only enhance safety but also contribute to performance-driven, sustainable design.
Urban Reserve™ – This CertainTeed aluminum siding is manufactured with high tensile strength aluminum at a premium 0.027″ thickness, this siding is fire resistant and designed for extreme cold, heat, rain and UV exposure.
Steve: Is the demand for these products growing?
Stan: Overall, we are seeing accelerated demand nationwide for fire-resistant building materials. In states like California, where severe wildfires have driven increasingly stringent building codes, builders, contractors and homeowners are prioritizing products that deliver durability, fire protection and design flexibility.
Steve: Is it safe to assume that new construction enjoys the fire-resistant advancements and innovations?
Stan: It is determined by new local codes, safety compliance and competitive advancements. Fire codes have been in the building codes for a long time now, driven by events like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and subsequently, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that caused tremendous fires. So, your major metropolitan cities have developed fire codes first and then as time evolved, it became something embedded in both the residential and the commercial building codes. Commercially, it is much more complex compared to residential.
It is important to understand that the building codes are designed so that people have enough time to reach safe egress in the event of a fire. Historically, there is a lot of wood construction in North America, so a majority of older residential construction is more combustible than those with Class A fire-related materials now, which play an important role in creating a safer structure.
Steve: I would imagine there are different codes for the several types of construction.
Stan: There are five classification types, and each dictates what you have to do from a fire safety standpoint.
- Type 1 classifies noncombustible materials and structures.
- Type 2 is noncombustible exteriors and components, as well as interiors with specific requirements that must be met.
- Type 3 includes noncombustible exteriors. The interior materials do not have to be noncombustible, but do need to meet certain safety requirements.
- Type 4 includes heavy timber construction that allows some interior materials to be combustible, but do need to meet certain requirements.
- Type 5 represents combustible materials.
Versatile Landmark Pro (left) and Ultra-Durable Landmark ClimateFlex (right)
Steve: What makes wall materials like gypsum crucial in construction?
Stan: So, one thing with gypsum board is its composition. Calcium sulfate dihydrate is the primary ingredient in gypsum board that provides its fire and sound resistance properties. When calcium sulfate is matched up molecularly with two water molecules, its inherent benefit is that if you have 100 pounds of gypsum, you have about 21 pounds of water in the board. It is the water in the gypsum board that works very effectively at resisting fire. Because until all of that water in the board evaporates as steam during a fire event, the temperature of the surface never goes above 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our CertainTeed FireLITE® Type X Lightweight Drywall Panel is used for interior walls and ceilings in residential and commercial applications requiring extended fire ratings. It can be used for new construction or renovations over wood or steel framing.
Steve: Can you highlight some of the other fire-resistant building materials in your portfolio?
Stan: Here are the popular building materials gaining attention that are also fire-resistant solutions:
Flintlastic® GTA-FR CoolStar® Ultra – CertainTeed’s highly solar reflective, fire resistant granulated, torch-applied, APP-modified cap sheet, Flintlastic® GTA-FR CoolStar® Ultra, is a robust, quick melt, roofing membrane engineered for low-slope residential and commercial use and meets California Title 24 and LA County Title 31 Cool Roof Requirements.
Urban Reserve™ – This CertainTeed aluminum siding is manufactured with high tensile strength aluminum at a premium 0.027″ thickness, this siding is fire resistant and designed for extreme cold, heat, rain and UV exposure.
MONOKOTE® – GCP’s MONOKOTE® is an industry-leading fireproofing material for skyscrapers and critical infrastructure. More than simply a code-compliant product, MONOKOTE® fireproofing brings with it over 50 years of proven performance in the field. Since the acquisition of GCP, MONOKOTE® is a product line in the Saint Gobain portfolio along with CertainTeed products.
Steve: What can you share about CertainTeed’s training and internal safety initiatives?
Stan: For installation challenges that require special attention and training, we offer installer training throughout all of our businesses, and we do have a certification program. It is a big part of what we do for our customers as a service because we have an obligation that our products must be installed correctly. When you think about it, all our building components are designed with integration in mind, and any gaps in the installation open the door to safety risks and liability.
Manufacturing safety is also of major importance to us. If you have been in a manufacturing environment, you know how active they are, you know how much is going on. That is our number one priority in our manufacturing plants.
And this is globally, it is the first thing for every meeting that we have as a company. Safety is discussed, and things are brought up, best practices are shared, and it is not just the manufacturing environment, safety is a large part of the culture for Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed business models.
Steve: Closing comments?
Stan: CertainTeed’s definite competitive edge is our product portfolio. We have the broadest portfolio in the industry. Sustaining this edge begins with our very robust R&D organization that is integrated, along with practical support from a technology standpoint through our building science service. These together further CertainTeed’s commitment to understanding customers’ needs and centricity.
That is how you are successful with the acceptance of innovation, and that is something that we are doing day in day out. It is important to also emphasize our culture of innovation, and that it is embedded into CertainTeed’s DNA.
Steve Panosian is a Senior Editor for Technology Designer Magazine. He is an independent consumer electronics industry consultant specializing in the CE Home Theater and Custom Installation (CI) market with over 40 years of experience in retail sales and various manufacturing roles.
