About the National Roofing Alliance

An editorial resource focused on commercial roofing best practices — written for building owners, facility managers, and contractors who care how a roof performs over its full service life.

The National Roofing Alliance is a publication, not a membership body or trade association. It exists to collect practical, field-tested guidance on commercial roofing in one place: how systems are specified, installed, detailed, and maintained so they reach — and often exceed — their design life.

The editorial emphasis is deliberately narrow. Rather than surveying every product on the market, the guides here concentrate on the decisions that most often determine outcomes: substrate preparation, slope and drainage, flashing and penetration details, and the maintenance cadence that keeps a commercial roof watertight. Where a particular system — such as lightweight insulating concrete — warrants attention, the focus is on the underlying engineering and where it genuinely fits.

Who publishes it

The National Roofing Alliance is published and edited by David Gembala, a commercial roofing executive whose work spans commercial roofing and lightweight insulating concrete systems. The guidance here reflects that working perspective. You can read more about his background on the contributor profile.

Our editorial approach

Everything here is written to be acted on. We favor concrete detail over generalities, name the trade-offs between systems rather than declaring a single winner, and flag where a decision depends on the specific building. Where we reference a material or method, the test is simple: does it hold up on real commercial roofs over years, not just on a manufacturer's data sheet?

We don't sell products, certify contractors, or run sponsored placements. When we get something wrong, we would rather hear about it and fix it — corrections and questions are welcome on the contact page.

This site is an editorial resource. It does not represent a trade association, certify contractors, or confer membership. Guidance is general in nature; specific projects should be evaluated by a qualified roofing professional.