Pierce, director of contractor services for GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J., with husband Riley and dog Kody.
Professional Roofing: What is the most unusual roofing project of which you have been a part? Pierce: A 20-year warrantied roof system for a computer room inside a building—where a roof system guarantee was required and issued. Who said roofs have to be outside?
Why did you become involved in the roofing industry? As a cooperative engineering student during my junior year and senior year of college, I did project engineering work for a roofing manufacturer and joined the company full-time after graduation. From the manufacturing side, I knew immediately there always would be a need for roofs, and though roofing doesn't have the glamour of other industries, you can have an effect and help other people in a significant way.
What was your first roofing experience? Building test decks for fire testing at Underwriters Laboratories Inc. during the summer of 1984. We built more than 100 built-up roofing and modified bitumen decks in a little more than four days. It was the first time I actually saw how different roof systems were constructed though...