Construction legal teams all over the state of Florida just slapped their palms on their foreheads. Why? because there is technically no such thing as a hurricane proof roof. We would be so happy to sell a roof that we knew was going to survive a Cat 5 direct hit to our friends and neighbors. But what we can do is install a roof that will put up a good fight against the harsh elements of Florida. Here's a short run down on what makes a strong roof in the state of Florida.
Let's start from the bottom and work our way up. Do you have hurricane straps? If so, that's a great start. Your insurance company likes that too and will give you a small discount on your homeowners insurance premium for having the straps. This is generally not included in a reroof estimate but we can offer some more insight to the process. If you have any questions about hurricane straps please contact us for more information. https://www.heartroofingflorida.com/contactus
Moving up a few inches to renailing the decking, if not up to code. If you are removing the old roof, the decking has to be renailed to code no matter what or it will not pass inspection. This service is included in our estimates because we follow all local building codes. New 8D ring shank nails (they look like skinny screws but are installed via nail gun) are installed every 6 inches through the decking (your plywood substrate) and into the truss. Around the parameter, we have to renail every 4 inches. Again, another little discount from your insurance company for bringing the roof up to code. Hometown News here in Brevard County wrote a nice blog on the updates to the building code. Click on the link for more information: https://www.hometownnewsbrevard.com/news/new-edition-of-the-florida-building-code-coming-in-2021/article_1ba6881a-4528-11eb-8333-57854f6d88fa.html
I prefer the peel and stick underlayment to apply between the decking and roof covering. The new code is either felt (tar) paper, synthetic, or peel and stick for underlayment. Peel and stick offers the "secondary water barrier" discount to the homeowners insurance. It's basically a rubber membrane. If something were to damage the roof during a hurricane or random Florida mid-afternoon monsoon, the rubber membrane is very effective in keeping water out of the home. Which ever underlayment you prefer, we can provide in the estimate.
Now for the roof covering. Do you prefer shingle, metal, or tile? Shingle roofs offer up to 130 mph wind warranties now. The starter shingle needs to be installed a little bit differently to achieve the 130 mph rating but that's an easy task that we are trained on. Shingles do degrade over time but cost less than a metal roof. Metal roofs have a wind rating that is approximately 150 mph (it's actually an uplift rating in pressure but for the sake of comparison, I gave a mph rating). Metal roofs do not degrade over time. Tile roofs are beautiful and last a long time in Florida. Tile roofs also provide 150 mph wind rating and do not degrade over time. I found a really nice graphic that shows a quick overview of a roof replacement:
The best roof to install in Florida is one that is installed correctly and to Florida Building Code. It is also in your best interest to install a roof that fits in your budget. For a free estimate visit https://www.heartroofingflorida.com/contactus or call 321-499-3012.