Brandon’s houses are on their second or third roof
Brandon’s big building years started in the 1970s and ran through the 1980s, so most houses here are well past their first roof. Call Roofing Services Tampa about a repair or a full replacement on one of those houses, or a newer one nearby, and we’ll get a licensed, insured roofer up on the roof. Brandon is unincorporated, so Hillsborough County issues the permits and does the inspections.
Home inspectors’ Florida estimates put architectural shingles at 15 to 20 years and three-tab shingles at 10 to 12. By that measure, a house from 1985 is on its second roof at least, and possibly its third. On the visit, the house’s age matters less than one date: when the current roof went on, and under which edition of the building code.
When a big repair turns into a full re-roof
This is where Brandon’s roof ages bite. Under Florida’s 25% rule, replacing more than a quarter of a roof put on before the 2007 code means bringing the whole roof or section up to current code, while roofs installed under the 2007 code or later only need the repaired part done to code. A Brandon house re-roofed in the 1990s or early 2000s sits on the wrong side of that line.
Picture a 1987 house re-roofed in 2004. A storm tears up about a third of it. That repair price has to carry the code work for the whole roof or section, deck nailing and water barrier included, not only the shingles. Two smaller repairs inside the same 12 months count together, too. That’s why the first thing your roofer looks for is the last roof permit on the address and the code it went on under.
What a code re-roof adds on a 1970s or 1980s house
Every house built in Brandon’s boom years was permitted before the Florida Building Code existed, and that triggers extra work when the old roof comes off. Expect to see these on the written price:
- Deck re-nailing. Older decks were often fastened lighter than today’s code allows, so your roofer adds nails with the deck bare, right after the tear-off.
- A secondary water barrier. A layer meant to keep rain out of the attic if the roof covering blows off in a storm.
- Sealed-roof-deck underlayment. Since the 2020 code, new shingle roofs and re-roofs here use one of three approved methods, such as a full self-adhered membrane or taped deck seams under the underlayment.
- Decking replacement. Rotten or delaminated sheets get swapped out once the deck is exposed, at a per-sheet price you’ll see in writing.
What a full roof replacement includes walks through the whole job in order. These upgrades are also what a wind mitigation inspection records once the job is done.
With the old roof off, the deck gets re-nailed and any bad boards or sheets replaced before the new underlayment goes down.
Townhome or condo: whose roof is it?
Only about half of Brandon’s homes are single-family detached houses. In a townhome or condo, the first roof question has nothing to do with shingles: whose roof is it?
The association’s declaration settles whether the roof over your unit is a common element the association maintains and insures, yours, or split between the two. Where one roof runs across several units, the association may replace it all at once. A color or material change can also need architectural approval.
If the roof over your unit is yours, or you’re not sure, call us and say it’s a townhome or condo. Your roofer looks at the section over your unit and where it meets the ones next door, and you’ll know what the repair involves before anything is decided.