Florida Laws About Roofs

• Roof replacements in Florida require a second water barrier. Xavier Arnau Serrat/Photodisc/Getty Images

  The Florida Building Commission adopted substantial amendments to roofing regulations in 2007. Any roof replacements on family residents that were built prior to the amended law require a secondary water barrier. The existing roof's decking must also be re-nailed per specified spacing if it does not already comply with the Florida Building Code. In wind-born debris locations, the intersection of the roof framing and wall must be strengthened so it is the same as the uplift capacities.

Windstorm Loss Mitigation Cost

• Florida legislation plans for the building commission to make realistic means available to retrofit existing buildings for roof-to-wall connections to prevent the retrofit costing more than the potential benefit.. This approach is to ensure that the cost of a refit does not exceed 15 percent of the replacement cost. Roof-to-wall connections will not be insisted upon unless both the evaluation and installation can be completed for a cost that is lower than 15 percent. For residential structures that already have hip and gable roof ends, priority will be given to retrofit the gable connections. This will not apply to residential structures where the width of the hip is in excess of 1.5 times that of the gable connection. Other prescriptive requirements regarding the installation of secondary water barriers for roofs may include criteria for roof shape and slope and the material required.

Reason for Legislation

• The mitigation of damage to buildings and the threat to life posed by the direct destructive effects of hurricanes in the state of Florida constitutes a valid reason for the Florida Building Code to stipulate roof-to-wall retrofits, as applicable. These windstorm loss mitigation measures are considered to be of critical importance by the Florida Building Commission because of the severe issues facing the state of Florida due to windstorm damage and its effect on insurance rates.

Positive Results

• The legislature is satisfied with the effectiveness of its windstorm loss mitigation measures that were put in place in August 2007. The legislature reports that damage to buildings constructed in accordance with its requirements has been less than it would have been if the amended legislation had not been implemented. Through implementation of the amended regulations, the ongoing threat to the safety and welfare of Florida residents has largely been mitigated.