Asphalt roofing in central florida: The Florida Guide
By Dale Prescott, Roofing contractor, Central Florida. Reviewed by Hal Winstead, Editor, licensed roofing contractor.
One July afternoon in Winter Park, I stood in a driveway and watched the edge of a five-year-old asphalt roof peel upward like a banana label. The crew that laid it had nailed throught rotted decking, and the first good storm found the weak seam. If you're trying to sort out who to call, a directory like roofing companies in Florida gives you names—but every name on it is only as good as what that roofer does before the shingles go down.
I'm Dale Prescott. I've spent twenty-two years running tile and shingle crews between Orlando and the coast, and I've torn off more storm-damaged roofs than I care to count. Most of what I tear off is asphalt roofing in central Florida that failed earlier than it should have. The shingles themselves weren't allways the problem.
The problem is usually the hand that laid them. That Winter Park roof wasn't even five years old. The homeowner paid for a new one out of pocket because the damage was poor workmanship, not wind. I'm not here to sell you a roof. I'm here to help you ask better questions before you buy one.
Why asphalt roofing in central Florida is still my default
Ask three roofers for an opinion and you'll get four. Here's mine. Asphalt roofing in central Florida still makes sense for most houses. It's easier to repair than tile, quieter in a heavy rain than metal, and the upfront cost won't make your eyes water the way a standing-seam quote will. It also takes a beating from UV, pine needles, and the sort of sideways rain we get in August. The secret isn't paying extra for a boutique shingle. The secret is putting that shingle over a deck that's sound and nailing it so the wind can't argue with it.
That's where roofers seperate from roofers. I of been wrong about this before, but I've opened up alot of roofs and the top side rarely surprises me. It's the underside that does. Rot, old leaks, termites—call it what you will. If the deck is soft, the new shingle is just a bandage. Roofing is priced by the square, which is ten feet by ten feet, and the real number depends on pitch, access, layers, and what is under the old roof. Anybody quoting over the phone is guessing.
One lady called me after a storm because a shingle had curled up "like a pig's tail." I found the one shingle, fixed it in under an hour, and told her she had a good roof. She looked disappointed. People hear what they want, and sometimes what they want is a new roof.
What I would actually do: Treat a phone quote as a rough guess, not a bid. A real number starts with somebody on the roof, in the attic, and at the eaves—not with a satellite image and a sales script.
Licences, permits, and the roofer who says you don't need either
In Florida, a roofing contractor is licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Look for DBPR licence prefixes CCC and RC. If you see CCC, the contractor is certified and can work anywhere in the state. If you see RC, the contractor is registered and can only work in the local jurisdiction that issued the license. That matters more than people think. A registered roofer from the next