The Florida climate greatly reduces the life expectancy of asphaltic shingles. Good quality shingles last between 15-20 years.
Old shingles and underlayments are always torn off to expose the decking. Plywood decking installed 15-20 years ago typically is not fastened per today's building code. Renailing of the decking is an inexpensive way of making the roofing structure more resistant to damage by severe winds.
Additional roof venting can be added during the reroofing process.
Proper supervision of reshingling application helps insure correct shingling fastening as well as proper detailing at roof penetrations and wall junctures.
Wood Shakes:
Even though this type of roofing has been badly maligned in Florida it is still popular.
Unlike installation in northern climates where the shakes were installed over spaced sheathing in Florida they were typically installed over solid plywood decking. The lack of venting from the underside coupled with the high humidity levels in Florida resulted in premature rotting of the shakes.
When we handle a wood shake reroof we now can incorporate new synthetic breathing underlayments into our specifications. Improved underlayments, using better quality shakes, fastening with stainless steel nails and using metal detailing at roof transitions all result in wood shake installations that will last 20 years.
