What a roof replacement costs in Broward County
Two bids on the same Broward house can sit thousands of dollars apart with neither being dishonest — they simply cover different work. On this county’s housing, the differences hide in four places: under the tile, on the flat sections, in the metal spec, and in the paperwork.
The lines that move the number here
Material sets the frame. A shingle job is a tear-off — layers off, deck inspected and priced per sheet, new covering down. A tile job is usually a lift-and-relay: the tile preserved, the spent membrane replaced beneath it, breakage made good — same appearance after, very different work. And on the county’s 1955-1975 stock, a genuinely flat or gravel roof is a membrane project with its own rules, where drainage improvements matter more than brand names.
Then the Broward specifics. East of the highway, the metal — flashings, fasteners, drip edge — should be corrosion-rated and replaced, because salt finishes junctions long before fields. On the western boom stock, the ventilation correction is the highest-value line under this sun. And every product on the roof needs current Florida product approval, which is not bureaucratic trivia — it is what the inspector checks and what separates a compliant assembly from an expensive redo.
Rules and rhythms worth knowing
The 25 % rule first: once more than about a quarter of the roof is being redone, the whole assembly generally must meet current code. On older homes carrying decades of patches, that threshold arrives faster than owners expect — ask every bidder what the number becomes if it triggers.
The calendar second. June through September the afternoon downpours shorten the working day and soften asphalt past walking by noon, so crews start at dawn and schedules stretch. October to May is the real season, and its calendar fills from the first dry weeks. Gathering quotes in late summer, before your street’s wave breaks, buys both better attention and a better slot.
Make every bidder answer these
- Tile, shingle, or flat — and does the quote treat each section as itself?
- Most Broward houses mix systems: a tile main roof, a flat addition, a gravel patch from another era. A quote that prices the whole house as one material has missed the section most likely to be failing.
- On tile: what membrane product, what breakage allowance, what salvage plan?
- The tile is a shell over the membrane that does the real work. The product name, the assumed breakage and the sourcing for matches — those three lines are the tile quote; everything else is presentation.
- East of US-1: is every piece of metal corrosion-rated and replaced?
- Salt air fails a coastal roof at its fasteners, flashings and edges years before the covering gives up. Reused metal near the water is the old roof’s weakest part carried into the new one.
- Does every product carry current Florida product approval?
- South Florida requires tested, approved assemblies — the covering, the membrane, the fasteners, as a system. The inspector will check; better that the bidder already has.
- What is the attic ventilation scope, with intake and exhaust named?
- On the 1990s western stock, builder-minimum ventilation is the most common reason coverings retire early. Correcting it costs least on replacement day and pays across the new roof’s whole life.
- What happens to the price if the 25 % rule triggers?
- A repair that grows past a quarter of the roof becomes a code-compliant project by law. The honest bidder has a number ready for that scenario; the optimistic one meets it mid-tear-off.
Next step: What product approval means here