Roof Replacement in Fort Myers, FL

The renewal letter says the roof is twenty-two years old and the policy will not be written again without a replacement or an inspection showing five years of life left. The tile looks the same as it did in 2004. This site connects you by phone with an independent local roofing contractor who replaces roofs in Lee County.

What the crew does first

The contractor walks the roof and checks the attic to see what is under the tile or shingle. That decides the scope. A replacement means the old roofing comes off down to the plywood deck. Rotted or delaminated decking is cut out and replaced. Then the deck is renailed to the current code pattern, a new underlayment goes on, and the finished roof is installed over it.

Before any of that, the contractor files for a permit. In Lee County a roof replacement is inspected during the job, usually at the dry-in stage, and again at the end. The county's Roof Application and Permitting Guide spells out what the contractor has to file. The permit number should be on the written scope.

What to do before the crew arrives

Ask for a written scope that names the underlayment, the fastening pattern, the finished material and its wind rating, and the permit office. Ask what happens if bad decking is found once the tile comes off, and how that is priced. If you live in an HOA community, ask whether tile profile and color need architectural approval before the job is scheduled. Most Gateway, Estero, and Bonita Springs communities require it.

Move cars out of the driveway on tear-off day. Take pictures off the walls. Cover what is in the attic. Tile tear-off is loud and shakes the house.

What changes with a new roof

The deck attachment, the roof-to-wall connections, and the secondary water barrier are the features a wind-mitigation inspection records. A roof built today under the Florida Building Code will usually score better on all three than a 1990s roof, and that can earn credits on the wind portion of a homeowner policy. Ask the contractor to note those features on the scope so the inspection form can be filled out afterward.

Whether to go back with tile, shingle, or metal is a separate decision covered on the roofing materials page. A roof inspection first, with written findings, is the right move when the renewal letter is the only thing driving the call and the roof may have life left.

Lee County notes

Ian pushed thousands of replacements through the county's permit offices in 2023 and 2024. Contractors are less backed up now than they were, but tile lead times still vary by profile and color. The eighth edition of the Florida Building Code took effect on December 31, 2023, and any roof permitted since then is built to it.

Lee County is outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so Miami-Dade product approvals are not required, but the county sits in a wind-borne debris region and the coastal design wind speed is high. The unincorporated county handles its own permits. Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Estero, Sanibel, and Fort Myers Beach have their own desks, and homes on Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel that were substantially damaged by Ian face flood-zone rebuild rules on top of the roof permit.

Florida law now says an insurer cannot refuse a policy solely because a roof is under fifteen years old, and for older roofs it has to accept an inspection showing five or more years of useful life. That rule is why the inspection is worth doing before committing to a replacement.

Calling about roof replacement

Have the address and the year the house was built or the roof was last done. Say what the roof is now, tile, shingle, metal, or flat, and whether an insurer letter or a sale is driving the timing. Say whether an HOA governs the property. Call (239) 306-8745.