Asphalt Shingle Roofing That Holds Up to North Florida Sun and Storms

Architectural shingles (dimensional or laminated) are two layers of fiberglass mat and asphalt fused together with granules on top. They are thicker than the flat three-tab shingles that covered most subdivisions in the 1980s and 1990s, they carry higher wind ratings, and they hide the small waves in an older deck that three-tab shows off. On a block-and-stucco hip roof in Palm Coast or a frame house in Crescent City, they give a shadow line that reads as a more expensive roof from the street.

They also go on fast: a crew can strip and re-roof an average single-story house in a day or two of dry weather.

The wrapper on a bundle of shingles was written for the whole country. North Florida is not the whole country.

UV is the big one. The asphalt in a shingle is what keeps it flexible, and the sun bakes that oil out a little every day. As the asphalt dries, the granules let go, the mat shows through, and the corners curl.

Algae is the second. The black streaks running down so many roofs around Palatka and DeLand are Gloeocapsa magma, a blue-green algae that feeds on the limestone filler in the shingle. It thrives in humidity and shade, so the north slope under a live oak goes first.

Storms are the third. A summer thunderstorm can drop an inch of rain in half an hour with gusts strong enough to lift an unsealed tab, and hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30.

Trees are the fourth. Pine needles pile up in valleys and behind chimneys, hold water, and rot the shingle they sit on. Pine sap and pollen glue the debris down. Keep the trees trimmed and the valleys clear, and a shingle roof lasts longer.

A shingle roof that survives a hurricane season is fastened down before the first shingle goes on. Here is the sequence on a JM Roofing job.

1. Tear-off to the deck. Every old layer comes off. We do not shingle over shingles. Once the deck is bare we walk it, mark soft or delaminated plywood, and replace it.
2. Deck re-nailing. The code requires the existing sheathing to be re-fastened to current standards when a roof is replaced, because the staples and short nails used decades ago do not hold in a hurricane. The crew adds ring-shank nails along every rafter or truss.
3. Secondary water barrier. Florida requires one on a re-roof. We seal the deck seams with self-adhered membrane, or peel-and-stick the whole deck, so the house stays dry even if wind strips shingles off.
4. Underlayment and drip edge. Synthetic underlayment over the barrier, then metal drip edge at the eaves and rakes, so water drops off the edge instead of wicking into the fascia.
5. Starter course. A starter strip with its own adhesive at every eave and rake, so the first course seals down and wind cannot get a fingernail under it.
6. Six nails per shingle. The high-wind nailing pattern, on the nail line, flush and not overdriven.
7. Flashing and boots. New pipe boots, new step flashing at every wall, new counterflashing at the chimney, kickout flashing where a roof edge meets a wall.
8. Hip and ridge. Purpose-made hip and ridge shingles over the ridge vent, sealed at the last cap where the nails would otherwise be exposed.
9. Ventilation. Ridge vent or off-ridge vents matched to the soffit intake, so the attic does not cook the shingles from underneath in August.

Every re-roof gets a county permit, and the inspector usually looks at the dry-in before the shingles cover it. Tania handles the paperwork. Juan is on the roof.

We mostly install metal roofing, so you would expect us to steer everyone to metal. We do not.

Shingles cost less up front, go on faster, and are easier for any roofer to repair. They are the sensible call if the budget is tight, if the house will be sold soon, or if a neighborhood association wants shingles.

Metal costs more on the first day and then mostly stops costing. Panels from Tri County Metals carry Florida Product Approvals in the FL 36904 family, and there is no asphalt to dry out and no granules to lose. A metal roof reflects more summer heat than a dark shingle, sheds pine needles instead of catching them, and does not grow algae streaks. Over the life of a house in this climate, metal is usually the cheaper roof.

The long version is in metal roof versus shingles in north Florida. Ask for a shingle quote and a metal quote side by side, and Juan will price both.

Juan will tell you when a repair is enough, because a lot of the time it is. A few tabs lifted by a storm, a cracked pipe boot, a nail pop under a stain on the ceiling: that is roof repair, and it costs a fraction of a roof.

The signs that point to replacement are different. Granule loss so heavy the mat shows in patches. Shingles that crack when you lift them. Curling across a whole slope. Leaks in more than one place, or a leak that comes back after a repair. Decking that gives underfoot. When those show up, patching is spending money on a roof that is done, and we would rather put it toward a roof replacement.

With the 2022 change to the Florida Building Code, a roof built to the 2007 code or later does not have to be replaced entirely just because more than 25 percent of it is being repaired. Our roof inspections page explains what we look at before either answer, and the answer comes in writing.

If a new shingle roof is the answer and the timing is bad, financing through Regions Bank is available with a prequalification that has no impact on your credit score. We roof houses across our service area, from Palatka and the rest of Putnam County out to Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Lake City.