Why is metal so common in the Keys?

Uplift at the highest design pressures in Florida, continuous salt exposure, and dead load on elevated or older structures. On the mainland metal is the upsell; here it is the sensible starting point, and shingle is the choice that deserves an explanation.

Does the covering decide how a roof performs?

Less than people think. Uplift acts on a chain — covering to deck, deck to framing, framing to walls. The assembly performs at the level of its weakest connection, which is why deck re-fastening matters so much during a re-roof.

Why does a Keys re-roof cost more?

Materials in and tear-off out along one road, crews lodged locally rather than commuting, and disposal that is a real line item instead of a short haul. Very little of the difference is the roofing itself.

No. We are Fort Lauderdale based and work Monroe County in scheduled blocks with crews lodged here. Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor; roofing work is performed under the appropriate trade certification. Ask for the license details and verify them with the state.

the Florida Keys

Metal Is the Normal Answer Here. Ask Why It Was Not on Your Quote.

Monroe County carries the highest design wind speeds in Florida, and most of the crews quoting here are based on the mainland specifying what they sell at home. We price metal as a matter of course, fasten the deck to the schedule this address actually needs, and plan how the old roof leaves.

Book an inspection Call (954) 807-3208

Give us the mile marker, tell us what is on the roof now, and say whether the property is rented out. Those three shape the job.

Four places account for most South Florida roof leaks. None of them is the middle of the roof.

Metal

Down here it is the normal answer, not the upsell

Load path

At these wind speeds the covering is not the real question

Out too

The old roof has to travel the whole chain to leave

Licensed

A licensed Florida general contractor

Roofs we work on

Six kinds of roof, judged against the highest wind figures in the state.

Metal Roofs

Metal leads this list because in Monroe County it is the ordinary choice rather than the expensive one. What separates a twenty-five year metal roof from a twelve year one is almost never the panel.

Flat & Low Slope

A great deal of Keys building stock is concrete with a flat or very low slope roof. Those roofs fail at drainage and at edges rather than across the field, and coating is the answer offered far more often than it is the right one.

Tile Roofs

Tile appears throughout the Keys and it asks more of a building here than it does further north. Fastening is the whole conversation, and the underlayment beneath decides when the roof needs doing.

Shingle Roofs

Shingle exists throughout the Keys and it works when it is chosen and installed deliberately. In the county with Florida's highest design wind speeds, it is the specification that ought to be explained rather than assumed.

Leak Diagnosis

Water enters at one point and appears somewhere else. On the concrete and parapet buildings common here it can travel a long way inside a wall before anybody sees anything.

Deck, Fastening & Uplift

The covering takes the sun and the rain. The fastening underneath is what keeps the roof on the building, and in the county with the highest design pressures in Florida that is where the job is won or lost.

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Florida Keys specifics

What is different in the Keys

Highest wind figures in Florida, and everything arrives and leaves by the same road.

Metal Is the Default

In most of Florida a roofer works up from shingle to metal and metal is the premium option. In the Keys that ordering is reversed, and shingle is the specification that ought to arrive with an explanation.

The Load Path

Monroe County carries the highest design wind speeds in Florida. What decides how a roof performs is not principally the material on top — it is whether the whole assembly stays connected to the building.

Tear-Off Has to Leave

Roofing is the heaviest trade in construction. A re-roof brings tons of material in and sends tons of tear-off out, and on an island chain the outbound leg is a genuine cost rather than a short trip.

Roofs Over Rentals

A large share of Keys property is rented out. On an earning building a roofing job is scheduled around a booking calendar, and a leak is a refund and a review rather than an inconvenience.

How We Work Here

We are Fort Lauderdale based and work Monroe County in scheduled blocks with crews lodged locally. On a chain where a lot of unfamiliar companies work, being plain about that matters.

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The difference

Why people call us rather than a crew driving down for the day

In the Keys metal is the default, and shingle is the choice that needs explaining

Everywhere else in Florida metal is the premium option a roofer works up to. Down here it is simply what suits the conditions, and shingle is the specification that ought to come with a reason attached. Mainland crews arrive pitching shingle because that is what they sell at home, not because they have looked at your building.

At these wind speeds the covering is not what decides it

Monroe County carries the highest design wind speeds in Florida. What matters most is not the brand of the material on top but whether the roof stays attached to the walls, and the walls to what is underneath. That is a connection and load path question, and it is the one least likely to appear in a quote.

Everything that comes off has to travel the whole chain to leave

Roofing is the heaviest trade in construction. A re-roof brings tons of material in and sends tons of tear-off out, and on an island chain the outbound leg is a real cost rather than a twenty-minute trip to a transfer station. A quote that is silent about disposal has left something out.

We inspect, we photograph, and our own crews do the work

You get an inspection, photographs of what we actually found, and a written scope before anyone talks about a number. Our crews are lodged here for the block rather than driving four hours each way, which is the only way this work gets done properly.

Start here

Book an inspection

Give us the mile marker, tell us what is on the roof now, and say whether the property is rented out.

You get the photographs either way.

FAQ

Common questions

Why is metal so common in the Keys?: Uplift at the highest design pressures in Florida, continuous salt exposure, and dead load on elevated or older structures. On the mainland metal is the upsell; here it is the sensible starting point, and shingle is the choice that deserves an explanation.
Does the covering decide how a roof performs?: Less than people think. Uplift acts on a chain — covering to deck, deck to framing, framing to walls. The assembly performs at the level of its weakest connection, which is why deck re-fastening matters so much during a re-roof.
Why does a Keys re-roof cost more?: Materials in and tear-off out along one road, crews lodged locally rather than commuting, and disposal that is a real line item instead of a short haul. Very little of the difference is the roofing itself.
Are you local?: No. We are Fort Lauderdale based and work Monroe County in scheduled blocks with crews lodged here. Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor; roofing work is performed under the appropriate trade certification. Ask for the license details and verify them with the state.

Next step

Find out what is actually wrong with it.

An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.

Book an inspection (954) 807-3208