Frequently Asked Questions

The industry accepted average is once a year, or after any significant storm.  Storms with high winds and/or accompanying hail can wreak havoc on your roof.  95% of the time, this damage cannot be seen from the ground.  Many time, not even a skilled roofer can detect this damage.  Only a Certified Roof Inspector is able to detect and show these damages to a homeowner.  

Absolutely!  Leaks are a homeowners last cue that there something definitely NOT good is going on.  Roof damage starts when shingles are uplifted during a storm with high winds or hail.  During high wind storms, shingles are uplifted and they flap around up there during the entire storm.  If the shingle is over 7 years old, it is most likely "brittle" due to the baking of the sun and internal attic temperatures.  What this means is, as the shingle flapped in the wind,  if most likely incurred a fractured matting along with the inability to re-stick again.  Hence, your roof inability to shed water properly.   This is where the roof leak you will see years later has started.  Same thing with Hail Damage.  Hail strikes, granules  displace and the under matting gets fractured leaving the asphalt layer of your shingle exposed to the UV rays.  Summary, UV rays eat through the asphalt and water now gets through.

It's simple.  They want to make sure that the property they are insuring can withstand the high force winds and extreme mother nature we have in Florida.  It does not matter whether a shingle manufacturer says a shingle is "lifetime", "20" year, "30" year etc. guaranteed.   All that means is, that in an ideal setting, void of "Extreme"  & "Constant" weather anomalies, the shingle should last that long.  Unfortunately,  we live in Florida.  A moist, hot, tropical climate battered by constant torrential thunderstorms with monthly recorded wind gusts of 115+ MPH is by nature kill a shingle.  A shingles warranty covers a shingle flying off.  But is does NOT cover the constant uplift, fracturing, and degration caused by weather events.  After 7 years, a shingle becomes brittle.  Hence, insurance companies keep tabs on the age and right at about 10-15 years, knowing that the shingle they are insuring for you is NOT able to keep water out of your home, they send you a nice letter stating that you need to change your roof or they will drop you.  On the flip side, what we have found when getting called out for roof bids due to this common insurance practice, is that there was evidence of storm damage that turned out to be a covered peril by the insurance company that is trying to drop the homeowner.  Hence, the insurance company has ended up paying for the damage as they should and the homeowner is simply responsible for their deductible.