Roof Permits And Inspections: What Actually Happens And Why You Want It

Why a permit

Under the Florida Building Code and Chapter 489, re-roofing is permitted work. The permit does three things for you: it puts the job on the public record, it requires the roofer to build to the current code including the wind-resistance requirements for your site, and it brings a building inspector to the roof at the stages where the work can still be seen.

The stages

Exact names and sequence vary by jurisdiction - Palm Beach County and the municipalities each run their own building departments - but a tile or shingle re-roof typically has:

1. Deck / dry-in inspection. After tear-off, with the deck exposed or the underlayment down, before any covering goes on. The inspector checks the deck nailing (older roofs are often re-nailed to current code), the underlayment type and laps, the drip edge and flashings. This is the inspection that matters most and it is the one you cannot recover if it is skipped - once the tile is on, nobody can see what is under it.
2. In-progress inspections where the jurisdiction requires them - for example, tile attachment or a mid-roof check on larger jobs.
3. Final inspection. The finished roof: covering complete, flashings, vents, ridge and hip, and the site cleaned up. The permit is closed when this passes.

What the inspector is checking against

The permit application includes the product approvals for what is going on the roof - the Florida Product Approval or, in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward, not Palm Beach County), the Notice of Acceptance. Those documents specify how the product must be installed to achieve its wind rating. The inspector checks that what is on the roof matches what was approved and is installed the way the approval says.

Why you want it

• Independent eyes. The inspector works for the county, not the roofer.
• The record. A closed permit on your address is proof, years later, of what was done and when. It is what a buyer's inspector will look for. It is what an insurer may ask for.
• Wind mitigation. The details verified at inspection - deck nailing, secondary water barrier, attachment - are the same details a wind mitigation inspection looks for. A permitted roof makes that form easy to complete.

The unpermitted roof

An unpermitted re-roof is cheaper on the day. Afterwards, it is a roof with no record, that may not meet code, that may have to be disclosed at sale, and that a building department can require you to open up or bring into compliance if it comes to their attention. The contractor who did it has moved on. The liability has not.

How to check

Ask for the permit number and look it up on the jurisdiction's permit portal. Most Palm Beach County municipalities and the county itself have online search. If the roofer says a permit is "not needed" for a full re-roof, that is your answer about the roofer.

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