Roofing contractor in Lake Mary, FL

Thirty years of building, one replacement window

Walk a Lake Mary street and the houses look like they went up within a few years of each other, because most did. The Census Bureau's estimates for 2020 to 2024 count 7,412 housing units in Lake Mary. Half were built in 1997 or earlier.

That puts 4,461 homes, about 60 percent, in the three decades from 1980 through 2009. Owners occupy 4,346 of the 6,913 occupied homes, about 63 percent, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $494,900. Detached houses account for 4,138 units, about 56 percent. Most of the rest are townhomes and apartments, including 930 units in buildings of 50 or more.

Neighbors who got their first roofs within a few years of each other tend to need new ones within a few years of each other too. When one house on a Timacuan cul-de-sac re-roofs, the rest are usually not far behind.

Counting forward from the year your house was finished

Architectural shingles in Central Florida usually give 15 to 22 years. Take a house completed in 1988. It would have needed its first new roof between about 2003 and 2010. If that was shingle, it is now 15 to 22 years old itself, and the house is due for its second or third.

A house finished in 1997, the city's median year, would have reached its first re-roof around 2012 to 2019, so that roof is past the midpoint of its life. Houses from the 2000s are the likeliest to still carry the builder's shingles, and many are at or past 20 years.

That is why our first question to a Lake Mary owner is when the roof was last replaced, not when the house was built. The date is usually in the permit history or the closing papers. If you can't find it, the shingle line and the underlayment usually tell us during a free roof inspection.

Two-story hip roofs are common here, so the roof is bigger than the footprint suggests. Some higher-end communities use concrete tile. The tile can outlast two shingle roofs, but the underlayment under it ages closer to a shingle's pace. A 1990s tile roof often needs the tile lifted and the underlayment replaced even when most tiles are fine. Our tile roofing page covers that job. For lifespan by material, see how long a roof lasts in Florida, and for patch versus new roof, see repair versus replacement.

The architectural committee comes first

Almost every Lake Mary subdivision has an HOA, and most have architectural review. Rules vary by association, so we read yours. Committees usually want the manufacturer, the product line, the color name and sometimes a sample or a photo.

We pull the approved list if your association keeps one, collect the manufacturer sheets and send the request with you. The review runs while materials are on order. Once approval is in writing, we file the permit and set a start date. A roof that goes on without approval can lead to a violation letter and a dispute over work already done, so approval comes first.

If your association allows a change of color or material, the request is the time to ask. Moving from shingle to metal or tile changes the weight, the cost and the look, and some committees want a whole street to match. Our roof replacement cost page compares the materials.

Heathrow addresses and the county line

A Lake Mary mailing address does not mean the City of Lake Mary issues the permit. Most of Heathrow and a few nearby gated communities are unincorporated Seminole County. We look up the parcel before we quote.

Inside city limits. The City of Lake Mary Building Division at 911 Wallace Court takes applications through its online portal. Inspections must be scheduled by 2 p.m. for the next business day.

Unincorporated Seminole County. The county takes permits and inspection requests online, and its Building Division is at 1101 E. First St. in Sanford.

The state's Notice of Commencement rule applies to both. Every full re-roof tops the $5,000 direct-contract line, so the notice is recorded with the county and posted at the house before the first inspection. Each job then gets an in-progress inspection and a final, and we meet the inspector and close the permit. Our permit guide goes into the details.

The two offices keep separate review queues and inspection calendars, so two houses a mile apart can move at different speeds. Before you sign, we tell you which office has your parcel and how that affects the start date.

The renewal letter on a 1990s house

The house insurers flag first is a 1990s or early 2000s build whose roof has never been replaced. Many carriers ask for a roof inspection or certification once shingles pass a set age, and some won't renew until the roof is new. A lot of Lake Mary owners call us right after one of those letters.

A wind mitigation report documents roof-to-wall connections and deck nailing, which can lower the windstorm part of your premium. We arrange one at no charge after every replacement. Our wind mitigation guide explains it, and the state's My Safe Florida Home program offers inspections and, for eligible owners, grants toward hardening work.

If a storm damages a large part of an older roof, Florida's building rules can require more than a patch. The 25 percent roof rule guide explains when that applies and how it affects a claim.

Irma and Milton in Seminole County

Irma crossed the area on September 10 and 11, 2017. The National Weather Service office in Melbourne logged a peak gust of 65 knots, about 75 mph, at Orlando Sanford International Airport. A USGS gauge 5 miles west-northwest of Lake Mary caught 12.46 inches of rain. The county's preliminary survey of 7,125 homes found 698 with minor damage, 162 with major damage and 24 destroyed, and put residential damage near $393 million.

Milton came in October 2024. Gusts in Seminole County generally ran 60 to 75 mph, reaching 84 mph in spots, with 6 to 10 inches of rain and up to 13 inches locally. The St. Johns River reached moderate flood stage near Sanford. A preliminary count found 554 structures affected, 54 with major damage and one destroyed. Public, residential and commercial losses together came to about $30 million.

Wind at those speeds breaks the seal strips on older shingles without tearing them off, and the damage can stay hidden until the next hard rain. If your roof went through either storm and nobody has looked at it since, a photo inspection will show what is there. If water is coming in now, we tarp first and document the damage for your insurer. The storm damage guide lists the first steps.

Our own crews, 35 minutes away

The people who tear off your old roof are our employees, and they install the new one too. We do roof repair on newer roofs with one problem and full roof replacement when the whole system is worn out. Lake Mary is about 35 minutes north of our East Orlando office.