New roof regulations increase cost
BY PETE SKIBA Florida Weekly Correspondent

Putting a new roof on your home just got more expensive.

A new state law covering the installation of stronger, hurricane-resistant, replacement roofs might actually hurt those it is meant to serve, roofers said.

And they're steamed.

Calling the law the worst he's seen, Dave Cumming, president of the Southwest Florida Roofing Contractors Association called for his trade-group's membership to contact state legislators to register disproval.

"(This law) gave no thought to the consumer at all," Cumming said. "We want a more reasonable law."

The minimum added to the cost of a new shingle roof would be about $2,600, said Jim Carducci, director of technical services for the Florida Roofing Sheetmetal & Air Conditioning Contractors Association Inc. in Winter Park. The statewide organization has many members in Lee County.

The usual price of a three-bedroom home in Southwest Florida comes in at between $12,000 and $15,000, Carducci said. Tiles roofs costing between $24,000 and $30,000 could have another $5,000 tacked on.

The law's intention is to protect homeowners, their homes and their treasured possessions from hurricanes, said Russ Cyphers, chief legislative aide to Florida State Insurance Chairman Bill Posey, RRockledge, the law's chief sponsor.

"Hardening (buildings) just makes sense," Cyphers said. "It will save people from danger, save insurance expense and it is an investment."

The law took effect Oct. 1 and roofing prices for replacing a shingle roof could go up 22 percent. A tile roof could go up by 20 percent.

People could be talked into using unlicensed and unregulated roofers to do the work more cheaply, said Joseph Lamb Jr. president of Bonita Springs' Gulf Western Roofing and Sheet Metal.

The idea to protect against storm wind and rain is a good one, roofers in Lee and Collier counties said. The way the law reads increases the time to replace a roof from a typical week to two or three weeks.

Under the law, homeowners must pay to have added or "secondary" water barriers installed to guard against leaks. These are usually layers of special plastic and plastic tape. Homes costing more than $300,000 need wall connections.

A general contractor must connect the roof to the wall. All well and good if all roofers were general contractors. They're not.

Exposing the roof to have the general contractor do the work and call for inspections while the roof is open to the weather struck Lamb as outrageous.

The law also states the homeowner cannot spend more than 15 percent above the new roof's cost for the roof-to-wall connections and inspections.

That doesn't cover the labor, materials and inspections said Troy Finecey, Fort Myers' A to Z Roofing Services Inc. vice president.

"We won't be able to finish the job," he said.

The insurance companies can't be expected to cover or give discounts to unfinished or non-inspected work, said Scott Johnson, executive director of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.

Replacement roofs must be inspected to receive any discounts, if the discounts are available, Johnson said.