New construction ยท Brevard County
New construction roofing in Brevard County, FL
One in nine Brevard County homes, 10.9%, was built in 2010 or later, and the county's housing grew from 288,794 units in the 2020 Census to an estimated 299,305 in the 2020-2024 survey. Each new roof in that growth is permitted under the 8th edition of the Florida Building Code until December 31, 2026.
Updated October 2026
New roofs in Brevard, in short
A new Brevard roof follows the 2023 code, 8th edition, until permits submitted on or after December 31, 2026 move to the 9th. Inspectors check the framing, then the sheathing and dry-in, then the finished roofing, and the deck nailing follows the design wind speed the county's maps give for the lot.
Growth
How fast Brevard is adding homes
The 2020 Census counted 606,612 people here; the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey estimates 632,780. Housing went from 288,794 units to about 299,305, roughly 10,500 more, though the two counts use different methods, so read the gap as a direction. The stock is still old: 10.9% of homes date from 2010 or later, against 32.1% from before 1980.
Viera East, Viera West, Merritt Island and Port St. John take their permits from Brevard County Planning & Development, while Palm Bay, Melbourne, West Melbourne and Titusville permit new homes through their own building departments.
Code
8th edition now, 9th edition from December 31, 2026
The 8th edition took effect December 31, 2023. The 9th becomes effective December 31, 2026, and every permit application submitted on or after that date must meet it, so for a home designed this fall, ask which edition the plans follow.
Wind sets most roof details in either book. Sheathing takes ring-shank nails at a spacing that tightens with design wind speed and exposure, closest within 4 feet of edges, ridges and hips, and lots within 1 mile of the coast at 130 mph or more sit in the wind-borne debris region. Brevard County's address-level wind speed maps are the starting point.
Inspections
From framing to final: the roof's code stops
The code puts the inspections in order: framing once trusses, bracing and connectors are in, then sheathing, alone or with the dry-in, then the roofing inspection of dry-in, insulation, covering and flashing, then the final. A shingle or metal roof's dry-in takes one of three forms:
- Self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen underlayment over the whole deck.
- Self-adhering membrane or tape at least 3 3/4 inches wide over every deck joint, under approved underlayment.
- Two layers of felt-type underlayment, cap-nailed 12 inches apart in the field and 6 at the laps.
About 40% of Melbourne's yearly rain falls in June through August, so a deck left open in those months gets tested early. Owners may also use a private provider for plan review or inspections under Fla. Stat. 553.791.
The law
Soffits, builders and the one-year builder law
Matthew's Brevard damage included soffits, and FEMA's Hurricane Michael study found soffit failures letting wind-driven rain cause costly damage inside. The 2007 code made soffits resist wall-level wind loads, and FEMA's minimum practice is to fasten soffit panels at the wall and at the fascia, a detail easiest to get right on a new home.
A builder who lacks a roofing certificate or registration has to hire out the roof, with one carve-out for asphalt or fiberglass shingles on a new building of its own. An owner may act as builder on a one- or two-family home for personal use.
Since July 1, 2025, Fla. Stat. 553.837 has required builders to warrant a new home for 1 year against defects that cause a material building code violation, excluding normal wear, settling, owner-caused defects and natural disasters.
Bids
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Questions
New construction roofing in Brevard County: questions
Which code edition applies to a new Brevard home's roof?
Whichever edition is in force when the permit application goes in. Submissions before December 31, 2026 fall under the 2023 code, 8th edition; anything on or after that date must meet the 9th. That holds in Viera, where Brevard County Planning & Development issues permits, and in cities like Palm Bay with their own departments. Get the submission date from your builder in writing so you know which book the roof follows.
Can my builder put on the roof without a roofing contractor?
Only with shingles. Florida's contractor statute makes a general, building or residential contractor hire out roofing unless it holds a roofing certificate or registration of its own, with one carve-out: asphalt or fiberglass shingles on a new building it is constructing itself. A tile, metal or membrane roof needs a roofing contractor, whether the house goes up in Palm Bay or in unincorporated Merritt Island.
Who inspects a new roof in Viera?
Viera East and Viera West are census-designated communities, not cities, so Brevard County Planning & Development handles their permits and inspections. The owner, or the owner's contractor with written authorization, may instead hire a private provider, meaning a building code administrator, engineer or architect, for plan review or inspections. Either way the roof passes the same stops: sheathing and dry-in, roofing, then the final.
Does Florida's builder warranty law cover hurricane damage to a new home?
No. Fla. Stat. 553.837 makes a builder warrant a new home for 1 year against defects that cause a material building code violation, and it excludes natural disasters along with normal wear, settling and owner-caused defects. Storm damage is an insurance matter. In a county where Irma damaged more than 7,132 homes in 2017, talk to your insurer or agent about storm damage and to the builder about code defects.
How should a new roof deck be nailed near the Brevard coast?
To the code schedule for your design wind speed and exposure: ring-shank sheathing nails, 2 1/2 inches by 0.131 inch on most decks, spaced tighter as wind and exposure rise and closest within 4 feet of edges, ridges and hips. Brevard County's wind speed maps give the design speed by address, and gusts peak along the shore; Nicole reached 65 to 75 mph there in 2022. The sheathing inspection checks the nailing before the deck is covered.
Sources for this page(37)
- 1.Share of homes built 2010 or later: 10.9%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 2.Share of homes built before 1980: 32.1%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 3.NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal), access-data API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 4.Housing units (ACS 5-year): 299,305. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 5.Housing units (2020 Census): 288,794. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 MapServer: POP100, HU100, AREALAND, AREAWATER). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 6.Brevard County, Building Code Wind Speed Maps. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 7.Permit office: Brevard County Planning & Development, Building Permits. Brevard County Planning & Development, Building Permits. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 8.People (2020 Census): 606,612. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 MapServer: POP100, HU100, AREALAND, AREAWATER). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 9.Population estimate (ACS 5-year): 632,780. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 10.Hurricane Matthew (2016). NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Matthew (2016). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 11.Hurricane Irma (2017). NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (2017). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 12.Hurricane Nicole (2022). NWS Melbourne, Post Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Nicole (2022). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 13.FRSA, "New 2023 FBC Eighth Edition is Now in Effect", 2024-02-13. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 14.Miami-Dade County RER notice. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 15.FBCR Ch. 8. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 16.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., Chapter 8 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7).
- 17.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 2 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from C-4 (the research cites it "as C-4").
- 18.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 1 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from C-3 (the research cites it "as C-3").
- 19.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., Chapter 9 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026. FBC text read from UpCodes (unofficial transcription): check floridabuilding.org or the ICC viewer before quoting (spec 8.7). Source URL inherited from COM-29 (the research cites it "as COM-29").
- 20.Florida Statutes, section 553.791 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 21.FEMA. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 22.Florida Statutes, section 489.113 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 23.Florida Statutes, section 489.103 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 24.Florida Statutes, section 553.837 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 25.National Roofing Contractors Association, National Roofing Contractors Association. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 26.Senate SB 808 staff analysis pp. 3-4, Senate SB 808 staff analysis pp. 3-4. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 27.Florida Building Commission, "Florida Building Code Effective Dates", Florida Building Commission. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 28.Florida Statutes, section 553.844 (2026), Florida Statutes. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 29.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 15 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription), 2023 Florida Building Code. Read Oct 5, 2026. unofficial transcription; verify on floridabuilding.org
- 30.FBC-Building 2023 Chapter 2 definitions, FBC-Building 2023 Chapter 2 definitions. Read Oct 5, 2026. unofficial transcription; verify on floridabuilding.org
- 31.FBCR Ch. 9, FBCR Ch. 9. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 32.FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1, FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 33.Florida Solar Energy Center, Florida Solar Energy Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
- 34.Florida Statutes, section 627.70132 (2026), Florida Statutes. Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 35.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026), Florida Statutes. Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 36.Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, inspections FAQ (updated 2026-03-17), Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Read Oct 4, 2026.
- 37.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 (Southeastern States) version 2, partial-duration series point estimates for Melbourne (28.08, -80.61), NOAA National Weather Service, Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026. 5-minute and 60-minute intensities and 24-hour depths; the county's default Atlas 14 point (spec 8.5).
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New construction roofing in Brevard County
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