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Repairs ยท Sewall's Point

Roof repair in Sewall's Point, FL

Hurricane Jeanne came ashore on Hutchinson Island just east of Sewall's Point on Sept 26, 2004, three weeks after Frances landed at the same spot. If a storm has opened up your roof, repair is usually the right first step. The 25 percent rule decides when it is not.

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Updated October 2026

Palm trees line a waterfront park with a picnic pavilion under an overcast sky.
Close view across a gray shingle roof slope with a black pipe boot, a palm and a green lawn below.Our work
Photo: Sewall's Point, - Idawriter by Idawriter, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped

Storm damage

Where roofs fail on a water-surrounded peninsula

Water covers 71.5 percent of Sewall's Point's area, with the St. Lucie River on the south and west and the Indian River Lagoon on the east. Wind arrives off open water with little to slow it. Roofs here take the full push, and the damage tends to start at the edges and openings.

Federal damage teams call wind-damaged roof covering a primary source of water getting into homes. The usual weak spots are flashing at wall and roof joints, vent pipes, valleys and ridge shingles. FEMA notes that a lost ridge vent alone can open a large hole in the deck and bring ceilings down.

Martin County has seen wind and water from several storms since 2016. Isaias in 2020 brought 42 knots of sustained wind at Stuart Beach. Irma in 2017 put 1 to 3 feet of storm surge over ground along the coast. Flooding is not a roof problem, but a lifted shingle in the same storm lets rain in.

Repair or replace

Patching a roof until the 25 percent line

Florida's code sets a cap on patching: 25 percent of a roof or roof section within any 12 months. Once your repairs would exceed it, the whole section has to be redone, not patched again. In Sewall's Point, where 93.8 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, that decision usually lands on the homeowner alone.

One exception matters. A roof that was itself built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or a later edition only has to bring the new work up to current code. The median Sewall's Point home dates to 1989, so the home's age alone does not tell you which side of that line your roof falls on. Check the roof's own permit history.

A roof with 15 years or more on it raises a separate question with your insurer. State law gives you the right to commission an authorized inspector's report at your own cost. If it shows 5 or more years of useful life, the insurer cannot drop or refuse you for roof age alone.

After the storm

What to do safely after a storm

  • Stay off the roof. Look from the ground for missing shingles, lifted ridge caps and loose flashing.
  • Look in the attic for stained decking, wet insulation or light showing through.
  • Photograph everything before any cleanup.
  • Tarp only what you can reach safely from the ground or a stable ladder.

Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, with the peak near September 10. Jeanne and Frances both arrived in September 2004, so finish repairs before then. Ask the Town of Sewall's Point Building & Public Works whether your repair needs a permit. The code leaves ordinary minor repairs to the building official's judgment.

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Questions

Roof repair in Sewall's Point: questions

Does a roof repair in Sewall's Point need a permit?

It depends on the repair. The Florida Building Code requires a permit to repair a building, but leaves ordinary minor repairs to the building official's approval. In Sewall's Point that office is the Town's Building & Public Works. Confirm with them before work starts, especially if the repair covers a large share of the roof. Past 25 percent in 12 months, the replacement rule applies.

Source: Town of Sewall's Point - Building & Public Works, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Where do roofs usually leak after a hurricane here?

Most leaks start at flashing, vent pipes, valleys, ridge shingles and lost ridge vents. Florida's building code requires flashing at wall and roof joints, changes of slope and roof openings, so leaks follow those spots. Sewall's Point is a peninsula where water covers 71.5 percent of the area, so wind comes off open water with little to slow it.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census counts (POP100, HU100) via TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 (AREALAND/AREAWATER), read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Will my insurer make me replace a 15-year-old roof?

Not on age alone if the roof is healthy. Under Fla. Stat. 627.7011(5), an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a policy solely because a roof is less than 15 years old. When your roof has reached 15 years or more, you can hire an authorized inspector at your own cost, and the insurer has to allow that inspection before it can demand a replacement. Age alone cannot be the reason an insurer turns you down or declines to renew, provided the inspection finds your roof has 5 or more years of useful life remaining. Sewall's Point has a median home build year of 1989, so many roofs here have probably been replaced since, and it is worth asking your agent how this applies to yours.

Source: Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026), read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

What do I do if wind opens my roof tonight?

Keep everyone off the roof and shut off power to any wet area. Photograph the damage from the ground and cover only what you can reach safely. Then call your insurer or agent about your policy. Florida sets claim deadlines of 1 year for a new claim and 18 months for a supplemental one. Jeanne struck three weeks after Frances in 2004, so damaged roofs here can face a second storm quickly.

Source: Florida Statutes, section 627.70132 (2026), read Oct 4, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Nearby

Roof repair near Sewall's Point

Sources for this page(37)
  1. 1.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census counts (POP100, HU100) via TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 (AREALAND/AREAWATER). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  2. 2.Wikipedia, 'Sewall's Point, Florida' (revision 1377576908). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  3. 3.Hurricane Irma (2017). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (AL112017). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  4. 4.Hurricane Isaias (2020). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Isaias (AL092020). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  5. 5.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25035, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  6. 6.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25024, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  7. 7.Hurricane Matthew (2016). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Matthew (AL142016). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  8. 8.Hurricane Dorian (2019). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Dorian (AL052019). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  9. 9.Florida Building Commission, 'Setting New Standards for Safety: The Florida Building Code' (2004 publication; wind-speed figures in it are outdated and not used). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  10. 10.Owner-occupied share of occupied homes: 93.8% (805 of 858). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25003, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  11. 11.Median year homes were built: 1989. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25035, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  12. 12.Permit office: Town of Sewall's Point - Building & Public Works. Town of Sewall's Point - Building & Public Works. Read Oct 10, 2026.
  13. 13.FEMA FL-RA2. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  14. 14.FBCR Ch. 9. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  15. 15.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 15 (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).
  16. 16.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., chapter 9 roof assemblies (ICC viewer). Read Oct 4, 2026.
  17. 17.Florida Statutes, section 553.844 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  18. 18.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  19. 19.Citizens 4-Point Inspection Form, Sample Form Insp4pt 03 25. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  20. 20.NOAA NHC. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  21. 21.FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  22. 22.Florida Statutes, section 627.70132 (2026). Read Oct 4, 2026.
  23. 23.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (AL112017), NOAA National Hurricane Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  24. 24.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Isaias (AL092020), NOAA National Hurricane Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  25. 25.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Matthew (AL142016), NOAA National Hurricane Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  26. 26.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Dorian (AL052019), NOAA National Hurricane Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  27. 27.Town of Sewall's Point - Building & Public Works, Town of Sewall's Point. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  28. 28.U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25035, B25034, B25024, via Census Reporter API, U.S. Census Bureau (via Census Reporter). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  29. 29.Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, inspections FAQ (updated 2026-03-17), Citizens Property Insurance. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  30. 30.2023 Florida Building Code, Building, 8th ed., Chapter 1 (UpCodes viewer, unofficial transcription), UpCodes (Florida Building Code transcription). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  31. 31.Florida Statutes, section 713.135 (2026), Florida Legislature. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  32. 32.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (access data service), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  33. 33.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (access data service), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  34. 34.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Climatology, NOAA National Hurricane Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  35. 35.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 version 2, partial-duration 24-hour depth estimates at the Sewall's Point 2020 Census internal point (27.1970, -80.1989), NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  36. 36.FRSA, "New 2023 FBC Eighth Edition is Now in Effect", 2024-02-13, floridaroof.com. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  37. 37.Miami-Dade County RER notice, Miami. Read Oct 5, 2026.

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Roof repair in Sewall's Point

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