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Re-roofs · Orange County

Roof replacement in Orange County, FL

More than a quarter of Orange County's homes, 26.1 percent, were built before 1980. Roof replacement in Orange County on a house that age is more than new shingles: at every re-roof, Florida's code checks how the deck is nailed and requires a secondary water barrier under the new covering.

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Updated October 2026

Drone view of a single-story home mid re-roof: part of the roof stripped to white synthetic underlayment, the rest still in gray shingles, a dump trailer of debris and a pickup in the driveway.

Re-roofing in Orange County, in short

Expect a permit from the Orange County Division of Building Safety or your city, no plan review, and two inspections: one for the sheathing and dry-in, one for the finished roof. Old decks fastened with staples or 6d nails get added ring-shank nails at 6 inches on center or closer. A roof put on under the 2007 code or later gets a looser rule for partial work.

Sources for this answer

Orange County figures

The Orange County numbers behind this page

Share of homes built before 1980
26.1%
Share of homes built 2010 or later
19.3%
Median year homes were built
1994

Your house

What an older Orange County house needs at re-roof

A house built before 1980 went up more than two decades before Florida's first statewide code took effect on March 1, 2002. When its old covering comes off, the deck is inspected and brought up to today's attachment rule. Plywood or OSB held by staples or 6d nails gets supplemental ring-shank nails at no more than 6 inches on center; a deck already nailed with 8d nails at 6 inches or closer needs nothing more.

In Winter Park, Conway, Fairview Shores and Pine Castle, the Census median year built falls before 1980, so on many streets there the roof deck is likely as old as the house. Its nailing only shows once the old roof is off.

The new underlayment has to act as a secondary water barrier. The code allows three ways to get there: a self-adhering membrane over the whole deck, membrane strips or tape over every deck joint under the underlayment, or two layers of approved felt-type underlayment on a tight nailing pattern. The state's wind mitigation form counts each of them as a secondary water barrier.

Permits

The Orange County re-roof permit, step by step

  1. 01

    Find the right office

    Unincorporated addresses file with the Orange County Division of Building Safety through Fast Track; city addresses file with the city.

  2. 02

    Skip the plans

    Florida exempts re-roofs from plan examination, so the permit centers on the products and the inspections rather than drawings.

  3. 03

    List approved products

    Every roofing product needs a Florida Product Approval number, searchable on the Florida Building Commission's site. Belle Isle wants the approval and instructions attached.

  4. 04

    Record the notice

    Above a set contract amount, a Notice of Commencement must be recorded and posted on the job before the first inspection. The permit card warns that skipping it can mean paying twice.

  5. 05

    Pass two inspections

    The inspector checks sheathing, fasteners and dry-in before they are covered, then returns for the insulation, roof covering and flashing.

Repair or replace

When patching ends and a full re-roof begins

Florida caps repairs at 25 percent of a roof or roof section in any 12 months; past that, the whole section must be redone to current code. The exception is a roof built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or a later edition, in force from March 1, 2009. For those roofs, only the redone part has to meet current code, and no local government may amend that exception.

That date splits Orange County's housing. Only 19.3 percent of homes were built in 2010 or later, so most original roofs here predate the 2007 code. Many have been replaced since; the date of your last full roofing permit tells you which side of the line your roof is on.

Choosing

Choosing a roof color for Orange County heat

Orlando Executive Airport averages 110.8 days a year at 90°F or hotter. In the Florida Solar Energy Center's side-by-side test houses in Fort Myers, the attic under dark shingles ran 40°F above the outdoor air at the summer peak, while highly reflective roofs kept the attic near outdoor temperature.

Compare colors on a real Florida house in the Design Studio, and read up on shingle, metal and tile roofs before you choose.

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Re-roofs

Roof replacement by town in Orange County

Your estimate

Tell us about your roof

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Questions

Roof replacement in Orange County: questions

Will my older Orange County home need new roof decking?

Not necessarily new decking, but the deck will be inspected and re-nailed where its fasteners fall short. With 26.1 percent of the county's homes built before 1980, many decks here predate today's rule. Where existing plywood or OSB is stapled or nailed with 6d nails, the code calls for added ring-shank nails at 6 inches on center or closer. Rotten boards are replaced too: the code's definition of a roof replacement includes repairing damaged substrate.

Which building code will my Orange County re-roof permit follow?

The edition in force on the day the application is submitted. Today that is the 2023 Florida Building Code, 8th edition, which took effect December 31, 2023. Applications and plans submitted on or after December 31, 2026 must comply with the 9th edition instead. Florida has one statewide code, so the same dates apply whether your permit comes from the Orange County Division of Building Safety or from a city such as Orlando or Winter Park.

Can I put new shingles over my old roof in Orange County?

Ask your building department before counting on it. In the 8th edition of the Florida residential code, the sections on roof re-covering read "Reserved," so the code text alone does not settle it. The code is clear that a new covering may not go over a roof that is water-soaked or badly deteriorated, over wood shake, slate or tile, or over two or more existing layers. In unincorporated areas, ask the Orange County Division of Building Safety.

Is there a program that helps pay for a new roof in Florida?

Florida's My Safe Florida Home program, set up under Fla. Stat. 215.5586 in the Department of Financial Services, offers wind-mitigation inspections and matching grants for certain site-built, owner-occupied single-family homes with a homestead exemption. Grants can go toward roof-deck attachment, secondary water resistance, roof-to-wall connections and a new roof covering, with conditions that include a pre-2008 build date. With the county's median home built in 1994, many Orange County houses meet the age condition, but the statute says the program creates no entitlement. Check the program's site to see whether applications are open.

Orange County

More in Orange County

Sources for this page(32)
  1. 1.Share of homes built before 1980: 26.1%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  2. 2.Share of homes built 2010 or later: 19.3%. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  3. 3.Median year homes were built: 1994. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (acs2024_5yr), via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  4. 4.Permit office: Orange County Division of Building Safety. Orange County Division of Building Safety. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  5. 5.City of Belle Isle permitting and inspections portal (UES, the city's contracted building provider). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  6. 6.Orange County Government, Division of Building Safety. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  7. 7.NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal), access-data API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  8. 8.FBCR Ch. 2. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  9. 9.FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  10. 10.FBCR Ch. 9. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  11. 11.Florida OIR, Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR-B1-1802. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  12. 12.Florida Statutes, section 553.844 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  13. 13.2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th ed., chapter 9 roof assemblies (ICC viewer). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  14. 14.Florida Building Commission, "Florida Building Code Effective Dates". Read Oct 5, 2026.
  15. 15.FRSA, "New 2023 FBC Eighth Edition is Now in Effect", 2024-02-13. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  16. 16.Miami-Dade County RER notice. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  17. 17.2023 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).
  18. 18.Florida Statutes, section 553.842 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  19. 19.Florida Building Commission. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  20. 20.Florida Solar Energy Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  21. 21.FBCR 2023 Ch. 9. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  22. 22.OIR form. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  23. 23.Florida Statutes, section 713.135 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  24. 24.Florida Statutes, section 215.5586 (2026). Read Oct 4, 2026.
  25. 25.My Safe Florida Home program. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  26. 26.FBC-Building 2023 Chapter 2 definitions. Read Oct 5, 2026. Unofficial transcription; verify on floridabuilding.org.
  27. 27.Senate SB 808 staff analysis pp. 3-4. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  28. 28.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026). Read Oct 4, 2026.
  29. 29.Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, inspections FAQ. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  30. 30.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Climatology. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  31. 31.Owens Corning, "3 Signs That It's Time to Replace Your Roof". Read Oct 5, 2026.
  32. 32.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035 (median year structure built) for Winter Park, Conway, Fairview Shores, Belle Isle, Edgewood, Eatonville, Pine Castle, Horizon West, Oakland, Meadow Woods and Winter Garden, via Census Reporter API, U.S. Census Bureau. Read Oct 5, 2026. Used only to compare each town's median year built with the county's 1994 median; no town figure is printed on the county pages.

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Roof replacement in Orange County

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