Repairs · Loxahatchee Groves

Roof repair in Loxahatchee Groves, FL

Loxahatchee Groves became a town in 2006, but the roofs in it are older. The median home here was built in 1987, and Hurricane Milton's EF-3 tornado on October 9, 2024 left EF-3 damage at the southern end of its track, in the Wellington and Loxahatchee Groves area.

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Updated October 2026

Close view across a gray shingle roof slope with a black pipe boot, a palm and a green lawn below.

Loxahatchee Groves figures this page uses

Median year homes were built: 1987
Mobile homes, share of housing units: 4.9%
Owner-occupied share of occupied homes: 90.6%

Storm damage

Where Loxahatchee Groves roofs fail in wind

Of the town's housing units, 92.2 percent are single-family detached homes, so most of the roofs here are on houses with open exposure. According to FEMA's field teams, water most often gets into a house through damaged roof covering. Check shingle loss first, then the lines where water is meant to be turned away.

Flashing sits at wall and roof intersections, changes of slope and roof openings, and leaks follow those spots. Ridge vents are another weak point. FEMA reports that losing them can open large holes in the deck, and one example house had ceilings collapse with only ridge shingles and ridge vent gone.

A soffit that fails in a hurricane frequently lets a large amount of water in, and soffits have held up poorly in those storms. The code began requiring soffits to resist the same wind loads as walls with the 2007 edition. Only Miami-Dade and Broward make up the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, so Palm Beach County sits outside it.

Repair or replace

Repair or replace: the 25 percent line

The code caps repairs at 25 percent of a roof or roof section in any 12 months. Go past that and the whole roof section must be redone, unless the roof was built, repaired or replaced to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later. Under that exception, just the repaired portion has to meet current code, and no town can alter that.

The 2007 code took effect March 1, 2009, so a roof from the 1987 era is unlikely to qualify for the exception. Your roofer should ask when the roof was last built or replaced before pricing a patch. If you have a mobile home (4.9 percent of units here), the HUD code applies to it, not the Florida Building Code.

Whether a small repair needs a permit is the building official's call, since the code allows ordinary minor repairs without one at their approval. Confirm with the Town of Loxahatchee Groves permit office before work starts.

After the storm

What to do after a storm

Stay off the roof. From the ground, check for shingles that are gone, ridge vents that have lifted and flashing that has come loose.
Photograph damage and check the attic and ceilings for wet spots.
Only cover openings when you can reach them from the ground or from a ladder that is safe to use.
Contact your insurer or agent to ask about your coverage and any deadlines. A new claim must be noticed within 1 year of the loss.

A roofer may not offer you anything of value for an inspection or a claim, and may not advise you on what your policy covers. For that, go to your insurer or agent.

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Questions

Roof repair in Loxahatchee Groves: questions

What is the 25% roof rule in Florida?

Not more than 25 percent of a roof or roof section may be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12-month period unless the whole roof section is replaced. The exception covers a roof only when its construction, repair or replacement followed the 2007 Florida Building Code or a later edition, and that 2007 code became effective on March 1, 2009. When that applies, current code governs just the section being repaired. With a median home build year of 1987 in Loxahatchee Groves, ask your roofer which category your roof falls in.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25035, via Census Reporter API, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Does a small roof repair in Loxahatchee Groves need a permit?

It depends on the building official. Florida's code lets ordinary minor repairs go ahead with the official's approval and no permit, so the decision is local. The Town of Loxahatchee Groves publishes its permit requirements and applications, and the town's permit office can tell you whether your repair counts as minor before you start.

Source: Town of Loxahatchee Groves - Permits Requirements & Applications, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Can my insurer make me replace a roof that is 15 years old?

Not on age alone. When a roof is 15 years old or more, the insurer has to allow an authorized inspector to examine it, and you pay for that inspection. An inspection that finds 5 or more years of useful life remaining means the insurer may not refuse or non-renew based on age alone. With 90.6 percent of Loxahatchee Groves homes owner-occupied, this matters to most households here. Your own policy is the thing to raise with your insurer or agent.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024), table B25003, via Census Reporter API, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

Why do ridge vents and flashing leak after a hurricane?

FEMA found that lost ridge vents expose large openings in the roof deck, and leaks follow flashing at wall intersections, slope changes and roof openings. After Hurricane Milton's EF-3 tornado on October 9, 2024, damage reached the Wellington and Loxahatchee Groves area. Check those spots first from the ground, then have a roofer inspect them.

Source: NWS Miami, 'Hurricane Milton' StoryMap (Oct 9, 2024 tornado outbreak; preliminary data), read Oct 5, 2026

Related: Roof repair

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