Commercial roofing in South Venice, FL

Sarasota County is outside the stricter hurricane zone that applies to Broward and Miami-Dade. A South Venice job follows the regular Florida Building Code, so the HVHZ permit forms and Miami-Dade product notices do not control it.

A new low-slope roof needs at least one-fourth unit of slope in 12. Under the code's definition of positive drainage, water must have cleared the roof within 48 hours of rain. With 6.1 percent of South Venice's area covered by water, ask how a bidder will move runoff off a flat roof.

Wherever a parapet could hold water on the roof, the code calls for secondary overflow drains or scuppers. Local rainfall supports that: Venice normally receives 51.27 inches a year, and about 60 percent falls June through September.

For a South Venice office or shop, the 25 percent limit works the same as for a house. Repair or replace more than 25 percent of a roof section within 12 months, and the entire section has to be upgraded to current code. Before you assume your roof is exempt, ask the Sarasota County building office to confirm which code year it was built or last replaced under.

Compare how each bid treats the old roof. A recover over wet or deteriorated roofing is barred, and so is a recover over a roof with two or more existing coverings. Ask for tear-off pricing as a separate line.

• Membrane type and its ASTM standard, such as TPO under ASTM D6878
• Metal edge testing to ANSI/SPRI ES-1 or RAS 111
• Who holds the roofing trade registration, since a general contractor may not advertise as a roofer without it
• A Notice of Commencement recorded ahead of the first inspection