If you are fortunate enough to be overseeing roof replacement for your Florida home, you can select any type of roof you want. This suggests the question, What is the best roof for high winds? What roof best meets the challenge of high winds in Florida?
Nothing
Nothing humans can make or do will equal the sheer force of Mother Nature. Manufacturers do not test any substance — shingles, metal, tiles— above 150 mph.
If your home is in the path of a Category 3 or higher hurricane, your solution lies not with your roofer, but with hurricane evacuation routes. Get out, and take everything necessary and beloved with you.
Still, roofing companies do test their products under tremendous wind speeds. Three roofing materials outperform others:
- Metal panels — wind-rated up to 140 mph sustained winds, with the ability to withstand gusts up to 180 mph!
- Tile — wind-rated up to 125 mph sustained winds
- Shingles — wind-rated to hold strong in 110-mph winds
Everything
Since just about everything you own will be sheltered beneath your Florida home’s roof, the sensible choice is to work with your roofer to install the best roof for your budget. If you plan to spend a few decades in your home, metal is the clear winner.
If you worry about initial installation costs and are weighing them against the risk of a hurricane, you can ask your roofer for additional measures on less expensive materials:
- Hurricane clips to connect the roof to walls
- Foam added to tiles for increased hold-down resistance to wind uplift
- Hurricane-rated shingles
When soliciting bids, be sure to include notes regarding these and other measures since they are seldom automatically part of a roofer’s written estimate.
Installer
The selection of sturdy materials is only part of the formula for minimizing the risk of wind damage to your Florida home. Choose the right contractor, too, since the quality and method of installation dramatically vary.
A good installer can lay down a substantial but economical shingle roof to withstand all but the strongest winds. In two days of shoddy work, a bad installer can ruin a pricey metal roof. Please contact us at Westfall Roofing today to get sincere, knowledgeable answers to all your questions about your roof and Florida’s hurricanes. Be sure to ask about our free estimates for all roofing work!
