Roofing in Lauderdale Lakes, FL

What is on the roofs in Lauderdale Lakes

Most housing in Lauderdale Lakes dates to the 1970s. The city's biggest building period ran from 1965 to 1975, when single-family subdivisions such as Oakland Estates, Oriole Homes and East Gate went up next to condominium projects like Hawaiian Gardens, Tahiti Gardens and Cypress Chase. That means roofs here sit on houses about 50 to 60 years old, and many owners share a roof decision with a condo association.⁵

Local rules and history that affect your roof

• Re-roofing, like interior renovations and A/C changeouts, can be submitted directly to the Building Division without a Planning & Zoning review. Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon are Professional Day, when plan examiners take walk-in questions.²
• On single-family lots, a screen enclosure with a solid roof must sit at least 15 feet from the rear property line, and roof runoff must be retained on site.⁶
• The city's Roof/Re-Roof Application Packet (8th Edition) includes a Statement of Responsibility Regarding Asbestos, a rooftop equipment affidavit and, when it applies, a roof-to-wall connection affidavit for homes insured or assessed at $300,000 or more.⁷
• Lauderdale Lakes incorporated on June 22, 1961, with about 300 residents in a rural area of farms and pasture along a two-lane State Road 7; its first City Hall was a construction trailer.⁸
• The city's comprehensive plan says Lauderdale Lakes has no houses on the Florida Master Site File, the National Register or any local historic list, so, as of that 2010 plan, no house here was on any historic list.⁵

Storms that hit Broward County

No storm record specific to Lauderdale Lakes was found in the sources we use, so these are the county-level impacts.

• Katrina (2005). On August 25, 2005, Katrina made its first U.S. landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near the Miami-Dade/Broward county line. Fort Lauderdale's airport recorded a 71-knot gust, and three of Florida's deaths were caused by trees falling in Broward.⁹
• Wilma (2005). Wilma crossed the peninsula on October 24, 2005, after landfall near Cape Romano. The National Hurricane Center concluded parts of Broward likely had Category 2 conditions with gusts near 100 knots; the Pompano Beach airport sensor quit at 72 knots sustained. Its report lists extensive roof damage across South Florida.¹⁰
• Irma (2017). Irma landed in the Keys and at Marco Island on September 10, 2017, but its wind field covered Broward: Deerfield Beach measured a 97-knot gust, most inland stations in the Miami-Dade and Broward metro area reported sustained winds just below hurricane force, and coastal Broward saw 2 to 4 feet of inundation.¹¹

What this means for a re-roof in Lauderdale Lakes

How old the houses are. The median home in Lauderdale Lakes was built in 1976; 92.6% of its 14,878 homes predate 2000 and 3% were built in 2010 or later. So most houses here went up before Florida’s first statewide building code took effect on March 1, 2002.^4,12,13,14

Pre-2002 wood-deck houses. When the old covering comes off, the deck gets re-nailed to current code and a secondary water barrier goes on; in the wind-borne debris region, insured homes of $300,000+ may also need roof-to-wall connections (capped at 15% of the re-roof cost).^12,13,14

Repair or replace. Replacing 25% or more of a roof section in 12 months generally means redoing the section to current code — unless that roof was built or replaced under the 2007 code or later.^13,14,15,16

Product approval. In the HVHZ every roofing component needs a current product approval — a Miami-Dade NOA or a Florida approval listed for HVHZ use. Ask for the numbers and look them up yourself.^15,17

Roof age and insurance. An insurer can’t refuse a policy just because the roof is under 15 years old. If it is 15 or older, you can get an inspection first; at least 5 years of remaining life means age alone isn’t grounds to refuse.¹⁸