Roofing in Sunrise, FL

What is on the roofs in Sunrise

Sunrise started in 1960 when developer Norman Johnson bought 2,650 acres on what was then the remote western edge of Broward and sold it as Sunrise Golf Village. It had 4,300 residents in 1967, 15,000 by 1971 and about 50,000 by 1984, then kept annexing and building west, so the housing runs from 1960s Golf Village homes to later subdivisions. Many subdivisions were built under city-approved site plans, and the city's code asks for roof tile samples along with colors and materials when a site plan is filed.^5,6

Local rules and history that affect your roof

• If your house is in a development with a site plan approved by the City Commission, Sec. 16-32 of the Sunrise code lets the community development director approve a change of roof material on a single-family home without amending that site plan.⁷
• Every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon is 'Professional Day': Building Division plans examiners answer questions and review applications on a walk-in basis.¹
• Patio roofs count too: a screen enclosure with a solid roof can be up to 14 feet tall, typically must sit 20 feet from the rear property line, and its roof runoff must be kept on your lot. Enclosing an existing patio needs a city building permit even if it already has a solid roof.⁸
• Johnson promoted the new town with the Upside-Down House, a furnished model home on Sunset Strip turned on its roof. It drew 12,000 visitors in its first four days and was demolished in 1975. Voters shortened the name from Sunrise Golf Village to Sunrise by referendum in 1971.⁵
• Through annexation Sunrise now reaches the Everglades on its western side; Sawgrass Mills opened there in 1990 and the arena now called Amerant Bank Arena in 1998.^5,9

Storms that hit here

• Irma (2017). On September 10, 2017, a weather station in Sunrise logged a gust of 85 knots (about 98 mph), according to the National Hurricane Center's report on Irma.¹⁰

What this means for a re-roof in Sunrise

How old the houses are. The median home in Sunrise was built in 1983; 85.9% of its 40,030 homes predate 2000 and 6.2% 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.^4,11,12,13

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).^11,12,13

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.^12,13,14,15

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.^14,16

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.¹⁷