Roofing in Montverde, Florida.

Almost every roof we look at in Montverde tells the same story, and it is not the story homeowners expect. The middle of the roof is usually fine. The trouble is always at the edges.

That is a direct consequence of where the town sits. Elevated ground above the west shore of Lake Apopka gives wind a clean run at the house, and wind does not damage a roof by pressing down on the middle of it - it gets under an edge and peels. So the details that decide how long a Montverde roof lasts are the starter course, the rake and drip edge, the ridge attachment, and how tightly the perimeter is fastened. Those are exactly the line items a cut-rate estimate leaves thin, because they are invisible once the job is done.

When we price a roof here we specify the perimeter deliberately and we will show you what we are doing differently at the edges than in the field. If you are comparing our number to a cheaper one, that is the place to compare - ask the other contractor what their nailing pattern and edge detailing is at the rake. The answer will tell you a lot.

• Tile repair and re-lay over new underlayment - the correct and much cheaper fix when the tile is sound and the underlayment beneath it has failed, which is the usual case.
• Standing seam metal - the strongest performer against ridge-top wind exposure, with no exposed perimeter fasteners.
• High-wind architectural shingles - workable, with starter, rake, and ridge detailing specified for exposure rather than to the minimum.
• New tile installation - concrete and clay, where the structure supports the load.
• Complex-geometry flashing work - dormers, valleys, and transitions on the larger ridge homes, priced honestly rather than buried.

Montverde runs its own building department rather than deferring to Lake County, so the permit and inspections for your roof go through the town. We handle that filing.