Roofing in Kendall

What we're working on here

Kendall is suburban Miami-Dade at scale: 1970s–1990s single-family subdivisions and townhouse communities, overwhelmingly concrete tile on moderate-pitch hip roofs, with flat sections over patios, Florida rooms and screen enclosures. Much of it is inside homeowners associations with their own requirements about roof appearance.

The area's roofing history has one enormous event in it. Hurricane Andrew struck South Dade in 1992, and a very large share of the housing stock here was reroofed or substantially rebuilt in the years immediately following. Those roofs are now well past thirty years, and they are reaching the end together — which is why so much of Kendall is having the same conversation at the same time.

Permits & who issues them

Large parts of the county are unincorporated and permitted directly by Miami-Dade County. The County is also the authority that issues Notices of Acceptance for roofing products used anywhere in the HVHZ, whether the job is permitted by the County or by a city.

A roofing permit is required for replacement and for repairs above the threshold, filed by the licensed contractor in the contractor's name. Unincorporated South Dade adds agricultural and large-lot considerations that rarely arise closer to the coast.

The building code in force

The Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) with the HVHZ provisions, moving to the 9th Edition (2026) on 31 December 2026. Product approval is by Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance, searchable publicly by product, manufacturer or NOA number.

You are in the HVHZ, and it changes everything

Miami-Dade and Broward are the only two counties in the country designated a High Velocity Hurricane Zone. The HVHZ provisions of the Florida Building Code are a stricter, separate rulebook: products need their own approval, the deck has to be sealed, attachment is tested in the field, and there are more inspections. A roofing spec that is perfectly legal in Orlando or Tampa can be non-compliant here without a single word changing on the page.

Every product needs a Miami-Dade NOA

A Notice of Acceptance is Miami-Dade County Product Control's approval of a specific product in a specific assembly. Underlayment, tile, fasteners, adhesive, edge metal — each carries its own NOA, and the NOA specifies how it may be installed. NOAs carry expiration dates and have to be renewed by the manufacturer. You can look any of them up yourself on the County's product approval search. Installing a product without a current NOA is a code violation that can mean a failed inspection and a tear-off at the contractor's cost.

The deck gets sealed — that is the secondary water barrier

The HVHZ requires a sealed roof deck: a continuous secondary barrier under the primary roof covering, so that if the tile or shingle comes off in a hurricane the building still does not take on water. In practice that is a self-adhered polymer-modified bitumen membrane meeting ASTM D1970 with a current NOA, or an approved combination such as 4-inch self-adhering tape over every deck joint followed by an approved base sheet. The permit holder signs an Affidavit of Compliance for roof deck attachment and the secondary water barrier, and hands it to the inspector at the first inspection.

Attachment is tested in the field, not just specified

On mortar-set and adhesive-set tile, the code requires a field uplift test to TAS 106 after installation and before the final inspection — a real, physical pull test confirming the tile resists a minimum uplift load. It is one of the few places in American construction where the inspector verifies the installed result rather than the paperwork. Ask any bidder how many pulls they budget for.

Local rules that actually change the job

The County permits directly, not a city

Kendall is unincorporated Miami-Dade, so the permit comes from the Miami-Dade County Building Division rather than a municipal department. The County is also the authority that issues the Notices of Acceptance used everywhere in the HVHZ, which makes NOA verification straightforward here.

The post-Andrew reroof cohort is expiring together

A tile roof installed in the mid-1990s has tile with decades of life left and underlayment that is finished. That is the defining Kendall roofing situation. The right scope is usually not a new roof: it is salvage and stack the tile, tear off and replace the underlayment to current HVHZ standard including the sealed deck, re-nail the deck, then reset the original tile with new tile covering breakage. It costs meaningfully less than new tile and the house looks unchanged.

HOA architectural approval is a real step

Most Kendall communities have an association with architectural requirements covering tile profile and colour, and approval generally has to come before or alongside the permit. Where a community was built with a single tile profile that has since been discontinued, that gets complicated quickly — and salvage becomes not just the economical answer but the only one that satisfies the association.

Screen enclosures, patios and the flat sections

Nearly every house here has a screened patio or Florida room with a flat or very shallow roof, and it is a different system with a different service life from the main tile roof. It is also where a large share of Kendall leaks originate — specifically at the transition where the flat section meets the tile plane. It belongs on the bid as its own line, and if a bidder has not mentioned it, they have not walked the roof.

Inspections

The County carries the full HVHZ sequence — deck nailing, tin cap, secondary water barrier affidavit, in-progress and final — with TAS 106 uplift testing on mortar- and adhesive-set tile.

• Deck inspection after tear-off, before anything covers it.
• In-progress inspection of the assembly and attachment pattern.
• Final inspection of the completed roof, flashings and drainage.
• Manufacturer field inspection where an NDL or extended warranty is being issued — separate from the jurisdiction, and required for the warranty to activate.

What commercial roofing costs here

Investigation, maintenance and the things that get discovered

Important things to know in Kendall

• Permits are issued by Miami-Dade County directly, since Kendall is unincorporated.
• If your roof dates from the post-Andrew rebuild, the tile is probably fine and the underlayment is not. Salvage and reset is usually the right scope.
• Get HOA architectural approval moving early, especially if your community's original tile profile is discontinued.
• The flat roof over the patio or Florida room is a separate system. Price it separately, and expect it to have a shorter remaining life.
• The transition between the flat section and the tile plane is the most common leak point in this housing stock. Ask specifically how it is being detailed.

And everywhere in Miami-Dade

• Pull the permit in the contractor's name. If a roofer asks you to pull the permit as the owner, they are moving the liability — and the code responsibility — onto you. In Florida this is a well-known warning sign.
• Verify the licence yourself at myfloridalicense.com before you sign anything. A Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC) may work anywhere in the state; a registered contractor is limited to specific jurisdictions.
• Get the plywood unit price in writing before the contract is signed. Deck condition is invisible until the roof is off, and it is where an honest job and a bad one diverge.
• Ask to see the NOA numbers for the underlayment, the tile or shingle, and the fastening system. A contractor who works in Miami-Dade will have them at hand; one who does not is telling you something.
• Do not let anyone cover the deck before the tin-cap inspection. If the inspector cannot see the nailing pattern, they can require it opened back up — at somebody's cost.
• Photograph the roof and the interior ceilings before work starts. It settles most disputes about what was already there.

Questions we get

Services in Kendall

All services →

Nearby