New roof required

My home insurance says I need a new roof or it will not insure me.
Central west coast Florida home built in 1956. 1800 sq ft. One story brick. No idea how old current roof is. I purchased the house in 2000 and it definitely wasn’t new then.
Barrel tile on most of house but there’s a flat roof on about a 20’ x 30’ room in the back. Possible add on way back whenever.
AC unit is now about 10 years old. Ducts were replaced at the same time.
My daughter will be inheriting the house in a few years so I don’t want to saddle her with crazy electric bills.
BUT - the estimate for roof replacement with shingle is about $21K. Estimate for replacement with tile is about $43K.

So here’s my problem. I don’t know whether to replace with tile or to go shingle. Hearing good things about todays shingle but also hearing that my ac may not be able to keep up with need and my electric bill will be outrageous
Or will I have to replace my ac too? Is that a possibility?
I’m guessing the flat roof needs to be addressed also? Any idea on what to do with that?

This is SO far from my area of expertise. I’m afraid to make a very expensive mistake one way or the other.

I have gotten two estimates. Neither of which addressed the flat roof or even possibility of tile. I have two more companies coming out this coming week to give me estimates. I need help so I know what I need to say to them so I’m not taken advantage of. I’m going through the Florida Safe Home Program.

Thank you for any help/ideas here

MaryP

 

The home insurance expiration date is critical path in my opinion. You need the new roof before then or maybe get a new insurance company. Any current concerns that occur after that date can be addressed later. Can you share your concerns between shingles and tiles and the electric bill? If you requested the roof estimates to include the flat roof and the roofer did not comply, they don't want the job. I would replace the flat roof roofing with the same material that exists because the framing may not be strong enough for anything else. What makes you think you need to replace the AC? You have lived there 30 plus years so you must have a good history.

 

The initial concern between tile and shingle is of course the initial cost.
Other than that, it’s the difference in how efficient either one is in keeping the house cool/warm and how hard the ac is going to have to work to get the house to a comfortable temperature. I know that the energy efficiency of the house has a whole lot to do with keeping the house cool.
I haven’t had a problem with the ac but have been told that the ac has to work substantially harder with shingle roof and that my ac may not be powerful enough to be energy efficient with a shingle roof.
I wonder who calculates that kind of thing for new homes. Certainly it has to be a different calculation for what size heat/cool unit is needed depending on if you are in Florida or someplace like Minnesota and what kind of home structure and roof you have. Shingles vs tile is a really big thing here in Florida.

 

That estimate for a 1800 sq ft. one story house seems to me to be highly bloated.

​​​​​​​I hope you're getting a number of quotes from different, unrelated sources.

 

Roofing generally does not have insulating value, or it it does it's very low. So, little to no difference for your air conditioning. The biggest affect is the amount of insulation in your attic.

Yes, when calculating the amount of heat or AC needed your location is obviously considered. As are things like the amount of insulation in the walls & ceiling, how many and size of windows, single or double or high efficiency windows. Roofing material really doesn't have much affect if the attic is insulated and vented properly. An older home with poor insulation and attic ventilation could benefit from a light colored roofing but it's based more on it's reflectivity and not the material.

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I am sure when you have the roof replaced, where you are located, and what recent storms have ripped 20'000 roofs apart will have an affect on the price. After all, demand is usually high and roofers and material can be in short supply for a long time after a major hurricane.

 

I’m giving serious thought to the shingle roof and new windows. 😧

sure wish the windows weren’t so expensive or that I could replace a few at a time. These are the original 65 year old windows I’d be replacing.

 

What makes you think you have to replace all windows at the same time? A house with a leaking roof and new windows is still a house with a leaking roof.

 

Obviously you'd take care of the roof first but you don't have to do all the windows at once. Over all it's cheaper to do them all at the same time but they will install as few/many as you want, maybe just do the front to start and work your way around as the budget allows.

 

You're in my neck of the woods, Mary. I suspect the high estimates may have to do with the heavy workload lately for roofers because of storm damage. Still a lot of blue tarped roofs here near us. After Ian blew through here, we had companies from all over the state come in to make some quick money the first 6 months or so; now it's all local guys doing the work.

That being said, I would get a LOT of roofing estimates as there are plenty of companies around. Of course, you do want one that does quality work, Also, you might get an estimate for a metal roof; I'm seeing a fair number of those being installed. Cost should be somewhere between shingles and tile, I think. Not sure how that affects insurance premiums.

Additional thought, did your estimates include secondary water barrier installation? With us, when we got ours done ~12 years ago, there was a pretty good discount on the insurance. Also be sure to check with agent about wind mitigation inspection if you haven't had one and any additional steps that can be done when the roofing work is performed such as additional nailing on the roof plywood sheathing.

 

Replacing a roof is a major expense which adds to your adjusted basis in the home, reducing your taxable gain when you sell the home.

Replacing a large number of windows would also qualify as a major expense. Replacing one or two at a time would not.

 

A program called MySafeFloridaHome is offering to pay Florida homeowners for part of the replacement of their roofs under certain conditions. My roof qualifies for the program so I'm going through them. They have quite a few roofers to choose from. All 4 of the roofers I've gotten quotes from are on their list, high in the ratings and have done a lot of work in the area. I have had 4 estimates and each of them is within $1K of the others. All shingle estimates are around $21K. My problem is in comparing the written estimates. Some almost completely spell out what is included and others are more of a standard thing saying 'up to code' etc. The second water barrier installation is spelled out in some and just implied in others. Same with the special clips necessary where the roof attaches to the sides of the house. I'm going to print them all out and see if I can compare the apples to oranges.

The windows are just a 'wish for' at this point. I know it would make a bit difference in the amount of warm air that comes into the house during the summer.

 

When you sell a house you are exempt from capital gains taxes on the first $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if married filing jointly. Also, since Mary lives in Florida, there is no Florida capital gains tax.

 

I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.......

Keep in mind, if it ain't in writing, it ain't in the contract. "Implied" things mean nothing. Personally, I would not engage a company that could not spell out, in detail, everything I was getting.

Just for giggles, I think I might be inclined to get a couple of estimates from roofers who are not on the MySafeFloridaHome list for comparison. Don't mention the program to them, so you get a clear estimate of what a roofing job would cost strictly out-of-pocket. I'm wondering if the companies on the list don't get a premium price because "The Government" is paying for part of it. No disrespect intended to all the honest, hard-working roofers out there.

Just a thought.