Florida roofing codes

I was approached to do some charity roofing in Sarasota on a church roof. I declined as its a long trip from the West Coast of Canada to Sarasota. I advised the party that asked me that they better do some research regarding Florida roofing codes and requirements as I remember Darryl talking about this years ago on the forum in regards to hurricane standards and inspections. They figure they can just tear off three layers of shingles and screw down some 36" metal sheets. I said "no no do some research" Now they are telling me they need permits and a dry in inspection. The plot thickens. Any advise before they fly down on April 27th?

Well they accomplished the task. Quite a bit of termite damage to the top plate on the cement block wall and some trusses. They had to replace one truss. They found out they had to sheet the roof deck with 3/4" pressure treated plywood. Multiple inspections and they also found out they would only do one inspection a day. They pleaded with the building inspection department and they said flat out no and it has never been done. The crew prayed and the phone rang 20 seconds later and the city clerk said a building inspector had to return to the office for something and he would do an inspection on the way to his next appointment. Some sunburn and minor heat stroke but they finished a day early and just as well as it rained the last day. I'm glad everything went well.

I've been licensed and roofing here in Florida for over 30 years.  Under Florida law, construction work must be done by a contractor.  The law allows for homeowners to be their own contractor.  So an Owner/Builder permit can be had for a residential property but the same laws apply with regard to inspections and workers compensation insurance on ALL workers (except for the owner).  Under Florida Law a church is commercial property and needs a roofing contractor for a roofing permit.  There is one exception to this rule that I'm aware of.  Under an executive order signed by the Governor, general contractors where allowed to do hurricane related roofing for six months following Hurricane Irma (I think).  So the Church needs a roofing contractor or general contractor (assuming it was hurricane related damage and permitted within the 6 months after the storm) to get the roofing permit.  Most large churches have members that are either licensed or know somebody that has a license so it's rarely a problem for them to get a permit.  After that, everything is the same.  They are not exempt from inspection although a local building official or local inspector might, as a curtesy to the church, be lenient about the timing or accept photographs or even a signed affidavit from the contractor.  Also, regarding out-of-state workers or even volunteer labor, the law still requires that they be covered by Florida workers compensation insurance.  Again, I've known of many jobs where the powers-that-be simply look the other way.  It's all fine-and-dandy until someone gets injured or killed.

The backlog of materials is beyond belief here; metal is probably one of the easier products to get but you can still be looking at a number of weeks.  Tile is typically running six weeks or more.

I'm curious as to why a church would be exempt from a dry-in inspection, since it appears it's not a low-slope project.

things never go as planned.it's called "roofing" lol.

Latest update.......

April 26/18.

The "contractor " getting the permit was transporting the metal to the job site and it came off the truck and was all destroyed.

The plane tickets have been bought and the left Friday night, not knowing if they can get any materials replaced by Monday.

I didn't even think this scenario into a possible contingency plan.

Let the circus begin.

Thanks for the replies. Egg, you pretty well nailed it as I remember it now. I hope my memory is that sharp when I hit 70. I think I may have upset a few folks by not going but I never rush into something blind. I usually do every job a few times in my head before I ever arrive on site to do it.

Yes, a state licensed roofing contractor,

but only a final inspection is required since it is a church.

He mentioned multiple inspections including at least deck nailing, dry-in, and final, plus he made a big deal about how Florida requires a Florida license.  I recall him saying owners are not allowed to do their own roofs down there.  I also remember him describing how every single thing has to be glued down with low-rise foam or mastic.  I was appalled that all the copper flashings were tossed out on a reroof until I realized they were bedded down in mastic nine inches from every edge.  Jeff, from the Keys, also mentioned 70-page permit applications because of wind engineering reports.