What we fix · Metal Roof Repair
Metal Roof Repair, Seams and Fasteners
Metal panels almost never fail in the middle. The failures are at the details: seams, end laps, fasteners, and anywhere something passes through the roof. Metal also moves — a panel expands and contracts measurably every day — and the details have to accommodate that or they work themselves loose.
Photographs and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, you will get that answer.
67
Florida counties we are licensed to build in
HVHZ
Miami-Dade and Broward product approval, done properly
GC
A general contractor, so the structure below is our problem too
25%
The code rule that decides repair vs. replace
The stack
What is actually up there
A roof is a stack of layers, and almost nobody has seen the stack. Knowing which layer keeps the water out changes what you should be paying for.
The problem
Why this goes wrong
The common wrong answer is a coating. Rolling an elastomeric coating over a metal roof hides the problem, adds weight, complicates any future repair, and typically buys a few years. If the seam is open, the seam needs to be addressed; painting over it is a deferral dressed as a repair.
Recognise it
What it looks like
Drawn rather than photographed, so each one shows the mechanism instead of one particular roof.
The seam opens, not the panel
End laps and seams take the movement. When sealant hardens, the joint opens a fraction of a millimetre and that is enough.
Penetrations and wall terminations
Boots and terminations age faster than the metal around them and are the most common metal-roof leak we find.
From the ground
Signs to look for
- Backed-out or missing screws, particularly on exposed-fastener roofs.
- Rust bleeding from a fastener head or a cut edge.
- Oil-canning that has become a crease rather than a ripple.
- Sealant at end laps that has gone hard and cracked.
- Leaks that appear only in wind-driven rain.
Scope
What we actually do
- 01Walk the roof and record every fastener and seam condition.
- 02Identify the panel system, because a standing seam and an exposed-fastener roof are different repairs.
- 03Check the penetration boot condition — these age faster than the metal.
- 04Assess whether thermal movement was accommodated at installation.
- 05Repair the detail. Recommend a coating only where it is genuinely the right answer.
- 06Photographs and a written scope before work begins.
Worth knowing
On an exposed-fastener roof, the screws and their neoprene washers are the maintenance item, and there may be thousands of them. A roof at fifteen years often needs a full re-fasten rather than a repair, and that is a legitimate, well-understood piece of work — not an upsell.
FAQ
Common questions
- Should I just coat the whole roof?
- Sometimes a coating is right, usually as a planned system on a low-slope roof rather than as a fix for an open seam. We will tell you which situation you are in.
- How long does a metal roof last here?
- Longer than most alternatives when the details are maintained. The metal typically outlives the sealants, boots and fasteners by a wide margin.
- Can rust be repaired?
- Surface rust at a cut edge, often yes. Perforation, no — that panel is replaced.
- Is a noisy metal roof a problem?
- Expansion noise as the sun moves across it is normal and not a defect. A new noise, or a bang, is worth a look.
Areas served
Where we work
HVHZ
Fort Lauderdale
Our home city, and a genuine mix: barrel tile on the mainland, flat and low-slope on the mid-century houses near Victoria Park, and metal appearing steadily on the newer waterfront builds. Broward is HVHZ, so every product on your roof needs a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance.
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HVHZ
Wilton Manors
Compact lots and a large stock of 1950s and 1960s single-storey houses, which in practice means low-slope and shallow-pitch roofs rather than tile. Those roofs rely on membrane and flashing detail, so the failures here look different from the tile failures a mile east.
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HVHZ
Oakland Park
A lot of housing built either side of 1970, now reaching the point where an original underlayment has certainly been replaced once and may be due again. HVHZ rules apply, and Oakland Park permitting is generally straightforward compared with the barrier-island municipalities.
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HVHZ
Pompano Beach
Two different roofing markets in one city: older single-family inland, and a wave of oceanfront towers built in the last decade. The beachfront work is almost entirely low-slope with heavy salt exposure, which shortens the life of fasteners and terminations well before the membrane.
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HVHZ
Lighthouse Point
Canal-front houses with long-tenured owners, which is exactly the profile where a tile roof has looked fine for twenty-five years while the underlayment quietly reached the end of its life. Salt air on the canals is hard on exposed fasteners and metal trim.
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HVHZ
Deerfield Beach
The northern edge of Broward, and the last city before the HVHZ boundary — cross into Palm Beach County a mile north and the product approval rules change entirely. Large stock of 1970s and 1980s condominium with low-slope roofs held in common by the association.
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.