Hurricane Ian roof damage: the assembly decided

Hurricane Ian did not test a single Lee County roof to its design wind speed. FEMA's Mitigation Assessment Team put the 3-second gusts along the coast at 120 to 130 mph, against design speeds of 150 to 161 mph on the houses it inspected, and 90 percent of the asphalt shingle roofs older than seven years showed visible damage anyway. The material did not decide who got a tarp. The assembly did.

Three primary sources carry this post: the National Hurricane Center's tropical cyclone report on Ian, FEMA's Mitigation Assessment Team report P-2342 (December 2023, revised May 2025), and the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code with the statutes behind it. Where they disagree, both numbers are printed with their provenance.

What the wind actually was

The NHC report is direct about the gap in the record: "Because of instrument failure, no reliable surface observations exist from the coastal areas where the eyewall came on shore." For Lee County, the NCEI Storm Events Database records a 140 mph gust at the Cape Coral yacht club weatherSTEM station, a measured value at one non-NWS mesonet station. FEMA's team, working from the surface-level wind field that NIST and Applied Research Associates estimated for the storm, put the 3-second gusts "immediately along the coast" at 120 to 130 mph. A 140 mph point reading does not contradict a 120 to 130 mph regional field.

The 156 mph figure that ran in coverage during landfall was a flight-level measurement, not a ground speed. FEMA flagged it in Conclusion FL-32: news outlets "reported on landfall wind speed estimates of 156 mph measured at flight level rather than the ground level landfall wind speed estimates of over 130 mph," and as a result "many people falsely believed they experienced a wind event of rare, historic intensity."

FEMA: "When considering wind speed only, estimated wind speeds in Hurricane Ian also did not exceed the design wind speeds specified in any edition of the FBC since its inception (2001 FBC)." The report's photo captions pair the two numbers house by house: Fort Myers Beach, an estimated 103 mph against a design speed of 159 to 160; St. James City, 113 to 115 against 160 to 161; Boca Grande, 130 against 150.

What FEMA found, covering by covering

The team sorted the roofs it surveyed by whether the covering went on before or after June 2015, the effective date of the 5th Edition (2014) FBC, and counted visible damage. Table 4-3 in the report is the whole argument in one grid.

Asphalt shingles

Installed after June 2015: 11 of 39 showed visible damage, 28 percent. Installed before June 2015: 63 of 70, 90 percent. FEMA's Conclusion FL-28 calls the older figure "significant" given that "Hurricane Ian wind speeds were far less than design-level wind speeds," and lists what it could not settle: the effects of aging, the effects of transportation and delivery of the product to the site, and "the lack of thorough 'in-progress' inspections."

Metal panels

Installed after June 2015: 6 of 33 damaged, 18 percent. Before June 2015: 9 of 43, 21 percent. Through-fastened panels were the most common metal roof the team saw, and "the most common damage to metal roof panels observed were to hip and ridge covers." Two findings cut against treating metal as a product choice rather than an assembly. A 2018 standing seam replacement in St. James City suffered severe damage, and "The MAT was unable to determine why this roof replacement performed poorly." And "Newer houses (built to 2010 FBC and later) with original metal panel roofs appeared to outperform older houses with recent metal roof panel replacements."

Concrete and clay tile

Tile damage "generally occurred at edges (eaves, rakes, ridges, and hips)," and newer tile did better than older tile. In a Port Charlotte neighborhood built 2020 to 2021 with foam-adhered tile, many roofs "sustained minor to moderate damage" at those same edges, at an estimated 126 mph against a 153 mph design speed. In Placida, where the tile was mechanically fastened, 4 of 11 installed since June 2015 showed damage, against 5 of 7 installed earlier.

Hip and ridge, on every covering

One failure ran through every material: "The most common damage observed by the MAT for all roof coverings was displacement of hip and ridge roof coverings." The reason FEMA gives sits in the code, not in any one product.

Failure of hip and ridge roof coverings on asphalt shingle and metal panel roof coverings was widespread and the most common roof covering failure observed by the MAT. While some asphalt shingle manufacturers test hip and ridge shingles to a modified version of ASTM D3161, the IBC, IRC, and FBC do not specifically require testing of hip and ridge asphalt shingles or metal panel roof coverings.

Recommendation FL-10c asks for "a minimum of 6 inches overlap of the roof underlayment to hip and ridges that do not have ventilation components." Under the code as it stands, hip and ridge attachment is a matter of manufacturer instructions and workmanship, which is where an installer's discipline shows.

On structure: "The MAT did not observe wind-related structural damage to any Post-FBC houses." Pre-2001 houses did fail structurally. The report pairs a 1979 Boca Grande condominium missing its roof and second-story walls at an estimated 130 mph with a 2022 house across the street that had no damage.

What kept the water out

FEMA documented a Port Charlotte house built in 2021 that lost roughly 50 percent of the shingles on its back slope and "did not experience any water intrusion through the roof or soffit." Under the shingles was a self-adhered underlayment, what the code calls a secondary water barrier and FEMA calls a sealed roof deck.

FEMA's Conclusion FL-39: "Sealed roof decks (secondary water barriers) are often effective in reducing damage from water infiltration." The team attributed the lower water intrusion it saw in newer houses to the underlayment rules in force since the 5th Edition (2014) FBC, effective June 2015.

The roof was rarely the way water got in. "The performance of soffit assemblies was poor across all areas visited by the MAT," and homeowners told the team that water intrusion "was more typically through soffits and sliding glass doors." The usual defect was vinyl soffit floating in its channels instead of being fastened at the fascia and at the wall. The 7th Edition (2020) FBC now requires fastening at both ends, a nailing strip where the span exceeds 12 inches, and in-progress soffit inspections, and the 8th Edition (2023) added soffit and fascia attachment requirements to the Building volume and strengthened them in the Residential volume.

Lost covering is a roofing repair. Water through an open deck or an open soffit is drywall, insulation, cabinets, flooring, and a house you cannot live in. Judge a reroof by what it does under the covering and at the edges before you judge the covering itself.

Two shingle roofs, one storm

Two photographs taken in Lee County after Ian. The first is a TAMKO Titan XT architectural shingle roof PrimeBid Energy installed to the Florida Building Code before the storm. The second is neighboring roofs.

This is one documented roof, not a fleet statistic. PrimeBid did not install the neighboring roofs and has not verified their age. What the pair shows is what FEMA's Table 4-3 says at scale: same wind, same day, same material category, and the outcome sorted by age and assembly.

What the 2023 code makes a Lee County reroof do

Lee County permits are certified to the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023). When a roof covering comes off a wood deck on an existing house, Chapter 7 of the Existing Building volume and Chapter 9 of the Residential volume set the floor. The 706.7 and 706.8 retrofits are written for houses permitted before the Florida Building Code; both sections exempt a structure permitted under the FBC. The new covering on any house still goes on under Chapter 9 of the Residential volume, including the R905.1.1.1 underlayment methods below. These are the items the covering conversation usually skips.

• Deck re-nailing (FBC-EB 706.7.1, Table 706.7.1.2). Existing staples, 6d nails at any spacing, or 8d nails wider than 6 inches on center get supplemental fasteners at no more than 6 inches on center. Existing 8d at 6 inches or less: none necessary. Supplemental nails are ASTM F1667 RSRS-01 ring shanks, 0.113-inch shank, 16 to 20 rings per inch, 2 3/8 inches minimum. The alternative is a two-part closed-cell urethane adhesive at the sheathing-to-framing joint from the attic side, tested to 200 psf uplift.
• Secondary water barrier (FBC-EB 706.7.2, FBC-R R905.1.1.1). Three compliant methods for shingle and metal: a full-deck self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen underlayment meeting ASTM D1970; a 3 3/4-inch minimum self-adhered strip over every deck joint under an approved underlayment; or two layers of ASTM D226 Type II, D4869 Type III or IV, or D8257 underlayment with cap nails at 12 inches in the field and 6 inches at laps, metal caps where Vult is 170 mph or more. A clay or concrete tile system installed as the FBC requires is deemed to comply.
• Roof-to-wall review (FBC-EB 706.8). In the wind-borne debris region, on a building with an insured value of $300,000 or more, or a just valuation of $300,000 or more where insured value is not documented, roof-to-wall connections "shall be improved as required by Section 706.8.1," capped at a 15 percent increase in the cost of reroofing. Not required where code adoption and permit dates show the connections were required at original construction.
• Drip edge (FBC-R R905.2.8.5). Fastened at 12 inches on center, and at 4 inches on center where Vasd is 110 mph or greater or the mean roof height exceeds 33 feet.
• Shingle fastening (FBC-R R905.2.6, Table R905.2.6.1). The manufacturer's minimum, "but not less than four fasteners per strip shingle." Table R905.2.6.1 sets the required ASTM D7158 or ASTM D3161 classification by design wind speed; ASTM D7158 Class H or ASTM D3161 Class F satisfies it at every speed in the Lee County table.
• Tile underlayment. The 8th Edition requires roof underlayment for tile roofs to meet the applicable roof design wind pressure, per FEMA's summary of the edition's changes.

The statute under 706.8 sets the priority when a house has both hip and gable ends. Section 553.844(2)(b)3, F.S.: "Roof-to-wall connections shall not be required unless evaluation and installation of connections at gable ends or all corners can be completed for 15 percent of the cost of roof replacement. For houses that have both hip and gable roof ends, the priority shall be to retrofit the gable end roof-to-wall connections unless the width of the hip is more than 1.5 times greater than the width of the gable end."

Product approval, not a Miami-Dade NOA

Lee County is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. The FBC-Residential definition is one sentence: "This zone consists of Broward and Miami-Dade counties." The HVHZ-only rules, such as plywood-only roof decks, do not apply here, and a Miami-Dade NOA is not required to permit a roof in Lee County.

Lee County is in the Wind-Borne Debris Region, which the FBC-R defines as areas within 1 mile of the coastal mean high water line where Vult is 130 mph or greater, or anywhere Vult is 140 mph or greater. Cape Coral's residential design guideline certifies to 160 mph, and Lee County's roof-permit pressure table is built for basic wind speeds of 150, 160 and 170 mph. Design speed runs roughly 150 to 170 mph depending on location, and the value for the specific parcel is what the permit uses.

What governs product selection is s. 553.842(4), F.S.: "statewide approval shall preclude local jurisdictions from requiring further testing, evaluation, or submission of other evidence as a condition of using the product so long as the product is being used consistent with the conditions of its approval." Subsection (5) of the same statute bars marketing any product as hurricane or windstorm protection unless it is approved under that section or the local approval route in s. 553.8425. Here are the four systems we install, read the way a plans examiner reads them.

TAMKO Titan XT shingles. Florida Product Approval FL18355-R13 (code version 2023, approved April 11, 2026, evaluation report UL ER2919-01g) lists Titan XT by name, approved for use outside the HVHZ. The report classifies it ASTM D7158 Class H and ASTM D3161 Class F, the classification Table R905.2.6.1 requires at the highest wind speeds. TAMKO's data sheet lists UL 2218 Class 3 for impact and prints its own caveat: UL 2218 testing uses a dropped steel ball "which may not correlate with real world rooftop experience." TAMKO's published pattern is four fasteners per shingle, 1 inch and 13 1/2 inches from each end; the high-wind application adds TAMKO starter shingles with a sealant strip at eaves and rakes and TAMKO hip and ridge shingles, on new construction or a full tear-off only. The FBC minimum is also four.

Eagle concrete tile. FL7473-R11, non-HVHZ, whose evaluation report PEER-EGL-001.A revision 8 is dated July 23, 2025 and reviewed to the 8th Edition (2023) FBC, material standard ASTM C1492. Installation follows the FRSA/TRI Florida High Wind Concrete and Clay Roof Tile Installation Manual, 7th Edition, which R905.3 names. The tile may be mechanically fastened, mortar-set or adhesive-set, but "The underlayment Product Approval shall specify allowable method(s) of tile installation" for that underlayment, foam-applied systems need their own FBC product approval, and staples cannot be used with adhesive-set systems. The attachment method and the underlayment approval have to match on the permit.

Mechanically seamed standing seam. Petersen Tite-Loc Plus, 24-gauge steel over a wood deck, FL24423-R5 (code version 2023) and its underlying NOA, field-seamed to a 180-degree lock. The approval does not rate the panel in mph. It rates it in pressure by roof zone against clip spacing: minus 59.75 psf in the field at clips 36 inches on center, minus 114.25 psf at 24 inches, and minus 204.25 psf at perimeter and corner with clips at 6 inches on center and deck nails at 3 inches. "Extrapolation shall not be allowed." The pressures on the permit decide the clip spacing on the roof.

Stone-coated steel, by its documented construction only. Per the product's UL evaluation report, panels are formed from ASTM A792 AZ150 hot-dip steel with base metal not less than 0.0165 inch; the Antica profile installs at 136 pounds per square on slopes of 3:12 and steeper. Attachment is concealed: minimum 2.25-inch ring-shank nails with 0.131-inch shanks driven through the head check into battens and covered by the next course, or #12 hex washer head screws direct to the deck. The report evaluates wind uplift to ANSI/UL 1897, roof deck construction to ANSI/UL 580, wind-driven rain to TAS 100, and salt spray to ASTM B117. The evaluation report lists no UL 2218 impact class. Approval numbers for any stone-coated product are confirmed per product against the state database at permit time.

Repair or replace: the 25 percent rule

After Ian, FEMA watched roofs come off that did not need to. Conclusion FL-29: "Roof coverings that had minor damage that likely could be repaired were often being replaced." In the same conclusion: "many roof coverings that appeared to have minor damage (hip and ridge damage was commonly observed) were being replaced instead of repaired." The rule that makes many of those replacements unnecessary is in statute, not in a contractor's discretion.

Notwithstanding any provision in the Florida Building Code to the contrary, if an existing roofing system or roof section was built, repaired, or replaced in compliance with the requirements of the 2007 Florida Building Code, or any subsequent editions of the Florida Building Code, and 25 percent or more of such roofing system or roof section is being repaired, replaced, or recovered, only the repaired, replaced, or recovered portion is required to be constructed in accordance with the Florida Building Code in effect, as applicable.

The 2007 FBC took effect March 1, 2009. A roof built, repaired or replaced in compliance with that edition or a later one is not required by the 25 percent rule to be replaced in full: the damaged section is repaired to current code and the rest stays. The statute also forbids local governments from amending the exception by ordinance. Older roofs remain subject to FBC-EB 706.1.1, where repairing, replacing or recovering 25 percent or more of a roof section within 12 months brings that section to current code.

What a Lee County reroof permit involves

Lee County Community Development issues permits for unincorporated Lee County only. Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel issue their own, and the parcel, not the mailing address, decides which authority gets the application.

In unincorporated Lee County, contractors apply through eConnect, with the application certified to the 8th Edition (2023) FBC and a Florida Product Approval number for every product against the pressures in Tables R301.2(2) and R301.2(3). Tile on a structure that did not previously carry tile requires engineering approval. Inspections are a 501 roof dry-in and a 503 roof final for shingle and metal, with a 502 in-process inspection added for tile. Where 706.8.1 applies, the county requires an Existing Roof Retrofit Affidavit, and its Roof Inspection Affidavit certifies the deck nailing and secondary water barrier before the 503 final. A permit must pass at least one inspection within 180 days or it expires.

PrimeBid Energy LLC is a Florida Certified Roofing Contractor and works across the state. On a Lee County reroof, the job is filed with the authority that governs the parcel, the FL number for each product goes on the application, and the deck nailing and secondary water barrier are documented on the county's affidavits. Design, permitting and installation through the county's final inspection run as one team, end to end.

The assembly decides

Ian sorted Lee County roofs by assembly, not by material: what held the covering to the deck, what held the deck to the walls, and what was under the covering when the covering left.