Post-Storm-Season Roof Checklist for South Florida

Hurricane season officially ends on November 30, and the weeks right after it are the best time of the year to look at your roof. The wind's done, the daily downpours taper off, and anything the season did to the roof is still fresh enough to find — and, if it was a storm, still inside the one-year claim window.

This is the checklist we use on our own customers' roofs across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach every December. Most of it you can do from the ground and the attic. The rest is what a professional inspection is for.

From the ground: what to look for

Walk the whole perimeter of the house with your phone. Photograph each slope; the photos are worth more than the walk.

• Lifted or creased shingles. A shingle whose seal has broken will sit slightly proud of the ones around it, especially near ridges and edges. Creases mean the wind folded it back.
• Slid, cracked, or missing tiles. Look along each course for a tile that's out of line with its neighbors. On foam-set tile, one displaced tile often means the ones around it are loose too.
• Ridge caps and hip tiles. These take the most wind. Look for gaps, missing mortar, or caps that have shifted.
• Flashing at walls and chimneys. Any metal that's lifted, bent, or has an open gap at the top edge.
• Debris. Branches, palm fronds, and roofing pieces in the yard or on the roof. A tile fragment in the grass means a tile is broken somewhere above it.
• Soffit and fascia. Sagging, separated, or stained sections mean water got behind the drip edge.

In the gutters and downspouts

Gutters tell you what the roof is shedding.

• Granules. A layer of coarse sand in the gutter is shingle granules. Some loss is normal on a new roof; heavy accumulation on a 10-year-old roof means the shingles are wearing.
• Tile chips or mortar. Broken pieces of tile or ridge mortar.
• Sealant or rubber. Bits of pipe-boot rubber or old sealant point to failed penetrations.
• Standing water. If gutters aren't draining, they're clogged or pitched wrong, and water is sitting against the fascia.

Clear them while you're there. Clogged gutters are the cause of a surprising share of the fascia and soffit damage we repair.

In the attic

Take a flashlight up on a bright day. This is where storm damage shows first.

• Daylight. Any pinpoint of light through the deck is a hole.
• Stains or dark streaks on the underside of the plywood, especially around penetrations, valleys, and the edges.
• Wet or compressed insulation. Press it; damp insulation stays flat.
• Rusted nail tips. A field of rusty nail points means condensation or a slow leak over time.
• Displaced or broken truss connectors. Rare, but worth a glance after a serious storm.

Penetrations: the leaks we find most

More than half the leaks we repair in South Florida come from the roof's penetrations rather than the field of the roof.

• Pipe boots. The rubber collar around plumbing vents cracks in our sun within 8–12 years. It's the most common leak we see, and one of the cheapest to fix.
• Vent and stack flashing. Lifted edges, missing fasteners, or cracked sealant.
• Satellite dishes and old mounts. Every abandoned bracket is a set of screw holes.
• Skylights. Check the interior trim for stains; the seal fails before the glass does.
• Solar and AC lines. Any penetration added after the roof was installed is a candidate.

Flat and low-slope roofs

If part of your roof is flat — common on Miami homes and nearly all commercial buildings — the check is different:

• Ponding water more than 48 hours after rain.
• Blisters, bubbles, or open seams in the membrane.
• Cracked or missing sealant at the parapet caps and drains.
• Clogged drains and scuppers. A blocked drain on a flat roof is a pool.

Our flat roofing team sees most flat-roof failures start at a drain or a seam, and both are inexpensive to fix early.

Metal roofs

Walk the perimeter and look for loosened fasteners (visible as small raised washers), sealant that's chalky or cracked at laps and penetrations, and panels with edges lifted at the eaves. Metal doesn't fail often, but its fasteners and sealants do.

Trees

Trim anything overhanging the roof. Branches abrade shingles and tiles in the wind, drop debris that holds moisture against the surface, and are the most common cause of catastrophic damage in a storm. In tree-heavy cities like Coral Gables and Pinecrest this is the item that matters most.

Interior

Look at every ceiling, closet ceiling, and the top of every wall for new stains or bubbling paint, and photograph anything you find with the date. Interior stains usually appear weeks after the leak begins.

Records

Put everything in one folder: this season's photos, any repair receipts, your last wind mitigation form, and your roof's permit date. If any of what you found was caused by a storm, that folder is the start of the claim — and Florida's one-year notice deadline is explained in our post on roof claim deadlines.

When to call a roofer

Call if you found any of these:

• Daylight or wet insulation in the attic
• More than a couple of lifted shingles or displaced tiles
• Any lifted flashing or ridge caps
• Interior stains, new or growing
• Ponding on a flat roof
• A roof over 10 years old that hasn't been professionally inspected in the last two years

A drone inspection covers the whole roof in about 20 minutes with 4K photos of every slope and penetration, with nobody walking on it. You get the photos and a written scope, and if it's storm damage, the report is formatted for your insurer.

What repairs cost this time of year

Typical 2026 ranges across South Florida, from our post on roof repair: a pipe boot or small flashing repair runs $700–$1,200 on shingle and $1,000–$2,500 on tile or metal; moderate repairs $1,000–$3,500; anything involving deck replacement $1,500–$6,000 or more. December through March is also when roofers' schedules are most open, so this is the time to book.

Frequently asked questions

Should I pressure-wash the roof while I'm at it?

No. Pressure washing strips shingle granules and breaks tile seals. If the roof has algae streaks, soft washing with a low-pressure treatment is the right method — and it's a job for a roofer or a cleaner who works on roofs specifically.

Is it safe to walk my roof to check it?

We'd rather you didn't. Tile cracks underfoot, wet shingles are slick, and a fall is the most serious roofing injury there is. Ground, attic, gutters, and a drone cover everything you need.

How often should a South Florida roof be professionally inspected?

Once a year for roofs over 10 years old, and after any named storm regardless of age. Newer roofs every two years is reasonable.

I found damage. How long do I have to report it?

If a storm caused it, one year from the date of the storm for the initial claim. Get it inspected and documented before you decide whether to file.

SIA Roofing · Florida Certified Roofing Contractor CCC1334814 · (305) 333-2893. Free inspections across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.