Getting a New Roof? What a Reroof Changes on Your Florida Wind Mitigation Form

Yes, plan on a new report. A roof replacement changes several answers on the wind mitigation form, so a report written before the job no longer matches the house. Citizens' own guide, for example, treats a form as valid within 5 years only when there have been no structural changes. Other carriers set their own rules, and your agent decides what yours accepts.

All Corners Home Inspection is Jay Sampson's inspection company, based on the west side of Spring Hill, FL. Jay is a State-Certified Building Contractor and holds FL License #HI8193, and the company handles wind mitigation, 4-point and full home inspections across Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties.

The rest of this page follows the job in order: before the crew starts, while the deck is open, and after the final shingle. Most of what decides your new form happens in the middle part, on a day when nobody is thinking about insurance paperwork.

Florida wrote a rule for this exact moment. Fla. Stat. 553.844 directs that on site-built single-family homes built before the Florida Building Code, a roof replacement include a secondary water barrier and strengthened or corrected attachment of the roof deck. On some homes nearer the coast, added roof-to-wall connections can be part of the job too.

Across Hernando, Pasco and Citrus, that describes a lot of houses: block homes from the 1970s through the 1990s now wearing their second or third roof. On many older homes here, the reroof itself adds features the last form never saw. The specifics depend on the house, the permit and the product, so your roofer and the permit office will tell you what applies to yours.

Here is the catch for the wind mitigation form. Much of that required work ends up under the new covering (the shingles, metal or tile), where nobody can look at it again without tearing the roof off.

• ✓Is the job permitted? The permit is the paper trail for the new covering. Keep a copy, with its number and date, in the same folder as your contract.
• ✓Which product approval goes with this covering? Shingles, metal and tile each carry a Florida product approval or a similar listing. Citizens' guide says product approval and/or permits are needed for roof covering credit, so ask for the number in writing.
• ✓How are you sealing the deck? Ask which method goes down between the deck and the covering: peel-and-stick over the whole deck, tape over the seams, a doubled layer, or something else. That answer decides how the sealed-deck question can be filled in later.
• ✓Will the deck be re-nailed? Ask what nail size and spacing the crew uses to fasten the deck, and whether any sheets or boards are being replaced. Those nails are what an inspector reads from the attic afterward.
• ✓Can I get photos of the deck before it is covered? Ask for pictures of the taped seams or the peel-and-stick across the deck, taken during the job, with enough of the house in frame to show which roof it is. Plenty of crews already shoot progress pictures for their own records.

• ✓Peel-and-stick across the deck. A self-adhering underlayment bonded to the whole roof deck.
• ✓Tape over the seams. Self-adhering strips laid over every joint between deck sheets, under the regular underlayment.
• ✓A doubled layer. Two layers of felt or synthetic underlayment, installed the way the form describes.
• ✓Foam at the deck. Spray foam applied to the underside of the deck from the attic.

What does not count on the revised form: standard underlayment or hot-mopped felt by themselves. A brand-new roof can be well built and still lack a qualifying sealed deck. That is a question of method, not workmanship, which is why it belongs on your list of roofer questions.

For the other sections that were reworked on the revision, see what changed on the 2026 wind mitigation form.

Once the covering is on, the sealed deck is out of sight for good. Citizens' guide says as much: the secondary water barrier is generally not visible on a completed roof, so it looks for photos, permits, a FORTIFIED roof certificate (from a voluntary stronger-roof program) or other documentation. From the attic, an inspector sees the underside of the deck, not what was laid on top of it.

So ask your roofer for photos of the deck while it is open, after the tape or peel-and-stick goes down and before the shingles, metal or tile cover it. Keep them with the permit and the product approval. The report records only what the inspection and the paperwork can support, so the documentation is what carries this entry.

The report does not guess in the home's favor. If the sealed deck cannot be supported, the honest entry is unknown, and that is what the form shows. Photos are worth asking for, but nobody can promise how a given carrier treats them. Many carriers give credits for features the form documents; ask your agent.

Book once the roof is finished and the paperwork is in your hands. A report written mid-job, or before the roofer hands over the permit details, has less to work from. If your renewal date is close, tell your agent when the roof was done and ask what they want first.

• ✓Clear the attic hatch. Move the boxes, the shelf and the holiday bins. Citizens' guide notes that without attic access, the deck attachment entry is marked unknown.
• ✓Put the paperwork on the counter. The reroof permit, the product approval for the covering, the roofer's invoice and the photos of the open deck.
• ✓Mention anything else that changed. New or removed skylights, new windows, a new garage door or shutters added since the last form each move the opening protection section. Say so when you call.

Jay Sampson has been inspecting homes since 2013. He also brings 25+ years in insurance restoration, overseeing repairs on homes hit by hurricanes, fires and floods. He is a State-Certified Building Contractor with FL License #HI8193, and InterNACHI certified. A builder reads deck nailing and roof-to-wall connectors from the attic as part of how the house was put together, not as boxes on a form. More on Jay's background as a State-Certified Building Contractor.

From a Google review, Debra M.: “Jay has always been professional, on time and very thorough in his inspections for my customers. I highly recommend his services for your next home inspection/4pt/wind mitigation!”

A recent reroof is good news on a listing, and the seller may hand over a wind mitigation form along with it. That form was ordered for the seller's own insurance, and whether your carrier will use it is a question for your insurance agent early in the inspection period. During the inspection period, ask the seller for the reroof permit, the product approval for the covering and any photos the roofer took of the deck before it was covered, and have them on hand for the inspection. With a full home inspection, wind mitigation is included free, along with the 4-point, so you get a current form for the house you are buying.

The roof's age and condition also show up on the 4-point. If your insurer later sends its own surveyor, read what happens when your insurance company sends an inspector.