Roof Deck Replacement in Pompano Beach, FL

Broward's HVHZ code won't let a new roof go over soaked or rotted sheathing, so every bad sheet comes out. New plywood has to be rated Exposure 1, at least 19/32 inch thick and continuous over two or more spans. Material prices by sheet:

• Plywood: $16 to $64
• OSB: $9 to $60 (see the FAQ before accepting it)
• Tongue and groove: $48 to $83

Older houses can have board decking instead of plywood, and the HVHZ code allows either; the city's median home dates from 1976 (see roof replacement). Sound planks can stay if they meet the HVHZ board rules:

• 3/4 inch net thickness for spans up to 28 inches, or 5/8 inch up to 24 inches
• Staggered joints
• 8d common nails: two per 6-inch board, three per 8-inch board, at every support

Rotted planks are cut out and replaced like any other bad sheathing.

When a re-roof strips down to the sheathing in Broward, the HVHZ wood section calls for renailing the old deck, not only the new sheets:

• 8d common nails, 0.131 inch by 2 1/2 inches
• 6 inches on center at panel edges and at intermediate supports
• 4 inches on center over gable ends and subfascia
• Existing nails count toward that spacing

Pompano Beach's HVHZ permit application includes an owner's notification for re-roofs that warns the deck may have to be renailed. The code also says the building official isn't required to inspect that renailing, so ask for photos of it before the underlayment goes down.

Tear-off can also expose rotted rafter tails and subfascia along the eave. HomeGuide puts rafter replacement at $5 to $14 a square foot. Florida's statute lets a roofing contractor repair sheathing and fascia during a roof job (soffit and fascia repair covers that scope), but rafters aren't on that list. Ask who will do framing repairs and whether they go on the same permit.