The shingles on the west side of your house have gone pale and stiff. A couple of tabs went missing in the last tropical storm, and the gutters keep filling with gritty granules. You know your shingle roofing in Orlando has some years on it, but from the driveway you can’t tell whether it needs a handful of repairs or a full replacement.
Nobody wants to pay for a roof they don’t need, and nobody wants to patch a roof that’s already done. You should get a real look at yours, with photos, before you decide anything.
APC Roofing has been roofing since 2017. We’re GAF Certified, licensed in Florida (CCC1337030) and insured, and your inspection and estimate are free. Call 407-270-1129 and a roofer will come out.
How Orlando weather wears down a shingle roof
Asphalt shingles are a fiberglass mat soaked in asphalt, with a layer of stone granules on top. Those granules shade the asphalt from the sun. Orlando’s sun works on them every day of the year, and the south- and west-facing slopes take the most of it. Once the granules thin out, the bare asphalt dries, hardens and starts to crack.
Each shingle also has a strip of factory sealant that bonds it to the row below. Florida heat sets that bond quickly on a new roof. As the roof ages, the bond can let go, and then the next strong gust lifts the tab, creases it and sometimes tears it off.
Hurricane season, June 1 through November 30, puts the most strain on the edges, corners and ridge, where wind pulls hardest. One missing shingle leaves the underlayment open to sun and rain, and that layer isn’t built to sit uncovered for long.
Then there’s the humidity. The dark streaks on so many Central Florida roofs are usually algae. They look bad but are mostly cosmetic, and pressure washing does more harm than good because it strips granules along with the stain.
Choosing shingles for an Orlando home
Most shingle roofs fall into three groups.
3-tab shingles are flat, single-layer shingles with two notches that make three even tabs. They were the standard for decades, and plenty of older Orlando homes still have them. They’re thinner and usually carry lower wind ratings than heavier shingles. Read more on our 3-tab shingle roofing page.
Architectural shingles, also called dimensional or laminated shingles, are two layers bonded together. They’re heavier, they hide small dips in the roof deck, and their packages usually list higher wind ratings. Most reroofs today use them.
Premium shingles are thicker still and are shaped to look like wood shake or slate.
Color matters more here than up north. Lighter shingles stay cooler in the afternoon sun, and some product lines add copper-coated granules that slow algae. We’ll walk you through the options that fit your house and budget, with no pressure to go bigger than you need.
Shingle roof repair or replacement in Orlando?
A repair usually makes sense when the damage is in one spot: a few blown-off tabs, a cracked rubber boot around a plumbing pipe, or flashing that’s pulled away from a wall. The rest of the roof still has life left, so fixing the problem area is the honest call. Our shingle roof repair page covers how that works.
Replacement starts to make sense when the wear is everywhere. On an old roof, the tabs get so brittle that lifting one to slide in a new shingle cracks the ones around it. Bald patches, curled edges across whole slopes and leaks that keep coming back all point the same way.
Florida adds two more things to think about. The state building code has its own rules for how much of a roof can be repaired before more of it has to meet current code. And many insurers look closely at the age and condition of a roof when they write or renew a policy. An inspection gives you a clear picture of both.
What a new shingle roof involves
A replacement starts with tearing the old shingles off down to the wood deck. Any soft or rotted plywood gets cut out and replaced, because nails won’t hold in weak wood. Then come the layers you’ll never see again: underlayment, metal drip edge along the eaves and rakes, a starter row at the edges, new flashing at walls and chimneys, and new pipe boots. The shingles go on with the nailing pattern the manufacturer calls for, and ridge caps finish the top.
Many residential replacements are finished in a single day, and the crew cleans up before leaving. Our shingle roof installation page goes step by step.
How it works with APC Roofing
- Book your free inspection. Call 407-270-1129 or request a free online estimate.
- Get a clear, honest assessment and estimate. You’ll see what we found, hear whether it’s a repair or a replacement, and get it in writing. Financing is available through Aqua Finance, Fortifi, Hearth and Home Run Finance if you’d like to spread out the cost.
- Your roof gets done and the site gets cleaned up. Repair or replacement, the crew leaves your yard and driveway clean.
Waiting on a worn shingle roof doesn’t usually save money. Water that slips past a lifted tab can soak the deck and the insulation for months before a stain shows up on your ceiling.
Shingle roofing questions from Orlando homeowners
Can you replace just the shingles that blew off?
Usually, yes. A new shingle may look a little different from the faded ones around it at first, and some older colors and styles are no longer made. We’ll tell you how close a match to expect before any work starts.
Do the black streaks mean my roof is failing?
Not by themselves. Those streaks are usually algae, which is mostly a looks problem. Moss or anything growing thick enough to lift the shingle edges is a different story and worth having checked.
Are architectural shingles worth it over 3-tab?
For most Orlando homes, yes. They’re heavier and usually rated for higher winds, which matters during hurricane season. You’ll see both options side by side in your estimate.
Is a shingle roof a good choice in Central Florida?
Yes, for most homes. Shingles cost less up front than tile or metal and hold up well when they’re installed to the manufacturer’s specs for high-wind areas.
A shingle roof you can stop thinking about
When the next tropical storm rolls through, you should be able to sit in a dry living room with no buckets out and no surprise bill coming. Call APC Roofing at 407-270-1129 to book your free inspection and find out exactly where your roof stands.
