Mike Silvers, CPRC, Owner of Silvers Systems Inc. and FRSA Technical Director
2020 Florida Building Code, Existing
Building, 7th Edition
SECTION 202 – GENERAL DEFINITIONS
REROOFING. The process of recovering or replacing
an existing roof covering. See “Roof recover” and
“Roof replacement.”
ROOF RECOVER. The process of installing an additional
roof covering over a prepared existing roof covering
without removing the existing roof covering.
ROOF REPLACEMENT. The process of removing the
existing roof covering, repairing any damaged substrate
and installing a new roof covering.
Recovering has its advantages and is particularly appealing in Florida where, during the summer, the chance of rain is probable almost every day. Protecting the building from water intrusion during roof removal can be challenging. Recovering reduces labor cost and allows the contractor to complete more work each day. It also eliminates the need to immediately handle debris and to pay for its disposal. The previous statement said “immediately” for a reason. Eventually these costs will be incurred by the building owner, either when roof replacement has to occur (more on this later) or rarely when the building is demolished and the debris is disposed of. Recovering doesn’t eliminate the use of landfills or reduce the volume of debris disposed of; it just postpones it. A section of the existing building subcode shown below addresses recovering versus replacement. Some portions are in bold and underlined for emphasis. Read more.
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