A complete roofing estimate is a written scope of work that names what gets torn off, what gets installed by brand and product, who pulls the permit, how change orders are handled, and what the warranty covers and for how long. A red flag bid is a total price with a signature line and very little else. In Florida, the difference between those two documents is not just detail. It is the law.
Most advice on this topic stops at a parts list: tear-off, underlayment, shingles, flashing, permits, cleanup. That list is fine, but it does not tell a Brevard County homeowner much, because Florida requires specific written notices inside a residential roofing contract that no national checklist mentions.
We hear the same thing on first calls, especially from people filing their first claim after a storm. They have two or three quotes sitting on the kitchen table, the numbers are thousands apart, and they have no idea what they are actually comparing. If you have not gotten bids yet, there are also some questions worth asking before you ever get a bid. This article is about the next step: the paperwork someone hands you afterward, whether that is for a repair or a full roof replacement in Brevard County.
What Should Be Included in a Roofing Estimate?
The National Roofing Contractors Association publishes a homeowner-facing list of what a proposal should contain. According to NRCA's consumer resources, an estimate or proposal should cover:
- The type of roof covering, manufacturer, and color
- All materials included in the work
- The scope of work
- Whether the existing roof is being removed or replaced
- Flashing work
- Ventilation work
- Who is responsible for repairing or replacing landscaping or interior finishes damaged during the job
- The installation method
- Approximate start and completion dates
- Payment procedures
- The length of the warranty and what it covers
NRCA also suggests getting three or four proposals, and notes that a clearly written, detailed proposal is a signal the contractor actually did the work of estimating rather than guessing. You can read their guidance at nrca.net/roofing-guidelines/resources.
One line from NRCA is worth sitting with, because it quietly undoes a lot of sales talk: while many contractors offer one or two years of workmanship coverage, there is no industry standard for how long that coverage lasts. So "we offer a warranty" tells you almost nothing. The term and the exclusions tell you everything.
Is a Roofing Estimate the Same as a Contract in Florida?
No. An estimate is a proposal. A contract is the signed agreement, and Florida law requires several specific disclosures inside it. Those requirements are where a lot of thin bids fall apart.
Under Florida Statute 489.147(7), added by CS/CS/HB 715 and signed on May 19, 2025, any contract to replace or repair a residential roof must include language, in bold type of at least 14 points on the signature page, advising you to contact your insurance company to confirm coverage, claims, deductibles, and policy terms before you sign. This applies to all residential roof contracts, not only storm work. You can read the statute at flsenate.gov.
A few more that belong in the same document:
- The lien law notice. Under Fla. Stat. 713.015(1), any direct contract over $2,500 for a home of up to four units must carry the Construction Lien Law notice in at least 12-point, capitalized, bold type, signed and dated by you. It warns that unpaid subcontractors and suppliers can pursue your property even if you already paid your contractor in full.
- The Recovery Fund notice. Under Fla. Stat. 489.1425(1), residential contracts over $2,500 must include a written statement about your rights under the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund, followed by the licensing board's address and phone number.
- The deductible notice. Under Fla. Stat. 489.147(5), a residential roof contract must include notice that the contractor cannot offer you a rebate, gift card, cash, coupon, or a waiver of your deductible in exchange for a roof inspection or for filing a claim. If that notice is missing, you may void the contract within 10 days of signing it.
A real Florida roofing contract over $2,500 carries all of this. A one-page bid with a number and a line to sign carries none of it. That is a five-second check anyone can run.
The Tidal Wave 7-Point Estimate Audit
We built this out of the questions homeowners actually ask us while holding somebody else's quote. Run any bid through these seven checks.
1. Scope: what comes off, and over what area
The estimate should say how many layers are being removed and over exactly which roof planes or sections. "Reroof house" is not a scope. If a bid proposes a partial repair, ask which reading of the code it is built on.
Under Fla. Stat. 553.844(5), added by SB 4-D, if a roof system or roof section was built, repaired, or replaced to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, and 25 percent or more of it is being worked on, only the repaired or replaced portion has to meet the current code. The 2007 code took effect March 1, 2009, so permit history usually decides the answer. That means a full tear-off is not automatically required, and a partial repair is not automatically wrong. It depends on your roof's records, and a licensed contractor should be able to explain which way yours falls.
2. Spec: named products, not categories
"Underlayment" is a category. A product name, manufacturer, color, and Florida Product Approval number is a spec. This matters at inspection time. Brevard County's reroof permit page states that Florida product approval information and the manufacturer's installation instructions for each product must be on site and available during inspections.
Spec detail also drives storm performance. Research from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety found that a sealed roof deck can reduce water entry by as much as 95 percent compared with a bare, unsealed deck in high winds, and that attaching the deck with ring-shank nails in a tighter pattern can nearly double resistance to wind uplift. Those two details live in the fine print, not in the headline price.
3. Code: the Florida items that get "discovered" later
On a Florida reroof of an existing site-built single-family home, roof deck fasteners must be strengthened and corrected, and a secondary water barrier must be provided, under Fla. Stat. 553.844 and the Hurricane Mitigation Retrofit Manual. A secondary water barrier is a sealed layer over the deck that helps keep rain out if the top covering blows off.
Brevard sits in the wind-borne debris region, so these are live items on most homes here. If a bid on an older house says nothing about deck re-nailing or a secondary water barrier, it is either incomplete or setting up a change order later.
4. Permit: who pulls it, and in whose name
This is the check we would put first if we could only pick one. More on it below, because it deserves its own section.
Brevard County requires a residential reroof permit for repair or replacement of roof coverings including shingles, tile, metal, and skylights. If the job value exceeds $5,000, a Notice of Commencement is required, and it must be recorded with the Clerk of Courts and approved before inspections can even be scheduled. Details are on the county's Residential Reroof permit page.
A Notice of Commencement is a recorded document that identifies the property, the work, and the parties involved. It is normal paperwork, not a warning sign. Its absence on a larger job is.
5. Paper: the notices required by law
Covered above. Look for the 14-point insurance advisory on the signature page, the lien law notice, the Recovery Fund statement, and the deductible notice.
One more paperwork check: if a 2026 bid packet still includes an Assignment of Benefits or a "direct to pay" assignment form, ask why. Under SB 2-A, post-loss benefits under residential property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023 cannot be assigned, per Fla. Stat. 627.7152(13).
6. Price: itemized, with an expiration date
On insurance work, an itemized estimate is not a courtesy. Fla. Stat. 489.147(2)(e) makes it a prohibited practice for a contractor to give an insured an agreement authorizing repairs without providing a good faith estimate of the itemized and detailed cost of services and materials. Violations can carry fines of up to $10,000 each under that section.
Also look for how long the quoted price holds. Material costs have moved a lot. In its analysis of federal producer price data released in July 2026, the Associated General Contractors of America reported that input prices for new nonresidential construction rose 7.1 percent from June 2025 to June 2026, with aluminum mill shapes up 52.4 percent, copper and brass mill shapes up 26.0 percent, and steel mill products up 16.9 percent year over year. AGC chief economist Ken Simonson has attributed the continued climb in construction costs to steep tariffs on aluminum, steel, and copper-containing products, and noted that domestic sellers have largely matched the prices charged on imported goods.
That affects flashing, drip edge, fasteners, gutters, and metal panels. A quote with no stated validity window is not more generous. It is just less specific.
7. Payment: deposit, draws, and the final affidavit
Under Fla. Stat. 489.126(2)(a), a contractor who takes an initial payment of more than 10 percent of the contract price for residential work must apply for the necessary permits within 30 days of that payment, and start work within 90 days after permits are issued, unless there is just cause or a written agreement otherwise.
At the end of the job, Fla. Stat. 713.06(3)(d) requires the contractor to give you a Contractor's Final Payment Affidavit before final payment, listing any unpaid lienors. The statute directs the owner to hold final payment until that affidavit is furnished. Ask up front how lien waivers and that affidavit will be handled.
Complete Estimate vs. Red Flag Bid, Side by Side
| Audit point | What a complete estimate shows | What a red flag bid shows |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Number of layers removed, specific roof planes or sections | "Reroof house" or "repair roof" |
| Spec | Product name, manufacturer, color, Florida Product Approval number | "Shingles" or "underlayment" |
| Code | Deck re-nailing and secondary water barrier addressed | No mention, then a change order after tear-off |
| Permit | Contractor pulls the permit under their license, plus Notice of Commencement over $5,000 | Asks you to pull an owner-builder permit |
| Paper | 14-point insurance advisory, lien law notice, Recovery Fund statement, deductible notice | Total price and a signature line |
| Price | Itemized costs with a stated validity window and written change-order rule | One lump sum, no expiration, verbal promises |
| Payment | Deposit under or near 10 percent, draw schedule, lien waivers, final affidavit | Large cash deposit up front |
Why is one roofing quote so much cheaper than the others?
Usually because it covers less work, not because the crew is cheaper. The common gaps are deck replacement, code-required mitigation items, permit fees, and dump fees. When those appear later as change orders, the "cheap" bid often lands higher than the detailed one.
Pressure is the other tell. The Better Business Bureau routinely warns that a hallmark of home-improvement fraud is someone offering an estimate you never asked for, then pushing for a same-day decision. A legitimate company gives you time to check references and compare bids. BBB's 2024 Scam Tracker Risk Report ranked home improvement scams as the fifth riskiest scam type overall, with a median reported loss of $1,800, and third riskiest for consumers 65 and older.
Get a second opinion in writing. If a bid you are holding leaves you unsure, we will come out and give you a free roof inspection and itemized quote you can lay side by side with it. No pressure to switch, and you keep the paperwork either way.
If the Estimate Asks You to Pull the Permit, Stop
This is the single strongest red flag on the list, and the State of Florida says so in writing. The Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement under Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(c), which a homeowner must sign to get an owner-builder permit, includes a paragraph warning that unlicensed people frequently ask property owners to pull an owner-builder permit, which wrongly suggests the owner is supplying their own labor and materials.
The same disclosure states that as an owner-builder you may be held liable and face serious financial risk if an unlicensed worker is injured on your property, and that your homeowners insurance may not cover those injuries. It also states you must provide direct, onsite supervision.
Chapter 489 adds that if you contract with an unlicensed person, the Construction Industry Licensing Board and DBPR may be unable to help you recover a financial loss, and your only remedy may be civil court.
There is friction built in on purpose. Brevard County allows online permitting only for licensed contractors, and owners acting as their own contractor must appear in person. If a bid pushes that errand onto you, ask why.
How Do I Check If a Roofing Contractor Is Licensed in Florida?
Look up the license number yourself at the Florida DBPR license search, myfloridalicense.com, and cross-check it in the Brevard County Licensed Contractor Search. Confirm the name on the license matches the name on the estimate.
That last part is not hypothetical. On June 4, 2026, the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board issued citations totaling $6,500 to an operator for unlicensed advertising and license fraud, in a case where the licensed contractor said his information was used without permission. A license number on a page proves someone typed a number.
For the record, ours is CCC1327641, and we would rather you verify it than take our word for it. Tidal Wave Roofing has been licensed and working in Brevard County since 2006, out of Merritt Island. If you want the specific storm-season versions of these scam setups, we covered those separately in 5 common roofing scams in Florida.