Roof Recover Systems in Orlando, FL

We pull moisture cores at a density of one core per 4,000-5,000 square feet on roofs being considered for recover — minimum six cores on any building we evaluate, regardless of size. Core locations are chosen to sample every roof zone: field areas away from drains, areas near drains, areas near reported or past leak points, and any zones with visible surface anomalies including blisters, previous patches, or deflection. On a 60,000-square-foot single-story building, that means 12-15 core pulls during the inspection visit.

Each core is inspected visually — wet insulation changes from white or cream to yellow or brown and releases visible moisture when compressed — weighed before and after oven-drying to quantify moisture content, and photographed in place before the plug is replaced and sealed. Core locations are marked on the roof zone diagram and each finding is documented in the written report. The written report shows the core map, the moisture finding at each location, and the percentage of sampled locations reading wet.

Our threshold is consistent across all Orlando buildings we inspect: if more than 25% of core pull locations show wet insulation, recover is not the honest scope. Wet insulation in Central Florida does not dry out under a new membrane — it continues to deteriorate, supports biological growth, corrodes metal deck at contact points, and degrades the new membrane's mechanical attachment from below. It will also void the manufacturer's warranty at the first warranty inspection. Below 25% wet cores, targeted insulation replacement at confirmed wet locations combined with a recover membrane can produce a warranted system with full expected service life.

A recover system has three components: the attachment method into the existing roof assembly, the new insulation overlay, and the new membrane. Each is specified against the existing roof's condition and the manufacturer's recover system design package.

Attachment: most recover systems on Orlando commercial buildings are mechanically attached — screws and plates driven through the new insulation and the existing membrane into the deck. The fastener pattern is designed to FBC wind-uplift requirements for the building's exposure category and roof zone, the same calculation as for a new installation. On existing roofs with significant surface degradation, we specify a cover board over the existing membrane to create a consistent substrate before the new insulation layer goes down.

Insulation overlay: typically a minimum 1-inch polyiso cover board or a thicker rigid polyiso layer depending on the energy code compliance gap. Florida's energy code sets minimum R-values for low-slope commercial roofs — if the existing insulation has been tested and is dry and contributing R-value, the recover system's overlay only needs to close the gap to the code minimum. We calculate the existing-plus-new R-value and identify the minimum overlay required to achieve compliance.

Recover makes sense when: insulation is dry at more than 75% of core locations, the deck is sound under all core pull locations, the existing membrane has no active open seams or delamination in the field areas, and the building is within the single-recover rule. On a qualifying Orlando commercial building, a recover system at $8-10 per square foot installed versus $14-16 per square foot for full replacement delivers 40-50% capital savings with equivalent warranty protection.

Recover does not make sense when: wet core percentage exceeds 25%, the existing roof already carries one recover layer, the deck has visible corrosion at drain bowls or perimeter edges, or the existing membrane is so degraded it cannot provide a uniform substrate for the recovery system attachment. In Central Florida's rainfall environment, we see more disqualifying moisture conditions in the recover assessment than contractors in drier markets report — the sustained rainy season creates an annual insulation saturation cycle on roofs with marginal drainage that adds up over years.

We track one specific pattern in the Orlando commercial portfolio: buildings where a coating or recover was done 10-15 years ago that may have trapped moisture at the time of application. We have assessed buildings in the SODO corridor and the OIA airport industrial zone where a 2005-era recover went over marginally wet insulation — the insulation has continued to deteriorate in the intervening years, and today's core results show significantly worse conditions than the surface suggests. This is exactly why cores are not optional on any recover assessment we conduct.

A recover system on a qualifying Orlando commercial flat roof typically runs $8-11 per square foot installed versus $13-17 per square foot for full tear-off replacement. The savings come from eliminating tear-off and disposal costs and reusing the dry existing insulation rather than replacing it from deck up. The savings are only real if the substrate qualifies — a recover on wet insulation fails its manufacturer warranty inspection and costs the full replacement price within a few years.

No. Florida building code follows IBC in limiting commercial flat roofs to one recover layer over the original system. If a prior recover layer is present, the next scope is full tear-off to deck. We identify prior recover layers during core investigation — the core shows two membrane layers — and include that finding clearly in the written report.

We replace the core plug in the opening and seal it with compatible peel-and-stick flashing tape. The repair is watertight and leaves no lasting damage to the membrane. Each patched core is photographed as part of the inspection documentation, with the patch location keyed to the zone diagram.

Our project managers will pull moisture cores, document the results, and give you a written recover-vs-replace recommendation with system options and installed cost estimates for both paths.