Your roof should last 20 to 25 years in most climates. In South Florida, you’re looking at 15 to 18 years if you’re lucky. The difference isn’t the materials. It’s the relentless combination of UV exposure, salt air, humidity, and hurricane-force winds that age roofs here faster than almost anywhere else in the country.

At Bentley Roofing, we’ve been working roofs in Pompano Beach and throughout Broward County since 2007. The homeowners who get the most life out of their roofs are the ones who treat maintenance as a yearly obligation, not an afterthought. This breaks down when homeowners assume their roof is fine because they don’t see leaks. By the time water shows up inside your house, the damage has already spread through the decking and insulation.

What South Florida Weather Does to Your Roof

The sun here isn’t just bright. It’s destructive. UV rays break down the asphalt oils in shingles, making them brittle and prone to cracking. We see this accelerate after about year ten on standard architectural shingles. The granules that protect the asphalt start washing off during afternoon storms, and once that protective layer is gone, deterioration speeds up exponentially.

Salt air compounds the problem, especially for properties within two miles of the coast. Metal flashings corrode faster. Fasteners rust. Even the underlayment can degrade if moisture gets past compromised shingles. Humidity creates the perfect environment for algae and mold growth, which isn’t just cosmetic. Those dark streaks you see are algae colonies that hold moisture against the shingle surface, accelerating decay.

After Hurricane Irma in 2017, our team spent months assessing storm damage across Broward County. What we documented wasn’t just wind damage. It was that homes with deferred maintenance suffered catastrophic failures while neighbors with maintained roofs had minor repairs. Loose shingles became missing shingles. Small flashing gaps became total decking replacement jobs.

The Maintenance Schedule That Actually Works

We tell every homeowner in Pompano Beach the same thing: schedule professional inspections twice a year. Once before hurricane season starts in June, and once after it ends in November. This isn’t about upselling. It’s about catching problems when they’re $200 repairs instead of $8,000 insurance claims.

During these inspections, we check flashing around chimneys and vents, inspect sealants at roof penetrations, look for lifted or damaged shingles, clear debris from valleys and gutters, and verify that hurricane straps and clips remain secure. That last item matters in high-velocity hurricane zones, which includes most of coastal Broward County. Your roof system isn’t just shingles. It’s a structural assembly that needs to stay anchored to your home.

Between professional inspections, you can extend your roof’s life by keeping gutters clear of debris, trimming tree branches that hang over the roof, removing leaves and debris from valleys after storms, and checking your attic for water stains or daylight coming through. If you spot problems, call someone licensed. We won’t walk roofs after homeowners have tried DIY repairs because we can’t guarantee what’s been compromised.

Red Flags That Demand Immediate Attention

Granule loss in your gutters means your shingles are past their protective phase. A few granules after a new installation is normal. Handfuls of granules years later means you’re on borrowed time. Curling or cupping shingle edges indicate the mat is deteriorating from moisture or heat exposure. These shingles will blow off in the next major storm.

Missing or damaged flashing around chimneys, skylights, or vents creates immediate leak risks. Water doesn’t need a big gap. It will find any opening and spread horizontally under shingles before dripping into your house. Dark streaks or discoloration across large sections of your roof signal algae growth that’s holding moisture against the surface. Sagging areas anywhere on the roof plane indicate structural problems that require immediate evaluation by a licensed contractor.

Pompano Beach Considerations

Homes in Pompano Beach face specific challenges that affect maintenance priorities. Properties east of Federal Highway deal with intensified salt air corrosion. We recommend inspecting metal components every six months instead of annually. The coastal building codes here require enhanced attachment methods for shingles, which means your roof should have more nails per shingle than homes inland.

The permit requirements in Broward County are strict. Any structural work beyond replacing a few damaged shingles requires a permit and inspection. We handle this process for our customers because the county will red-tag unpermitted work, and that creates problems when you try to sell your home or file an insurance claim. Don’t let a handyman convince you otherwise.

HOAs in planned communities around Pompano often have architectural requirements about shingle color and style. Before replacing your roof, verify what your HOA allows. We’ve seen homeowners forced to tear off perfectly good roofs because they didn’t get architectural approval first.

When This Advice Does Not Apply

This maintenance guidance assumes your roof was properly installed according to Florida Building Code requirements. If your roof was installed by an unlicensed contractor or without permits, you may have systemic problems that maintenance can’t fix.

Homes with flat or low-slope roofs follow different maintenance protocols. TPO and built-up membrane systems need specialized inspections that focus on seam integrity and ponding water, not shingle condition.

If your roof is already 18+ years old in South Florida’s climate, you’re likely past the point where maintenance adds meaningful life. At that age, you’re managing decline until replacement, not extending longevity.

Properties that have had multiple layers of shingles installed over the years shouldn’t receive additional maintenance investment. Florida Building Code limits you to two layers maximum, and most insurance companies won’t cover homes with multiple layers after a certain age.

What We Won’t Compromise On

At Bentley Roofing, we will not skip proper flashing installation to save a customer money. We will not install materials that aren’t Miami-Dade NOA approved for hurricane zones. And we will not tell you your roof is fine when it isn’t, even if that costs us a maintenance contract. Our license (FL #CC1328148) depends on honest assessments, and our reputation in Pompano Beach depends on roofs that perform when hurricanes come through.

The homeowners who get 18 years out of their roofs instead of 12 are the ones who invest $400 a year in professional maintenance instead of gambling that nothing will go wrong. That’s not a sales pitch. That’s what our documentation shows after nearly two decades working roofs in South Florida.

If you haven’t had your roof professionally inspected in the last year, schedule an assessment before June. Hurricane season doesn’t wait for convenient timing, and neither do the problems that maintenance would have caught early. Remember at we provide Free Roof Inspection so give us a call.