Another Wind Mit Questions

Forgive me if this has been discussed already. Home built in 89’. No permit information available from the building dept. Roof covering has been replaced, the shingles are approx. 5 years old in my “opinion”. I’m inclined to write “Approximately 2005” in the date of installation field for question #2. Is it appropriate to “approximate” an installation date when no permit information is available?? Thanks in advance.

I wouldn’t because that means the county/city building dept never came out to inspect the quality of work that was being done. It is the county/city building inspector who verify that the roofing shingles meet the 2001 FBC codes. So you can put whatever you want, but I wouldn’t.

Thanks for the response. I would most definitely check box “C” that states unknown/undetermined as far as code is concerned.

I guess the question is specific to “Date of Installation”. If you can reasonably estimate the Date of Installation but have no paperwork to back-it-up what is your response? Unknown…

Since almost everything, roofs in particular, require a permit, not only can you not say for sure when the roof was installed, but what you can say is that it was done illegally, which may present more problems for your client.
That would be why I always either look online or call the building department to verify the roof installation date.

Hi Paul, with this scenario… we usually put…

Approx. (year) - no permit found or permit voided …

and then mark does not meet.
If you mark unknown it can create more issues then anything. If the roof has not been inspected you can say that it does not meet FBC code because you can’t prove via county/city inspections that it was installed correctly.

(even if you think it was)

I would be curious exactly what you mean by “issues”.

sometimes if you put “unknown” for the roof installation date… it negates the whole form and they don’t get any credits at all.

That shouldn’t matter to the inspector.
You either know or you don’t. It isn’t my fault that someone put the roof on illegally.

I have another question, What if you did “guess” and then a re-inspection was done and that inspector couldn’t verify the installation date and marked unknown. What would happen next?

if you “guessed” and marked Does not meet - it wouldn’t change… because credits were never applied.

I would NEVER guess on a roof date and mark Does meet… EVEN IF… I knew the roof was new.

NO PERMIT… NO CREDIT.

How about a copy of a contract and receipt from a roofing company but no permit could be found?

Permits required

Permits or proof of permits are required. If you talk with some lady at the building dept, get the permit number and write down their name and time. CYA!

Roofing companies have been know to write proposals on receipts, then HO writes paid in full and gives you the paperwork.

It does matter to the inspector, if you simply write unknown and you have an idea they may then also need a roof inspection. If we do a wind mit and do not have permit info we do a roof inspection also. It saves time and headache for all. There is nothing wrong with writing ESTIMATED next to a date if you do not know. If you have a receipt, write that down and check does not meet and no permit found.

Hope that helps.

I have an “idea” that there are single wraps present, but I didn’t see them. Should I just check single wraps?

Roof Covering: ______________
Approximate remaining useful life of the roof: __________
Age of roof (in years): _________________

Date last updated?


What, if any, updates were completed?
Full Replacement
Partial Replacement

I don’t see a question there on the roof form that says “When do you think the roof was changed”?

On the wind mit, that question isn’t there either, this is:
Predominant Roof Covering:
Permit Application Date: __________ or Date of Installation: __________________________

There are only two answers to that question. The answers are very easy to find.

If it does not have a permit, it doesn’t meet any building code as that is the first thing that is required in order to be compliant, as I stated above.

I am not sure what your point is.
You can not just check a box because you think it has something.
Predominant Roof Covering is marked by what you do know. The makers of the form assumed you would have an answer. If you do not know when the permit was or the roof was installed you can leave it blank. As stated before they want more information(that is not on this form ie a roof certification. )

Predominant Roof Covering: is exactly that, if a roof is Mostly shingles you would go by that date. If the roof was mostly modified bitumen you would go by that date.
If they re-roofed a small section of roof you can not use that as the date.

Nowhere on the Roof Cert form does it say you need exact roof dates

I have no problem writing an estimated age. It is estimated based on visible evidence and having done it for 23 years I can estimate as good as anyone. We here in good old barnyard county have a bit of a problem when it comes to permits especially if you want them to read as permitted and finalled. After the hurricanes anyone could apply for the permit for a reroof and it would not be for a fee and it would not get inspected.

So I do say it was estimated on some, have not ever had a problem, no phone calls from agents or underwriters. I don’t check off that it meets 2001 codes.

My point is that “guessing” about anything isn’t something I do when it goes in a report of any kind.
I try to get all of the information I can and if it isn’t available, then, it is what it is.

Thanks guys