Straight answers to the questions homeowners and boards actually ask.
No sales copy. No fear tactics. Just practical guidance you can use before you sign a contract, file a claim, or approve a project.
Understand your options before you commit.
Repair vs. replace: a South Florida homeowner's decision guide
How to weigh age, damage, and insurance realities without getting pressured into a full replacement.
How wind mitigation credits actually work in Florida
What documentation carriers need and how much you can realistically save.
Choosing a GC for a custom South Florida home
Contract types, allowances, and the red flags that predict overruns.
The 7 questions every roofing bid should answer
The exact wording that separates real proposals from marketing brochures.
Running a phased roof replacement in a 40+ unit condo
Owner communication, phasing logic, and what to put in your reserve study.
What to do in the 48 hours after a storm hits your roof
Emergency dry-in, insurance photos, and the mistakes that can hurt your claim.
Roof-Type Taxonomy
A practical guide to roof shapes, slopes, and roofing systems used in South Florida.
Roof-Type Taxonomy
Roof type is best understood in three layers: roof geometry (shape), roof slope, and roof covering/system (the materials and assembly that provide weather protection). These categories can overlap. A hip roof, for example, can use asphalt shingles, tile, or metal; a low-slope roof may use TPO, PVC, EPDM, modified bitumen, or another approved membrane system.
Roof Shape
The roof's physical form—such as gable, hip, shed, or more complex combinations.
Gable Roof
Two primary sloping roof planes meet at a ridge, leaving triangular end walls.
Hip Roof
Roof planes slope upward from multiple exterior walls toward a ridge or ridges.
Low-Slope Roof
A roof with a relatively shallow incline, typically designed around positive drainage and weatherproofing.
Steep-Slope Roof
A roof system using a steeper incline and water-shedding roof coverings.
Asphalt Shingle
A widely used steep-slope roof covering made from asphalt-based shingles reinforced with a mat and surfaced with mineral granules.
Tile Roofing
Clay or concrete tiles form a durable steep-slope roof covering when installed as part of an approved roof assembly.
Metal Roofing
Metal roof systems use formed metal panels or metal shingles with system-specific seams, fasteners, clips, flashings, and underlayments.
Single-Ply Membrane
Factory-manufactured membrane sheets installed as a weatherproofing layer over a low-slope roof assembly.
Modified Bitumen
A reinforced asphalt-based membrane system commonly used on low-slope commercial and multifamily roofs.
Built-Up Roofing (BUR)
A multi-layer low-slope roof membrane traditionally constructed from alternating layers of bitumen and reinforcing felts, with a surfacing layer.
Other Roofing Systems
Specialty systems can include slate, wood shakes, liquid-applied membranes, spray polyurethane foam, and other approved assemblies.
This guide is general educational information, not a design specification, engineering opinion, code determination, warranty, or substitute for project-specific plans, manufacturer instructions, permitting requirements, or applicable building codes. Final roof-system selection depends on the building, roof geometry and slope, structural conditions, exposure, wind requirements, drainage, materials, manufacturer requirements, and applicable jurisdictional requirements.
You'll always know what's next.
The same documented process runs every Golden Keys Roofing project — roofing or new construction, single-family or 84-unit condo.