Roofing work in Bay County, Fla., since Hurricane Michael last October is valued at $134 million, according to the Panama City News Herald. Roofing-related construction work has a higher value than all other storm-recovery jobs combined.
County records show that to date, all permitted building work since the hurricane is valued at about $160 million, meaning roofing work alone makes up 83% of that total. Also, Bay County has issued 8,857 building permits since the hurricane, 76% of which was just for roofing. Some roofers said there’s still plenty of demand for their services, helping highlight the full scope of repair work still facing the area. According to records, the county has issued 6,752 building permits for roof work since the storm.
There have been 155 exterior building repair jobs since October, valued at $7.2 million, making it the next highest valued construction work, according to the Panama City News Herald. Bay County, Fla., has also issued permits for interior building repairs, vinyl siding jobs, window and door replacement, plumbing, and demolition. The high volume of roofing demand has impacted several Florida roofers, the Panama City News Herald reports.
“We had to grow probably four or five times from our previous size to handle the workload,” Wes Ennis, the owner of Gulf Coast Roofing in Panama City, said. “Things were fast and furious for a while. ... I know we’ve done over 100 roofs so far.”
Ennis said his company has been able to meet demand and that work has started to slow down, but not by much. “Calls aren’t as frequent as they used to be, but when you drive around you can still see a lot of roofs that need to be done,” Ennis said.
Read More
