Codes, Plan Reading, and Jobsite Safety
Codes, Plan Reading, and Jobsite Safety
This domain ties the roof to the permit, the drawing, and the worker. Florida roofing work requires permits and inspections, and products must have Florida Product Approval. In the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ), Miami-Dade and Broward counties, additional product approval rules apply. Wind-uplift design uses zone diagrams: corners and edges have higher uplift than field areas, so fastener patterns change near edges.
Plan reading requires scale, symbols, and details. Know how to read a roof plan, slope arrows, drainage, expansion joints, and flashing details. A section cut shows layers; a detail shows how materials terminate.
Safety is heavily tested. OSHA construction fall protection generally triggers at 6 feet. Guardrails, personal fall-arrest systems, and safe ladder practices are required. Extension ladders must extend at least 3 feet above the landing. Roofers also face heat illness, nail-gun injuries, and electrical hazards from overhead lines.
Trap: assuming HVHZ rules apply statewide or that a product approval from another state is enough.
Worked example: Plan scale is 1/4 inch = 1 foot. A roof detail measuring 3 inches on the drawing represents 12 feet in the field, because 3 / 0.25 = 12.