If you live anywhere between downtown Orlando and the surrounding communities of Winter Park, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Kissimmee, Apopka, or Windermere, you already know the rhythm of a Central Florida summer: clear skies until early afternoon, then a wall of cumulonimbus clouds building over the interior as the Atlantic and Gulf sea breezes collide somewhere over Orange, Seminole, or Osceola County. What follows is often a fast, hard-hitting storm cell with heavy rain, frequent lightning, gusty straight-line winds, and, several times a year, hail. None of this is exotic weather here — it's Tuesday. But it adds up, and it shows up first on the roof, the soffits, the siding, and around window and door flashing.
Alpine Exteriors repairs storm-related damage to roofing, siding, and windows for homes throughout this part of Central Florida. Most of the calls we get after a rough storm week fall into a few categories: granule loss and bruising on asphalt shingles from hail, lifted or torn shingle tabs and ridge caps from straight-line wind gusts, dented or cracked siding panels, and water intrusion around flashing, vents, or fascia that only becomes obvious once someone notices a stain on a ceiling a few days later. The work itself isn't always dramatic — a lot of it is careful, unglamorous repair — but doing it correctly the first time matters more here than in milder climates, because the next thunderstorm is rarely more than a few days away during the wet season.
A storm damage repair project in this area typically starts with a physical inspection of the roof plane, attic, and exterior cladding — not just a drone flyover. Hail bruising on asphalt shingles can be subtle enough that it doesn't show as a leak for months, so a contractor who only looks for active drips will miss real damage. On siding, we're checking for cracked or punctured panels (more common with vinyl and older fiber cement than with newer engineered wood or fiber cement products), loose J-channel and trim, and gaps that let wind-driven rain behind the cladding during the next storm. On windows, storm damage repair usually means resealing or replacing damaged flashing and weep systems rather than the glass itself, since impact-related glass breakage is less common inland than wind-driven debris damage along the coast.
Because Orlando sits well inland, we're not dealing with salt-air corrosion or coastal storm surge — that's a different problem for a different part of the state. What we are dealing with is a high volume of convective storm activity packed into a relatively short wet season (roughly June through September), plus intense, sustained UV exposure and attic heat almost year-round. Repairs need to account for both: materials that can take repeated wetting-and-drying cycles and hail impact, and materials that won't degrade prematurely from heat and sun before the next storm season even arrives.
Three things define storm exposure in this part of Central Florida, and they're different from what you'd plan around on the coast or in a drier climate:
The honest trade-off is that no roofing or siding system available today is immune to all three at once. A shingle engineered for higher impact resistance typically costs more upfront; a lighter-weight, budget product will hold up fine to UV and heat but is more vulnerable to hail bruising. Part of what Alpine Exteriors does during a storm repair estimate is walk through that trade-off honestly rather than upselling the most expensive option by default.
For roofing, impact-rated (Class 3 or Class 4) asphalt shingles are worth serious consideration here given the hail frequency, though they cost more than standard architectural shingles and the impact rating doesn't make them immune to wind or age-related wear. Metal roofing performs well against hail on the higher gauges and handles UV exposure better than asphalt over the long run, but it's a bigger upfront investment and not always the right fit for a partial storm repair versus a full re-roof. For siding, fiber cement products generally hold up better to hail and heat cycling than vinyl, which can crack or become brittle faster under sustained sun exposure in this climate, though vinyl remains the lower-cost option and is a reasonable choice for homeowners prioritizing budget over longevity.
One detail that matters and often gets glossed over: Orlando is not in Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (that designation applies to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties). That means roofing and siding products here are typically approved through the standard Florida Product Approval system rather than requiring Miami-Dade NOA (Notice of Acceptance) testing, which affects what's available, how it's specified on a permit, and sometimes what it costs. A contractor unfamiliar with this distinction may either over-spec materials you don't need or, worse, under-spec for actual local wind requirements — Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties still fall under meaningful Florida Building Code wind speed requirements, just not HVHZ-level testing.
Permitting depends on exactly where the property sits. Homes within Orlando city limits go through the City of Orlando Permitting Services division; homes in unincorporated Orange County (much of Apopka and Windermere fall here) go through Orange County Building Safety; Winter Park, Oviedo, and Lake Mary properties typically route through Seminole County or their respective city building departments; Kissimmee generally falls under Osceola County or city permitting depending on the address. These aren't interchangeable — jurisdiction, fee schedules, and inspection scheduling can differ even for very similar repair scopes.
In practice, minor cosmetic repairs (a handful of replaced shingles, a small siding patch) sometimes fall under a permit-exempt threshold, but anything involving structural roof decking, a meaningful percentage of roof replacement, or full siding sections almost always requires a permit and inspection. Insurance carriers frequently ask for permit documentation and final inspection sign-off before releasing full claim payment, so skipping a required permit to save time can end up costing more later. Alpine Exteriors pulls permits through the correct local jurisdiction as part of the project rather than leaving that step to the homeowner, and we build realistic inspection turnaround into the project timeline rather than promising a same-week finish we can't control.
Costs vary enough by scope and material that a single number isn't honest. As rough, non-binding ranges based on typical local scopes: small patch repairs (a section of shingles, a few siding panels, resealing flashing) often run from a few hundred dollars up to around $1,500. Larger section repairs — a damaged roof slope, a full elevation of siding — commonly land somewhere between $1,500 and $6,000 depending on material and access. A full re-roof after significant hail or wind damage typically ranges from roughly $9,000 to $25,000+ for asphalt shingle systems on an average Central Florida home, with metal roofing running higher. Siding replacement scopes vary even more widely based on square footage and product choice, from fiber cement to engineered wood to vinyl.
The main cost drivers are material choice, the extent of decking or sheathing damage discovered once the surface layer is removed (which you often can't know until the work starts), and permit or inspection timelines that can add calendar time without necessarily adding cost. Insurance coverage also shapes the real out-of-pocket number — many storm damage claims in this area are covered under standard homeowners policies for wind and hail, subject to your deductible, but coverage details vary enough by carrier and policy that we'd rather you check your specific policy than take a contractor's word for it.
Most standard homeowners policies in Florida cover wind and hail damage, subject to your deductible and specific policy terms. Whether a given repair qualifies depends on your carrier, your policy's age, and sometimes the age and condition of the roof or siding before the storm. We can document damage for a claim, but we're not your insurance adjuster — always confirm coverage details directly with your carrier.
Given how frequently storms recur here during the wet season, we generally recommend addressing any breach in the roof or siding envelope — exposed decking, torn flashing, cracked siding that's let water behind it — within days, not weeks, even if it's a temporary tarp or patch ahead of a full repair. Cosmetic-only hail bruising with no active leak has more flexibility on timing.
It depends on scope and jurisdiction. Very minor repairs may fall under a permit-exempt threshold in some Central Florida cities and counties, but anything touching decking, a significant shingle area, or full siding sections generally requires a permit. We confirm the requirement for your specific address before starting work.
Hail bruising on asphalt shingles often looks like small, randomly scattered dark spots or dents where granules have been knocked loose, sometimes soft to the touch, versus the more even, gradual granule loss of age-related wear. On siding, hail tends to leave localized dents or cracks rather than the diffuse fading and chalking you'd see from years of UV exposure. It's genuinely hard to tell from the ground, which is part of why a physical inspection matters more than a quick visual guess.
If a recent storm has left you with missing shingles, dented siding, or a ceiling stain you're not sure about, Alpine Exteriors can walk the property, document what we find, and give you a straightforward read on what's cosmetic versus what needs repair now. We serve Orlando and the surrounding Central Florida communities of Winter Park, Kissimmee, Apopka, Oviedo, Lake Mary, and Windermere, and we handle the local permitting for whichever jurisdiction your address falls under. Reach out to schedule an inspection before the next storm cell finds the gap the last one left behind.