Testimonials
Merritt Island isn't like anywhere else we work. The Indian River Lagoon runs along its west side, the Banana River along its east, and everything in between, from the Kennedy Space Center at the north end down to where the island narrows to a point between the two rivers, lives with salt air coming off open water in both directions. Wescon Construction has been the roofing company Merritt Island homeowners call since 1996. We're licensed as a State Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC1330785) and Certified General Contractor (CGC1506914). Wescon’s own in-house crews do the work rather than subcontractors, and inspections are free.
Whether you need a residential roofer for a canal-front home off Sykes Creek or a straight answer on whether that ceiling stain means a repair or a reroof, here's how we approach roofing on the island, and why the first thing we ask is a question most companies skip.
An Island Without an Ocean Still Gets the Salt
Merritt Island is not a beach town. The ocean is across the Banana River, past the barrier island, so homes here don't take direct salt spray the way true beachside homes do. But both rivers are brackish, which means partly salty, and a steady breeze crossing miles of open water carries that salt onto the island every single day. Salt is hard on the metal parts of every roof: the fasteners that hold panels and shingles down, and the flashing, which is the bent metal that seals the joints where a roof meets a wall, a chimney, or a valley. How much salt your roof lives with depends mostly on how close you are to the water, and that distance changes what we recommend.
The First Question We Ask on Merritt Island: How Close Is the Water?
🌊 On the water. Lagoon-front, riverfront, and the canal homes off Sykes Creek and around Newfound Harbor. These roofs are exposed to the most salt on the island, so coating and hardware choices matter most here, and aluminum metal is what we recommend.
🏝️ Near the water. A few blocks in from a river or a canal. Salt still reaches these homes on the breeze, just less of it. Coated steel handles this exposure well when it's installed with the right fasteners.
🏠 Center of the island. The interior neighborhoods along the SR 520 and Courtenay Parkway corridors. Guidance here looks a lot like our mainland recommendations, with material choice driven by budget, style, and how long you plan to stay in the house.
Roof Replacement and Reroofing on Merritt Island
When a roof is past repairing, island homeowners weigh the same three materials as the rest of Brevard, but Merritt Island puts its own spin on each one.
Metal and Aluminum Roofing on Merritt Island FL
Metal is the long-game choice, and on this island the real question is which metal. Most metal roofs in Florida are Galvalume, which is steel wrapped in a thin protective jacket of aluminum and zinc, and it performs well across most of the county. Close to saltwater, though, steel's weakness shows: once salt works past the coating, steel rusts. Aluminum doesn't rust. When salt air hits aluminum, the surface forms its own thin protective film instead of corroding through, which is why an aluminum roof on a Merritt Island waterfront home can be the difference between decades of quiet service and an early failure. We walk through the tradeoffs in our guide to metal roofing near saltwater, and you can see panel styles on our metal roofing page.
Shingle Roofing for Merritt Island Homes
Shingle is still the most common roof on the island, and today's shingle is a different product than what most of these homes were built with. Modern installations are rated for the wind this area actually gets, meaning the shingles and the way they're fastened are tested against hurricane-force wind. We also install them over a sealed roof deck, a peel-and-stick waterproof layer bonded to the wood decking so that wind-driven rain has a second wall to beat even if shingles come loose in a storm. That sealed deck is one of the features that can earn insurance discounts, which we cover a little further down. Compare options on our shingle roofing page.
Tile Roofing on Merritt Island
A tile roof handles salt air better than almost anything, because concrete and clay don't corrode. The vulnerable parts of a tile roof near the water are the metal pieces underneath and around it, the flashings and the fasteners, which is where installation quality quietly decides how long the roof actually lasts. If you love the look of tile on an island home, it's a strong choice with the right details underneath it.
Commercial Roofing on Merritt Island
The businesses along SR 520 and Courtenay Parkway deal with the same salt and wind as the homes around them, usually on flat or low-slope roofs that age and fail differently than shingle or metal. We handle commercial work on the island as well as residential, from small storefronts to larger buildings, through our commercial roofing services.
Roof Repair on Merritt Island: Not Everything Needs Replacing
A good share of the island calls we take end in a repair, not a contract for a new roof. Salt-related wear tends to show up small and specific: rusted flashing, fasteners backing out, a run of shingles at the windward edge. Storm damage can be the same way. If the honest answer is a repair, that's the answer you'll get from us, and our repair page explains what's typically fixable and what usually isn't.
When a Storm Hits Merritt Island
Wind gains strength over open water. A gust that crosses miles of lagoon before it reaches your roof hits harder than the same gust filtered through a mainland subdivision, which is one reason wind ratings matter more here, and why we sweat the details that hold a roof down: fastening patterns, edge metal, and that sealed deck underneath the shingles. Flooding is the island's other reality. A roof can't stop storm surge, but a quality roof installation prevents water coming in from the top while the storm is still overhead.
One more thing worth knowing: an inspector can document your roof's wind-resistant features in a wind mitigation report, a standard form insurance companies use to price discounts on your premium. On an island, those documented features tend to be worth real money. Ask us about it during a free inspection.
From the North End to the Point
Merritt Island Roofing Questions We Hear the Most
Is Merritt Island considered coastal when it comes to roofing?
For salt and wind purposes, yes. The island sits between two brackish rivers, so salt air is part of life here even though the ocean itself is across the Banana River. That's why hardware, coatings, and metal choice get more attention on the island than they would inland.
Do I need an aluminum roof on Merritt Island, or is Galvalume enough?
It depends on the house. Waterfront and canal-front homes lean toward aluminum because aluminum doesn't rust when salt reaches it. Toward the center of the island, Galvalume steel usually holds up well. We look at the specific site before recommending either one.
What is a wind mitigation inspection, and is it worth it here?
It's a standard report where an inspector documents the wind-resistant features your roof already has, things like how the deck is nailed down and whether there's a sealed water barrier underneath, and insurance companies use it to apply discounts. For most island homeowners, the discounts outweigh the cost of the inspection.
Does salt air reach homes in the middle of the island?
Less than on the water, but never zero. A steady breeze off either river carries salt across the whole island, which is why we still pay attention to fasteners and flashing on interior homes.
Do you repair roofs on Merritt Island, or only replace them?
We do both, and plenty of island calls end in a repair. Rusted flashing, backed-out fasteners, and localized storm damage are often fixable without touching the rest of the roof.
Do you work on canal-front and waterfront homes?
Yes. A large share of our Merritt Island work is on or near the water, which is exactly where material and hardware choices matter most.
How do I get a roofing estimate on Merritt Island?
Call us for a free inspection. We look at the roof, tell you honestly whether it needs a repair, a replacement, or nothing yet, and put numbers to the options that make sense for your home.
Contact Wescon For A Free Roof Estimate
Not sure whether the island air has caused damage to your roof? Give us a call at (321) 259-6789 for a free roof estimate.
Written by the Wescon Construction team. Reviewed and fact checked by Kristen Novo Schettino, President of Wescon Construction who has overseen Wescon's Brevard County projects since 2014. Licensed as State Certified Roofing Contractor CCC1330785 and Certified General Contractor CGC1506914.