Roofing on Pine Island and Matlacha, where Ian came ashore
Metal, shingle and repair work for the stilt homes, cottages and canal houses of St. James City, Matlacha, Pine Island Center and Bokeelia — built to the coastal wind code, permitted with Lee County.
Pine Island and Matlacha are twenty minutes from the Cape over the Matlacha Pass bridge, and they took the eye wall of Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022. The bridge was cut, the island was isolated for a week, and a large share of the roofs on Matlacha and in St. James City were stripped or destroyed. Three years on, the rebuild has changed the look of the island: elevated homes on pilings, and metal roofs almost everywhere a shingle roof used to be.
The island is unincorporated Lee County and it sits in the highest-exposure part of the wind-borne debris region, right on the Gulf. That shapes what we recommend. Aluminum standing seam or 5V is the roof for anything within sight of the water — it can't rust, it carries the best uplift ratings, and it's what came through Ian best. Shingle is still fine for inland Pine Island Center and the groves if the deck is sealed and the attachment is right. Everything is permitted with Lee County, built to the coastal exposure requirements, and documented with a wind mitigation report, which on the island can be the difference between getting insured and not.
What we do in Pine Island & Matlacha
Roof repair & leaks
Tile, shingle, metal and flat repairs with photos and a written price.
Hurricane & storm damage
Tarping, documentation, adjuster meetings, repair to code.
Roof replacement
Tile, metal or shingle on a sealed, code-built deck.
Inspections & wind mitigation
Free inspections; OIR-B1-1802 reports for your insurer.
Tile roofing
Repair, re-underlayment or new tile.
Metal roofing
Standing seam and 5V, aluminum near the salt.
Neighborhoods and areas we cover
- St. James City
- Matlacha
- Matlacha Isles & Shores
- Pine Island Center
- Pineland
- Bokeelia
- Flamingo Bay
- Pine Island Shores
- Stringfellow Road corridor
- Little Pine Island (Cape side)
- Burnt Store Road (mainland approach)
Elevated and stilt-home roofs
Rebuilt homes on the island are going up on pilings, which means the roof is 20 to 30 feet in the air and fully exposed to the wind off the pass. We build these with clip-attached standing-seam aluminum over a sealed deck, closed-in soffits and roof-to-wall connections engineered for the exposure, and we coordinate with the general contractor and the Lee County inspector on the sequence. For older cottages and canal homes that survived, we repair and replace with the same attention to attachment — the roofs that stayed on in Ian were the ones fastened for the wind zone, not the ones with the best-looking material.
Questions from Pine Island & Matlacha homeowners
What roof should I put on a Pine Island home?
Near the water: aluminum standing seam or 5V. Inland: metal if you can, code-built shingle if the budget says so. Tile is rare on the island for weight and wind reasons; we'll explain the tradeoffs on site.
Do you handle the Lee County coastal requirements?
Yes. Pine Island permits go through Lee County with the coastal exposure requirements applied. We pull the permit under our state license and build to it.
Can you get to Bokeelia?
Anywhere on the island — St. James City to Bokeelia and Matlacha. We schedule island work in blocks so the drive doesn't cost you.
My roof was replaced after Ian by a crew that's gone. Can you fix it?
We see a lot of this. We inspect, photograph and repair what's wrong — often fastener and flashing details — and tell you honestly whether the roof is sound underneath.
Does a metal roof help with insurance on the island?
Substantially. Metal is treated as a 50-year roof and the wind mitigation credits apply; on the island a documented, code-built roof is often what makes a home insurable at all.
Do you do storm response on the island?
Yes, as soon as the bridge is open. After Ian that took a week; we run tarps in the order calls come in.