Short answer: As of September 2026, the three highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Gainesville, FL metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Worthmann Roofing and Gutters (83.5), North Wood’s Roofing Inc (57.8), Reed Roofing (38.7). Each is certified by a manufacturer whose register we checked by hand, each rating has been tested against a source outside that register, and nobody bought a place on this page.
The Roofing Brief scored 3 certified roofing contractors serving the Gainesville metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top three individually to confirm its record. Gainesville has six GAF-certified contractors in the whole metro, and when we checked where each of them actually says it works, only three publish coverage of Alachua County. This page ranks those three and documents the other two rather than padding a list to five. That is a real finding about a metro of 340,000 people: the certified capacity here is genuinely thin and much of what looks local is based 45 miles away in Lake City, in a county outside the metro. What Florida gives you in exchange is the best paperwork in the country. Every licence below was looked up by number on the state register and every one came back Current and Active.
The conditions a Gainesville roof has to be specified for
The storm record is modest and it is a wind record. Across 2016 to 2025 the three counties logged 28 hail reports, only 18 of them an inch or larger, against 207 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 5 tornado events, with $5.0 million in reported property damage. Counting severe-weather reports of every kind together, June leads with 52, then April with 36 and July with 33. The largest hail on record is a 2.5 inch stone at Phifer on 11 April 2025. The most instructive local event is a straight-line wind one: on 30 November 2020 an NWS storm survey near Phifer determined winds near 80 mph caused widespread tree damage with some trees damaging structures. It is also worth correcting a common assumption about Hurricane Idalia, which passed near this area on 30 August 2023: NWS Jacksonville’s narrative for Alachua County records one indirect fatality, trees and power lines down and a measured 40 mph gust at Gainesville Regional Airport. That is far below the county’s design wind speed and it was not a roofing catastrophe here, so a contractor invoking Idalia as a reason to replace your roof is reaching.
Alachua County’s own numbers are unusually specific and worth having before you get a quote. The county’s building division sets design wind speeds of 120 mph for Risk Category I, 130 mph for Risk Category II, which covers most houses, and states that no area of Alachua County is in a wind-borne debris region. Alachua is also not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which the Florida Building Code applies only to Broward and Miami-Dade, so the HVHZ product-approval regime that governs South Florida roofing does not reach Gainesville. On permits, the county treats roof replacement as a level 1 alteration requiring a permit, with the stated exception that roof repairs or replacements of less than 100 square feet do not need one, and it charges reroofing at a flat rate rather than on valuation. Inside the city limits the City of Gainesville requires a permit to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change a building, which covers a reroof.
The 25 percent rule is the Florida rule most often misexplained to homeowners, so here it is properly. Florida Building Code, Existing Building section 706.1.1 provides that no more than 25 percent of the total roof area or roof section may be repaired, replaced or recovered in any twelve-month period unless the covering on the entire system or section is brought up to current code. But section 553.844(5) of the Florida Statutes, added by SB 4-D in 2022, carves out a large exception: where the existing system or section was built, repaired or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or any later edition, only the repaired or replaced portion must meet the code now in force, and a local government may not amend that exception. So whether a partial repair triggers a full replacement turns on the age and compliance history of your existing roof, which is the first thing to establish. The edition in force is the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), effective from 31 December 2023.
Florida also constrains how a roofer may approach you, and in a city where 61.5 percent of occupied homes are rented these rules matter. Section 489.147(2) of the Florida Statutes prohibits a contractor from offering a rebate, gift, gift card, cash, coupon, waiver of any insurance deductible or any other thing of value in exchange for permission to inspect a roof or for making an insurance claim. Section 627.7152(13) provides that a policyholder may not assign any post-loss benefit under a residential property insurance policy issued on or after 1 January 2023, and an attempted assignment is void. Together those ended the assignment-of-benefits model, so a contractor offering to handle your claim under an assignment or to absorb your deductible is proposing something the legislature specifically prohibited. The housing itself is middle-aged rather than old: the median year built is 1987 across Alachua County and 1983 in Gainesville city, so a typical roof here is on its second covering. The University of Florida is the reason for the rental share, and a landlord replacing a roof between tenancies buys differently from an owner-occupier.
The 3 best roofers in Gainesville, FL
Scored 2026-09-30. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Gainesville is 4.583, across a pool of 3 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worthmann Roofing and Gutters | 83.5 | President’s Club | 4.7 (709) | 4.692 | 2015 | High Springs, FL |
| 2 | North Wood’s Roofing Inc | 57.8 | Certified | 4.7 (70) | 4.651 | 2023 | Gainesville, FL |
| 3 | Reed Roofing | 38.7 | Certified | 4.3 (56) | 4.434 | not published | Lake City, FL |
1. Worthmann Roofing and Gutters — TRB Score 83.5
Worthmann Roofing and Gutters is based in High Springs, FL, in business since 2015, led by Drew Worthmann, President; Grady Matthew Stephens is the qualifying licensee on CCC1336120, BBB accredited since 29 May 2024, A+ rating; business start date recorded as 22 October 2014, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 27.7 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.8 | 10 |
| Total | 83.5 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Certified Roofing Contractor licence CCC1336120, status Current and Active, expiring 31 August 2028, held by Grady Matthew Stephens trading as Worthmann Roofing and Gutters, certified 18 October 2024.. Florida DBPR licence record
- Accredited since 29 May 2024 with an A+ rating, business start date recorded as 22 October 2014, Drew Worthmann listed as president.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement in asphalt shingle and metal, commercial roofing, storm damage repair, gutter replacement and cleaning, and roof inspections.
Why it ranks here. The only contractor in this metro with both a base inside it and a deep customer record, and it dominates the scoring: President’s Club certification and 4.7 across 709 reviews, which is more than five times the review count of anything else certified here. It operates from High Springs in Alachua County, its roofing licence is Current and Active to 2028, and it is BBB accredited at A+.
Best fit for: The default and, on the published evidence, the obvious first call anywhere in Alachua County.
What we would want clarified. Two things to ask about. The licence qualifier of record is not the person the BBB names as president: the state register shows Grady Matthew Stephens as the qualifying licensee, certified only in October 2024, while the BBB lists Drew Worthmann as president. And the licensee entity’s main address on the DBPR record is in Maple Plain, Minnesota, with a second office listed in Valdosta, Georgia, so this is not purely a local business despite the local base. Founding dates also differ, with the company giving 2015 against a BBB start date of 22 October 2014. It publishes no manufacturer credential outside GAF. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (352) 575-9204, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. North Wood’s Roofing Inc — TRB Score 57.8
North Wood’s Roofing Inc is based in Gainesville, FL, in business since 2023, led by Michael P. Sheflin, President; Kathryn J. Sheflin, Vice President and qualifying licensee on CCC1335501, Not accredited, C+ rating; business start date 21 July 2023, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 26.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 9.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 57.8 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Certified Roofing Contractor licence CCC1335501, status Current and Active, expiring 31 August 2028, qualifying licensee Kathryn J. Sheflin trading as North Wood’s Roofing Inc., licence location 4577 NW 6th St, Gainesville.. Florida DBPR licence record
- Records the business start date as 21 July 2023, Michael P. Sheflin as President and Kathryn J. Sheflin as Vice President, with a service area of Alachua, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, Dixie and Gilchrist counties.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Asphalt shingle and metal roofing, roof repair, gutters, skylight installation and repair, and roof tune-ups.
Why it ranks here. The only contractor here licensed at an address inside Gainesville itself: its DBPR licence location is 4577 NW 6th Street, and licence CCC1335501 is Current and Active to 2028. The BBB records its service area as Alachua, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, Dixie and Gilchrist counties, so Alachua coverage is on an independent record rather than only its own marketing. It is also the only firm here offering skylight work and roof tune-ups as named services.
Best fit for: Skylight work and smaller repairs inside the city, and homeowners who want a licence registered at a Gainesville address.
What we would want clarified. It is new and its record shows it. The BBB puts the business start at 21 July 2023, making it two years old, rates it C+ and does not accredit it, which is the weakest Better Business Bureau rating on this page. Its 70 reviews are a modest base. Its DBPR address of record is in Branford, in Suwannee County, rather than the Gainesville licence location, and the telephone number in the GAF registry carries a Nashville area code that we could not explain: the company publishes only local numbers and the BBB lists a local one, and we found no Tennessee connection for the business or its principals. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (615) 499-0511, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Reed Roofing — TRB Score 38.7
Reed Roofing is based in Lake City, FL, led by Leslie Reed McDaniel, Certified Building Contractor CBC1255787; Paul Ryan McDaniel, Vice President and qualifying licensee on CCC1330719, Not accredited, A+ rating, filed under Reed McDaniel Construction Inc., and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 17.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 9.2 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 0.2 | 10 |
| Total | 38.7 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Certified Roofing Contractor licence CCC1330719, status Current and Active, expiring 31 August 2028, qualifying licensee Paul Ryan McDaniel trading as Reed Roofing; a Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1255787 held by Leslie Reed McDaniel is also Current and Active to the same date.. Florida DBPR licence record
- Profile filed under Reed McDaniel Construction Inc. at Lake City, not accredited, rated A+.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roofing and general construction, working across eight north Florida counties including Alachua.
Why it ranks here. The only one of the three Lake City firms that publishes Alachua County coverage: its own service areas page lists Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton, Lafayette, Union, Baker, Gilchrist and Alachua counties and names High Springs specifically. It is also the only contractor on this page holding two live Florida licences, a Certified Roofing Contractor licence and a Certified Building Contractor licence in a second family member’s name, both Current and Active to 2028, which means it can carry structural work as well as a covering.
Best fit for: The northern and western edge of the metro around High Springs and Alachua, and any job where rotten decking or framing may turn structural.
What we would want clarified. It is based in Lake City, in Columbia County outside this metro, and while it lists Alachua County it does not name Gainesville itself, so confirm it will come to your address. Its rating of 4.3 across 56 reviews is the lowest on this page, and its BBB profile is unaccredited and filed under a different name, Reed McDaniel Construction Inc., which makes it harder to search than it should be. It publishes no founding year. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (386) 752-4072, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
The 207 wind reports that shape a Gainesville roof
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 3 counties of the Gainesville, FL statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 28 hail reports, 207 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 5 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $5.0 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Gainesville in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 April 2025 | 2.5 in | Phifer | Alachua |
| 11 April 2025 | 2.0 in | Fairbanks | Alachua |
| 11 April 2025 | 1.75 in | Phifer | Alachua |
| 11 April 2025 | 1.75 in | Phifer | Alachua |
| 11 April 2025 | 1.75 in | Phifer | Alachua |
| 11 April 2025 | 1.75 in | Phifer | Alachua |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 11 April 2025 near Phifer, measured at 2.5 inches. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 87 knots, about 100 mph, near Lebanon Station on 20 April 2020. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 5 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF0 near Gainesville West on 20 May 2016.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 30 November 2020 event near Phifer, reproduced verbatim:
A NWS Storm Survey determined that straight line winds near 80 mph caused widespread tree damage. Some trees damaged structures. The worst damage was centered near the intersection of NW 39th Ave and Highway 222 and NW 34th Street and Highway 121. The time of damage was based on radar.
That account is the design case for a roof here, and it comes from the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in June (52), April (36), July (33). The worst years on record were 2019 (32), 2022 (32), 2016 (31). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Gainesville, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Hail is not the governing risk in Gainesville. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
Before you sign anything in Gainesville
Licensing is required in FL. Florida requires a roofing contractor licence to install, repair, or replace any roofing system. A Certified Roofing Contractor licence is issued by the state and valid statewide; a Registered Roofing Contractor licence is issued locally and valid only in the issuing county or municipality.
A general contractor licence does not cover roofing in Florida. The licence must specifically read Certified Roofing Contractor or Registered Roofing Contractor.
Check here: Florida DBPR licence search. The DBPR record shows status, expiry and full disciplinary history. Anything other than Current, Active means the contractor cannot legally roof in Florida.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
What the rest of the Gainesville field looks like
3 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Gainesville, FL statistical area, of which 1 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 835 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.583. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 359,780, a change of 6.05% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Gainesville rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Gainesville, FL pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 3 certified contractors, of whom 1 hold President’s Club standing and 0 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.583. The top three were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Anything unflattering that research surfaced appears above alongside the rest, and no company bought its position.
Set aside in Gainesville. Contractors that would otherwise have scored into the top three were removed for the reason stated. The score is computed from public data, but where the research pass finds evidence undermining an input to that score, the score is set aside.
- Southeastern Coatings & Waterproofing, which scored 58.6: scored second in the metro on a clean 5.0 across 129 reviews, and its licensing is sound: the roofing licence is held by its individual qualifier, Harry David Anderson Jr, CCC1326114, which the state register shows as Current and Active to 31 August 2028. It is excluded on two grounds. First, Alachua County is not in its published service area: its own site names Live Oak, Lake City, Macclenny, Jasper, Mayo, Lake Butler, Branford and Tallahassee, and the Better Business Bureau records its service area as the Lake City region; neither Gainesville nor Alachua appears anywhere. It is based in Columbia County, outside this metro. Second, it does not present as a shingle contractor: while it lists residential roofing as a category, it describes its specialisms as coatings, restoration, maintenance, gutters and subcontract work, and self-describes as a full-line commercial roofing contractor, with no residential shingle replacement service line stated. Nothing here reflects badly on the firm, which appears to be a capable commercial coatings contractor; it is simply not what this page is for
- O’Neal Roofing Company, which scored 42.3: scored fourth and holds the strongest licence record of anyone considered for this page: John Winston O’Neal holds Certified Roofing Contractor licence CCC016346, Current and Active to 31 August 2028, and a second Certified Roofing Contractor licence, CCC1329495, is also Current and Active. It is excluded because Alachua County is not in its published service area. Its own website names only Florida, Georgia and Alabama at state level, and its directory service area lists Five Points, Lake City, Lulu, Watertown and White Springs, all in or around Columbia County, outside this metro. Its business is also commercial-led, covering metal fabrication, general contracting and crane services alongside roofing. On seven reviews there is in any case very little customer record to weigh
- Plumb Level Construction Company LLC, which scored 36.2: placed last of the six certified contractors in this metro and is excluded for want of evidence rather than because of anything found against it. Its registry record is 3.8 across eight reviews, the lowest rating and the thinnest customer base in the pool, which is not enough to support a recommendation on a job of this size. Like the two firms above it, it is based in Lake City, in Columbia County outside the three counties of the Gainesville metro, and we found no published statement that it covers Alachua County. With only three of the metro’s six certified contractors publishing Alachua coverage at all, we have ranked those three and documented the rest rather than filling a list of five
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: September 2026. Scoring run: 2026-09-30. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Gainesville roofing questions, answered
Who is the best roofer in Gainesville, FL?
Worthmann Roofing and Gutters of High Springs, FL scores highest in the Gainesville metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 83.5 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds President’s Club certification with a 4.7 rating across 709 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the two companies behind it score within 44.8 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Gainesville?
3 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Gainesville, FL statistical area as of September 2026, of which 1 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Gainesville get?
The Gainesville, FL statistical area recorded 18 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 2 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.5 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top three.
What was the worst hailstorm in Gainesville in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Gainesville, FL statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.5 inches, reported near Phifer on 11 April 2025. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims. Across the decade the metro recorded 28 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $5.0 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Gainesville?
Severe-weather reports in the Gainesville, FL statistical area cluster in June, April, July, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Booking non-urgent roof work outside those months usually means shorter lead times, because local crews are not simultaneously triaging storm callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in FL?
Florida requires a roofing contractor licence to install, repair, or replace any roofing system. A Certified Roofing Contractor licence is issued by the state and valid statewide; a Registered Roofing Contractor licence is issued locally and valid only in the issuing county or municipality. A general contractor licence does not cover roofing in Florida. The licence must specifically read Certified Roofing Contractor or Registered Roofing Contractor.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Gainesville?
The DBPR record shows status, expiry and full disciplinary history. Anything other than Current, Active means the contractor cannot legally roof in Florida.
Is Gainesville a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Gainesville has six GAF-certified contractors in the whole metro, and when we checked where each of them actually says it works, only three publish coverage of Alachua County. This page ranks those three and documents the other two rather than padding a list to five. That is a real finding about a metro of 340,000 people: the certified capacity here is genuinely thin and much of what looks local is based 45 miles away in Lake City, in a county outside the metro. What Florida gives you in exchange is the best paperwork in the country. Every licence below was looked up by number on the state register and every one came back Current and Active.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Gainesville?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Gainesville, FL statistical area logged 207 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 18 hail reports of an inch or more between 2016 and 2025. Wind damage shows up at the rake, ridge and edge rather than across the field of the roof, so the fastening schedule and edge detail matter more here than the impact rating of the shingle.
Why is Southeastern Coatings & Waterproofing not on this list?
Scored second in the metro on a clean 5.0 across 129 reviews, and its licensing is sound: the roofing licence is held by its individual qualifier, Harry David Anderson Jr, CCC1326114, which the state register shows as Current and Active to 31 August 2028. It is excluded on two grounds. First, Alachua County is not in its published service area: its own site names Live Oak, Lake City, Macclenny, Jasper, Mayo, Lake Butler, Branford and Tallahassee, and the Better Business Bureau records its service area as the Lake City region; neither Gainesville nor Alachua appears anywhere. It is based in Columbia County, outside this metro. Second, it does not present as a shingle contractor: while it lists residential roofing as a category, it describes its specialisms as coatings, restoration, maintenance, gutters and subcontract work, and self-describes as a full-line commercial roofing contractor, with no residential shingle replacement service line stated. Nothing here reflects badly on the firm, which appears to be a capable commercial coatings contractor; it is simply not what this page is for.
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Ocala, FL, about 37 miles from Gainesville
- Best roofers in Jacksonville, FL, about 61 miles from Gainesville
- Best roofers in Deltona, FL, another FL metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Orlando, FL, another FL metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Huntington, WV, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Peoria, IL, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Tallahassee, FL, also scored, about 126 miles away
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Gainesville, FL: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published September 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.