compliance Simplified
Florida Product approvals
Florida Product Approvals, Simplified.
The process to obtain a Florida Product Approval requires 5 key elements. Timberlake Cove can take care of the Engineering Evaluation, Validation, and State Approval. We can help assist you with Testing and Quality Assurance, however, testing and quality assurance audits must be completed by another approved entity.
If you already have testing and a quality assurance program, we can work with your test reports and get started right away. If you are starting from scratch, plan to spend a minimum of about $5,000-$7,000 per product (non HVHZ) to about $20,000-$25,000+ per product (HVHZ). And about 3-6 months, depending mostly on test lab availability and where we land in the FL Building Commission meeting cycle.
The 5 key elements are outlined below. Please take a look and contact us when you’re ready to proceed, or if you’d like to discuss further.
We pride ourselves on 1) making the process as painless as possible and 2) designing a custom branded report template that reflects your company’s brand (no ugly engineering reports here!).
Metal roofing products must first be tested by a certified lab.
For most non-structural metal panels, this is a 10′ x 10′ test deck that is placed under a varying pressure load. Test fees vary, but typically uplift tests are about $3000 per test. A test covers one installation condition for one product (e.g. 26ga Rib panel on 15/32″ plywood with 1 fastener per rib at 24″ o.c.). Additional tests may be helpful if you would like to have different listed pressures for different fastener spacing (e.g. 12″ o.c. and 24″ o.c.), other other variations. Each test typically runs about $3000.
One uplift test is the minimum requirement in most cases for non-HVHZ approvals.
HVHZ approval require a minimum of 3 uplift tests, plus a wind-driven rain test. ($12,000 – $15,000 in test fees.)
Timberlake Cove does not operate a test lab, so we cannot complete this element of the process. However, we can connect you with a handful of labs and can assist you with the process.
Every manufacturer must have a quality assurance program that is audited by an approved auditing agency. Most agencies will help the manufacturer set up their program, and will then audit once a year. Pricing varies, but plan on $1000-$2500 per location per year. Usually this is a flat fee that will cover as many products/approvals as you produce (potentially dozens or hundreds). Some auditors also require an initial set-up fee from $500-$2500+.
Timberlake Cove does not operate a Quality Assurance Auditing program, so we cannot complete this element of the process. However, we can connect you with a handful of approved auditors and can assist you with the process.
Once a test report has been published, Timberlake Cove can complete the remaining steps. We take a “turn key” approach–once you have a test report (and quality assurance in place), we can take it from there. Our single fee covers Engineering Evaluation, Validation, and State Approval. Pricing varies based on volume: One single approval is about $2000, while a set of 10 approvals might get closer to $800-$1000 per approval. The entire process (Evaluation, Validation, State Approval) takes a few months, depending mostly on how long the State approval takes.
(It is easier for our engineering team and the validator that we work with to complete several approvals at once, and the FL state fee is a flat fee for submission, so the unit price is much better with a group of approvals.)
Another, independent engineer must also review & validate the evaluation report. Timberlake Cove has a few engineers that we work with to complete this.
Timberlake Cove can submit the final approval to the Florida Building Commission + submit the application fee on your behalf.
The Florida Building Commission meets once a quarter to review open applications. Their schedule can be found here: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/building-codes-and-standards/product-approval-poc/
The submission deadline is typically a few months before the Commission meets, so depending on where we land in the cycle, this step can take 2-5 months.
Notes
High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) testing is only required for Dade County and Broward County. If you don’t plan to sell a lot of metal in those two counties, it may or may not be worth the effort & cost.
The Florida Product Approval for HVHZ can be used instead of the Miami-Dade NOA. The NOA is a local product approval that is administered by Miami Dade County. Their fee to process is another ±$5000, so many manufacturers elect to take the state wide Florida Product Approval (HVHZ) route. (FBC Ruling)
The Florida Building Code is typically updated every three years. The previous edition went into effect Dec 31, 2020 and the current version went into effect Dec 31, 2023. Each time the code changes, the product approvals must be updated to the new code. Re-testing is rarely required. Most code cycles, Timberlake Cove can manage the entire renewal cycle (send us documents and a check and we’ll take care of it from there).