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Boral Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Home additions and ADU construction in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation work, and finish level. We stock and install Boral-compatible framing materials, sheathing, and trim products, and we can match most Boral product lines already on your property. When a Boral component fails, it usually shows up as moisture damage at joints, warped trim boards, or cracking at connection points where the addition meets the original structure.
Most Fort Lauderdale homeowners discover the problem after a heavy rain season. Boral products are built for durability, but Florida’s humidity, salt air, and intense sun will find any weak point in an addition’s envelope. The good news: if the framing is sound, a failed Boral component is usually a targeted repair, not a rebuild. We tell you what we found, what it takes to fix it, and what it will cost, before we touch a thing.
Which Boral Models This Applies To
Boral manufactures engineered wood trim, siding, and sheathing products used widely in South Florida additions and ADUs. The most common lines we service in Fort Lauderdale are Boral TruExterior trim and siding, Boral truexterior fascia boards, and Boral sheathing panels used as structural backing. Each product line has distinct dimensions and fastening requirements, and they are not interchangeable.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha that trips up a lot of homeowners: Boral TruExterior trim comes in 4/4 and 5/4 thickness profiles, and you cannot substitute standard pine or PVC trim without changing the reveal lines on your siding. If your addition was built with 5/4 Boral trim and a contractor swaps in 4/4 material, the corners won’t line up and water will find the gap. Check the manufacturer’s stamp on the back of any removed piece before buying a replacement. We carry both thicknesses on our trucks for Fort Lauderdale jobs.
For sheathing, Boral panels are moisture-resistant, which matters in Florida’s climate, but they must be installed with the proper gap spacing for expansion. Too tight, and the panels buckle in summer humidity. If you’re matching existing Boral siding, you need the same texture profile. Smooth, wood-grain, and stucco-textured Boral boards are different products with different paint adhesion characteristics. We’re an independent service provider, not affiliated with Boral, so we’ll tell you straight when an aftermarket equivalent is fine and when you should stay with OEM.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Boral Home Addition or ADU Is Failing
- Peeling paint or bubbling finish on trim boards. This usually means moisture has worked its way behind the paint film. Boral products resist rot, but the fasteners holding them can corrode in salt air, and once a fastener fails, water follows it into the wall cavity.
- Visible cracks at inside corners or where trim meets siding. Florida’s temperature swings cause expansion and contraction. If the original installer didn’t leave proper gaps at joints, the boards push against each other and crack at the weakest point.
- Soft or spongy spots when you press on exterior trim. While Boral itself resists moisture, the substrate behind it may not. Soft spots mean the underlying framing is wicking water, which is a structural issue, not a cosmetic one.
- Gaps opening between the addition and the original house. Foundation settling is common in Fort Lauderdale’s sandy soil. If the addition was framed without a proper footing or tie-in, you’ll see separation at the roofline or exterior corners within a few years.
- Water staining on interior walls or ceilings where the addition meets the house. This is the one that worries us most. It means the flashing failed or was never installed correctly, and water has been traveling inside the wall for a while.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
In Fort Lauderdale, the installed price for a Boral home addition or ADU runs $45,000 to $130,000. The spread comes down to three main drivers: square footage, whether the site needs foundation or elevation work under current Florida Building Code, and finish level. A basic one-room addition with standard finishes sits at the lower end. A detached ADU with a kitchen and bathroom, impact-rated windows, and hurricane-rated roof strapping lands near the top.
Every project we quote in Fort Lauderdale gets the same treatment: a written line-item price before any work starts, materials specified by brand and grade, and a written guarantee covering the work for 365 days from the completion date. No verbal estimates that grow, no change orders unless you approve them in writing first. If you’re repairing a failed Boral component rather than building new, we’ll quote you the repair and the full replacement side by side so you can make an honest decision.
| Project Type | Typical Fort Lauderdale Range |
|---|---|
| Boral trim or siding repair | $800 – $5,000 depending on scope |
| Home addition (single room) | $45,000 – $80,000 |
| Home addition (multi-room) | $80,000 – $130,000 |
| ADU construction (with kitchen/bath) | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Garage conversion to living space | $30,000 – $80,000 |
DIY or Call Us?
Some things on a Boral addition are safe to inspect yourself. You can check for visible cracks, peeling paint, and gaps at joints. You can hose down the exterior and watch where water pools. What you should not do is pull trim boards or sheathing panels to look behind them. Once you open the envelope of a Florida home addition, you’re dealing with structural connections, flashing details, and possibly mold you didn’t know was there.
If the problem is failing trim or siding on a one-story addition with easy access, a careful homeowner with real carpentry experience can handle a board replacement. But if you’re seeing interior water staining, separation at the roofline, or soft framing, call us at (754) 354-3720. The last thing you want is to open a wall in June and find out you need a permit and a structural repair before hurricane season peaks.
FAQs
Boral engineered wood products carry a 20-year limited warranty from the manufacturer and in practice hold up well in South Florida, but the fasteners and flashing around them typically fail within 10 to 15 years in our salt-air environment. That’s where most Fort Lauderdale failures start, not the Boral product itself. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll inspect yours for free and tell you how much life is left in it.
Yes, in many cases a single cracked or warped board can be removed and replaced without touching the surrounding material, especially if we can match the texture and profile. If the underlying framing is sound, repairs are straightforward. If the framing is compromised, a repair would be throwing money away. We’ll show you what we find before we recommend either path.
A single-room addition typically runs 8 to 16 weeks from permit to final inspection. A full ADU with kitchen and bath takes 4 to 7 months, plus time for city permitting, which varies in Fort Lauderdale depending on whether your property is in a historic district or a flood zone. We handle the permits and inspections as part of the written price.
We keep Boral TruExterior trim in 4/4 and 5/4 thicknesses, plus common siding profiles, on our trucks for Fort Lauderdale service calls. Less common textures and sheathing panels usually require a short order lead time. We also stock compatible products from KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone for interior finish work on the same addition.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale at Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
