Vol. 1, No. 1October 2026$1 · Free to Vero Beach residents

The Vero Porch

Name: Covenant Builders
Address: 876 47th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL, 32966, US
Telephone: (772) 473-7115
Price range: $$

Neighborhood news for Vero Beach

Full edition · Facts checked October 8, 2026

Storm season

Six weeks left in hurricane season. Here are five checks for this month.

The Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30. October storms still happen, and most of these checks take an afternoon and cost nothing.

Most of us stop thinking about hurricanes once the kids are back in school. The calendar says otherwise: the season does not close until November 30. A quiet Saturday this month is the cheapest time to find a problem, because nobody is booked solid yet.

None of these need a ladder. Do them from the ground, the garage and the attic hatch.

1.Walk the roof line from the yard
Look for shingles that are lifted, curled, cracked or missing, and for metal flashing pulling away from walls. Binoculars help.
2.Clear the gutters and downspouts
Water that backs up during a downpour soaks the fascia and finds its way into the walls.
3.Find your shutter hardware now
Count the panels, wing nuts and anchors, and test one opening. The middle of a storm warning is a bad time to find a missing bolt.
4.Check the garage door
It is the biggest opening on most houses. Look for a wind-rating label and any bracing, and note what you find.
5.Take dated photos of your house
Every side, the roof from the street, windows, doors, fence and equipment labels. Keep them somewhere other than your phone. A before-the-storm record of your home is worth having for your own files.

Vero then

Why we are called Vero

A Latin word, a pioneer family and a 1925 trip to Tallahassee.

In 1887 pioneer Henry T. Gifford built a house near where City Hall stands today. He ran a citrus grove and opened the settlement’s first store, which also served as the post office and the railroad ticket office once the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indian River Railroad arrived in 1893.

His wife, Sarah, is credited with the name. "Vero" comes from the Latin for truth, and the city still describes it as meaning "to speak the truth."

The Indian River Farms Company bought 44,000 acres in 1912 and adopted the final plat of the original Town of Vero in 1913. Vero incorporated as a city in 1919. In 1925 local leaders lobbied Tallahassee to create Indian River County; Vero became the county seat, re-incorporated, and took the name Vero Beach.

After World War II the Brooklyn Dodgers made the former Naval Air Station their spring training home in 1947. Historic Dodgertown shares that land with the Vero Beach airport today.

Ask the builder

"Why does my insurance company keep asking how old my roof is?"

Because roof age is one of the first things an insurer looks at when it writes or renews a Florida policy.

If you do not know your roof’s age, you are not alone. Many homes have changed hands since the last reroof, and the paperwork went with the previous owner.

The building permit record usually has the answer. Reroofs need a permit, so the date of the last one is a good clue. In the City of Vero Beach that is the city building department; outside city limits it is Indian River County.

Have a question about your house? Text it to (772) 473-7115 and we may answer it in a future issue.

From our sponsor

Get your free Roof Report Card

We walk your roof line, attic and edges and grade what we can see from A to F, with photos and plain words. You get the card by text. Nothing to buy, and nothing comes attached to it.

Rather talk? Call or text (772) 473-7115.

A Report Card is a visual walk-through, not a 4-point, wind mitigation or roof certification form, and not an engineering inspection.

Got neighborhood news?

A new neighbor, a street cleanup, a birthday on the block, a question about your house. Text it to (772) 473-7115 and it may make the next issue.