Half of the 831 homes in Alburtis were built before 1989. What the code requires when that roof is replaced, and who signs off, is below.
New Roofing Costs connects homeowners with independent local roofing contractors. We do not perform roofing work.
This number connects homeowners who are planning a new roof or a full roof replacement with independent local roofing contractors. It is not for leak repairs or patch jobs. The call must come from the homeowner who decides on the roof. Calls may be recorded.
Permit
Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. So the borough code office in Alburtis is the one to ask before work starts.
Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)
Layers
A new roof may go over one existing layer; with two or more, or over slate, clay or cement tile, everything comes off to the deck (IRC R908.3.1.1). With 49% of Alburtis’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
Ice barrier
IRC R905.1.2 calls for an ice barrier where Table R301.2 says so; in Pennsylvania the municipality completes that table. Ask the borough code office or the contractor what Alburtis’s says.
Rules as read on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Owners live in 614 of Alburtis’s occupied homes, or 76%. By year built, 22% before 1940, 28% before 1960, 49% before 1980; 27% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 40% detached houses, 51% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses).
With about half of homes attached, many roofs here meet a neighbor’s roof at a party wall. Say so on the call, and ask the contractor how the new roof will be tied in where it meets the house next door.
Of the 25 Lehigh County municipalities on this site, Alburtis has the 19th largest share of homes built before 1980: 49%, against a county range of 22% to 90%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alburtis | 1989 | 49% | 76% | 51% | 15 |
| Lower Macungie | 1993 | 30% | 86% | 24% | 19 |
| Macungie | 1982 | 44% | 51% | 42% | 15 |
| Longswamp | 1972 | 61% | 80% | 2% | 14 |
| Upper Milford | 1979 | 51% | 88% | 10% | 16 |
| Hereford | 1973 | 62% | 82% | 1% | 14 |
Median built: median year the homes were built. Before 1980: share of homes built then. Owners: share of homes that are owner-occupied. Row, twin: share of homes that are rowhouses, twins or townhouses. Census ACS 2020–2024. Hail days: days with hail of 1 inch or larger within 10 miles, 2006–2025, NOAA Storm Prediction Center.
Within 10 miles of Alburtis, hail of an inch or more was reported on 15 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 2.5 in on May 14, 2010. The most recent was September 7, 2023.
Federal major-disaster declarations for storms in Lehigh County since 2006: 2, most recently DR-4267, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, declared March 2016. (OpenFEMA.)
A report says hail fell near Alburtis, not that it damaged a roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.
HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Alburtis’s houses: More in the guides to shingles, metal, slate and flat roofs.
| Material | HUD useful life | Fits a house like | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles | 20 years | Most pitched roofs; 40% of homes here are detached | Wind class set by the design wind speed (IRC Table R905.2.4.1) |
| Metal (standing seam, panels) | 50 years | Roofs that will carry solar later | Standing seam that carries its own loads can skip the tear-off (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 22% here predate 1940 | Can’t be roofed over; check the framing for the weight |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (51% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in Alburtis, and search it.
The price side is in what a new roof costs in Pennsylvania; the paperwork side in checking a roofing contractor.
Alburtis’s ordinance decides. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. So the borough code office in Alburtis is the one to ask before work starts.
A new roof may go over one existing layer; with two or more, or over slate, clay or cement tile, everything comes off to the deck (IRC R908.3.1.1). With 49% of Alburtis’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Alburtis was built in 1989, 49% of homes were built before 1980, 76% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 15 days within 10 miles of Alburtis from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in Alburtis, and search it.
The full list: before you call.
Checked October 24, 2026. Laws and code editions change; the date says when these were last read at the source.