Roof Replacement in Allen, PA

Allen has 2,325 homes, and half of them were standing by 2001. Below: what the code asks of a replacement here, the permit, and the town’s own records.

New Roofing Costs connects homeowners with independent local roofing contractors. We do not perform roofing work.

Call (833) 781-1806 Replacement and new roofs only · homeowners

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.

A Pennsylvania stone-and-brick house with a new shingle roof

The rules for a reroof in Allen

Permit

Ask Allen first

Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. The township code office can say what Allen requires.

Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)

Layers

Two layers means a tear-off

On a roof that already carries two layers, or slate or tile, the code allows no recover: it is a tear-off (IRC R908.3.1.1). 36% of Allen’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.

Source: IRC 2021, Chapter 9 (Pennsylvania edition, UpCodes)

Ice barrier

Allen’s climate table decides

Whether an eave membrane is a code item depends on the climate table the municipality filled in when it adopted the code (IRC R905.1.2, Table R301.2). The contractor or the township code office in Allen will know.

Source: IRC 2021, Chapter 9 (Pennsylvania edition, UpCodes)

Rules as read on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.

Homes and roofs in Allen

81% of the occupied homes in Allen are lived in by their owners: 1,741 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 14% before 1940, 17% before 1960, 36% before 1980; 54% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)

By building type: 48% detached houses, 32% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 10% manufactured homes.

With about one in three 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.

54% of homes here were built in 2000 or later. HUD’s useful-life table gives an asphalt-shingle roof 20 years, so roofs on houses from the early 2000s are reaching that age.

Of the 34 Northampton County municipalities on this site, Allen has the 30th largest share of homes built before 1980: 36%, against a county range of 20% to 91%.

ZIP codes: 18067

Allen and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Allen	2001	36%	81%	32%	23
Northampton Borough	1941	73%	70%	37%	23
Coplay	1956	73%	64%	39%	25
North Catasauqua	1951	83%	78%	20%	24
East Allen	1978	53%	91%	1%	23
Whitehall	1967	70%	62%	19%	24

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.

Storm record around Allen

NOAA’s storm reports show 23 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Allen, topping out at 2.75 in on August 17, 2007. The most recent was July 3, 2025.

That is more hail days than 98% of the places in the state on this site.

Remnants of Hurricane Ida (DR-4618, September 2021) is the latest of 6 federal storm declarations covering Northampton County since 2006. (OpenFEMA.)

A report says hail fell near Allen, not that it damaged a roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.

What goes on the roof next

HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Allen’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; 48% 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; 14% here predate 1940	Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO	15 years	Low-slope roofs and rear sections (32% of homes here are attached)	Where the roof meets a wall or parapet

Checking a contractor in Pennsylvania

Before signing for a roof in Allen, get the contractor’s PA registration number: the home improvement law requires registration with the Attorney General above $5,000 a year of such work, and the number on contracts and estimates (HICPA § 3, § 6).

The price side is in what a new roof costs in Pennsylvania; the paperwork side in checking a roofing contractor.

Questions about a new roof in Allen

Is a permit required for a new roof in Allen, PA?

Ask Allen first. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. The township code office can say what Allen requires.

Is a roof-over allowed in Allen, or is it a tear-off?

How old are the houses in Allen?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Allen was built in 2001, 36% of homes were built before 1980, 81% are owner-occupied.

How many hail days has Allen had?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 23 days within 10 miles of Allen from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.

How do I check a roofing contractor in Allen?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the Allen address or ZIP
Detached, twin or rowhouse, and the number of stories
What is on the roof now (asphalt shingles, metal, slate, tile, or a flat membrane) and roughly how old it is
Whether there is one layer or more, if you know
That you want a new roof or a full replacement, and when you want the work done
Any historic-district or HOA rules on the house in Allen
That you are the owner and the one who decides

The full list: before you call.