Roof Replacement in Bensalem, PA

Bensalem has 25,415 homes, and half of them were standing by 1975. 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 Bensalem

Permit

Local ordinance, not the state

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 Bensalem 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). 66% of Bensalem’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.

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

Ice barrier

Set by the local climate table

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 Bensalem will know.

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

Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.

Homes and roofs in Bensalem

Of 24,550 occupied homes in Bensalem, 15,289 (62%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 7% before 1940, 24% before 1960, 66% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 13% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 44% detached houses, 19% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 9% buildings of two to four units, 3% manufactured homes.

Of the 50 Bucks County municipalities on this site, Bensalem has the 19th largest share of homes built before 1980: 66%, against a county range of 16% to 88%.

ZIP codes: 19020 · 19053

Bensalem and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Bensalem	1975	66%	62%	19%	11
Penndel	1959	85%	45%	9%	9
Lower Southampton	1970	63%	83%	8%	11
Bristol Township	1958	84%	72%	4%	11
Langhorne Manor	1951	87%	85%	1%	10
Bristol Borough	1938	88%	61%	47%	12

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.

Hail and storms near Bensalem

Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 11 separate days within 10 miles of Bensalem; the largest was 1.75 in on July 6, 2020. The most recent was May 3, 2025.

At the county level, Bensalem shares Bucks County’s record of 5 storm disaster declarations since 2006, the newest DR-4618 (Remnants of Hurricane Ida, September 2021). (OpenFEMA.)

Storm reports are what observers logged, not a measure of damage to any roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.

What goes on the roof next

Lifespans come from HUD’s capital-needs table, not from a brochure. 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; 44% 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	Low pitches and long runs	A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1)
Slate	75 years	Older houses; 7% 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 (19% of homes here are attached)	Where the roof meets a wall or parapet

Checking a contractor in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s home improvement law (HICPA § 3, § 6) requires registration with the Attorney General from $5,000 a year of such work and puts the number on every estimate; ask for it in Bensalem and look it up.

Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.

Questions about a new roof in Bensalem

Does a roof replacement in Bensalem need a permit?

Local ordinance, not the state. 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 Bensalem requires.

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

When were most homes in Bensalem built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Bensalem was built in 1975, 66% of homes were built before 1980, 62% are owner-occupied.

Does Bensalem get hail that damages roofs?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 11 days within 10 miles of Bensalem from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.

What license or registration should a roofer in Bensalem have?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the Bensalem address or ZIP
One story or two (or more), detached or attached
The roof you have today, shingle, metal, slate, tile or flat, and its rough age
Whether there is one layer or more, if you know
That the job is a full replacement or a new roof, and your timing
Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA
That you own the home and decide on the roof

The full list: before you call.