Half of the 1,589 homes in Caernarvon Township were built before 2000. Below: what the code asks of a replacement here, the permit, and the town’s own records.
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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
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Caernarvon Township 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). 29% of Caernarvon Township’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
Ice barrier
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). Ask the township code office or the contractor what Caernarvon Township’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Of 1,507 occupied homes in Caernarvon Township, 1,265 (84%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 9% before 1940, 18% before 1960, 29% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 51% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 67% detached houses, 22% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 7% buildings of two to four units.
51% 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 67 Berks County municipalities on this site, Caernarvon Township has the 66th largest share of homes built before 1980: 29%, against a county range of 18% to 97%.
ZIP codes: 19543
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caernarvon Township, Berks County | 2000 | 29% | 84% | 22% | 7 |
| Elverson | 1996 | 28% | 71% | 36% | 8 |
| Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County | 1976 | 60% | 81% | 7% | 8 |
| West Nantmeal | 1985 | 43% | 91% | 2% | 11 |
| Robeson | 1981 | 48% | 88% | 2% | 16 |
| Honey Brook Borough | 1973 | 54% | 79% | 22% | 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.
NOAA’s storm reports show 7 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Caernarvon Township, topping out at 2 in on May 28, 2019. The most recent was July 8, 2025.
That is fewer than most places in the state on this site (median 12 days).
Berks County has had 2 federal major-disaster declarations for storms since 2006; the latest was DR-4267, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (March 2016). (OpenFEMA.)
Storm reports are what observers logged, not a measure of damage to any roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.
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; 67% 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 | Simple roofs with long, unbroken slopes | A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 9% 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 (22% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
Before signing for a roof in Caernarvon Township, 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).
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Local ordinance, not the state. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Caernarvon Township 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). 29% of Caernarvon Township’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Caernarvon Township was built in 2000, 29% of homes were built before 1980, 84% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 7 days within 10 miles of Caernarvon Township from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
Before signing for a roof in Caernarvon Township, 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 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.