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.
The rules for a reroof in Dupont
Permit
Dupont’s ordinance decides
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Dupont wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. With 89% of Dupont’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
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 borough code office in Dupont will know.
66% of the occupied homes in Dupont are lived in by their owners: 812 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 38% before 1940, 64% before 1960, 89% before 1980; 9% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 72% detached houses, 5% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 15% buildings of two to four units.
On a house built before 1940, ask what the deck is (boards or plywood) and whether slate sits under the later layers: slate can’t be roofed over.
Of the 63 Luzerne County municipalities on this site, Dupont has the 8th largest share of homes built before 1980: 89%, against a county range of 19% to 97%.
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 Dupont
Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 19 separate days within 10 miles of Dupont; the largest was 1.75 in on February 25, 2017. The most recent was July 1, 2022.
That is more hail days than 89% of the places in the state on this site.
Remnants of Hurricane Ida (DR-4618, September 2021) is the latest of 4 federal storm declarations covering Luzerne County since 2006. (OpenFEMA.)
HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Dupont’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; 72% 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
Standing seam that carries its own loads can skip the tear-off (R908.3.1)
Slate
75 years
Older houses; 38% here predate 1940
Can’t be roofed over; check the framing for the weight
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO
15 years
Porches, additions, low-slope rears
Seams at walls and drainage
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 Dupont and look it up.
Dupont’s ordinance decides. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Dupont wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
Do the old shingles have to come off in Dupont?
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. With 89% of Dupont’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
How old are the houses in Dupont?
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Dupont was built in 1948, 89% of homes were built before 1980, 66% are owner-occupied.
How often does hail hit Dupont?
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 19 days within 10 miles of Dupont 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 Dupont?
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 Dupont and look it up.
What they will ask on the phone
The street address in Dupont, or at least the ZIP code
The number of stories, and whether the house stands alone
What covers the roof now and about when it went on
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 Dupont