Roof Replacement in Durham, PA

Half of the 471 homes in Durham were built before 1957. 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 Durham

Permit

Local ordinance, not the state

The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The township code office can say what Durham requires.

Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)

Layers

One old layer can stay; two cannot

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). 64% of Durham’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). Ask the township code office or the contractor what Durham’s says.

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

Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.

Homes and roofs in Durham

Of 447 occupied homes in Durham, 408 (91%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 37% before 1940, 53% before 1960, 64% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 6% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 97% detached houses.

Older houses hide their history: ask the contractor to confirm the deck (board or sheet) and every layer above it before pricing, because slate or two layers mean a full tear-off.

Of the 50 Bucks County municipalities on this site, Durham has the 22nd largest share of homes built before 1980: 64%, against a county range of 16% to 88%.

ZIP codes: 18077 · 18930

Durham and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Durham	1957	64%	91%	2%	17
Williams Township, Northampton County	1994	37%	87%	15%	18
Nockamixon	1968	68%	79%	1%	12
Lower Saucon	1979	51%	88%	14%	20
Bridgeton	1961	74%	87%	1%	12
Springfield Township, Bucks County	1967	71%	91%	0%	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.

Hail and storms near Durham

Within 10 miles of Durham, hail of an inch or more was reported on 17 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 2 in on August 17, 2007. The most recent was July 3, 2025.

That is more hail days than 79% of the places in the state on this site.

Bucks County has had 5 federal major-disaster declarations for storms since 2006; the latest was 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; 97% 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; 37% here predate 1940	Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO	15 years	Additions and porch roofs	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 Durham 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 Durham

Does a roof replacement in Durham need a permit?

Local ordinance, not the state. The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The township code office can say what Durham requires.

Do the old shingles have to come off in Durham?

When were most homes in Durham built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Durham was built in 1957, 64% of homes were built before 1980, 91% are owner-occupied.

How many hail days has Durham had?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 17 days within 10 miles of Durham 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 Durham have?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the Durham address or ZIP
The number of stories, and whether the house stands alone
What is on the roof now (asphalt shingles, metal, slate, tile, or a flat membrane) and roughly how old it is
The number of layers, if anyone has counted
That you want a new roof or a full replacement, and when you want the work done
Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA
That you are the owner and the one who decides

The full list: before you call.