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 Fulton
Permit
Fulton’s ordinance decides
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Fulton wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township 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 53% of Fulton’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 township code office in Fulton will know.
Rules as read on October 24, 2026. Code edition, permit and contract rules for the whole state: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Homes and roofs in Fulton
80% of the occupied homes in Fulton are lived in by their owners: 718 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 26% before 1940, 34% before 1960, 53% before 1980; 25% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 72% detached houses, 5% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 8% buildings of two to four units, 15% manufactured homes.
Of the 59 Lancaster County municipalities on this site, Fulton has the 25th largest share of homes built before 1980: 53%, against a county range of 27% to 87%.
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 Fulton
Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 8 separate days within 10 miles of Fulton; the largest was 1.75 in on August 10, 2008. The most recent was August 17, 2025.
Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (DR-4267, March 2016) is the latest of 3 federal storm declarations covering Lancaster County since 2006. (OpenFEMA.)
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; 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; 26% here predate 1940
Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO
15 years
Porches, additions, low-slope rears
Coating is not a replacement
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 Fulton and look it up.
Fulton’s ordinance decides. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Fulton wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
Can a new roof go over the old one in Fulton?
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. With 53% of Fulton’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
How old are the houses in Fulton?
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Fulton was built in 1978, 53% of homes were built before 1980, 80% are owner-occupied.
How often does hail hit Fulton?
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 8 days within 10 miles of Fulton 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 Fulton?
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 Fulton and look it up.
What they will ask on the phone
Where the house is: the Fulton address or ZIP
One story or two (or more), detached or attached
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 Fulton