Half of the 1,505 homes in Lower Milford were built before 1975. 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 Lower Milford 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). 56% of Lower Milford’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 Lower Milford’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Of 1,452 occupied homes in Lower Milford, 1,314 (91%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 17% before 1940, 33% before 1960, 56% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 12% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 94% detached houses.
Of the 25 Lehigh County municipalities on this site, Lower Milford has the 15th largest share of homes built before 1980: 56%, against a county range of 22% to 90%.
ZIP codes: 18036 · 18041 · 18092
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Milford | 1975 | 56% | 91% | 2% | 13 |
| Upper Milford | 1979 | 51% | 88% | 10% | 16 |
| Milford Township, Bucks County | 1990 | 39% | 93% | 16% | 13 |
| East Greenville | 1958 | 76% | 60% | 48% | 14 |
| Emmaus | 1955 | 78% | 64% | 25% | 21 |
| Macungie | 1982 | 44% | 51% | 42% | 15 |
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 13 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Lower Milford, topping out at 2 in on May 29, 2019. The most recent was August 15, 2023.
Lehigh 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.
HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Lower Milford’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; 94% 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; 17% 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 |
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 Lower Milford and look it up.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Lower Milford’s ordinance decides. 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 Lower Milford 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). 56% of Lower Milford’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 Lower Milford was built in 1975, 56% of homes were built before 1980, 91% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 13 days within 10 miles of Lower Milford from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
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 Lower Milford and look it up.
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.