Roof Replacement in Lower Saucon, PA

Half of the 4,275 homes in Lower Saucon were built before 1979. The rules below decide how much of the old roof has to come off and what goes under the new one.

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 Lower Saucon

Permit

Lower Saucon’s ordinance decides

Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. The township code office can say what Lower Saucon requires.

Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)

Layers

Two layers means a tear-off

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). 51% of Lower Saucon’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.

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). The contractor or the township code office in Lower Saucon will know.

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

Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.

Homes and roofs in Lower Saucon

Owners live in 3,598 of Lower Saucon’s occupied homes, or 88%. Counting by decade, 15% before 1940, 26% before 1960, 51% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 18% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 81% detached houses, 14% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses).

Of the 34 Northampton County municipalities on this site, Lower Saucon has the 22nd largest share of homes built before 1980: 51%, against a county range of 20% to 91%.

ZIP codes: 18015 · 18055

Lower Saucon and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Lower Saucon	1979	51%	88%	14%	20
Hellertown	1952	87%	67%	18%	22
Freemansburg	1981	49%	56%	44%	26
Bethlehem City, Northampton County	1957	79%	48%	30%	23
Bethlehem City, Lehigh County	1957	79%	48%	30%	23
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 Lower Saucon

Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 20 separate days within 10 miles of Lower Saucon; the largest was 2 in on May 29, 2019. The most recent was July 3, 2025.

That is more hail days than 93% of the places in the state on this site.

At the county level, Lower Saucon shares Northampton County’s record of 6 storm disaster declarations since 2006, the newest 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

HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Lower Saucon’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; 81% 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	Roofs that will carry solar later	A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1)
Slate	75 years	Older houses; 15% 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	Seams at walls and drainage

Checking a contractor in Pennsylvania

A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in Lower Saucon, and search it.

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 Lower Saucon

Is a permit required for a new roof in Lower Saucon, PA?

Lower Saucon’s ordinance decides. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. The township code office can say what Lower Saucon requires.

Do the old shingles have to come off in Lower Saucon?

When were most homes in Lower Saucon built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Lower Saucon was built in 1979, 51% of homes were built before 1980, 88% are owner-occupied.

Does Lower Saucon get hail that damages roofs?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 20 days within 10 miles of Lower Saucon 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 Lower Saucon have?

What they will ask on the phone

Your address or ZIP code in Lower Saucon
How many stories the house has, and whether it is detached or attached
What covers the roof now and about when it went on
Whether there is one layer or more, if you know
That the job is a full replacement or a new roof, and your timing
Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA
That you own the home and decide on the roof

The full list: before you call.