Roof Replacement in Lykens Borough, PA

Half of the 970 homes in Lykens Borough were built before 1938. 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 Lykens Borough

Permit

Lykens Borough’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 borough code office can say what Lykens Borough 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). 94% of Lykens Borough’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

The code requires an ice barrier where the local climate table (Table R301.2) says so, and each Pennsylvania municipality fills that table in. Ask the borough code office or the contractor what Lykens Borough’s says.

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 Lykens Borough

62% of the occupied homes in Lykens Borough are lived in by their owners: 509 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 56% before 1940, 81% before 1960, 94% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 5% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 60% detached houses, 20% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 7% buildings of two to four units, 4% manufactured homes.

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 31 Dauphin County municipalities on this site, Lykens Borough has the 3rd largest share of homes built before 1980: 94%, against a county range of 31% to 100%.

Lykens Borough and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Lykens Borough	1938	94%	62%	20%	4
Wiconisco	1938	86%	87%	3%	4
Williams Township, Dauphin County	1950	83%	86%	4%	4
Lykens Township	1964	64%	73%	2%	5
Williamstown	1938	97%	63%	15%	3
Jackson Township, Dauphin County	1977	54%	92%	1%	7

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 Lykens Borough

NOAA’s storm reports show 4 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Lykens Borough, topping out at 1.5 in on June 3, 2023. The most recent was June 26, 2023.

That is fewer than most places in the state on this site (median 12 days).

At the county level, Lykens Borough shares Dauphin County’s record of 5 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 Lykens Borough’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; 60% 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; 56% here predate 1940	Can’t be roofed over; check the framing for the weight
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO	15 years	Low-slope roofs and rear sections (20% of homes here are attached)	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 Lykens Borough 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 Lykens Borough

Is a permit required for a new roof in Lykens Borough, PA?

Lykens Borough’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 borough code office can say what Lykens Borough requires.

Do the old shingles have to come off in Lykens Borough?

When were most homes in Lykens Borough built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Lykens Borough was built in 1938, 94% of homes were built before 1980, 62% are owner-occupied.

Does Lykens Borough get hail that damages roofs?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 4 days within 10 miles of Lykens Borough 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 Lykens Borough have?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the Lykens Borough address or ZIP
One story or two (or more), detached or attached
The roof you have today, shingle, metal, slate, tile or flat, and its rough age
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 the house is yours and the decision is yours

The full list: before you call.