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 Middlesex
Permit
Ask Middlesex first
Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether Middlesex wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
On a roof that already carries two layers, or slate or tile, the code allows no recover: it is a tear-off (IRC R908.3.1.1). With 38% of Middlesex’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). Ask the township code office or the contractor what Middlesex’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Code edition, permit and contract rules for the whole state: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Homes and roofs in Middlesex
Of 2,742 occupied homes in Middlesex, 2,164 (79%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 10% before 1940, 18% before 1960, 38% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 24% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 53% detached houses, 11% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 30% manufactured homes.
30% of homes in Middlesex are manufactured homes (855). A roof on a manufactured home is its own kind of job; tell the person on the line that it is one.
Of the 31 Cumberland County municipalities on this site, Middlesex has the 26th largest share of homes built before 1980: 38%, against a county range of 24% to 93%.
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 Middlesex
NOAA’s storm reports show 8 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Middlesex, topping out at 1.75 in on September 2, 2013. The most recent was July 17, 2021.
Cumberland 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.)
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; 53% 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; 10% 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
Before signing for a roof in Middlesex, get the contractor’s PA registration number: the home improvement law requires registration with the Attorney General above $5,000 a year of such work, and the number on contracts and estimates (HICPA § 3, § 6).
Does a roof replacement in Middlesex need a permit?
Ask Middlesex first. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether Middlesex wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
Do the old shingles have to come off in Middlesex?
On a roof that already carries two layers, or slate or tile, the code allows no recover: it is a tear-off (IRC R908.3.1.1). With 38% of Middlesex’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
When were most homes in Middlesex built?
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Middlesex was built in 1986, 38% of homes were built before 1980, 79% are owner-occupied.
Does Middlesex get hail that damages roofs?
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 8 days within 10 miles of Middlesex 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 Middlesex have?
Before signing for a roof in Middlesex, get the contractor’s PA registration number: the home improvement law requires registration with the Attorney General above $5,000 a year of such work, and the number on contracts and estimates (HICPA § 3, § 6).
What they will ask on the phone
Where the house is: the Middlesex address or ZIP
The number of stories, and whether the house stands alone
Whether it is a manufactured home
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 the job is a full replacement or a new roof, and your timing
Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA