Half of the 10,222 homes in Montgomery Township were built before 1992. 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.
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
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 Montgomery Township requires.
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). 21% of Montgomery Township’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
Ice barrier
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 township code office or the contractor what Montgomery Township’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
89% of the occupied homes in Montgomery Township are lived in by their owners: 8,867 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 7% before 1960, 21% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 22% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 53% detached houses, 31% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 8% manufactured homes.
With about one in three of homes attached, many roofs here meet a neighbor’s roof at a party wall. Say so on the call, and ask the contractor how the new roof will be tied in where it meets the house next door.
Of the 61 Montgomery County municipalities on this site, Montgomery Township has the 60th largest share of homes built before 1980: 21%, against a county range of 17% to 98%.
ZIP codes: 18936 · 19454
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Township, Montgomery County | 1992 | 21% | 89% | 31% | 17 |
| Lansdale | 1958 | 81% | 55% | 34% | 14 |
| North Wales | 1943 | 89% | 74% | 21% | 15 |
| Chalfont | 1973 | 57% | 83% | 17% | 14 |
| Hatfield Township | 1979 | 52% | 63% | 17% | 14 |
| Lower Gwynedd | 1979 | 52% | 78% | 17% | 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.
NOAA’s storm reports show 17 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Montgomery Township, topping out at 1.25 in on July 21, 2021. The most recent was August 18, 2024.
That is more hail days than 79% of the places in the state on this site.
At the county level, Montgomery Township shares Montgomery 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.
Useful life is HUD’s planning figure, not a warranty. 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 and historic houses | Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (31% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
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 Montgomery Township, and search it.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Ask Montgomery Township first. 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 Montgomery Township requires.
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). 21% of Montgomery Township’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Montgomery Township was built in 1992, 21% of homes were built before 1980, 89% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 17 days within 10 miles of Montgomery Township from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
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 Montgomery Township, and search it.
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.