The median home in Mountville was built in 1982; there are 1,309 of them. 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. Whether Mountville wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)
Layers
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 44% of Mountville’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. Mountville’s answer is with the borough code office.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Owners live in 967 of Mountville’s occupied homes, or 77%. Counting by decade, 15% before 1940, 35% before 1960, 44% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 18% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 36% detached houses, 39% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 13% buildings of two to four units.
With about two in five 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 59 Lancaster County municipalities on this site, Mountville has the 36th largest share of homes built before 1980: 44%, against a county range of 27% to 87%.
ZIP codes: 17554
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountville | 1982 | 44% | 77% | 39% | 22 |
| West Hempfield | 1985 | 36% | 86% | 13% | 22 |
| Columbia | 1938 | 85% | 53% | 31% | 17 |
| East Hempfield | 1984 | 41% | 73% | 13% | 20 |
| Manor | 1986 | 42% | 77% | 25% | 19 |
| Millersville | 1966 | 70% | 57% | 17% | 20 |
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.
Within 10 miles of Mountville, hail of an inch or more was reported on 22 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 1.75 in on May 14, 2010. The most recent was June 28, 2025.
That is more hail days than 96% of the places in the state on this site.
Lancaster County has had 3 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.
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; 36% 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 | Low pitches and long runs | A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 15% here predate 1940 | Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (39% of homes here are attached) | Coating is not a replacement |
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 Mountville and look it up.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Local ordinance, not the state. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether Mountville wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 44% of Mountville’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 Mountville was built in 1982, 44% of homes were built before 1980, 77% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 22 days within 10 miles of Mountville 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 Mountville 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.