Roof Replacement in New Hope, PA

Half of the 1,497 homes in New Hope were built before 1977. Below: what the code asks of a replacement here, the permit, and the town’s own records.

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 New Hope

Permit

Local ordinance, not the state

The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The borough code office can say what New Hope 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). 64% of New Hope’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.

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. New Hope’s answer is with the borough code office.

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

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 New Hope

Owners live in 949 of New Hope’s occupied homes, or 71%. Counting by decade, 21% before 1940, 23% before 1960, 64% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 16% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 36% detached houses, 32% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 13% buildings of two to four units.

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 50 Bucks County municipalities on this site, New Hope has the 21st largest share of homes built before 1980: 64%, against a county range of 16% to 88%.

New Hope and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
New Hope	1977	64%	71%	32%	10
Solebury	1983	46%	93%	9%	10
Upper Makefield	1986	36%	95%	17%	11
Buckingham	1993	31%	94%	11%	11
Wrightstown	1968	62%	88%	1%	13

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 New Hope

NOAA’s storm reports show 10 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around New Hope, topping out at 1.75 in on May 29, 2019. The most recent was September 8, 2023.

Bucks County has had 5 federal major-disaster declarations for storms since 2006; the latest was 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

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; 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; 21% here predate 1940	Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO	15 years	Low-slope roofs and rear sections (32% of homes here are attached)	Seams at walls and drainage

Checking a contractor in Pennsylvania

Before signing for a roof in New Hope, 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).

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 New Hope

Do I need a permit to replace a roof in New Hope?

Local ordinance, not the state. The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The borough code office can say what New Hope requires.

Is a roof-over allowed in New Hope, or is it a tear-off?

When were most homes in New Hope built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in New Hope was built in 1977, 64% of homes were built before 1980, 71% are owner-occupied.

How many hail days has New Hope had?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 10 days within 10 miles of New Hope 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 New Hope have?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the New Hope address or ZIP
Whether the house is detached, a twin or a rowhouse, and how many stories
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
That the house is yours and the decision is yours

The full list: before you call.