Half of the 2,451 homes in Norwood were built before 1951. What the code requires when that roof is replaced, and who signs off, is below.
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. So the borough code office in Norwood is the one to ask before work starts.
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). With 89% of Norwood’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
Ice barrier
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). Norwood’s answer is with the borough code office.
Rules as read on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
76% of the occupied homes in Norwood are lived in by their owners: 1,668 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 33% before 1940, 68% before 1960, 89% before 1980; 6% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 35% detached houses, 39% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 15% 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.
On a house built before 1940, ask what the deck is (boards or plywood) and whether slate sits under the later layers: slate can’t be roofed over.
Of the 48 Delaware County municipalities on this site, Norwood has the 14th largest share of homes built before 1980: 89%, against a county range of 20% to 98%.
ZIP codes: 19074
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood | 1951 | 89% | 76% | 39% | 17 |
| Prospect Park | 1949 | 86% | 58% | 27% | 18 |
| Glenolden | 1954 | 88% | 77% | 29% | 17 |
| Folcroft | 1960 | 93% | 68% | 78% | 17 |
| Ridley | 1957 | 87% | 74% | 28% | 19 |
| Ridley Park | 1955 | 89% | 64% | 22% | 18 |
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 Norwood, hail of an inch or more was reported on 17 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 1.75 in on June 24, 2010. The most recent was April 4, 2025.
That is more hail days than 79% of the places in the state on this site.
Federal major-disaster declarations for storms in Delaware County since 2006: 3, most recently DR-4618, Remnants of Hurricane Ida, declared September 2021. (OpenFEMA.)
A report says hail fell near Norwood, not that it damaged a 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; 35% 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 | Standing seam that carries its own loads can skip the tear-off (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 33% 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) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
Before signing for a roof in Norwood, 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).
The price side is in what a new roof costs in Pennsylvania; the paperwork side in checking a roofing contractor.
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. So the borough code office in Norwood is the one to ask before work starts.
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). With 89% of Norwood’s homes were built before 1980, ask what is under the newest layer.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Norwood was built in 1951, 89% of homes were built before 1980, 76% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 17 days within 10 miles of Norwood from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
Before signing for a roof in Norwood, 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).
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.