Penn Township has 1,913 homes, and half of them were standing by 1996. 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.
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
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Penn Township wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)
Layers
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). 30% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
Ice barrier
IRC R905.1.2 calls for an ice barrier where Table R301.2 says so; in Pennsylvania the municipality completes that table. Penn Township’s answer is with the township code office.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
81% of the occupied homes in Penn Township are lived in by their owners: 1,419 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 14% before 1960, 30% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 40% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 52% detached houses, 11% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 23% manufactured homes.
23% of homes in Penn Township are manufactured homes (445). A roof on a manufactured home is its own kind of job; tell the person on the line that it is one.
40% of homes here were built in 2000 or later. HUD’s useful-life table gives an asphalt-shingle roof 20 years, so roofs on houses from the early 2000s are reaching that age.
Of the 15 Snyder County municipalities on this site, Penn Township has the smallest share of homes built before 1980: 30%, against a county range of 30% to 91%.
ZIP codes: 17870
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township, Snyder County | 1996 | 30% | 81% | 11% | 3 |
| Selinsgrove | 1950 | 91% | 55% | 14% | 2 |
| Middlecreek | 1982 | 48% | 78% | 1% | 5 |
| Monroe Township, Snyder County | 1978 | 53% | 86% | 7% | 2 |
| Lower Augusta | 1977 | 58% | 87% | 1% | 2 |
| Washington Township, Snyder County | 1982 | 46% | 89% | 2% | 5 |
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.
Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 3 separate days within 10 miles of Penn Township; the largest was 4 in on May 28, 2019.
That is fewer than most places in the state on this site (median 12 days).
Storm reports are what observers logged, not a measure of damage to any roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.
HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Penn Township’s houses: 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; 52% 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 and historic houses | Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Additions and porch roofs | Seams at walls and drainage |
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 Penn Township 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. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Penn Township 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). 30% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Penn Township was built in 1996, 30% of homes were built before 1980, 81% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 3 days within 10 miles of Penn Township 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 Penn Township 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.