Penndel has 1,139 homes, and half of them were standing by 1959. 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.
The rules for a reroof in Penndel
Permit
Ask Penndel first
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Penndel wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough 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). 85% of Penndel’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
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). The contractor or the borough code office in Penndel will know.
45% of the occupied homes in Penndel are lived in by their owners: 481 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 21% before 1940, 53% before 1960, 85% before 1980; 4% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 37% detached houses, 9% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 15% buildings of two to four units, 4% manufactured homes.
Of the 50 Bucks County municipalities on this site, Penndel has the 4th largest share of homes built before 1980: 85%, against a county range of 16% to 88%.
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.
Storm record around Penndel
Within 10 miles of Penndel, hail of an inch or more was reported on 9 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 1.75 in on July 6, 2020. The most recent was April 22, 2023.
Remnants of Hurricane Ida (DR-4618, September 2021) is the latest of 5 federal storm declarations covering Bucks County since 2006. (OpenFEMA.)
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; 37% 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
Standing seam that carries its own loads can skip the tear-off (R908.3.1)
Slate
75 years
Older houses; 21% here predate 1940
Can’t be roofed over; check the framing for the weight
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO
15 years
Porches, additions, low-slope rears
Seams at walls and drainage
Checking a contractor in Pennsylvania
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 Penndel and look it up.
Ask Penndel first. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Penndel wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
Can a new roof go over the old one in Penndel?
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). 85% of Penndel’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
How old are the houses in Penndel?
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Penndel was built in 1959, 85% of homes were built before 1980, 45% are owner-occupied.
How often does hail hit Penndel?
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 9 days within 10 miles of Penndel from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
How do I check a roofing contractor in Penndel?
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 Penndel and look it up.
What they will ask on the phone
Your address or ZIP code in Penndel
How many stories the house has, and whether it is detached or attached
The roof you have today, shingle, metal, slate, tile or flat, and its rough age
How many layers are on it, if you know
That the job is a full replacement or a new roof, and your timing
Any historic-district or HOA rules on the house in Penndel