Plymouth Borough has 2,869 homes, and half of them were standing by 1944. What the code requires when that roof is replaced, and who signs off, is below.
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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)). So the borough code office in Plymouth Borough is the one to ask before work starts.
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). With 89% of Plymouth Borough’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). Ask the borough code office or the contractor what Plymouth Borough’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Of 2,340 occupied homes in Plymouth Borough, 1,137 (49%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 45% before 1940, 66% before 1960, 89% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 4% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 43% detached houses, 31% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 14% 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.
Older houses hide their history: ask the contractor to confirm the deck (board or sheet) and every layer above it before pricing, because slate or two layers mean a full tear-off.
Of the 63 Luzerne County municipalities on this site, Plymouth Borough has the 6th largest share of homes built before 1980: 89%, against a county range of 19% to 97%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth Borough | 1944 | 89% | 49% | 31% | 9 |
| Larksville | 1961 | 76% | 75% | 9% | 12 |
| Edwardsville | 1959 | 89% | 46% | 12% | 13 |
| Hanover Township, Luzerne County | 1963 | 77% | 67% | 12% | 10 |
| Jackson Township, Luzerne County | 1981 | 48% | 96% | 1% | 9 |
| Ashley | 1945 | 84% | 68% | 19% | 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.
Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 9 separate days within 10 miles of Plymouth Borough; the largest was 1.75 in on February 25, 2017. The most recent was April 14, 2019.
Luzerne County has had 4 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.
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; 43% 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 | A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 45% here predate 1940 | Can’t be roofed over; check the framing for the weight |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (31% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in Plymouth Borough, and search it.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Ask Plymouth Borough first. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the borough code office in Plymouth Borough is the one to ask before work starts.
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). With 89% of Plymouth Borough’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 Plymouth Borough was built in 1944, 89% of homes were built before 1980, 49% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 9 days within 10 miles of Plymouth Borough from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in Plymouth Borough, and search it.
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.