Roof Replacement in Reading Township, PA

Reading Township has 2,565 homes, and half of them were standing by 1987. 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 Reading Township

Permit

Ask Reading Township first

The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Reading Township is the one to ask before work starts.

Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)

Layers

Two layers means a tear-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). 36% of Reading Township’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

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 township code office in Reading Township will know.

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 Reading Township

90% of the occupied homes in Reading Township are lived in by their owners: 2,097 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 15% before 1940, 22% before 1960, 36% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 23% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)

The housing is 85% detached houses, 5% buildings of two to four units, 9% manufactured homes.

Of the 28 Adams County municipalities on this site, Reading Township has the 25th largest share of homes built before 1980: 36%, against a county range of 26% to 87%.

ZIP codes: 17316

Reading Township and the towns around it

Place	Median built	Before 1980	Owners	Row, twin	Hail days
Reading Township	1987	36%	90%	1%	9
East Berlin	1955	69%	61%	4%	13
Hamilton Township, Adams County	1991	43%	91%	2%	15
Washington Township, York County	1978	55%	94%	0%	11
Latimore	1981	47%	95%	3%	8
Paradise Township, York County	1982	48%	89%	3%	14

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 Reading Township

Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 9 separate days within 10 miles of Reading Township; the largest was 1.75 in on July 27, 2008. The most recent was August 3, 2024.

At the county level, Reading Township shares Adams County’s record of 3 storm disaster declarations since 2006, the newest DR-4267 (Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, March 2016). (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

HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Reading 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; 85% 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; 15% here predate 1940	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

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 Reading 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.

Questions about a new roof in Reading Township

Does a roof replacement in Reading Township need a permit?

Ask Reading Township first. The state code does not cover a reroof that changes no structure (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Reading Township is the one to ask before work starts.

Is a roof-over allowed in Reading Township, or is it a tear-off?

When were most homes in Reading Township built?

By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Reading Township was built in 1987, 36% of homes were built before 1980, 90% are owner-occupied.

How many hail days has Reading Township had?

Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 9 days within 10 miles of Reading Township 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 Reading Township have?

What they will ask on the phone

Where the house is: the Reading Township address or ZIP
One story or two (or more), detached or attached
The roof you have today, shingle, metal, slate, tile or flat, and its rough age
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 you own the home and decide on the roof

The full list: before you call.