Half of the 655 homes in Shoemakersville were built before 1947. 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
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The borough code office can say what Shoemakersville requires.
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 85% of Shoemakersville’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). Shoemakersville’s answer is with the borough code office.
Rules as read on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
63% of the occupied homes in Shoemakersville are lived in by their owners: 378 households, the people this line is for. By year built, 44% before 1940, 70% before 1960, 85% before 1980; 5% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 59% detached houses, 22% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 12% buildings of two to four units.
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 67 Berks County municipalities on this site, Shoemakersville has the 7th largest share of homes built before 1980: 85%, against a county range of 18% to 97%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoemakersville | 1947 | 85% | 63% | 22% | 13 |
| Perry Township, Berks County | 1975 | 60% | 81% | 2% | 13 |
| Centre Township, Berks County | 1982 | 46% | 94% | 3% | 12 |
| Ontelaunee | 2000 | 40% | 92% | 11% | 21 |
| Leesport | 1977 | 53% | 77% | 29% | 19 |
| Hamburg | 1965 | 69% | 66% | 29% | 4 |
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 Shoemakersville, hail of an inch or more was reported on 13 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 1.75 in on June 10, 2008. The most recent was September 7, 2023.
Federal major-disaster declarations for storms in Berks County since 2006: 2, most recently DR-4267, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, declared March 2016. (OpenFEMA.)
A report says hail fell near Shoemakersville, not that it damaged a roof. When wind or hail damage means a new roof.
Lifespans come from HUD’s capital-needs table, not from a brochure. 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; 59% 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; 44% here predate 1940 | Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (22% of homes here are attached) | 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 Shoemakersville and look it up.
The price side is in what a new roof costs in Pennsylvania; the paperwork side in checking a roofing contractor.
Shoemakersville’s ordinance decides. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). The borough code office can say what Shoemakersville requires.
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 85% of Shoemakersville’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 Shoemakersville was built in 1947, 85% of homes were built before 1980, 63% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 13 days within 10 miles of Shoemakersville 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 Shoemakersville 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.