The median home in South Centre was built in 1975; there are 972 of them. The rules below decide how much of the old roof has to come off and what goes under the new one.
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 South Centre
Permit
Ask South Centre first
Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether South Centre wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 58% of South Centre’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
The code requires an ice barrier where the local climate table (Table R301.2) says so, and each Pennsylvania municipality fills that table in. South Centre’s answer is with the township code office.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Homes and roofs in South Centre
Owners live in 619 of South Centre’s occupied homes, or 71%. Counting by decade, 7% before 1940, 28% before 1960, 58% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 18% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 65% detached houses, 33% manufactured homes.
33% of homes in South Centre are manufactured homes (319). A roof on a manufactured home is its own kind of job; tell the person on the line that it is one.
Of the 22 Columbia County municipalities on this site, South Centre has the 13th largest share of homes built before 1980: 58%, against a county range of 42% to 93%.
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 South Centre
Within 10 miles of South Centre, hail of an inch or more was reported on 4 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 2 in on May 22, 2014. The most recent was June 26, 2024.
That is fewer than most places in the state on this site (median 12 days).
Columbia County has had 2 federal major-disaster declarations for storms since 2006; the latest was DR-4408, Severe Storms and Flooding (November 2018). (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; 65% 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; 7% here predate 1940
Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy
Flat roof: EPDM or TPO
15 years
Additions and porch roofs
Where the roof meets a wall or parapet
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 South Centre and look it up.
Does a roof replacement in South Centre need a permit?
Ask South Centre first. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether South Centre wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the township code office before the old roof comes off.
Do the old shingles have to come off in South Centre?
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 58% of South Centre’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
When were most homes in South Centre built?
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in South Centre was built in 1975, 58% of homes were built before 1980, 71% are owner-occupied.
How many hail days has South Centre had?
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 4 days within 10 miles of South Centre 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 South Centre have?
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 South Centre and look it up.
What they will ask on the phone
Where the house is: the South Centre address or ZIP
The number of stories, and whether the house stands alone
Whether it is a manufactured home
What is on the roof now (asphalt shingles, metal, slate, tile, or a flat membrane) and roughly how old it is
The number of layers, if anyone has counted
That you want a new roof or a full replacement, and when you want the work done
Whether the house is in a historic district or an HOA