Half of the 599 homes in Tower City were built before 1938. 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.
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 Tower City is the one to ask before work starts.
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). 93% of Tower City’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
Ice barrier
IRC R905.1.2 calls for an ice barrier where Table R301.2 says so; in Pennsylvania the municipality completes that table. The contractor or the borough code office in Tower City will know.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
74% of the occupied homes in Tower City are lived in by their owners: 395 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 71% before 1940, 81% before 1960, 93% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 2% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 64% detached houses, 21% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 9% buildings of two to four units.
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 41 Schuylkill County municipalities on this site, Tower City has the 10th largest share of homes built before 1980: 93%, against a county range of 42% to 97%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower City | 1938 | 93% | 74% | 21% | 3 |
| Porter Township, Schuylkill County | 1948 | 80% | 84% | 13% | 1 |
| Williamstown | 1938 | 97% | 63% | 15% | 3 |
| Williams Township, Dauphin County | 1950 | 83% | 86% | 4% | 4 |
| Hegins | 1961 | 81% | 90% | 4% | 2 |
| Wiconisco | 1938 | 86% | 87% | 3% | 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.
Since 2006 the National Weather Service has logged hail of 1 inch or larger on 3 separate days within 10 miles of Tower City; the largest was 2 in on May 28, 2019. The most recent was August 6, 2024.
That is fewer than most places in the state on this site (median 12 days).
Schuylkill County has had 5 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.
HUD’s useful-life figures are for planning; a warranty is a separate promise. For Tower City’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; 64% 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 | Simple roofs with long, unbroken slopes | A complete standing-seam system may go over the old roof (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 71% 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 (21% of homes here are attached) | Coating is not a replacement |
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 Tower City and look it up.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Local ordinance, not the state. 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 Tower City is the one to ask before work starts.
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). 93% of Tower City’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Tower City was built in 1938, 93% of homes were built before 1980, 74% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 3 days within 10 miles of Tower City 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 Tower City 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.