Half of the 822 homes in Trainer were built before 1957. 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.
Permit
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). Whether Trainer wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
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). 64% of Trainer’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
Ice barrier
IRC R905.1.2 calls for an ice barrier where Table R301.2 says so; in Pennsylvania the municipality completes that table. Trainer’s answer is with the borough 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.
72% of the occupied homes in Trainer are lived in by their owners: 575 households, the people this line is for. Counting by decade, 21% before 1940, 54% before 1960, 64% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 3% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 30% detached houses, 54% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 14% buildings of two to four units.
With 54% 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.
Of the 48 Delaware County municipalities on this site, Trainer has the 40th largest share of homes built before 1980: 64%, against a county range of 20% to 98%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trainer | 1957 | 64% | 72% | 54% | 16 |
| Marcus Hook | 1944 | 89% | 36% | 56% | 14 |
| Lower Chichester | 1948 | 95% | 49% | 58% | 14 |
| Chester Township | 1972 | 73% | 55% | 77% | 15 |
| Chester | 1949 | 85% | 40% | 62% | 15 |
| Upper Chichester | 1974 | 59% | 73% | 12% | 15 |
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.
NOAA’s storm reports show 16 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around Trainer, topping out at 2.5 in on May 22, 2014. The most recent was April 4, 2025.
At the county level, Trainer shares Delaware County’s record of 3 storm disaster declarations since 2006, the newest 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.
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; 30% 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; 21% here predate 1940 | Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (54% 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 Trainer 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)). Whether Trainer wants a permit is in its own ordinance; ask the borough code office before the old roof comes off.
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). 64% of Trainer’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
By the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2020–2024), the median home in Trainer was built in 1957, 64% of homes were built before 1980, 72% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 16 days within 10 miles of Trainer 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 Trainer 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.