The median home in Upper Makefield was built in 1986; there are 3,438 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.
Permit
Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Upper Makefield is the one to ask before work starts.
Source: 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)
Layers
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 36% of Upper Makefield’s homes were built before 1980, so count the layers before comparing quotes.
Ice barrier
The code requires an ice barrier where the local climate table (Table R301.2) says so, and each Pennsylvania municipality fills that table in. Upper Makefield’s answer is with the township code office.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Code edition, permit and contract rules for the whole state: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Owners live in 3,251 of Upper Makefield’s occupied homes, or 95%. Counting by decade, 7% before 1940, 13% before 1960, 36% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 23% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 83% detached houses, 17% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses).
Of the 50 Bucks County municipalities on this site, Upper Makefield has the 44th largest share of homes built before 1980: 36%, against a county range of 16% to 88%.
ZIP codes: 18940 · 18977
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Makefield | 1986 | 36% | 95% | 17% | 11 |
| Newtown Township, Bucks County | 1988 | 22% | 85% | 44% | 10 |
| Wrightstown | 1968 | 62% | 88% | 1% | 13 |
| Newtown Borough | 1938 | 82% | 73% | 29% | 9 |
| New Hope | 1977 | 64% | 71% | 32% | 10 |
| Lower Makefield | 1984 | 40% | 88% | 17% | 10 |
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 11 separate days within 10 miles of Upper Makefield; the largest was 1.75 in on July 6, 2020. The most recent was April 1, 2023.
Bucks 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.
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; 83% 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 | Sound slate can be reused (R908.5); broken slate cannot |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (17% of homes here are attached) | Coating is not a replacement |
Before signing for a roof in Upper Makefield, get the contractor’s PA registration number: the home improvement law requires registration with the Attorney General above $5,000 a year of such work, and the number on contracts and estimates (HICPA § 3, § 6).
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
Ask Upper Makefield first. Pennsylvania’s code leaves residential alterations without structural change to local ordinance (34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8)). So the township code office in Upper Makefield is the one to ask before work starts.
IRC R908.3.1.1 forbids roofing over two existing layers, over slate or tile, or over a water-soaked roof. 36% of Upper Makefield’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 Upper Makefield was built in 1986, 36% of homes were built before 1980, 95% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 11 days within 10 miles of Upper Makefield from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
Before signing for a roof in Upper Makefield, get the contractor’s PA registration number: the home improvement law requires registration with the Attorney General above $5,000 a year of such work, and the number on contracts and estimates (HICPA § 3, § 6).
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.