Half of the 2,314 homes in West Pittston were built before 1942. Below: what the code asks of a replacement here, the permit, and the town’s own records.
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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
Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether West Pittston 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). 77% of West Pittston’s homes were built before 1980; many have been reroofed before.
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). Ask the borough code office or the contractor what West Pittston’s says.
Checked against the code text on October 24, 2026. Everything else the state requires: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Of 2,177 occupied homes in West Pittston, 1,144 (53%) are owner-occupied. Counting by decade, 49% before 1940, 65% before 1960, 77% before 1980 of the housing was in place, and 8% dates from 2000 on. (ACS 2020–2024.)
The housing is 57% detached houses, 19% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 17% 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 63 Luzerne County municipalities on this site, West Pittston has the 25th largest share of homes built before 1980: 77%, against a county range of 19% to 97%.
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Pittston | 1942 | 77% | 53% | 19% | 20 |
| Pittston | 1947 | 84% | 47% | 16% | 21 |
| Exeter Borough | 1968 | 69% | 77% | 11% | 20 |
| Hughestown | 1955 | 86% | 71% | 6% | 19 |
| Duryea | 1952 | 79% | 70% | 6% | 19 |
| Laflin | 1975 | 72% | 90% | 21% | 17 |
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 20 days since 2006 with hail of at least 1 inch inside a 10-mile circle around West Pittston, topping out at 1.75 in on February 25, 2017. The most recent was July 1, 2022.
That is more hail days than 93% of the places in the state on this site.
Luzerne County has had 4 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 West Pittston’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; 57% 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; 49% 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 (19% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
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 West Pittston and look it up.
Contracts, deposits and the right to cancel: checking a roofing contractor. What moves the price: new roof cost in Pennsylvania.
West Pittston’s ordinance decides. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. Whether West Pittston 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). 77% of West Pittston’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 West Pittston was built in 1942, 77% of homes were built before 1980, 53% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 20 days within 10 miles of West Pittston 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 West Pittston 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.