The median home in West Reading was built in 1938; there are 1,750 of them. 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
Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.1(b)(8), alterations to a house that make no structural change are outside the state code. So the borough code office in West Reading 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. 89% of West Reading’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). West Reading’s answer is with the borough code office.
Rules as read on October 24, 2026. The state’s code edition and the rest of its rules: roof replacement in Pennsylvania.
Of 1,708 occupied homes in West Reading, 959 (56%) are owner-occupied. By year built, 59% before 1940, 83% before 1960, 89% before 1980; 8% went up in 2000 or later. (ACS 2020–2024.)
By building type: 12% detached houses, 61% attached single-family houses (rowhouses, twins and townhouses), 13% buildings of two to four units.
With about three in five 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.
On a house built before 1940, ask what the deck is (boards or plywood) and whether slate sits under the later layers: slate can’t be roofed over.
Of the 67 Berks County municipalities on this site, West Reading has the 5th largest share of homes built before 1980: 89%, against a county range of 18% to 97%.
ZIP codes: 19611
| Place | Median built | Before 1980 | Owners | Row, twin | Hail days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Reading | 1938 | 89% | 56% | 61% | 19 |
| Wyomissing | 1971 | 63% | 68% | 15% | 18 |
| Reading | 1938 | 90% | 41% | 52% | 22 |
| Kenhorst | 1954 | 93% | 79% | 18% | 20 |
| Shillington | 1943 | 97% | 63% | 47% | 20 |
| Mount Penn | 1943 | 88% | 65% | 40% | 22 |
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.
Within 10 miles of West Reading, hail of an inch or more was reported on 19 days between 2006 and 2025, the biggest stones 2.5 in on May 22, 2014. The most recent was July 17, 2024.
That is more hail days than 89% of the places in the state on this site.
Federal major-disaster declarations for storms in Berks County since 2006: 2, most recently DR-4267, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, declared March 2016. (OpenFEMA.)
A report says hail fell near West Reading, not that it damaged a 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; 12% 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 | Standing seam that carries its own loads can skip the tear-off (R908.3.1) |
| Slate | 75 years | Older houses; 59% here predate 1940 | Never a base for a new layer (R908.3.1.1); heavy |
| Flat roof: EPDM or TPO | 15 years | Low-slope roofs and rear sections (61% of homes here are attached) | Where the roof meets a wall or parapet |
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in West Reading, and search it.
The price side is in what a new roof costs in Pennsylvania; the paperwork side in checking a roofing contractor.
West Reading’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. So the borough code office in West Reading 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. 89% of West Reading’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 Reading was built in 1938, 89% of homes were built before 1980, 56% are owner-occupied.
Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported on 19 days within 10 miles of West Reading from 2006 through 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). A report means hail fell nearby, not that a roof was damaged.
A contractor who does $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must be registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General, and the number has to be on every contract and estimate (HICPA § 3, § 6). Ask for it before anyone starts on a roof in West Reading, and search it.
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.