Siding, windows and decks in Bucks County, PA: Levittown-era homes, local permits and a complaint office
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Bucks County homeowners know before exterior work?
Three local facts shape most siding, window and deck jobs here. Most of the county's homes were built in the middle decades of the last century, which brings the EPA's lead-safe rule into play for window and trim work. Permits come from your township or borough, and the county has 54 of them. And Bucks runs a county consumer protection office that mediates disputes with contractors.
How old are Bucks County homes, and why does it matter?
The Census Bureau estimates that only 9.9 percent of Bucks County's 257,260 housing units were first built in 1939 or earlier, far below the 25.0 percent for Pennsylvania and the 39.9 percent for Philadelphia. Another 5.7 percent were built since 2010. The rest, the large majority, were built between 1940 and 2010, and the profile does not split that span further.
Lower Bucks shows what that middle era looks like. The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia records that slightly more than 17,300 houses were built in Levittown between 1952 and 1958, across Bristol, Falls and Middletown Townships and Tullytown Borough. Every one of them pre-dates 1978, the year the federal government banned consumer use of lead-based paint. The EPA says homes built before then are more likely to contain it, and that firms paid to disturb paint in them must be lead-safe certified. Its rule covers window replacement at any size, and siding or trim removal unless the job disturbs no more than 20 square feet of painted surface outside. For a Levittown house, ask for the firm's EPA certificate before talking about price.
Who issues permits in Bucks County?
Your municipality, not the county. The county's own municipal directory lists 54 townships and boroughs, from Bedminster Township to Yardley Borough, and each sets its own fees and decides how it enforces Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code. Labor and Industry says over 90% of the state's municipalities enforce the code locally, with their own staff or a certified third-party agency, so the office to call is usually listed on your township or borough website.
What the state regulation says gives you a starting point for that call:
- Window and door replacement with only a minor framing change is not a structural change, and installing vinyl or aluminum siding on an existing house is outside the regulation, except where a local ordinance says otherwise.
- An uncovered deck whose floor is no more than 30 inches above grade needs no permit; a higher or covered one does.
The words "except as required by ordinances" are why the answer can differ between two neighboring Bucks townships. A contractor who works across the county should know the rule in yours; if not, call the municipal office yourself before work starts.
Does house size or value change the job?
It changes the scale. Bucks homes are mostly houses rather than apartments: 79.5 percent of units are single-family, detached or attached. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $445,700, and 77.8 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 69.3 percent statewide, so most exterior jobs here are contracted by the owners themselves. On any contract above $5,000, Pennsylvania law caps the deposit at one-third of the contract price, plus any special order materials named in the contract.
Who can help if a job goes wrong?
Bucks County has its own office. Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures says it mediates consumer complaints against businesses, whether or not they are based in the county, and coordinates with enforcement agencies where a case may be criminal. The problems it lists include false statements that repairs are needed and incomplete or unsatisfactory home repairs, which covers the most common exterior remodeling disputes. A complaint form is available online.
Registration is checked at state level. The Attorney General's contractor search can be filtered to Bucks County and by type of work, such as Siding or Windows & Glazing. Owners of older homes can also report a suspected lead-safe violation to the EPA's National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-5323.
Where do you go from here?
The statewide rules are in what Pennsylvania requires, and businesses serving the county are on the Bucks County exterior remodeling page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Levittowns (Pennsylvania and New Jersey), Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
- Municipalities, Bucks County
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- 34 Pa. Code 403.1. Scope., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- 34 Pa. Code 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Uniform Construction Code, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Program: Consumers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General