Roofers in Delaware County, PA: older houses, attached homes and a county complaint office
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Delaware County homeowners know before a roof job?
That the house is probably old, and that its age changes what a careful roofer should ask. More than one in five homes in the county, 22.1 percent in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates, was first built in 1939 or earlier. That is the second-highest share of the five counties in this directory, behind only Philadelphia, and only 3.5 percent has been built since 2010, the lowest of the five.
Why is so much of the housing old?
The county's own history explains it. Delaware County says there was considerable residential development after the First World War in Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield, and that building continued after the Second World War in places such as Westbrook Park and Marple Township. It also describes itself as the fourth most populous county in Pennsylvania with the third smallest land area, covering a little over 184 square miles.
That density shows up in the kind of homes people live in. Single-family houses make up 75.6 percent of the county's 229,715 housing units, but the Census count combines detached houses with attached ones, such as twins and row houses, and does not separate them. Owners occupy 69.6 percent of the county's occupied homes, and renters the other 30.4 percent, so a fair number of Delaware County roofs are a landlord's responsibility rather than the occupant's.
What does an older roof mean for asbestos?
It means caution before anything is torn off. The Environmental Protection Agency lists roofing and siding shingles among the building materials that may contain asbestos, and says that in general people are exposed only when the material is disturbed or damaged. It says you usually cannot tell by looking, that sampling should be left to a trained and accredited professional, and that removal must be done only by trained and accredited professionals because improper removal can increase exposure.
Federal law, the agency adds, does not require people who inspect or remove asbestos in detached single-family homes to be accredited, though some states and localities do. On a house built before the war, ask any roofer how it will find out what the old roof is made of before tearing it off.
And for lead paint?
Every home first built in 1939 or earlier is older than 1978, the year the federal government banned lead-based paint for homes. The EPA requires any firm paid to disturb painted surfaces in a pre-1978 home to be certified in lead-safe practices, and it says about three-quarters of homes built before 1978 still contain some lead paint. The page does not mention roofs, so the question is whether the job will disturb paint, for example on trim or fascia.
Can new shingles go over the old roof?
Not always. The 2021 International Residential Code, which Pennsylvania's building code adopts, does not allow a new covering over existing slate, clay or asbestos-cement tile, over a roof that is water soaked or badly deteriorated, or over a roof that already carries two or more layers. In those cases the old roof comes off down to the deck. On a house of this age, ask how many layers are already up there before you compare quotes, because a quote for a tear-off and a quote for a re-cover are not the same job.
Who issues roof permits in Delaware County?
Your municipality, one of 49 in the county. The Department of Labor and Industry says more than 90 percent of Pennsylvania municipalities enforce the state building code locally, and the code regulation leaves repairs to residential buildings outside the code except where a local ordinance requires. Call the borough or township office before the work starts.
Where can you take a complaint?
To the county. Delaware County's Office of Consumer Affairs offers voluntary mediation of consumer complaints, and home repair and remodeling are among the subjects it lists. It refers suspected criminal or fraudulent conduct to the county District Attorney or the state Attorney General. The office is in the Government Center Building, 201 West Front Street, Media, on 610-891-4865.
Before hiring, check the roofer's state registration with the Attorney General's contractor search, which can be filtered to Delaware County. What Pennsylvania requires of roofers explains the contract and deposit rules, how to choose a roofer lists the other checks, and roofers serving the county are on the Delaware County roofers page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Your County at a Glance: History, Delaware County
- Learn About Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies, 2021 International Residential Code, International Code Council
- Uniform Construction Code, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.1. Scope., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.21. Uniform Construction Code., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)