Whether your roof needs an inspection now, what we check from the shingles to the attic underside, what the code and your town ask for, and what you hold in your hands when the visit is done.
A roof inspection answers a plain question before the weather answers it for you: is the roof over your head sound, tired, or already letting water in? In this metro the answer often depends on the age of the house. In Dauphin County, 62% of homes were built before 1980. In Perry County it is 56%, and in Cumberland County 53%. A roof on a house that old may carry layers nobody has looked under in years.
We climb the roof when it is safe, go up into the attic, photograph what we see and measure what can be measured. You keep the photographs. Any work we recommend is listed line by line in a written scope, and the first assessment at your house is free.
Book a visit when any of these is true:
None of these means the roof must come off. An inspection can end in a short repair list or in a replacement, and the photographs show which and why. Our pages on roof repair and roof replacement cover what follows each answer.
We begin on the ground with a camera, then walk the slopes. We do not step onto wet slate, icy shingles or a pitch where our footing is poor. Those slopes get photographed from the ladder at the eave and from the attic side.
We also look at the gutters, because water that cannot leave the roof edge backs up under the first course. If they need work, see our gutters page.
The attic tells us what the top of the roof cannot. We go up through the hatch with a light and a moisture reading in hand, and we look at the underside of the deck slope by slope.
Any moisture figure we take goes into the estimate as a number, with the spot where we took it. Airflow problems are covered in more detail on our roof ventilation page.
This metro sits in IECC climate zone 4A. A typical year brings about 101.5 nights at or below 32F and 17 days when the high never rises above freezing. Water that works under a shingle on a mild afternoon freezes that night and widens the gap. We read the roof for the marks of that cycle.
Snow adds weight and ice. Harrisburg's winter snowfall averages about 30 inches and can pass 40 in some winters. Shippensburg gets about 34 inches in a year, and Hummelstown took a 21-inch blizzard in 2010. The one local design table in our records, Upper Allen Township's, lists a ground snow load of 30 psf and a design wind speed of 90 mph, and it answers Yes on whether an ice barrier is required. Other towns set their own table, so we check the one for your address.
Summer brings the opposite trouble. Humid heat feeds moss and roof algae on shaded slopes and leaves mildew under the deck when the attic stays damp. We photograph both.
Pennsylvania uses one building code for the whole state, the Uniform Construction Code. Its residential rules are the 2021 International Residential Code with Pennsylvania's changes, in force since January 1, 2026 under 34 Pa. Code § 403.21. A town may add standards that equal or exceed the code, but it may not adopt a lower or different edition (34 Pa. Code § 403.102). The state's changes touch roof ventilation and ridge framing, so we look at both when we are in the attic. Our Pennsylvania roofing code guide goes further.
An inspection changes nothing on the roof, so the permit question comes up only when the report leads to work. Towns answer it differently:
| Town | What its records say about a reroof |
|---|---|
| Harrisburg | The building permit application lists Roofing as a type of improvement, and the labor and materials value sets the permit cost. |
| Mechanicsburg | Replacing a residential roof covering needs no building permit unless the structure is involved, such as sheathing, rafters or trusses. |
| New Cumberland | Roof replacement is on the list of projects that may need a permit, and work cannot start until the borough issues it. |
Where a permit is required, we pull it.
You ask for a time through our free estimate page. When we arrive, we walk the outside of the house with you, then go to the roof, then to the attic. You are welcome to stay with us for all of it.
When we are done, you have:
If a storm is the reason for the visit, we photograph the damage slope by slope. You can forward our scope and photographs to your insurer yourself. You file and manage the claim, and the policy and the deductible are yours. For storm-specific questions, see our storm damage page.
Take the report home and read it at your own pace. A contract signed at your home can be cancelled until midnight of the third business day after the sale, and a roofer who tells you otherwise is wrong.
Pennsylvania requires home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General. Highspire's borough page notes that the requirement applies to contractors who do more than $5,000 of work in a year. Registration is not a state license for roofing, so ask for the registration number and keep it with the contract. Permit applications in Steelton and Lemoyne ask for that number, and Mechanicsburg's asks for it along with proof of insurance. Harrisburg's application requires any contractor on it to hold a valid Mercantile License.
The first assessment at your house is free. If the report leads to work, the price comes in the written estimate, and it moves with the size of the roof, its pitch, the number of layers to remove, the condition of the deck and the material you choose. We do not guess a figure over the phone.
A small roof with two slopes goes quickly. A large roof with several slopes, dormers and a chimney takes longer, and the attic adds time. We tell you what to expect when we arrive, and we do not rush the attic, because that is where many problems show first.
You do not have to be, but we encourage it. Walking the outside of the house with you lets us point out what we see, and we need access to the attic hatch. If you are away, tell us where the hatch is and we will leave the photographs and findings with you afterward.
It is a good idea in either case. In Dauphin County, 62% of homes were built before 1980, so the roof's age and history are often unknown. A written report with photographs gives both sides facts instead of guesses before the contract is signed.
Our photographs and written scope document what the roof looks like, and you can send them to your insurer yourself. The claim, the policy and the deductible stay yours, and we do not deal with your insurer on your behalf.
No. A look at the roof changes nothing on it. If the report leads to work, the permit question depends on your town: Harrisburg lists roofing on its permit application, and Mechanicsburg does not require a permit for a roof-covering replacement unless the structure is involved. Where one is required, we pull it.
Roof inspection across the Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania metro. Each city has its own page with the permit rule and code edition that apply there:
Sources: Expected service life of a roof's first layer · Pennsylvania's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code · Municipal standards and the state code · Upper Allen Township design table: snow load, wind speed, ice barrier · Harrisburg building permit documents · Mechanicsburg codes and zoning, roof-covering permit rule · New Cumberland codes enforcement and zoning · Steelton permits · Lemoyne permit applications · Highspire building permits. Codes, programs and prices change; confirm the current rule with your city before you rely on it.
Free inspection, a written scope, and photos you keep either way.
Book my free inspection →