Trueline Roofers repairs and reroofs houses throughout Cumberland County, where the median home dates to 1978 but 17219 of the county's 111278 homes were built in 1939 or earlier.
Cumberland County holds 111278 homes, and they do not agree on an age. The median year built is 1978, yet 17219 homes go back to 1939 or earlier, and another 14369 date to the 1970s. Newville and West Fairview both show a median of 1938, and 416 of Newville's 580 homes are from 1939 or earlier. In Carlisle the count is 3902 of 9819. Roofs on streets like those can be slate, or several shingle layers deep, over boards laid with gaps rather than sheets of plywood.
The suburbs tell a different story. Schlusser's median home was built in 1979 and Boiling Springs' in 1986, while Enola sits at 1969 and Lower Allen at 1968. Houses from those decades more often have sheet decking and one or two layers of shingles, so the questions there turn to ventilation and attic insulation rather than rotten boards. Camp Hill, Carlisle, New Cumberland and Shippensburg all show a median of 1953.
Winter is what tests these roofs. Snow piles up, freeze-thaw works on every seam and flashing, and ice dams are what local roofers talk about most. Upper Allen Township's design table lists a ground snow load of 30 psf and says an ice barrier is required. Summers are humid, so shaded slopes pick up moss, algae and mildew.
Permits depend on the address. Camp Hill, Carlisle, Lemoyne, Mechanicsburg, Mount Holly Springs and New Cumberland each have a borough office that handles them, and Carlisle's sits inside its Sustainable Community and Economic Planning Department. In Enola, Boiling Springs and Schlusser the first question is which municipality your address belongs to. Call us once you know, and we will start in the attic.
Each city’s own page gives what is on record for its permit office and code.
| City | Permit for a re-roof | Adopted code | Building official | Building dept. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling Springs | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Camp Hill | Not published | Not published | Colton Weichman, Codes Enforcement / Zoning Officer / Building Code Official | — |
| Carlisle | Not published | Not published | Malcolm Marcewicz, Chief Code Enforcement Officer and Building Code Official | — |
| Unincorporated Cumberland County | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Enola | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Lemoyne | Not published | Not published | Amanda Seibert, Code Enforcement Officer | 717-737-6843 |
| Lower Allen | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Mechanicsburg | Conditional | 2021 ICC codes as adopted by the Pennsylvania UCC | — | 717-691-3310 |
| Mount Holly Springs | Not published | Not published | Jason Bonawitz, Codes Enforcement Officer | 717-486-7615 ext. 1030 |
| New Cumberland | Yes | Not published | — | 717-506-0464 |
| Newville | Not published | Not published | — | — |
| Schlusser | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Shippensburg | Not published | Not published | — | — |
| Shiremanstown | Not published | Not published | — | — |
| West Fairview | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | — | — |
| Wormleysburg | Not published | Not published | — | — |
Each line is a summary of that town's own page.
Cumberland County has 111,278 homes in the Census count, with a median year built of 1978. 15% were built before 1940, 53% before 1980 and 24% in 2000 or later; the single biggest decade was the years before 1940, with 17,219 homes (15%). 60% of homes are single-family detached houses and 71% of occupied homes are owner-occupied; the count includes 5,161 mobile homes.
About 20 years is the service life that HUD's Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide gives for a roof's first layer. On that yardstick, 84,595 homes across Cumberland County (76%) were built before 2000 and have outlived at least one roof, and 44,363 (40%) predate 1970. The 13,563 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements are coming up now.
Across the 15 places we cover here with their own Census figures, Newville has the largest share of pre-1940 homes (72%) and Boiling Springs the largest share of newer ones (30% built in 2000 or later). Carlisle is the largest, at 9,819 homes, and Newville, Shippensburg and Wormleysburg tie for the highest share of renters (56%), where the roof is more often a landlord's decision.
| Place | Homes | Median built | Before 1940 | 2000 or later | Detached | Owner-occupied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | 9,819 | 1953 | 40% | 9% | 36% | 49% |
| Mechanicsburg | 4,605 | 1959 | 34% | 10% | 58% | 70% |
| Camp Hill | 3,602 | 1953 | 27% | 3% | 76% | 78% |
| New Cumberland | 3,536 | 1953 | 23% | 2% | 68% | 70% |
| Lower Allen | 3,048 | 1968 | 9% | 12% | 58% | 64% |
| Shippensburg | 2,936 | 1953 | 27% | 5% | 44% | 44% |
| Enola | 2,818 | 1969 | 15% | 16% | 40% | 54% |
| Lemoyne | 2,441 | 1949 | 44% | 10% | 42% | 55% |
| Schlusser | 2,339 | 1979 | 7% | 17% | 65% | 82% |
| Wormleysburg | 1,370 | 1969 | 14% | 6% | 41% | 44% |
| Boiling Springs | 1,258 | 1986 | 15% | 30% | 90% | 87% |
| Mount Holly Springs | 902 | 1955 | 33% | 6% | 52% | 56% |
| Shiremanstown | 767 | 1956 | 27% | 2% | 52% | 66% |
| West Fairview | 663 | 1939 or earlier | 58% | 3% | 22% | 55% |
| Newville | 580 | 1939 or earlier | 72% | 1% | 31% | 44% |
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 17,219 | 15% | |
| 1940s | 5,475 | 5% | |
| 1950s | 10,264 | 9% | |
| 1960s | 11,405 | 10% | |
| 1970s | 14,369 | 13% | |
| 1980s | 13,835 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 12,028 | 11% | |
| 2000s | 13,563 | 12% | |
| 2010s | 10,879 | 10% | |
| 2020 or later | 2,241 | 2% |
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25001, B25003, B25024, B25034, B25035). Survey estimates carry margins of error, widest in the smallest places. Census table.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged 3 reports of hail 1 inch or larger in Cumberland County from 2016 through 2025, on 2 days. 0 were 1.75 inches or larger, and 0 of those reached 2 inches; the largest, 1 inch, fell on August 4, 2023. The busiest single day was August 4, 2023, with 2 reports.
| Year | Reports | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 0 |
Counted within 5 miles of each town’s center, Camp Hill has the most reports (4) and Boiling Springs the fewest (0). Each town’s own page lists its latest dates. Reports come from spotters and the public, so busier places log more of them.
Pennsylvania sets one building code for the whole state, the Uniform Construction Code, but a municipality may adopt standards that equal or exceed it, and the local permit office still decides the permit steps. Of the 16 jurisdictions we cover in Cumberland County, these publish the edition they enforce:
Boiling Springs, Camp Hill, Carlisle, Unincorporated Cumberland County, Enola, Lemoyne, Lower Allen, Mount Holly Springs, New Cumberland, Newville, Schlusser, Shippensburg, Shiremanstown, West Fairview, Wormleysburg publish no edition. The statewide code applies there all the same.
Design wind is set by location, not one figure for the whole area, and the building office that issues the permit can tell you the figure for a given address. What each figure does to a roof is in our Harrisburg-Carlisle roofing code guide.
Snow piles up on the roof and heat from the house leaks into the attic and melts it. The water refreezes at the cold eave and backs up under the shingles. Upper Allen Township's design table says an ice barrier is required.
Often some boards do. With 3902 of Carlisle's 9819 homes and 416 of Newville's 580 built in 1939 or earlier, the boards under the shingles carry a lot of years. They are judged once the old roof is off, and rotten ones are replaced.
Which office issues the permit depends on the city you live in. Across Cumberland County we cover 16 jurisdictions and 6 permit offices on record: the Borough of Mechanicsburg Codes and Zoning Department issues them for Mechanicsburg and exempts a like-for-like re-roof only under conditions; Camp Hill Borough Codes Enforcement & Zoning issues them for Camp Hill and publishes no answer either way; the Carlisle Borough Sustainable Community and Economic Planning Department issues them for Carlisle and publishes no answer either way; Lemoyne Borough issues them for Lemoyne and publishes no answer either way; the Mt. Holly Springs Zoning and Codes Office issues them for Mount Holly Springs and publishes no answer either way; the New Cumberland Borough Codes Enforcement and Zoning Department issues them for New Cumberland and requires a permit for a re-roof; Boiling Springs, Unincorporated Cumberland County, Enola, Lower Allen, Newville, Schlusser, Shippensburg, Shiremanstown and 2 more publish no answer either way. Each city page gives what is on record for its office.
Of the jurisdictions we cover across Cumberland County, these publish the edition they enforce: the 2021 ICC codes as adopted by the Pennsylvania UCC in Mechanicsburg. 15 publish no edition. The edition in force is the one your roof is inspected against.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built across Cumberland County at 1978, with 15% of its 111,278 homes built before 1940 and 24% in 2000 or later. 76% were built before 2000, and an original roof on one of those homes is worth a close look.
Ask any roofer working in Cumberland County to put the state and local credentials they hold in writing, and check them with the office that issued them before you sign. The roof work itself has to meet Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code, which adopts the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21). Permits and inspections run through the municipality that enforces the code, or through a third-party agency or the Department of Labor and Industry where it does not.
4 of the 16 we cover publish a name: Camp Hill, Carlisle, Lemoyne, Mount Holly Springs. Where a name is published, it is on that city's page.
Town rules from each jurisdiction's own pages, researched 2026-11-09; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Sources: data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov · www.pacodeandbulletin.gov · www.pacodeandbulletin.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
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