Trueline Roofers repairs and replaces roofs in Harrisburg, the Susquehanna river city first settled in 1719, where 43% of homes were built in 1939 or earlier.
Harrisburg has about 8.1 square miles of land and roughly 50,287 people. We cover ZIP codes 17110, 17104, 17103, 17102 and 17101.
No completed roof in Harrisburg is logged in our job records yet.
Harrisburg's median home was built in 1947, and 43% of its homes date to 1939 or earlier. Only 14% are single-family detached houses. Of the 24130 housing units, 10388 are attached, so a large share of roofs here meet a neighbor's at a shared wall. On houses that old, the deck under the shingles is often original board, and the framing under it has carried generations of snow. Our visit to a Harrisburg house starts at the flashing where your roof meets its neighbor's and ends in the attic, and it costs you nothing.
Allison Hill was built up in the late 19th century, and its Mount Pleasant section pairs large Colonial Revival houses with well-built row houses. The Harrisburg Historic District, Midtown Harrisburg Historic District, Mount Pleasant Historic District, Old Uptown Harrisburg Historic District and the Old Downtown Harrisburg Commercial Historic District are all listed. Slate is part of the housing stock in a city whose architecture spans over 200 years. If your house sits in one of those districts, mention it when you book.
Winters bring occasional heavy snowstorms, with snowfall averaging about 30 inches and passing 40 inches in some winters. Snow piling on a roof over a warm attic is how ice dams start along the eaves, and humid summers leave moss and roof algae behind. Harrisburg sits at about 335 feet on the east bank of the Susquehanna, and Paxton Creek empties into the river inside the city. In the 100-year flood plain, work that exceeds 50% of a building's market value counts as substantial and calls for a flood plain elevation certificate. A permit also goes void if no inspection happens within 6 months of issue, so line up the roofing crew before you apply.
The city's architecture spans over 200 years of evolving construction and design and contains a breadth of architectural styles.
On houses this old in Harrisburg the deck is usually solid boards, not plywood, and boards shift: gaps open, nails work loose, and a shingle nailed over a gap holds on to nothing. Chimneys and wall joints often still carry their original step and counter-flashing, which is where many leaks really start while the shingles look fine. Two or three roofs piled on one another are common on streets like these; every extra layer hides the deck, adds weight and voids most manufacturer warranties. Any original slate or tile on the house calls for a different plan from an asphalt tear-off.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 24,130 homes in Harrisburg, with a median year built of 1947. 10,425 of them (43%) went up before 1940 — 12th of 37 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 1,474 (6%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. On the pre-1940 share, Harrisburg sits above Dauphin County's 19%.
The Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development puts the service life of a roof's first layer at about 20 years. By that measure, 94% of Harrisburg's homes — the 22,656 built before 2000 — are past their first roof, and the 18,655 built before 1970 (77%) are usually on a third covering or later. The 731 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 743 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. On houses that old, the question worth asking is how many layers are up there: a roof laid over an old one hides the deck.
By building type: 3,390 detached houses (14%), 10,388 attached (43%). 5,095 homes (21%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 5,026 (21%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. The count also takes in 231 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. Owners live in 37% of the 22,137 occupied homes. When we look at houses like these, our work can include full tear-offs on houses past two roof lives, deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 10,425 | 43% | |
| 1940s | 2,392 | 10% | |
| 1950s | 3,240 | 13% | |
| 1960s | 2,598 | 11% | |
| 1970s | 1,939 | 8% | |
| 1980s | 1,334 | 6% | |
| 1990s | 728 | 3% | |
| 2000s | 731 | 3% | |
| 2010s | 689 | 3% | |
| 2020 or later | 54 | 0% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 24,130 homes, 22,137 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged 3 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Harrisburg’s center from 2016 through 2025, all on one day. 1 of them was 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.75 inches, came on June 3, 2023, about 1.1 miles south of the center. Counts follow people as much as storms, since every report is a spotter’s or a resident’s.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| June 3, 2023 | 1 inch | 1.4 mi E |
| June 3, 2023 | 1.75 inches | 1.1 mi S |
| June 3, 2023 | 1.25 inches | 0.8 mi E |
If one of those storms crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
The city's Building Permit Application lists Roofing as a type of improvement in its scope of work section. The application asks for the fair market value of labor and materials, and that total sets the cost of the building permit. Any contractor or subcontractor must be listed on the application and hold a valid Mercantile License. The application is signed by the owner or the owner's authorized agent.
Harrisburg does not publish the code edition it currently enforces. We confirm the edition with the building department before we write the scope.
The design wind speed a roof in Harrisburg is built to depends on where the house stands: across the Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania metro, we build to the design wind speed set for the address; Township of Upper Allen’s published table gives 90 mph. The building department can confirm the figure, and the code guide explains what it governs.
Harrisburg borders Penbrook, Paxtang, Lemoyne, New Cumberland, Wormleysburg and West Fairview. Our pages for them:
Also in Dauphin County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | Yes | Not published | 1947 |
| Penbrook | Not published | Not published | 1952 |
| Paxtang | Not published | Not published | 1939 or earlier |
| Lemoyne | Not published | Not published | 1949 |
| New Cumberland | Yes | Not published | 1953 |
| Wormleysburg | Not published | Not published | 1969 |
| West Fairview | Not published | UCC (2021 IRC) | 1939 or earlier |
Every Dauphin County city we cover, side by side →
Snow averages about 30 inches a year here and passes 40 inches in some winters. When it piles on a roof, heat leaking from the attic melts the bottom layer, and the water refreezes at the cold eave. Sealing attic air leaks and adding insulation addresses the cause.
Of Harrisburg's 24130 housing units, 10388 are attached, and only 14% are single-family detached. Attached roofs end at shared walls, so the flashing there, the neighbor's roofline and access for the work all need planning before the old shingles come off.
The city's Building Permit Application lists Roofing as a type of improvement in its scope of work section. The application asks for the fair market value of labor and materials, and that total sets the cost of the building permit. Any contractor or subcontractor must be listed on the application and hold a valid Mercantile License. The application is signed by the owner or the owner's authorized agent.
By the Census Bureau's estimates, 94% of Harrisburg's homes were built before 2000 and 77% before 1970, with a median year built of 1947 (2020–2024 estimates). A roof usually lasts about 20 years, so the deck and the layers get checked before any quote.
3 reports of 1-inch-plus hail fell within 5 miles of Harrisburg between 2016 and 2025, the biggest 1.75 inches on June 3, 2023 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).
It can. Harrisburg has Harrisburg Historic District, Midtown Harrisburg Historic District, Mount Pleasant Historic District and Old Downtown Harrisburg Commercial Historic District. Inside a designated district, changing a visible roof material or color can need preservation review before the permit is issued. Like-for-like replacement usually raises fewer questions, but we check before quoting.
Not yet: no completed roof in Harrisburg is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-11-09; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: harrisburgpa.gov · harrisburgpa.gov · data.census.gov · data.census.gov · data.census.gov · www2.census.gov · www2.census.gov · data.census.gov · data.census.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www2.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.