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Everybody’s Hometown Has a Roofing Problem
The stone-front colonials along State Street look great from the sidewalk. What you can’t see from the sidewalk is the flashing pulling away from those stone chimneys, the valleys holding debris between dormers, and the decking underneath that’s taken water at some point in the last 120 years.
We work on a lot of roofs in Delaware County, and the ones in and around the borough give us the most interesting problems. Not the most expensive, necessarily. The most interesting. The housing stock ranges from late-1800s row homes near the downtown to 1960s ranches further out toward Brookline and Rolling Green, and each generation of construction brought its own quirks.
Modern Exteriors LLC handles roof replacement, repair, inspections, and storm damage across the area. We’re GAF Master Elite certified, which is how you get GAF’s Golden Pledge warranty: 50 years on materials, 25 on workmanship, backed by GAF directly.
Old Homes, Layered Problems
The biggest issue we run into with pre-war housing isn’t the shingles. It’s what’s underneath.
Homes built before 1950 almost always have skip sheathing (boards with gaps between them) rather than plywood decking. That’s fine for certain roofing materials, but modern architectural shingles need a solid substrate. So you’re looking at an overlay or full re-decking, and the cost difference between a roof on a 1990s colonial versus a 1910s row home can be $2,000 to $4,000 just in decking alone.
Then there’s the flashing. Stone facades and masonry chimneys are everywhere in Delco. The junction between roof material and stone is where water finds its way in, and counter-flashing that was set into mortar joints 40 years ago has usually cracked loose. We step-flash and counter-flash every masonry joint we touch, and we chase any staining back to its source before we close anything up. Covering over a failed flashing detail with new shingles is a waste of everyone’s money.
The steep pitches common on older homes add labor cost too. Anything above 8/12 requires different safety equipment and slows the crew down. Most of the Victorian-influenced homes near downtown have roof pitches in the 10/12 to 12/12 range. Looks beautiful. Costs more to roof.
What It Costs
A standard architectural shingle roof on a typical home here runs $10,200 to $14,500. That includes tear-off, disposal, underlayment, shingles, ridge vents, and new flashing.
For the older row homes closer to downtown with small footprints but steep pitches and decking work, you might see $9,000 to $12,000. The larger colonials in surrounding neighborhoods with complex roof lines can push $15,000 or higher. Our full Delaware Valley pricing breakdown has more detail.
One thing homeowners on this side of the state line ask about: Pennsylvania charges 6% sales tax on roofing materials. If you’re comparing quotes from contractors who work both sides of the border, make sure you’re comparing the same thing. A job using $5,000 in materials carries an extra $300 in tax that wouldn’t apply on a Delaware project. It’s not a reason to move, but it does show up on the invoice.
Permits in Delaware County
You need a building permit for a roof replacement. Delaware County handles permits through the individual municipalities, and the borough has its own process.
A couple of things worth knowing: the borough requires a permit application with a description of work, and inspections are typical for structural changes. If your job involves only a like-for-like shingle replacement with no structural modification, the process is straightforward. If we find decking damage during tear-off and need to replace sheathing, that’s still covered under the original permit in most cases.
We pull the permit and handle the paperwork on every job.
What We Do
Full roof replacement is most of our work. Tear-off the old material, inspect and replace any damaged decking, install a complete GAF roofing system with proper ventilation. Every replacement carries the Golden Pledge warranty.
Repairs make sense when you have localized damage on a roof that still has years left. Wind-lifted shingles, a failed pipe boot, chimney flashing that’s let water in. We fix what needs fixing and don’t push replacement if the roof is sound. Though we’ll be upfront about timelines if the repair is buying you two years, not ten.
We also do pre-purchase inspections. If you’re buying one of the older homes near Rose Valley or anywhere in the borough, getting a roof inspection before closing can save you from a surprise. The general home inspector catches the obvious stuff. We catch the flashing details and ventilation problems they miss. What inspections cost.
Storm damage response for wind, fallen limbs, and the occasional hail event that rolls through the Delaware Valley.
Rose Valley, and Why Tree Canopy Matters
This is the tangent, but it’s relevant. The neighborhoods bordering Rose Valley and Ridley Creek have some of the heaviest tree canopy in Delaware County. Beautiful for property values. Terrible for roofs.
Shade keeps a roof damp longer after rain, which feeds moss and algae. Branches drop debris into valleys and behind dormers where it sits and holds moisture against the shingles. And falling limbs during storms are the most common emergency call we get from wooded lots.
If your home sits under mature oaks or tulip poplars, your roof will age faster than your neighbor’s roof in an open subdivision. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s just how shaded roofs work. Zinc strips along the ridge can slow algae growth, and keeping branches trimmed back 6 feet from the roof surface helps. But the shade factor is real, and it means a 25-year shingle might give you 20 in practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a typical roof replacement take here?
One day for most homes. The steeper pitches and dormer work on older homes can push it to two days. We don’t leave your roof open overnight.
Do you work on flat roof sections?
Some of the row homes near downtown have flat or low-slope sections, usually over additions or porches. We use TPO or modified bitumen on those areas. They need different materials than the sloped sections.
What shingles do you recommend?
GAF Timberline HDZ for most homes. The color options work well with the stone facades that are common in Delco, and the wind warranty is strong enough for what the Delaware Valley throws at you.
Is it worth repairing a 20-year-old roof?
Depends entirely on what’s wrong. A few blown-off shingles on an otherwise solid 20-year-old roof? Repair it. Active leaking from multiple penetrations on a 20-year-old roof? That’s replacement territory. We’ll give you a straight answer when we’re up there.
Get a Free Estimate
Call us or fill out the form. We’ll come look at your roof, tell you what we find, and put together a written estimate. No pressure.
📞 Call us or request your free estimate here.
Serving Media and surrounding Delaware County: Brookline, Rolling Green, Rose Valley, Nether Providence, Wallingford, Swarthmore, Ridley Park, and throughout Wilmington and the Delaware Valley.
Related reading: Roof replacement cost in the Delaware Valley · How roof flashing works · Signs you need a new roof
