One of our roof replacements from the air, with the old shingles off. This post does not say which town it is in.
Roof replacement in Downingtown, PA: 8 things to check first
Before a roof replacement in Downingtown, PA, check whether the house is in the borough at all, who files the borough's roof permit, how many layers are on the roof and whether the address is in the historic district. The borough's own permit form asks about most of this, so it makes a good checklist.
We are Clear Roofing & Exteriors, based in West Chester, and our roof replacement in Downingtown page covers how we do the job on the roof. This list is about what to settle first. Most of it comes from the Borough of Downingtown's own Roof Permit Application (revised January 2025), which has a 20-question addendum for every roof replaced or repaired in the borough. A roofer quoting a borough house should be able to answer all 20. For the wider area, see our roofing in Downingtown page.
1. Is the house in the borough, or only in its mailing area?
The borough covers about 2.2 square miles. The Downingtown mailing address runs past that: West Bradford Township lists its own office at 1385 Campus Drive, Downingtown, and East Caln Township lists 110 Bell Tavern Road, Downingtown. Permits come from your municipality, so the address on your mail doesn't tell you whose rules apply. The borough's code enforcement page links Chester County's ChescoViews property viewer, and the office answers at 610-269-0344. If you turn out to be in a township, ask that township what it requires. Everything from question 2 on is the borough's process, and our post on the re-roof permit in Exton shows how different a neighboring township's can be.
2. Who files the roof permit, and is the lot in a flood hazard area?
The form says the addendum must be completed by every applicant seeking a permit to replace or repair a roof in the borough, so a repair needs one too. All permits have to be in hand before work starts and posted where they can be seen from a public way. The January 2025 form lists a $75 residential application fee, a $110 residential permit fee and a $4.50 state fee. Write into the contract who files it and who pays those fees, then look for the posted permit before tear-off day.
Page one also asks whether the site is in an identified flood hazard area and whether any of the work falls in that part of the lot. If you don't know, ask the office before the application goes in.
3. Is the contractor set up to work in the borough?
The borough has its own Contractor Registration Application for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. It costs $75 a year, asks for the company's PA Home Improvement Contractor number and requires a certificate of insurance naming the Borough of Downingtown as the holder. Question 19 on the roof form covers subcontractors: they must be licensed with the borough or registered with the state as a Home Improvement Contractor, and the state registration only counts for residential roofing.
Ask who will actually be on your roof and get each company's number. You can check any Pennsylvania number in the Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor Search. Ours is PA179710.
4. How many layers are on the roof now?
The form allows a maximum of two layers of shingles. A new roof can't go over wood shake, slate, clay, or cement or asbestos-cement tile. Where an old wood shingle roof has another roof on top of it, every layer comes off and new sheathing goes on.
Question 2 has a detail worth knowing. If a roofer plans to leave a dimensional shingle in place and go over it, the form asks whether they agree to give the owner a letter describing the potential problems with roofing over one. If you're quoted an overlay, ask for that letter. We don't shingle over old roofs: every Downingtown roof we replace comes off to the wood.
5. What's under the shingles, and who approves the fix?
The applicant's signature certifies that if the existing roof is removed, all decayed sheathing gets replaced. Sheathing has to be at least 1/2 inch over rafters 16 inches on center, and rafters on 24-inch centers need 5/8 inch with H clips. On older homes near the borough core we routinely uncover plank decking once the shingles are off.
Nobody can price rot they can't see yet, so the estimate should say how it will be handled. On our jobs you approve any added decking before we cut in new wood. We wrote up what happens when rot turns up at tear-off separately.
6. Are the ice shield, drip edge and vents on the estimate?
The form asks about each of these, so your estimate should cover them too:
- Ice shield: at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line at a 7-pitch edge, 36 inches at an 8-pitch edge.
- Drip edge: along every eave and rake edge.
- Attic venting: one square foot per 150 square feet of attic floor, or per 300 if at least half the venting sits in the upper third of the roof and the rest at the cornice or eave.
- Low slope: under 4:12, the type of low-slope application has to be named.
- Shingle: the manufacturer's name, so "architectural shingles" on its own won't fill in the blank.
We put ice-and-water shield at the eaves and in the valleys, rebuild flashing at every chimney and sidewall and balance the attic ventilation as part of a full GAF system.
7. Is the address in the Historic District or on the Historic Resource Inventory?
Question 20 asks this directly. The borough's historic district notice says properties in the Downingtown Historic District fall under Chapter 287 of the Borough Code and may be subject to review and approval by Borough Council for exterior changes. It also says improvements there have to comply with the approved historic colors. That approved list is titled for building paint, so ask Code Enforcement whether it reaches your roof. Check the district map and make that call before you order shingles.
8. Where will the dumpster go?
The roof form says a dumpster permit is required if the dumpster sits in the public right of way. The application is $25, and Section 133-2 makes the owner, the operator and the user each responsible for securing it before work begins. A full dumpster has to be emptied within two days, and it stays covered during nonuse hours. The form says the permit runs 15 days while the borough's 2025 fee schedule says 20, so confirm the term if your job could run long. Ask your roofer where they plan to put it and who files.
We are roofing contractors in West Chester, PA, and Downingtown is regular work for us. For a free inspection and a written estimate on a Downingtown roof, call us at (484) 983-3476, 8 AM to 8 PM any day, or use the contact page.
Sources, read November 4, 2026: Borough of Downingtown Roof Permit Application (rev. January 2025), Contractor Registration Application (rev. May 2026), Dumpster / Storage Unit Application (rev. January 2025), 2025 Master Schedule of Fees, Historic District Notice; Wikipedia, Downingtown, Pennsylvania (area, per the Census Bureau); West Bradford Township; Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (East Caln address). Our own process, from our roof replacement pages. This is general information; the borough's current forms and code govern.
