Commercial Roofing
Roof replacement, repair and inspection for commercial buildings, multifamily properties and property managers.
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Roofing Contractor in Chester, PA: A Local Office on Kerlin Street
Our Chester office is at 506 Kerlin St #A, in the City of Chester in Delaware County. From here we serve Chester and the towns of southern Delaware County, for homes and commercial buildings.
Roofing in Chester and Delaware County
This office is in the City of Chester, on the Delaware County side of the region. It is not West Chester, which is a separate town in Chester County and has its own Hoff office.
Chester has rowhomes, twins, single homes and commercial buildings, so we work on flat roofs and pitched shingle roofs here in about equal measure. If you are not sure which kind you have, or which office covers you, call and we will sort it out.
Hoff The Roof Contractor is family owned and operated. Our lead installer is Amish, we use quality materials, and we regularly beat the other bids on a job. See how our crew works and how we price a roof.
City of Chester, Delaware County
Roofing services from the Chester office
Roof Replacement
A full tear-off and a new roof system, installed by a crew led by an Amish craftsman and priced with a written estimate.
Roof Repair
Leaks, missing shingles, failed flashing and storm damage fixed properly, so the repair lasts as long as the roof around it.
Roof Inspection
A full look at shingles, flashing, vents and the attic, with photos and a plain explanation of what needs attention now and what can wait.
Roof Leak Detection
We find where the water actually gets in, which is rarely where the stain shows, and fix it at the source.
Storm Damage Repair
Wind and hail damage inspected, documented with photos and repaired. Emergency tarping when the roof is open to the weather.
Emergency Roof Tarping
A properly secured tarp over the damaged area to stop water coming in until the permanent repair can be made.
Asphalt Shingle Roofing
Architectural asphalt shingles installed as a complete system: deck, underlayment, flashing, shingles and ridge.
Flat Roofing
EPDM, TPO and modified bitumen roofs installed and repaired on rowhomes, additions, porches and commercial buildings.
Towns this office serves
The Chester office covers these communities. Each town belongs to one office, so you always deal with the crew nearest you.
- Upland
- Brookhaven
- Parkside
- Aston
- Boothwyn
- Marcus Hook
- Trainer
- Linwood
- Eddystone
- Ridley Park
- Woodlyn
- Folsom
- Prospect Park
- Norwood
- Swarthmore
- Wallingford
- Garnet Valley
Part of our Delaware County roofing coverage. See all service areas.
Hoff The Roof Contractor runs its Delaware County operation from 506 Kerlin St #A in the City of Chester, on the west bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington. Census figures put the city at 33,619 people in 14,929 housing units, and the mix here is unusual for the suburbs around it: blocks of attached homes, small multi-unit buildings and working commercial property near the port. From this office we handle residential and commercial roofing in Chester and in Upland, Brookhaven, Parkside, Aston, Boothwyn, Marcus Hook, Trainer, Linwood, Eddystone, Ridley Park, Woodlyn, Folsom, Prospect Park, Norwood, Swarthmore, Wallingford and Garnet Valley. We are family owned and operated, and our lead installer is Amish.
Rowhomes, Twins and Apartment Buildings Make Up Most of Chester's Roofs
The American Community Survey 2020-2024 estimates for Chester show about 62 percent of housing units are attached rowhomes or twins, with only about 7 percent detached. Another 13 percent sit in buildings of two to four units and 17 percent in buildings of five or more. That mix changes what a roof job looks like. Attached blocks tend to have low-slope or flat roof areas rather than steep shingle planes, so the work is usually membrane work: EPDM rubber, TPO or modified bitumen. Shared party walls mean the edge and wall details matter as much as the field of the roof, since water that gets past a parapet or a wall flashing can show up on the neighbor's ceiling instead of yours. On larger apartment and mixed-use buildings in the city, the same conditions apply at a bigger scale, and that is ordinary commercial roofing for this crew.
A 1949 Median Build Year in the Oldest City in Pennsylvania
Chester was chartered in 1682 and was the first place William Penn came ashore in his province, and the housing reflects a long industrial run along the Delaware River and Chester Creek. Census estimates give the city a median year built of 1949, with roughly 36 percent of units built before 1940 and about 65 percent before 1960. Buildings that old have almost always been reroofed more than once. That tends to mean aged decking under the covering, flashing that has outlived the material around it, and sometimes more than one layer to strip during a tear-off, which is worth knowing before anyone quotes a price. Only about 7 percent of Chester units date from 2000 or later. In the newer pockets of the service area, out toward Garnet Valley and Aston, the roof now reaching the end of its service is often still the original builder roof.
Freeze, Snow and Heavy Rain Recorded Near Chester at Marcus Hook
The NOAA weather station at Marcus Hook, about 7 kilometers from this office, records roughly 65 days a year at or below freezing and about 42 inches of precipitation. The station at Philadelphia International Airport, about 11 kilometers away, records close to 23 inches of snow in a normal year. That combination is what produces ice dams: snow melts over a warm attic or upper floor, refreezes at the colder eave, and backs water under the shingles. Ice and water shield along the eaves and in the valleys is the standard defense on a replacement. The Marcus Hook figures also show about 10 days a year with an inch or more of rain. Those are the days that test valleys, wall flashing and drainage on flat sections, and they are when most leak calls in Chester and the river towns come in.
Roofing in Chester: common questions
Where is the Hoff office in Chester?
At 506 Kerlin St #A, Chester, PA 19013, in the City of Chester in Delaware County.
Is this the West Chester office?
No. Chester is a city in Delaware County. West Chester is a different town in Chester County, and Hoff has a separate office that serves it.
Which towns does the Chester office serve?
Chester and nearby southern Delaware County communities, including Upland, Brookhaven, Parkside, Aston, Boothwyn, Marcus Hook, Trainer, Linwood, Eddystone, Ridley Park, Woodlyn, Folsom, Prospect Park, Norwood, Swarthmore, Wallingford and Garnet Valley.
Do you repair flat roofs on rowhomes in Chester?
Yes. We install and repair flat and low-slope roofs in EPDM rubber, TPO and modified bitumen, and we replace and repair asphalt shingle roofs.
Do you do commercial roofing in Chester?
Yes. We replace, repair and inspect roofs on commercial and multifamily buildings.
How do I get an estimate from the Chester office?
Call (267) 209-8670, answered 24/7, or use the chat on this site. We inspect the roof and give you a written estimate at no charge.
My Chester rowhome shares walls with the houses on either side. How does that affect a roof replacement?
On attached blocks, the roof is effectively continuous across property lines, so the perimeter and party wall details carry the risk. We look closely at how the membrane terminates at each wall, how the low-slope field drains, and whether water is traveling sideways from a neighbor's section. A roof inspection and leak detection visit sorts out where the water actually enters before anything gets replaced.
Is it common to find more than one layer of old roofing on houses in Chester?
It is a reasonable thing to expect. With a median build year of 1949 and about 65 percent of Chester units built before 1960, most buildings here have been reroofed at least once, and some were covered over rather than stripped. Extra layers add tear-off work and can hide soft decking. We check for layers during the inspection so the written estimate reflects what is actually up there.
Does Hoff work on small apartment buildings and multi-unit properties in Chester?
Yes. Census estimates show about 13 percent of Chester units are in two to four unit buildings and about 17 percent are in buildings with five or more units. We handle those as residential or commercial work depending on the structure, including EPDM rubber, TPO and modified bitumen on the flat sections, repairs, and asphalt shingle work on any sloped areas.
What should I do if a storm damages my roof in Chester or one of the river towns?
Call for storm damage repair and ask about emergency roof tarping if the building is open to the weather. A tarp keeps water out of the structure while we inspect the roof and put a written estimate together. With roughly 10 days a year of inch-or-more rain recorded at the Marcus Hook station, stopping the water first and diagnosing second usually saves interior damage.
Why do leaks around Chester show up at valleys and wall flashing rather than in the middle of the roof?
Field shingles and membrane shed water well for a long time. The transitions do the hard work. Valleys concentrate flow, wall and parapet flashing has to handle water moving sideways, and both sit at the places where materials of different ages meet. On older Chester buildings the flashing is often older than the covering over it, so heavy rain days expose those joints first.
Is Hoff a national chain or private-equity owned?
Neither. Hoff The Roof Contractor is family owned and operated out of the Kerlin Street office here in Chester, and our lead installer is Amish. We are not backed by private equity, which keeps our overhead down, and we regularly come in under other bids on the same scope of work. Estimates are written out so you can compare line by line with anything else you have been given.
Sources for the local figures on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (Chester, PA)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (Chester city, Delaware County, PA)
- NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, station MARCUS HOOK
- NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, station PHILA INTL AP
- Wikipedia: Chester, Pennsylvania
Need a roofer in Chester?
Tell us what is going on and we will come out, look at it and give you a written estimate. No pressure.