Red Lion sits high and proud on the southeast side of York — an old cigar-and-furniture borough perched at better than 900 feet, well across the county from most out-of-town crews. We install new roofs and full replacements throughout Red Lion 17356: a free inspection, an honest written estimate, and the same family crew from the first ladder to the final cleanup.
Red Lion is a genuine borough with its own downtown, not a subdivision hung off a township road. Incorporated back in 1880 and named for the old Red Lion Tavern, it grew up as a cigar and furniture town — at its peak the borough turned out roughly a tenth of every cigar made in the country, and its cabinet shops ran for generations. That heritage still stands in the brick of the Red Lion Borough Historic District and the Consumers Cigar Box Company building, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 2020 census counted 6,512 residents packed into just 1.31 square miles, which tells you how tight and walkable the older core really is.
Those closely-set roofs are what we protect. Cool Water Roofing is a family-owned York County roofer with 17+ years of straight-shooting work behind us, licensed and insured in Pennsylvania (PA HIC# PA18635). Red Lion anchors its own school district and lies about eight miles southeast of the city of York — the far side of the county from our Spring Grove shop, which is exactly why so many local homeowners are glad to find a nearby crew that will actually make the run instead of a storm-chaser passing through.
Homeowners here usually mean one of two things when they say "new roof," and we handle both. If your shingles are worn out — curling along Broadway's older blocks, dropping granules with every hard rain, or letting water past cracked flashing — that is a full roof replacement: the old covering comes off, we inspect the decking underneath, and a fresh architectural shingle system goes back on. If you are instead roofing something that never had shingles, like a back addition, a detached garage, or a porch, that is new roof installation. The crew that inspects your roof is the crew that builds it, either way.
Not sure which one your house actually needs? That is the entire reason the free inspection exists. If your roof still has a few sound years in it, we will tell you so plainly — in writing, with no pressure to sign anything the same afternoon we climb down.
Red Lion's elevation of roughly 921 feet is one of the highest of any borough on this side of York County, and altitude has consequences for a roof. Wind arrives with less to slow it up on that ridge, so we routinely find the first lifted tabs and creased shingles on the exposed south- and west-facing slopes before a homeowner notices a single drip inside. Winter bites a little harder up here too, which makes ice damming along the eaves a question of when rather than if. A roof built for a sheltered valley lot is not the same roof a Red Lion hilltop needs.
The borough's tight lots add their own wrinkle. Along East and West Broadway — the PA 74 corridor that runs straight through downtown to its intersection with PA 24 — and on the narrow residential streets around it, houses sit close enough that one roof sheds water toward the next. We plan a replacement so drainage is solved on your property instead of quietly handed to a neighbor. Many of these homes also went up on shared timelines during the cigar-and-furniture years, which is why it is common to see two or three roofs on one Red Lion block reaching the end of their shingle life the same season.
When a job needs a permit, we handle Red Lion Borough directly, the same way we coordinate the paperwork on additions and new builds across York County. You should not have to sort out a borough office just to get a sound roof over your family.
Every new roof we install in Red Lion is built the same deliberate way, top to bottom:
You will have a written estimate spelling out the full scope before anyone leans a ladder against the house. Take whatever time you need to weigh it — we never run "today only" pricing on anyone.
Because we are a local York County family roofer who will make the cross-county drive to your street, not an out-of-state outfit working the Red Lion hills for a week after a windstorm and then vanishing. Our shop is in Spring Grove, and we have earned our name doing honest work across the county for 17+ years. The same crew that prices your roof is the crew that installs it, and we leave your property cleaner than we found it. Protect what you have built — and get the peace of mind of a roof done right the first time.
Ready to talk about a new roof in the Red Lion 17356 area? Call (717) 823-6501 or request your free written estimate online. We pick up the phone, and most Red Lion appointments land on the calendar within a day or two.
"On time, very clean with drop cloths and other safety measures, and installed the roof during a period of high winds. Warranty, professionalism, and quality workmanship, from the free quote until completion, was outstanding."
"Brian and his team did an excellent job replacing our 20-year-old roof. His team worked hard on a bitter cold day in December and did a wonderful job cleaning up all of the debris."
"Derrick and his crew did a great job. They came recommended and didn't disappoint. Did my roof, took great care of my place, great communication, and excellent work."
Free inspection, honest answers, written estimate. No surprises — just a straight take from a local family crew willing to make the drive across the county.