Permitting Authorities / Township of Alpine - Building and Property Maintenance Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Alpine, MI?
Adopted code
Township of Alpine - Building and Property Maintenance Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Alpine, MI, issued by Township of Alpine - Building and Property Maintenance Department. Alpine Township lists "New roofing and/or exterior siding" among its examples of work requiring a state mandated permit, and its building permit fee resolution (Resolution #24-22, adopted September 16, 2024) says "Re-roofing fee is $80 for residential projects." The same resolution charges "An investigation fee of $80 will be charged for all work covered by the Building Code which was started without a permit." and sets a $10.00 contractor's registration fee. The department says that if work was done by a contractor and you have no proof of a permit ("a yellow permit card"), "you should verify with the Building Department if a permit was required." To submit a permit or request an inspection, email the building clerk or call 616-784-9090 (option 2 for the building official); department hours are Monday through Thursday 7:30am to 4:30pm and Friday 7:30 to 12:00, building inspections are done Monday through Thursday, and the department asks that site visits be requested before 9:30am.
Roof code checklist: Township of Alpine, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Township of Alpine, Michigan
Address
5255 Alpine Avenue NW, Comstock Park, MI 49321
Contact
- url: https://alpinetwp.gov/departments/building_property_maintenance/index.php
- phone: 616-784-9090
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Alpine Township lists "New roofing and/or exterior siding" among its examples of work requiring a state mandated permit, and its building permit fee resolution (Resolution #24-22, adopted September 16, 2024) says "Re-roofing fee is $80 for residential projects." The same resolution charges "An investigation fee of $80 will be charged for all work covered by the Building Code which was started without a permit." and sets a $10.00 contractor's registration fee. The department says that if work was done by a contractor and you have no proof of a permit ("a yellow permit card"), "you should verify with the Building Department if a permit was required." To submit a permit or request an inspection, email the building clerk or call 616-784-9090 (option 2 for the building official); department hours are Monday through Thursday 7:30am to 4:30pm and Friday 7:30 to 12:00, building inspections are done Monday through Thursday, and the department asks that site visits be requested before 9:30am.
Adopted code
2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the Township of Alpine as its own building code enforcer. The township's Building Codes page lists the "2015 Michigan Residential Code (for all one- and two-family homes and their accessory structures)" among the state codes it currently enforces.
Drip edge
Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Alpine Township's Building Codes page, its department page and its building permit fee resolution were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Alpine Township's Building Codes page, its department page and its building permit fee resolution were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Alpine Township's Building Codes page, its department page and its building permit fee resolution were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
Alpine Township publishes no size or dollar line below which roof work needs no permit. Its Building Codes page lists "New roofing and/or exterior siding" under work requiring a state mandated permit, and its building permit fee resolution (Resolution #24-22, September 16, 2024) says "Re-roofing fee is $80 for residential projects." State law says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510) without defining ordinary repairs; the township does not apply that relief to roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Locally, the township's Building Codes page and its building permit fee resolution state no layer rule. The township's posted building-regulation ordinances (dangerous and unsafe buildings, grease traps, outdoor furnaces, payments due) are scanned images that were not read as text for this record, so no local layer rule is confirmed either way.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels must be identified "for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system" (R908.2). Alpine Township's Building Codes page, its department page and its building permit fee resolution were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." Nothing on the Alpine Township building pages changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
Alpine Township's Building and Property Maintenance Department, at the township offices at 5255 Alpine Avenue NW in Comstock Park, handles plan reviews, permits and inspections in the township, and its own list of work needing a permit includes new roofing. The State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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