Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Appleton, WI?

Roofing questions: Appleton, WI

When does a roof repair need a permit in Appleton, WI?

CITY-SPECIFIC, and expressed as an ordinary-repair test rather than a dollar figure or a square-footage figure. Appleton Municipal Code Sec. 4-66, headed "Required; exception", provides at (a) that no person shall "construct, enlarge, alter, remove or demolish" a building, among other listed work, "without first filing an application with the Inspection Supervisor on the form provided in writing and obtaining the required permit therefore, except that ordinary repairs which do not involve any violation of this chapter shall be exempt from this provision." Subsection (b) then draws the line by exclusion: "Ordinary repairs to structures or buildings may be made without application or notice to the Inspection Supervisor; but such repairs shall not include the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support or the removal or change of any required means of egress or rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the exit requirements; nor shall ordinary repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, soil, waste, vent or similar piping, electrical wiring, or mechanical or other work affecting public health or general safety." So there is no bundle count, no square-footage trigger and no dollar trigger in Appleton - the question is whether the job is an alteration or an ordinary repair, and the exclusion list in (b) names no roofing work. Roof covering work is not named anywhere in Sec. 4-66, in the City building permit fee schedule or in the City online permit menu, so a roofer should settle permit scope for a specific job with the Inspections Division on (920) 832-6411 before starting. Note that the fee for failing to obtain a required permit is triple the normal permit fee.

Is ice & water shield required in Appleton, WI?

Yes. Required, but on a narrower trigger than the International Residential Code uses - read the slope condition before pricing it in or out. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(4)(a) requires that shingled or shake roofs that extend over a heated area of a dwelling or attached garage and that have a slope of 4:12 or less be provided with ice dam protection in the form of sheet metal or a product labeled as meeting the requirements of ASTM D 1970. SPS 321.28(4)(b) sets the extent: the protection "shall extend at least 30 inches up the roof slope from the roof edge and at least 12 inches up the roof slope beyond the inner face of the exterior wall." Three conditions all have to be met - a shingle or shake covering, a heated area below, and a slope of 4:12 or less - so a steeper roof is not covered by this requirement at all, which is where Wisconsin differs from the IRC climate-zone rule. Wisconsin also measures the extent differently from the IRC, 30 inches up the slope from the roof edge and 12 inches past the inner face of the exterior wall, so do not substitute IRC ice-barrier language on an Appleton job. On a steep-slope roof the shingle manufacturer instructions may still call for an ice barrier, and SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes those instructions binding. SCOPE: The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. In Appleton the age half of that scope question is settled by the City itself: Municipal Code Sec. 4-140(c) applies the adopted Uniform Dwelling Code to existing one- and two-family buildings "but only to the extent such existing buildings are remodeled, reconstructed or added to", so an older Appleton house is not outside the ice dam rule merely because it predates June 1, 1980.

Is drip edge required in Appleton, WI?

No. No drip edge is required by code in Appleton. The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, which the City adopts in its entirety at Municipal Code Sec. 4-140, carries no prescriptive roof drip-edge requirement: SPS 321.28, "Weather protection for roofs", runs from general drainage and fasteners through underlayment, asphalt shingles, ice dam protection, other roof coverings, reroofing and flashing, and none of it requires a drip edge at the eave or rake. The only drip edge anywhere in that chapter is a chimney-cap detail, not a roof-edge rule. The Appleton Municipal Code does not add one either - the City legislates about roofs, since it sets its own two-layer shingle cap for dwellings and for non-dwelling structures, and it still imposes no drip-edge requirement anywhere in its code. Practical caution: drip edge may still be required on an Appleton job as a matter of the shingle manufacturer installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes binding, and a roof still has to be designed and constructed to assure drainage of water under SPS 321.28(1)(a).

Can you roof over an existing roof in Appleton, WI?

Two layers, and Appleton says so in its own ordinance as well as through the state code. THE CITY RULE: Appleton Municipal Code Sec. 4-236 (Maintenance generally), item (16), provides that "For all single family, two family and multi family dwellings, no more than two (2) layers of shingles, or other similar roofing materials, may be installed onto a roof." Sec. 4-241(c) carries the identical rule for every non-dwelling structure in the City. Those two provisions together cover single-family, two-family, multifamily and commercial buildings, which is a wider net than the state dwelling code casts, so the two-layer cap holds in Appleton on buildings the Uniform Dwelling Code does not reach. THE STATE RULE, which adds three conditions the City rule does not spell out: Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(6) bars installing a new roof covering over the existing covering where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. So on a one- or two-family dwelling the practical rule is at most two total layers, and less than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials - a wood shake or tile roof may never be recovered at any layer count. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by either rule. SCOPE OF THE STATE RULE: The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose — ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. WHERE APPLETON STANDS ON THAT SCOPE QUESTION: Appleton has taken the municipal step the state code leaves optional. Municipal Code Sec. 4-140(c), "Applicability", provides that "The Uniform Dwelling Code adopted in this section shall apply to all construction of one- (1-) and two- (2-) family buildings, and shall apply to all such existing buildings, but only to the extent such existing buildings are remodeled, reconstructed or added to." So the age of the house is not by itself a way out of the state roofing rules in Appleton. The City clause reaches work that is remodeled, reconstructed or added to and does not use the word repair, so the repair question above is still one for the Inspections Division on a given job - and either way the City two-layer cap applies.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Appleton, WI?

Yes. STATE-ISSUED, AND IT IS A PAIR OF CREDENTIALS, NOT ONE. Wisconsin requires a contractor credential in order to obtain a building permit for a one- or two-family dwelling. Wis. Stat. 101.654(1)(a) provides that "no person may obtain a building permit unless the person annually obtains from the department a certificate of financial responsibility", completes the continuing education requirements, and furnishes proof of that education to the permit issuer, and Wis. Stat. 101.65(1m) makes the municipality the checkpoint: a city "may not issue a building permit to a person who is required to be certified under s. 101.654" without that evidence. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 305.31(1) spells out the pair: the contracting business must hold a Dwelling Contractor certification, or a Dwelling Contractor - Restricted certification, issued by the Department of Safety and Professional Services, and must also hold or engage as an employee a person holding a Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification. The Dwelling Contractor certification rests on financial responsibility, a bond or liability insurance together with worker compensation and unemployment insurance statements; the "restricted" version is issued to an applicant bonding under $25,000 and is a bond-size distinction, not a narrower scope. The Qualifier certification is the continuing-education credential and requires at least 12 hours of approved coursework in dwelling construction within the year before application, covering construction laws, construction codes and construction business practices. THERE IS NO SEPARATE ROOFING LICENCE IN WISCONSIN - a roofer holds the same dwelling contractor credential a framer or a siding contractor holds, and roofing appears in the state rules only as one approved continuing-education subject alongside carpentry, masonry, and siding and gutters. An owner who resides or will reside in the dwelling and pulls the permit personally is exempt under Wis. Stat. 101.654(1)(b). Note that the statute conditions the credential on obtaining a building permit, so where no building permit is issued the state requirement has no permit to attach to; a roofer should not read that as a licence to work uncredentialed, and should ask the Inspections Division. CITY LEVEL: Appleton issues no roofing-contractor licence of its own, and its Municipal Code licenses only the electrical, plumbing and heating trades plus contractors doing work in the public right-of-way. What the City does instead is enforce the state credential at the counter - its own building permit application has fields for the applicant "State DC No" and "State DCQ No", the Dwelling Contractor and Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification numbers - and its Building Inspections page tells homeowners that "Residential contractors are required to be registered with the State - ask for their registration number."

What building code does Appleton, WI use?

Wisconsin sets the residential code and Appleton adopts it whole. The rules for a one- or two-family dwelling are the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, chs. SPS 320 to 325 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, which is Wisconsin's own text rather than an adoption of the International Residential Code - which is why its roofing rules differ from the IRC's. Do not expect an IRC edition year for a house in Appleton. Appleton adopts that code in its Municipal Code Sec. 4-140(a), "Adoption of State code": "Wisconsin Administrative Code, SPS chapters 320 through 325, Uniform Dwelling Code, as adopted and effective December 1, 1978, and all amendments thereto, is adopted and incorporated in this article by reference." Because the adoption expressly carries "all amendments thereto", it tracks the current state text rather than freezing at a past edition. Sec. 4-140(b) directs the Inspection Supervisor to administer and enforce the whole of that code. For commercial and three-or-more-unit buildings, Sec. 4-136 separately adopts Wisconsin Administrative Code SPS chapters 330 to 366, the commercial building code, which is a different rule set and is not the subject of the dwelling fields in this record. A municipality that exercises jurisdiction over dwellings must adopt the Uniform Dwelling Code in its entirety and may not add requirements within that code's scope without the approval of the Department of Safety and Professional Services.