City of Appleton, Wisconsin - Community Development Department, Inspections Division

City of Appleton, Wisconsin

city

100 N. Appleton Street (5th Floor), City Hall, Appleton, WI 54911

Required

Permits are issued by the Inspections Division of the Community Development Department at City Hall, 100 N. Appleton Street, and the main line for both permits and inspection requests is (920) 832-6411. Inspectors keep morning in-office hours of 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and take appointments outside them. Applications are made online: the City runs a general Building Permit application, plus separate applications for interior remodel, commercial alteration, accessory buildings, basement foundations, demolition, driveways, electrical, erosion control, fences, HVAC, plumbing, pools, sewer, siding and signs. THERE IS NO ROOFING PERMIT APPLICATION AND NO ROOFING PERMIT FEE. The general Building Permit form offers the project types deck, fence, shed, pool and other, and its building-type checklist runs new building, moving, one-family, two-family, multi-family, commercial, addition, garage attached, garage separate, remodel interior, remodel exterior, deck, fence, shed, pool and other; roofing is not named on it. The Building Permit and Inspection Fee Schedule updated January 1, 2026 carries no roofing line either, and the fee ordinance sets its alterations fee for "alterations to all existing buildings and structures, including installation of major equipment not covered under the mechanical code, and re-siding of residential structures and the like" - re-siding is named, roofing is not. The City answers the general question of what needs a permit with "It depends. Decks, remodeling, pools, siding, sheds over 50 square feet among others most likely will require a permit", and adds that if in doubt it is best to contact Building Inspections before starting any work. So confirm permit scope for a reroof by telephone rather than inferring it. Two further practical points. The permit application asks the contractor for its state Dwelling Contractor and Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification numbers, so have them to hand. And the City warns that many addresses with an Appleton mailing address are not in the City - the Town of Grand Chute and the Village of Harrison among them - and offers an address validator, so check the parcel is actually in Appleton before buying a permit. TWO LOCAL SITUATIONS THAT CHANGE THE PAPERWORK. On a designated local historic structure, local historic site or contributing structure, the Division of Inspections may not issue a permit for a historic preservation alteration until the Historic Preservation Commission has granted a Certificate of Appropriateness; the zoning chapter treats reshingling with materials identical to the original as a historic preservation repair rather than an alteration, and exempts it from that certificate, but only where the work does not itself require a building permit - so on a historic property settle both questions with the City before quoting. On a legally nonconforming building the zoning chapter defines ordinary maintenance and repairs to include the repair or replacement of roof shingles and allows that work within the existing footprint provided it does not increase the degree of the existing nonconformity.

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.

Not required — 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). About drip edge

Required — 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. About ice & water barrier

Not required — Appleton publishes its own complete list of required inspection stages and no mid-roof, roof-deck or tear-off stage appears on it. The Inspection Division handout "Required Inspections" names, in order: temporary service, location and footing, foundation, basement floor, underground plumbing, sewer, plumbing rough-in, electrical service, heating and air conditioning rough-in, electrical rough-in, electrical rebar grounding connection, electrical pool bonding connections, underground electrical, fireplace rough-in, frame and roof, insulation, erosion control, final inspection, and certificate of occupancy. Municipal Code Sec. 4-97 sets the same shape, requiring inspection of footings, foundations and slabs before concrete is poured, of framing and rough mechanical work before concealment, and a final inspection under Sec. 4-98. The one stage with roof in its name is a new-construction framing stage rather than a reroofing stage: the handout describes the "Frame and Roof Inspection" as done "after the structures walls, floors, and other framing members are in place and after the exterior sheathing has been installed", with the roof completed far enough that the building interior is weather protected. Inspections are requested on (920) 832-6411 and must be made by the end of the second business day following notification.

Not required — No impact-resistance or hail rating is required in Appleton. Neither the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, which the City adopts entire at Municipal Code Sec. 4-140, nor the Appleton Municipal Code itself contains any UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 impact requirement; the state roof-coverings section SPS 321.28 sets no impact class, and its catch-all for other coverings sends the installer to the manufacturer instructions or a national standard recognized by the department rather than to an impact rating. Appleton does legislate about roof coverings - it caps shingle layers at two for dwellings and for non-dwelling structures - and it still requires no impact rating. A municipality also may not add a requirement within the scope of the dwelling code without the approval of the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Impact-resistant shingles in this market are an insurer-driven upgrade, not a code obligation. Note that any Class A, B or C designation seen on a Wisconsin job is a FIRE rating under ASTM E108 or UL 790 and is not evidence of an impact requirement.

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.

Wisconsin does not publish an IRC-style design wind speed in miles per hour for dwellings, so there is no mph figure for Appleton and none should be inferred. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.02(1)(c) requires that dwellings "be designed and constructed to withstand either a horizontal and uplift pressure of 20 pounds per square foot acting over the surface area or the wind loads determined in accordance with ASCE 7-05, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures." The code adds a note that ASCE 7-05 "allows for substantial reduction from 20 psf as applied to the surface area." SPS 321.02(1) also requires a complete load path "capable of transferring all loads from point of origin through the load-resisting elements to the foundation." Snow load is the input that varies geographically: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2. provides that roofs "shall be designed and constructed to support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map", Figure 321.02 in the code itself, so the Appleton design snow load is read off that figure rather than stated as a single number here. For shingle attachment the governing numbers are in SPS 321.28(3)(a): at least 4 fasteners per strip shingle or 2 per interlocking shingle unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise, head lap at least 2 inches, corrosion-resistant fasteners, a self-sealing strip bond strength of at least 1.5 pounds per 3.75 inches of shingle width at 32 degrees F, and installation in accordance with the manufacturer recommendations. Appleton adds no local wind provision.

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.

Set by the state dwelling code, which Appleton adopts entire, and expressed as a grade-stamp and thickness rule rather than the IRC formulation. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9) provides: (a) structural sheathing - "The allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel"; (b) roof boards - where the rafter spacing is 24 inches on center or less, "roof boards may be used that have a minimum thickness of 5/8-inch for solid sheathing and 3/4-inch for spaced sheathing", and where the rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on center, "roof boards shall be tongue and groove, at least 1.5 inches thick"; (c) roof planks - planks "shall be tongue and groove or splined and at least 2 inches, nominal, in thickness", "shall terminate over beams unless the joints are end matched", "shall be laid so that no continuous line of joints will occur except at points of support", and "shall be nailed or fastened to each beam". Separately, SPS 321.28(6)(a) bars recovering a roof at all where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing, which is the provision that most often decides whether decking has to come off on an Appleton reroof. Appleton adds no local sheathing rule of its own.

5.5% on materials for most of Appleton, but READ THE ADDRESS FIRST - the city straddles three counties and one of them levies no county tax, so the rate genuinely differs within the city limits. Wisconsin charges a 5% state sales and use tax. Outagamie County adds 0.5%, effective January 2020, and Calumet County adds 0.5%, effective April 2018, so an Appleton parcel in either of those counties is at 5.5%. WINNEBAGO COUNTY LEVIES NO COUNTY SALES TAX, so an Appleton parcel on the Winnebago side is at 5.0%. The City itself imposes no municipal sales tax - Milwaukee is the only Wisconsin city that does - and Appleton is not in a premier resort area, so nothing is added on top. That the corporate limits reach all three counties is the City position: Appleton Municipal Code Sec. 16-37(e) directs the City Clerk to file its Official Map certificates with the Register of Deeds of Outagamie County, Winnebago County and Calumet County, and the City floodplain ordinance applies "the Outagamie County, Calumet County, and Winnebago County floodplain zoning provisions" to annexed areas according to the county in which a given parcel is located. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED IN WISCONSIN, which matters more than the rate: the Department of Revenue treats a roof as real property for residential and commercial installation and repair alike, so a roofing contractor is the consumer of what it installs. The contractor pays sales or use tax when buying shingles, underlayment and other materials, and per Publication 207 "a contractor who performs a real property construction activity is not permitted to collect sales tax from its customers on its sales price from sales of real property construction activities." So no sales tax line goes on the homeowner reroofing invoice, for labour or for materials - but the county rate still hits the roofer as a cost on the material purchase and belongs in the bid. The one exception the same publication names is selling "lumber, roofing materials or other tangible personal property, without installation", which is a retail sale and is taxable.