Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Birdsboro, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Birdsboro, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Birdsboro, PA?

No, Borough of Birdsboro, PA does not require a permit to replace a roof. The Borough of Birdsboro's FAQ says a reroof that only replaces shingles needs no permit, and the Borough Code names roofing among exempt normal repairs where no structural material is replaced. The Borough's FAQ page (read October 9, 2026) asks "I plan to replace my roof; must I apply for a permit?" and answers "If you are simply replacing shingles, you do not need a permit. However, if you are replacing any of the wood structure, a permit is required." It adds "If you are unsure whether a permit is required, contact Systems Design Engineering at 610-916-8500." Section 135-6 of the Borough Code, headed "Exemption for normal repairs," says the Borough "expressly excludes and exempts any and all" normal repairs, "defined as any repair and/or replacement of existing parts or equipment," naming among them "roofing (provided that roofing implies replacement of felt paper and shingles and that no structural material shall be replaced)." The Borough's fee schedule in Chapter A410 of the Borough Code (Res. No. 2011-6) and its 2024 UCC fee schedule have no reroofing line; their only roof line is for roof-mounted solar arrays, and both price renovations generally. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." The Borough's line falls at the roof structure: a reroof that replaces only felt paper and shingles is named as exempt, and one that replaces any of the wood structure needs a permit. The Borough's 2024 UCC fee schedule says "All fees are doubled if the project is started without all applicable permits and prior approvals." State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, The Borough of Birdsboro takes building permit applications on its own Building Permit Application form, and its Codes and Permits page says "The Zoning and Code officers for the Borough are Systems Design Engineering, Inc."; Section 135-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 135-3 allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough of Birdsboro." The Borough's line, quoted at the start, falls at the roof structure, and no Borough text sets an area, percentage or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Birdsboro, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, The Borough of Birdsboro takes building permit applications on its own Building Permit Application form, and its Codes and Permits page says "The Zoning and Code officers for the Borough are Systems Design Engineering, Inc."; Section 135-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 135-3 allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough of Birdsboro." Chapter 135 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Borough's pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 135-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and says it "shall include the following 2009 ICC Codes," among them the International Residential Code, and the Borough's pages name no residential code edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Birdsboro, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Birdsboro, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, The Borough of Birdsboro takes building permit applications on its own Building Permit Application form, and its Codes and Permits page says "The Zoning and Code officers for the Borough are Systems Design Engineering, Inc."; Section 135-1 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and Section 135-3 allows "the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Borough of Birdsboro." Section 135-2 incorporates the Uniform Construction Code by reference "as the Borough of Birdsboro Building Code," and Chapter 135 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 135-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and says it "shall include the following 2009 ICC Codes," among them the International Residential Code, and the Borough's pages name no residential code edition; this record has not read the 2009 edition's text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.