Blaine County - Building Services

Blaine County, Idaho

county

219 South First Avenue, Suite 208, Hailey, ID 83333

Required

Required

DIGITAL PLANS ONLY. Building Services states that "Blaine County is now accepting digital plans only!" through its OpenGov permitting program, and warns that "Chrome or Firefox browsers work best". Payment is by credit card online for a small fee or by check in the office at no additional cost. The office is in the County Annex Building on the second floor across from the Old County Courthouse. Inspections are requested by calling 208-788-5573, extension 1125, leaving a message with all pertinent information. FEES AND DEPOSITS, from Ordinance 2021-1. Section R108.7: fees are charged using the Blaine County Building Permit Fees Table 1 adopted by resolution of the Board; "In addition, 65% of the building permit fee shall be paid as a plan check fee and 40% of the plan check fee shall be paid for the fire district plan check fee." Section R108.7.7 requires a refundable deposit to ensure final inspection, "a minimum of $1500 or 10% of the total of the permit fees whichever is greater", made when the application is submitted and released on a successful final inspection and issuance of the certificate of occupancy. Section R108.7.8 charges a 20% cancellation fee on an application withdrawn after approval or not obtained within 180 days of approval. Section R108.6 charges an hourly investigation fee for work commenced before permit issuance, in addition to the permit fee. EXPIRATION IS LONGER HERE THAN IN MOST OF IDAHO, WITH A CATCH. Section R105.5: "All issued Building Permits shall expire after 30 months from the date of payment of permit fees", extendable once by 6 months on written request, 36 months in total; an expired permit is renewed by paying 10% of the original permit fee line item. But the same section keeps the ordinary rule too - a permit becomes invalid unless work on the site is commenced within 180 days of issuance or if it is suspended or abandoned for 180 days. Failure to renew within 30 days of expiration "may be considered abandonment", and the building official or director may record a written notice of non-compliance with the County Recorder. APPEALS. Section R112.3.1 has the Commissioners appoint a three-person Building Code Board of Appeals drawn from a named list that includes the building officials of Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey, two fire district chiefs, a general contractor from the Building Contractors Association of the Wood River Valley, a licensed Idaho architect and a licensed Idaho engineer. An appeal is filed in writing with the Building Official within ten calendar days; the appeal fee is $250.00, returned if the appeal is granted; a further appeal to the Board of County Commissioners must be filed within fourteen calendar days. HOURS OF CONSTRUCTION ARE LIMITED BY ORDINANCE, which matters when scheduling a tear-off. Work under a valid Blaine County building permit "shall be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday", except in the productive zoning districts A-20 and A-40 and the rural remote and rural residential districts R-10 and RR-40, or as a conditional use permit or subdivision approval specifies.

THE 2018 EDITIONS, BY A RECORDED ORDINANCE THAT REPLACED THE WHOLE CHAPTER. Blaine County Ordinance Number 2021-1 is "AN ORDINANCE OF BLAINE COUNTY, IDAHO, AMENDING BLAINE COUNTY CODE, TITLE 7, CHAPTER 1, BUILDING CODE ORDINANCE, BY DELETING IT IN ITS ENTIRETY AND ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 1, BUILDING CODE", and its section 7-1-2 adopts, by reference and pursuant to Idaho Code 39-4116(2): the 2018 International Building Code including the Idaho Building Code Board's accessibility equivalency rules; the 2018 International Residential Code, "including parts I, II, III, and IX as amended by Idaho Building Code Board" and Appendix F, Radon Control Methods; the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code commercial provisions; the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code residential provisions; the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code; and the 2018 International Existing Building Code. It was "REGULARLY PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED" on January 5, 2021 by the Board of County Commissioners over their signatures, attested, recorded as Instrument #677854 on January 6, 2021, with a publish date of January 13, 2021. ONE LATER AMENDMENT, AND IT DOES NOT TOUCH ROOFING. Blaine County Ordinance No. 2024-03, recorded as Instrument #704764 on February 13, 2024, replaces the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code residential provisions with the 2018 edition "as amended by the Idaho Building Code Board", and repeals Title 7, Chapter 6, BuildSmart Amendments, in its entirety. Its recitals explain why: House Bill 287, effective March 31, 2023, removed the authority of local jurisdictions to amend the International Energy Conservation Code. Nothing in that ordinance concerns roofing. THE COUNTY USED IDAHO'S LOCAL-AMENDMENT ROUTE AND SAID SO ON THE FACE OF THE ORDINANCE. Its recitals recite Idaho Code 39-4116(4), that a local government "may amend the adopted codes or provisions of the above referenced codes to reflect local concerns, if such amendments establish at least an equivalent level of protection", and that local jurisdictions may amend the remainder of Part III of the International Residential Code "if they find that good cause for building or life safety exists for an amendment and is reasonably necessary". They then make the finding - that areas of Blaine County requiring increased roof snow load standards due to elevation, topography and climate will require construction in accordance with snow loads based in part on "Ground and Roof Snow Loads for Idaho" by Ronald L. Sack and Azim Sheikh-Taheri, 1986, University of Idaho - and record that notice for the December 22, 2020 hearing satisfied Idaho law. Note one drafting detail: the ordinance pin-cites that amendment authority to 39-4116(4)(e); in the chapter as published today it is at 39-4116(4)(d). The quotation and the substance are right. WHAT STATE LAW REQUIRES. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition ... Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)- family dwellings", effective July 1, 2024, with a list of state amendments; Idaho Code 39-4116(2) bars a local jurisdiction from adopting a later residential code edition the Idaho Building Code Board has not adopted. Idaho Code 39-4116(6): "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received."

Required — Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1, which repealed and replaced Title 7 Chapter 1 of the Blaine County Code, was read in full - all twenty-four recorded pages - and its amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code do not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Blaine County Ordinance No. 2024-03 amends only the energy code. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, does not touch Chapter 9 either. The base 2018 International Residential Code drip-edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs, Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies unmodified in unincorporated Blaine County. Confirm the flashing detail and the fastener spacing against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions as well, which the code makes binding, and detail the eave to work with the ice barrier the County's own table requires. About drip edge

Required — THE COUNTY ANSWERS THIS ITSELF AND IT WRITES ITS OWN EXTENT. Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1 replaces Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, with a table of the County's own. Its column headed ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED reads: "Yes, 24" inside of warm side of exterior wall line". Note what the County changed. The table it repealed in the same ordinance read "Yes, 24" inside of wall line"; the replacement adds "of warm side of exterior". So the County has told you which face of the wall to measure the 24 inches from, and it is the warm side of the exterior wall line. Detail the eave accordingly, and confirm the total extent up the slope against the adopted 2018 International Residential Code and the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions before ordering material, because neither the ordinance nor the table changes the base code's other ice barrier provisions. READ IT WITH THE REST OF THAT TABLE, which is set out under wind design criteria. The winter design temperature the County publishes is -20, and the frost line depth is 32 inches. About ice & water barrier

Not required — BLAINE COUNTY PUBLISHES A DOCUMENT CALLED "REQUIRED INSPECTIONS" AND THERE IS NO ROOF STAGE ON IT. The County's Required Inspections sheet, which carries the permit number, the owner name and the inspector's signature line, lists fifteen numbered stages: footings; stem wall; sub-floor, following submittal of Manual J, S and D calculations; duct blaster test prior to rough-in; State rough-in approval of electrical, plumbing and mechanical before the County framing inspection is requested; shear nailing; framing; insulation; drywall; State final approval of electrical, plumbing and mechanical before the County final inspection is requested; an energy-code prescriptive follow-up that may or may not apply; certificate of installation with radon test results; exterior renewable energy mitigation; blower door before the certificate of occupancy; and the certificate of occupancy. Not one of the fifteen inspects a roof in progress, and the word roof does not appear on the sheet at all. THE ENACTED CODE ADDS NO ROOF INSPECTION EITHER. Blaine County Ordinance No. 2021-1, which repealed Title 7 Chapter 1 of the Blaine County Code and replaced it, was read in full. Its list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code carries a heading of its own, Required Inspections, and under that heading it adds exactly one section, R109.1.7: "Inspections are required for manufactured homes placed in Blaine County, pursuant to I.C. 44-2202 and this Code." The commercial half of the ordinance adds the identical provision. There is no roofing inspection anywhere in the instrument, and no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30, the Idaho Building Code Board rules, adds none either. WHAT THE COUNTY DOES ASK OF A RE-ROOF, AND IT IS PAPERWORK RATHER THAN A SITE VISIT. Section R105.1.4, Re-roofing Permits: "Permit applications for re-roofs shall include identification of the existing structural roof system, e.g. roof rafters, size, spacing, and span, or truss system as constructed." That is a submittal requirement at application. Budget the survey time before filing rather than a visit during the tear-off. Inspections are requested from Building Services on 208-788-5573 with 48 hours' notice, and the approved plans must be on site; ask which stages your re-roof permit will carry when it issues.

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in unincorporated Blaine County. Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1, the recorded ordinance that repealed and replaced Title 7, Chapter 1 of the Blaine County Code, was read in full - all twenty-four pages, both the building code and residential code amendment lists, page by page from the recorded document - and contains no reference to UL 2218, to a Class 4 or Class IV impact rating, or to FM 4473, and no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Blaine County Ordinance No. 2024-03, two pages, amends the energy code only and contains none of them. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list to the International Residential Code, read in full, contains no such reference either. So neither the County's nor the State's adopted code imposes an impact-resistant roof covering requirement. THE COUNTY'S OWN TABLE ALSO ANSWERS THE PROVISION THAT IS MOST OFTEN CONFUSED WITH IT: the windborne debris zone entry in its replacement Table R301.2(1) is No. That is a WINDOW and door provision about debris driven by high wind, not a roof covering rule, and the County's answer to it is no either way. Do not confuse an impact rating with the fire and wind ratings that also appear in roofing work: an impact rating is UL 2218, a fire classification is Class A, B or C under ASTM E108 or UL 790, and a wind rating is ASTM D3161 or D7158. An insurance discount for impact-rated shingles, where a carrier offers one, is a matter between the homeowner and the insurer and is not a code requirement.

BLAINE COUNTY HAS ITS OWN RE-ROOFING PERMIT SECTION, AND IT ASKS FOR SOMETHING NO OTHER IDAHO JURISDICTION IN THIS BOOK ASKS FOR. Blaine County Code Title 7, Chapter 1, as adopted by Ordinance 2021-1, Section R105.1.4 in the residential code amendments and Section 105.1.6 in the building code amendments, in identical words: "Re-roofing Permits: Permit applications for re-roofs shall include identification of the existing structural roof system, e.g. roof rafters, size, spacing, and span, or truss system as constructed. Older, existing residential structures that have not been built to current County snow load standards shall be required to maintain, at the minimum, the existing structural integrity of the roof system. This exception to the snow load standards contained in this code shall be limited to one- and two-family dwellings and shall not apply to new residential construction or any commercial structures. Owners of pre-existing residential structures exempted from the snow load requirements under this provision shall be responsible for maintaining the roof, e.g. shoveling snow therefrom." So budget time to measure and describe the existing rafters or trusses before filing, and read the snow-load relief carefully: it does not exempt the job from a permit, it relieves an older one- or two-family dwelling from having to be brought up to the current County roof snow load, on condition that the existing structural integrity is maintained and the owner keeps the roof clear. THE COUNTY CHARGES A RE-ROOF FEE, WHICH SETTLES ANY DOUBT. Section R108.7.5, and Section 109.7.5 on the commercial side: "Re-Roof: Fee shall be calculated using Blaine County Building Permit Fee Table 1. Valuation shall be based on scope of the work and materials." AND THE COUNTY'S OWN FAQ LISTS RE-ROOFING AS PERMITTED WORK. Answering "When do I need a building permit?", Building Services lists the projects covered, and among them are "Alterations or repairs", "Porch roof coverings" and "Re-roofing". It adds that "All projects are subject to a zoning review, even if a building permit is not required and if you are outside your building envelope." THE EXEMPTION LIST, READ IN FULL, AND IT HAS NO ROOFING ITEM. Section R105.2, Work exempt from permit, as adopted by the same ordinance, runs ten items: one-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses not exceeding 120 square feet; fences not over 7 feet high; retaining walls not over 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall unless supporting a surcharge; water tanks supported directly upon grade not exceeding 5,000 gallons with a height-to-diameter or width ratio not exceeding 2 to 1; sidewalks and driveways; painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work; prefabricated swimming pools less than 48 inches deep; swings and other playground equipment; decks not exceeding 200 square feet that are not more than 30 inches above grade, not attached to a dwelling and not serving the required exit door; and flag poles. The section opens: "Exemption from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances". THE STATE ADDS NO ROOFING EXEMPTION EITHER, and do not rely on the hundred-square-foot roof repair figure that appears in the Idaho state building code rules. It sits inside the definition of "Minor Alteration", which that rule says "is used for the purpose of administering annual permits" - a blanket permit issued to state agencies for work on buildings they already own or operate. It is not a permit exemption for a homeowner or a roofing contractor anywhere in Idaho.

THE COUNTY WROTE ITS OWN TABLE R301.2(1), AND IT PRINTS NO WIND BASIS. Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1 replaces Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, with the County's own. Its entries, described column by column rather than quoted as a sentence because the headings and cells are separate elements of the table: ground snow load is site specific, referring the reader to section 7-1-3,(01),M, Section 1608.2.1 of the County's code rather than giving a figure; wind design speed 90 MPH; topographic effects No; special wind region No; windborne debris zone No; seismic design category D or per International Building Code Chapter 16; weathering Severe; frost line depth 32 inches; termite Slight to Moderate; winter design temperature -20; ice barrier underlayment required "Yes, 24" inside of warm side of exterior wall line"; three flood hazard dates; air freezing index 2000; and mean annual temperature 40 degrees F. A second table on the same page gives Manual J criteria including an elevation range of 4,780 to 9,000 feet and a latitude of 44 degrees north. THE TABLE DOES NOT SAY WHETHER 90 MPH IS A FASTEST-MILE, A NOMINAL THREE-SECOND-GUST OR AN ULTIMATE DESIGN SPEED, and those are different measurement bases for the same loading rather than different loadings. A design method, a shingle wind-rating listing or a product approval written for one basis gives the wrong answer if it is fed a number from another, so no basis is supplied here and no conversion is made. Ask Building Services which basis the County plan-reviews to before selecting a wind-rated assembly or an enhanced fastening pattern. The ordinance does use the figure with an exposure elsewhere: its yurt provision requires anchorage "to meet 90 mph wind speed, exposure B". THE FIGURE THAT ACTUALLY GOVERNS A BLAINE COUNTY ROOF IS SNOW, NOT WIND, and it is set by zone at section 1608.2.1 - see deck sheathing requirements. ONE STATE FACT THAT SITS BESIDE THIS AND IS A WIND FACT. The State of Idaho deletes the model code's wind-borne debris opening-protection section statewide: IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03(d) reads "Section R301.2.1.2 Protection of Openings. Delete." That is an opening provision for windows and doors rather than a roofing one, and under Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(b) a local jurisdiction may not re-adopt a provision the Idaho Building Code Board has expressly rejected.

BLAINE COUNTY AMENDS A GREAT DEAL OF THE RESIDENTIAL CODE BUT NOT CHAPTER 9. Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1, which repealed and replaced the whole of Title 7 Chapter 1 of the County Code, was read in full - all twenty-four recorded pages, both amendment lists. Its amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code cover the title, required permits and the four permit sections the County added (moved structures, manufactured homes, demolition, and its own re-roofing permit), agricultural setback and excavation permits, work exempt from permit, permit expiration, submittal documents, fees and deposits, required inspections for manufactured homes, the Building Code Board of Appeals, definitions, a replacement Table R301.2(1), and chimney clearances at Section R1005.3.1. Its amendments to the 2018 International Building Code add to that the plumbing and electrical referenced codes, vertical openings and chimney chases, seismic dead load calculations, balcony and deck live loads, the County's own special roof snow loads at Section 1608.2.1, snow hooks at Section 1608.4, and frost protection of foundations at Section 1809.5. NOT ONE OF THEM AMENDS CHAPTER 9, ROOF ASSEMBLIES, and neither ordinance contains any recover, overlay or tear-off provision. Blaine County Ordinance No. 2024-03 amends only the energy code. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the Idaho Building Code Board's own list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, seventeen items, contains no Chapter 9 amendment either. So the base 2018 International Residential Code recover-versus-replacement rule applies here unmodified. Base-code rule, 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed: a roof recover is not permitted where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces a full tear-off. WEIGHT IS THE REAL CONSTRAINT HERE, NOT THE LAYER COUNT. Blaine County's roof live snow loads run from 50 to 150 pounds per square foot depending on where in the county the house sits - see deck sheathing requirements below - and the County's own re-roofing permit section requires the application to identify the existing rafters or trusses. A second layer of asphalt shingles adds dead load to a structure that may already be at its limit. Ask Building Services about the structure before selling a recover on a Blaine County roof, even where the layer rule would allow one.

NO LOCAL ROOF-DECK SPECIFICATION, BUT THE LOAD THE DECK MUST CARRY IS LOCAL AND IT IS THE BIGGEST NUMBER ON THE JOB. Blaine County Ordinance 2021-1 was read in full and contains no amendment to Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, which carries the residential code's roof sheathing provisions, and none to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, leaves both chapters alone as well. So the base 2018 International Residential Code roof sheathing and decking requirements apply unmodified, along with the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding. WHAT THE COUNTY DOES SET IS THE ROOF LIVE SNOW LOAD, BY GEOGRAPHIC ZONE. Section 1608.2.1, Special roof loads: "Roof live snow load requirements for all structures, including newly sited manufactured homes, in unincorporated areas of Blaine County are site specific and shall not be reduced without approval from the Building Official and shall be as follows: North Fork to Smiley Creek: 150 pounds roof live load per square foot; North of Ketchum to North Fork: 125 pounds roof live load per square foot; West of Ketchum to western end of platted Board's Lower Ranch: 110 pounds roof live load per square foot; West of western end of platted Lower Board Ranch: 125 pounds roof live load per square foot; East of Triumph: 125 pounds roof live load per square foot; North of Bellevue to south of Ketchum: 100 pounds roof live load per square foot; Picabo to south of Bellevue: 65 pounds roof live load per square foot; Carey Valley including south and East of Carey: 50 pounds roof live load per square foot." A three-fold difference across one county. Establish the zone for the address before designing, re-decking or ordering trusses. The Table R301.2(1) ground snow load entry points back to the same section rather than giving a number. THE COUNTY ALSO REQUIRES SNOW HOOKS, WHICH IS A ROOF-MOUNTED ITEM A REROOF HAS TO PUT BACK. Section 1608.4: "Snow hooks are structural elements that are required on roof structures to protect pedestrians at all exit and similar areas and to protect glazed roof structures from snow and ice sliding from a roof overhead." And Section 1605.3.1 provides that flat roof snow loads of 30 psf or less need not be combined with seismic loads, while flat roof snow loads exceeding 30 psf shall be combined with seismic loads, with stamped engineering design calculations available to be requested by the Building Official.

6.0% IN UNINCORPORATED BLAINE COUNTY -- BUT THIS IS THE ONE IDAHO COUNTY WHERE THAT SENTENCE CARRIES A WARNING WITH IT. Idaho Code 63-3619 imposes the state sales tax "at the rate of six percent (6%)", and Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all, so the unincorporated county, which is where this building department has jurisdiction, is 6.0% flat. FOUR CITIES INSIDE BLAINE COUNTY LEVY A LOCAL-OPTION SALES TAX. Idaho Code 50-1044 lets the voters of a resort city with a population "not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)" adopt local-option nonproperty taxes, and the Idaho State Tax Commission's published list of the cities that levy one includes BELLEVUE, HAILEY, KETCHUM and SUN VALLEY -- four of the twenty-three in the whole state, all of them in Blaine County. If the job is inside one of those city limits, do not use the 6% figure without checking. The Commission states plainly that it does not administer these taxes and that enquiries go to the city, and it warns that "Resort cities have a choice in what's taxed and can include everything that's subject to the state sales tax. Some, but not all, choose to limit the local sales tax to lodging, alcohol by the drink, and restaurant food." So both the rate and whether it reaches building materials at all are questions for that city's own ordinance. Blaine County is not inside an auditorium district; the only other kind of Idaho local sales tax, an auditorium-district tax, applies in any event "only for short-term lodging (30 days or less)" and never reaches roofing work. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED, WHICH MATTERS MORE THAN THE RATE: the Tax Commission's contractor guidance states that "Idaho sales tax law says contractors are the consumers (end users) of all the goods they use. As a result, they must pay sales tax on all purchases", and it names roofers among the contractors it covers. The roofer pays the tax on materials at the supply house; the homeowner's invoice carries no sales tax line at all, on materials or on labour, because "a contractor doesn't charge sales tax to the customer" and the tax is absorbed into the bid. The Commission adds that "if sales tax is charged on the bill, the customer can refuse to pay it." A customer's own sales-tax exemption does not carry over to the contractor.