Caln Township - Department of Building and Life Safety

Township of Caln, Pennsylvania (Chester County)

city

253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, PA 19372

Required

Caln Township's code says: "All repairs and alterations to residential buildings shall comply with the Township's Building Code adopted on May 27, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999." (Section 59-4 A of the Township Code). Section 59-4 of the Township Code, headed "Provisions of Township Building Code which remain in effect," says the Township "shall keep in full force and effect the following requirements in its Building Code, which provisions were in effect as of July 1, 1999," and Section 59-4 A says: "All repairs and alterations to residential buildings shall comply with the Township's Building Code adopted on May 27, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999." It names no roof work. The Building Code it points to is the Uniform Construction Code regulations, which Section 59-1 adopts as the Township's building code, and the regulations say "An ordinary repair does not require a permit" (34 Pa. Code 403.62) without setting an area or cost limit. The Department has published no statement on reroofing. Its Residential Construction Permit Guidance (read October 7, 2026) lists "Permits required for" new work, cutting away a wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and piping, wiring or mechanical work, and lists "Permits not required for" items that include "Window and door replacements not involving structural changes" and "Aluminum and Vinyl Siding installation"; neither list names roof work. The Township's Building Permit Application lists "Roof" among its types of building improvement, beside "Alteration" and "Addition." The Township's 2026 fee schedule has a line "Roofing - structural repairs Flat Fee = $150, plus $4.50 UCC permit fee, and 5% administrative fee" and, for repairs to living space, says "A permit is required when the existing structure is altered but does not include cosmetic changes like cabinet refacing or window replacement that do not involve structural alterations." The Building Permit Application's "Roof" box sits in a general list of improvement types, and the fee schedule's only roofing line is for structural repairs; the Department has not said whether an ordinary reroof needs a permit. The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists one Caln Township filing, which "Adopts Appendices B, C, D, E, F, and G of the International Fire Code 2006," with an approval letter mailed January 26, 2007 and the status "Enacted 4 / 12 / 07"; it names no roof work. This record does not decide whether Section 59-4 A, which requires compliance with the Building Code and names no permit, makes a house reroof permit work, and does not state whether the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Department at 610-384-0600 before starting. Where a permit is needed, the fee schedule says "ANY WORK COMMENCED WITHOUT A PERMIT WILL RESULT IN DOUBLE FEES." 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." Applications go to the Township building with two sets of site plans and construction documents; the application says "Allow up to thirty (30) days for all reviews," and the Township says "PA UCC-regulated inspections require a minimum of 48 hours notice to schedule." The Township office is open Monday to Friday, 8AM to 4:30PM, at 610-384-0600. Read for this answer: Chapter 59 of the Township Code, Building Construction, in full; Chapter 60, Building Code, Existing, in full; Chapter 122, Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, in full; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Building & Life Safety, Permits & Applications and Fee Schedule pages; the Residential Construction Permit Guidance; and the first two pages of the Building Permit Application.

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, Caln Township administers the code itself: Section 59-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act," Section 59-3 says "The Building Code shall be administered and enforced by the Township's Department of Code Enforcement," and the Township's Department of Building and Life Safety, at 253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, says it "oversees and ensures the issuance of building and zoning permits, enforcement of codes." Section 122-1 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2006 Edition," and Section 59-1 B the International Building Code, 2003 Edition, each "as now and as hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and revised," while the Township's Permits & Applications page says "Enforcement of 2021 International Codes go into effect JANUARY 1, 2026"; this record has not read the 2003 or 2006 edition's text and relies on the Township's own statement of the 2021 codes. Section 122-2 fills in Table R301.2(1), including a ground snow load of 30 and "Ice Shield Under Lay ment Re- quired" Yes, and the Township's chapters change nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Section 59-4 A keeps in force a pre-1999 requirement: "All repairs and alterations to residential buildings shall comply with the Township's Building Code adopted on May 27, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999."

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Caln Township administers the code itself: Section 59-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act," Section 59-3 says "The Building Code shall be administered and enforced by the Township's Department of Code Enforcement," and the Township's Department of Building and Life Safety, at 253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, says it "oversees and ensures the issuance of building and zoning permits, enforcement of codes." Chapters 59, 60 and 122 of the Township Code, read in full, contain no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement, and the Township's one filing on the Department of Labor and Industry's register concerns International Fire Code appendices.

Caln Township's code says: "All repairs and alterations to residential buildings shall comply with the Township's Building Code adopted on May 27, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999." (Section 59-4 A). Section 59-4 of the Township Code, headed "Provisions of Township Building Code which remain in effect," says the Township "shall keep in full force and effect the following requirements in its Building Code, which provisions were in effect as of July 1, 1999," and Section 59-4 A says: "All repairs and alterations to residential buildings shall comply with the Township's Building Code adopted on May 27, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999." It names no roof work. The Building Code it points to is the Uniform Construction Code regulations, which Section 59-1 adopts as the Township's building code, and the regulations say "An ordinary repair does not require a permit" (34 Pa. Code 403.62) without setting an area or cost limit. The Department has published no statement on reroofing; its Residential Construction Permit Guidance lists permit work and work needing no permit, and neither list names roof work. The Township's Building Permit Application lists "Roof" among its types of building improvement, and its 2026 fee schedule has a line "Roofing - structural repairs Flat Fee = $150." The Building Permit Application's "Roof" box sits in a general list of improvement types, and the fee schedule's only roofing line is for structural repairs; the Department has not said whether an ordinary reroof needs a permit. The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists one Caln Township filing, which "Adopts Appendices B, C, D, E, F, and G of the International Fire Code 2006," with an approval letter mailed January 26, 2007 and the status "Enacted 4 / 12 / 07"; it names no roof work. This record does not decide whether Section 59-4 A, which requires compliance with the Building Code and names no permit, makes a house reroof permit work, and does not state whether the Township requires a permit for a house reroof; ask the Department at 610-384-0600 before starting. Where a permit is needed, the fee schedule says "ANY WORK COMMENCED WITHOUT A PERMIT WILL RESULT IN DOUBLE FEES." 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." 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, Caln Township administers the code itself: Section 59-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act," Section 59-3 says "The Building Code shall be administered and enforced by the Township's Department of Code Enforcement," and the Township's Department of Building and Life Safety, at 253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, says it "oversees and ensures the issuance of building and zoning permits, enforcement of codes." No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work; the fee schedule's only roofing line is for "Roofing - structural repairs."

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, Caln Township administers the code itself: Section 59-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act," Section 59-3 says "The Building Code shall be administered and enforced by the Township's Department of Code Enforcement," and the Township's Department of Building and Life Safety, at 253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, says it "oversees and ensures the issuance of building and zoning permits, enforcement of codes." The Township's chapters change nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Department's pages say nothing on roof layers. Section 122-1 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2006 Edition," and Section 59-1 B the International Building Code, 2003 Edition, each "as now and as hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and revised," while the Township's Permits & Applications page says "Enforcement of 2021 International Codes go into effect JANUARY 1, 2026"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2006 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record.

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Caln Township administers the code itself: Section 59-1 of the Township Code says "The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the Act and the regulations promulgated under the Act," Section 59-3 says "The Building Code shall be administered and enforced by the Township's Department of Code Enforcement," and the Township's Department of Building and Life Safety, at 253 Municipal Drive, Thorndale, says it "oversees and ensures the issuance of building and zoning permits, enforcement of codes." The Township's chapters change nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. The Department's guidance lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load bearing support" as permit work, and its fee schedule has a flat fee for "Roofing - structural repairs"; neither names roof sheathing. Section 122-1 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2006 Edition," and Section 59-1 B the International Building Code, 2003 Edition, each "as now and as hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and revised," while the Township's Permits & Applications page says "Enforcement of 2021 International Codes go into effect JANUARY 1, 2026"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and the 2006 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Caln Township is in Chester County, not in Allegheny County or Philadelphia, the two places the Department of Revenue names for a local tax. The Township's permit pages and fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.