Charter Township of Canton - Building and Inspection Services

Charter Township of Canton, Michigan (Wayne County)

city

1150 S. Canton Center Road, Canton, MI 48188

Required

Required

Canton prices a reroof as a flat fee: the township's Building and Inspection Fee Schedule (updated 7/12/24) lists "Residential Roof Only (Includes Multi-Family per building)" at $60, plus a non-refundable $40 administrative fee on each application, and contractor licence registration ("This includes all Builder, Maintenance/Alteration, Contractor and Mobile Home Installer Licenses") is $15. Residential roof permits, including roofs on multi-family buildings, can be applied for online through BS&A, which is on the township's list of online building permit applications, and inspections are scheduled on the BS&A portal. Canton "does not require an HOA approval from local HOA's prior to issuing residential permits"; getting the association's approval is the applicant's and owner's job, and the township will not refund a permit cancelled over HOA requirements. A commercial or multifamily roof replacement has its own submittal checklist. Township Code section 78-3 requires a building connected to the township sanitary sewer to have equipment "capable of collecting roof rainwater and discharging such rainwater a distance of not less than 30 inches from the outside perimeter of the building or structure." Building and Inspection Services: 734-394-5200, fax 734-394-5166.

2015 Michigan Residential Code. This is state law and it is the same in every Michigan city, village, township and county: the state construction code act says "This act and the code apply throughout the state," and the Michigan Residential Code rule adopts "the international residential code, 2015 edition" with the state amendments in R 408.30500 to R 408.30547g. A 2021 edition was filed with the secretary of state in 2025 but has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025 the Michigan Court of Claims entered a stipulated order in Home Builders Assoc et al. v LARA et al., and the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) says that while that order remains in place "the 2015 versions of the IRC and residential provisions of the IECC standards currently adopted, in part, by each rule set will remain valid and in effect." The Charter Township of Canton enforces this code itself (LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List names the township as its own building enforcer, and Township Code section 78-31 says the township board "does hereby assume responsibility for administration and enforcement of the state construction code within the township"), and the township's Applicable Construction Codes list names the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for residential construction, with commercial work under the 2021 Michigan Building Code since April 9, 2025.

Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). Canton's building ordinance (Township Code Chapter 78, whose construction-code article only takes on enforcement of the state code) and its residential permit guide state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). Canton's building ordinance (Township Code Chapter 78, whose construction-code article only takes on enforcement of the state code) and its residential permit guide state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." Canton's building ordinance, Township Code Chapter 78, enforces the state code and adds no roof-covering rule; no UL 2218 or Class 4 impact requirement appears in it.

No size or cost threshold is published. The township's guide "Do I Need a Residential Building or Compliance Permit?" lists "Roofing and Siding" under work needing a building permit ("Requirements found in the Building Code"), and its list of "Work exempt from any permit" names "Storm door or gutter installation" but no roof work; the guide calls its lists "EXAMPLES" that "are intended to be general." State law relieves "ordinary repairs" from the permit without defining them, and the township publishes no line for small roof repairs, so ask Building and Inspection Services (734-394-5200) before patching a roof without a permit.

Two layers at most, under state law. Michigan builds one- and two-family homes to the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which adopts the 2015 International Residential Code and makes no amendment to its reroofing section, Section R908; the Michigan rule set was searched in full and R908 does not appear in it. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, and the third is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be covered once; a roof that already carries two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars covering a roof that is water soaked or too deteriorated to serve as a base, and covering "slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." Canton's own building ordinance, Township Code Chapter 78 (Buildings and Building Regulations), was read in full: its construction-code article, sections 78-31 to 78-35, only takes on enforcement of the state code and names the enforcing officers, and nothing in the chapter touches the reroofing section, so the state limit applies unchanged.

State law, from the base code. Michigan makes no amendment to the roof sheathing section of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R803, which does not appear in the Michigan rule set, so it applies as published. 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 must 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 may not exceed "the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1), or APA E30." For a shingle roof the base code adds that "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" (R908.2). Canton's building ordinance (Township Code Chapter 78, whose construction-code article only takes on enforcement of the state code) and its residential permit guide state nothing further on roof sheathing.

6%, statewide, with no local add-on. This is state law: the General Sales Tax Act sets the tax "equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the business," the Use Tax Act sets "a total combined rate equal to 6%," and the Michigan Department of Treasury says "Michigan does not allow city or local units to impose sales tax." On a roofing job the roofer is the taxpayer on materials, because the Use Tax Act counts as a consumer "A person acquiring tangible personal property if engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving the real estate of others." The Charter Township of Canton adds no sales tax of its own, so 6% is the whole rate on a job there.