City of Casselton, North Dakota - Building Permits

City of Casselton, North Dakota

city

702 1st Street North, Casselton, ND 58012

Not required

Required

Casselton contracts its plan review and inspections to Midwest Inspection Services (310 1st Ave SE, Mapleton, ND 58059; 701-532-1078; [email protected]), while the City Auditor's Office (702 1st Street North, Casselton, ND 58012; 701-347-4861) issues the permit and collects payment. The City's Building Permit FAQ states: "A building permit application can be found at casselton.com, receive one in person at the City of Casselton office or at Midwest Inspections Services... After the Building Department approves the permit, the City of Casselton will call you with the invoice amount. Payment must be made, and permit paperwork signed in the Casselton office before any work is started on the project." Applications, design drawings (which "must be to a scale of some type and neat and legible") and a site plan are submitted together; most complete applications take 3 to 5 business days. Inspections the FAQ names are footings, framing, insulation, rough-in, mechanical work and a building final - no roof-specific mid-roof or dry-in inspection is named. Electrical and plumbing are separate permits issued by the North Dakota State Electrical Board and State Plumbing Board respectively, not by the City or Midwest Inspection Services.

Casselton has its own local Building Code ordinance, not merely a bare election under the state framework. City of Casselton Ordinance No. 329, "Buildings," was adopted by the City Council (first reading June 5, 2023, second reading July 6, 2023, approved by Mayor Michael Faught and attested by City Auditor Sheila Klevgard). Section 1-01, ADOPTION OF STATE BUILDING CODE, reads: "The erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, demolition, conversion, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area, and maintenance of buildings or structures in the City of Casselton, North Dakota, shall meet with the provisions of the rules and regulations of the North Dakota State Building Code (NDSBC) with the exception of the sections hereinafter set forth affecting local conditions in the City of Casselton." The ordinance's own table of chapters names the edition: "1. 2021 North Dakota State Building Code. -International Residential Code -International Building Code -International Mechanical Code -International Fuel Gas Code -International Energy Code -International Existing Building Code." So the operative residential edition in Casselton is the 2021 International Residential Code, named by the City's own instrument rather than left to float with the state's current cycle. Casselton is also listed as a code-enforcing jurisdiction on the North Dakota Department of Commerce's own Code Enforcement Contact List (as published, headed "AS OF 2022"), which names Mike Blevins at phone number 532-1078 - the same number Midwest Inspection Services publishes for itself - corroborating that the City elected to administer and enforce a building code under North Dakota Century Code 54-21.3-03(6), read directly: "The governing body of a city, township, or county that elects to administer and enforce a building code shall adopt and enforce the state building code. However, the state building code may be amended by cities, townships, and counties to conform to local needs." Section 1-02 of Ordinance 329 makes that local amendment: "The provisions of the North Dakota State Building Code, which encompass the International Code, in order to conform to local needs, is hereby changed and amended as follows," followed by a chapter-by-chapter revision list for the 2021 IRC, IBC, IMC, IFGC and IEBC, each read in full. The state's own amendment instrument for the same edition was also read: the North Dakota Department of Commerce's 2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book (effective January 1, 2023) states its 2021 International Residential Code amendments were "approved through the voting procedures in Article 108-01 of the North Dakota Administrative Code on September 7, 2022," and Casselton's Ordinance 329 amendment list reproduces that same state amendment set almost verbatim, down to the same electrical and plumbing substitution note. Neither instrument amends the roofing chapters: both the state's 2021 IRC amendment set and Casselton's own copy of it run Chapters 1 through 6 and then jump straight to Chapter 11, skipping Chapter 7 (Wall Covering), Chapter 8 (Roof-Ceiling Construction), Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies) and Chapter 10 (Chimneys and Fireplaces) entirely - see the roof_layer_limit, drip_edge_required and deck_sheathing_requirements fields. Ordinance No. 329 carries no floating "as amended from time to time" clause, so this record does not adjudicate whether Casselton's adoption updates automatically as North Dakota moves to newer code cycles (the state's current base, effective January 1, 2026, is the 2024 suite) - that is a legal conclusion outside this record's scope. Confirm with the Building Department or Midwest Inspection Services which edition is being enforced on a given permit.

Required — Casselton adopts the 2021 International Residential Code by name (Ordinance No. 329's own table of chapters), and both instruments that could change the roof-assemblies chapter were read in full. The City's own amendment list, Ordinance No. 329 Section 1-02, runs Chapters 1 through 6 and then jumps to Chapter 11, never reaching Chapter 9 where the drip-edge provision sits. The North Dakota Department of Commerce's own 2021 IRC amendment set, published in the 2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book (amendments approved September 7, 2022) and read in full, does the same - it stops at Chapter 6 and resumes at Chapter 11. So the base 2021 International Residential Code's drip-edge requirement for asphalt-shingle roofs applies in Casselton unmodified, with no local softening and no local addition. This record has not been able to open the base 2021 IRC section itself to quote its installation extent, overlap and fastener spacing - a direct fetch of codes.iccsafe.org's 2021 IRC Chapter 9 page returned a JavaScript shell with zero occurrences of any section number - so confirm those specifics with the Building Department or Midwest Inspection Services (701-532-1078) before installing. Casselton also requires an ice barrier by its own Table 301.2(1), so the eave detail has to satisfy both. About drip edge

Required — Casselton's own Table 301.2(1), amending the 2021 International Residential Code's Section 301.2, carries an affirmative Yes in the column headed "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" - see wind_design_criteria for the full table, read from the City's own rendered ordinance page. That column is the switch Section R905.1.2 of the International Residential Code uses to turn on the ice-barrier requirement for a jurisdiction, so an ice barrier is required in Casselton by the City's own determination rather than by inference from climate data. Ordinance No. 329's amendment list for the 2021 IRC, read in full, touches Chapters 1 through 6, then 11, 14, 15, 20, 21, 24 and 44 - it does not reach Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, where R905.1.2 sits, so no local variation on the extent of the underlayment has been found to reconcile against the base rule. The North Dakota amendments to the 2021 IRC, published in the state's own 2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book (effective January 1, 2023, amendments approved September 7, 2022) and read in full, likewise stop at Chapter 6 before resuming at Chapter 11, so the state has not touched it either. This record has not been able to open the base 2021 IRC text itself to state the exact run-up distance and steep-slope increase - see roof_layer_limit - so confirm the extent required with the Building Department or Midwest Inspection Services (701-532-1078). The same design-criteria table gives a winter design temperature of -18 degrees and an air freezing index of 4000, so an ice-dam detail is worth the extra material here regardless. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Casselton, at either level of government, and that is established by reading rather than by the absence of a search hit. City level: Ordinance No. 329, "Buildings" (the instrument adopting and amending the 2021 North Dakota State Building Code for the City), was read in full across all fifty-nine pages, covering its amendments to the 2021 International Residential, Building, Mechanical, Fuel Gas and Existing Building Codes. It contains no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 provision anywhere, and its own Table 301.2(1) sets snow, wind, seismic, frost, ice-barrier, flood and temperature criteria with no impact or hail column. The Land Use (Zoning) Ordinance #344 was also read in full and touches roofing only for pitch and material appearance on modular homes (a minimum 4-in-12 pitch and a non-reflective, asphalt-or-wood-shingle-simulating surface), never an impact standard. State level: the North Dakota Department of Commerce's 2021 IRC amendment set, published in the 2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book and read in full (thirteen amended chapters), addresses neither roofing nor impact rating. An impact-rated shingle may still be worth buying in a hail-prone market and an insurer may discount for one, but nothing in Casselton's or North Dakota's adopted law requires it.

Casselton's own Ordinance No. 329 amends the 2021 International Residential Code's Section R105.2, Work Exempt from Permit, and lists what may be done without a permit under "Building:" "1. One-story detached accessory structures provided the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet. 2. Fences not over 8.5 feet high. 7. Swimming pools. 9. Window awnings supported by an exterior wall that do not require additional support. 10. Decks not exceeding 120 square feet in area, that are not more than 7 inches above grade at any point, are not attached to a dwelling and do not serve the exit door required by Section R311.4. 11. Reroofing." (Items 3 through 6 and 8 do not appear in the City's own numbered list as read.) The City's separate Building Permit FAQ, revised 2025 by Midwest Inspection Services, restates a similar practical list: no permit for carpet, a cement slab off the boulevard, kitchen cabinets that do not add or remove walls, interior or exterior paint, poured or paver patios, in-ground swimming pools, a stone or masonry porch 30 inches or less without handrails, storage sheds 120 square feet or less, sheet rocking, and "Re- Siding or Re-Shingling." By contrast, the same FAQ states a permit IS required for additions or garages, arbors, a change in square footage, commercial work of any kind, decks with footings over 10x12 feet or over 29 inches high, HVAC and gas-appliance work, interior renovations with structural modification, new construction, porches larger than 10x12 feet with a 30-inch or higher walking surface, storage sheds over 120 square feet, driveways and sidewalks attaching to the street, enlarged window or door openings, and demolition. No dollar-value threshold is published for a general building permit - the FAQ states plainly that "Building department fees are based upon the value of the project and administration fees," a valuation-based fee rather than a minimum-value trigger. For roofing specifically, both the City's own ordinance and its FAQ agree a reroof needs no building permit regardless of scope or value; see roofing_permit_required.

Casselton, like its Cass County neighbor Horace, sets its own filled-in climatic and geographic design table rather than leaving the design criteria to the base code. Ordinance No. 329, Chapter 3 (Building Planning), Section 301.2 Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, "Revise as follows," prints Table 301.2(1) with these entries, read from the City's own rendered ordinance page rather than trusted from a text extraction (a first automated extraction of the same page dropped every cell of the table entirely): ground snow load 50; wind design speed 115 mph, with No entered for topographic effects, special wind region and windborne debris zone; seismic design category Zone A; weathering Severe; frost line depth 4.5 feet; termite None; winter design temperature -18 degrees; an affirmative Yes in the column headed "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required"; flood hazards 1978; air freezing index 4000; and mean annual temperature 41.5 degrees. A second Manual J block gives elevation 869, latitude 46, winter heating -17 degrees, summer cooling 88 degrees, an altitude correction factor of None, indoor design temperature 70 degrees, design temperature cooling 75 degrees, heating temperature difference 87 degrees, cooling temperature difference 13 degrees, wind velocity heating 15 mph, wind velocity cooling 7.5 mph, coincident wet bulb 70, daily range M, winter humidity 30% and summer humidity 50%. Two cautions: the table gives the wind speed only as "Speed (mph)" and does not state on its face whether 115 mph is an ultimate design wind speed, a nominal three-second gust, or a fastest-mile figure - confirm the basis with the Building Department before designing to it, and never convert one basis to another. Section R301.2.4 is separately "hereby deleted in its entirety" immediately above this table; this record does not interpret that deletion since R301.2.4 in the base 2021 IRC does not govern the design-criteria table itself. Practical effect on a roof: the ground snow load of 50 and the affirmative ice-barrier entry are the numbers a re-roof or a structural repair uncovered during one will be checked against.

This record establishes the governing edition - Ordinance No. 329 names the 2021 International Residential Code in its own table of chapters - and confirms that neither Casselton's own amendment list (Ordinance No. 329 Section 1-02, read in full) nor the North Dakota Department of Commerce's 2021 IRC amendment set (2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book, amendments approved September 7, 2022, read in full) reaches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, where the base code's recover-versus-tear-off rule sits - both instruments' amendment lists run Chapters 1 through 6 and then jump to Chapter 11. So nothing in either instrument caps or removes a layer limit locally. What this record could not do is open the base 2021 IRC's own operative section (at that edition's numbering) to quote its layer-count condition, which this project's own standing rule requires before classifying: a direct fetch of codes.iccsafe.org's 2021 IRC Chapter 9 page returned a 93-kilobyte JavaScript shell with zero occurrences of any section number, and no other free public mirror of the 2021 IRC's residential roof-assemblies chapter could be located within this session's research budget. This is a blocked base-code section, not a negative, and the record does not classify. Confirm the current layer count in Casselton directly with the Building Department or Midwest Inspection Services (701-532-1078) before bidding an overlay.

No Casselton roof-sheathing rule exists, and that is established by reading rather than assumed. Ordinance No. 329's amendment list for the 2021 International Residential Code, read in full, revises Chapters 1 through 6 and then jumps to Chapter 11 - it never reaches Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, where the sheathing thickness, span and fastening provisions sit. The North Dakota Department of Commerce's own 2021 IRC amendment set (2023 North Dakota State Building Code Book, amendments approved September 7, 2022), also read in full, follows the identical pattern - Chapters 1 through 6, then 11 - so the state has not touched Chapter 8 either. So the base 2021 International Residential Code roof-sheathing provisions apply in Casselton unmodified, and there is no local span table or thickness minimum to reconcile against them. What the City does set is the structural design criteria a re-roof that uncovers framing will be checked against: Ordinance No. 329's own Table 301.2(1) enters a ground snow load of 50, a wind design speed of 115 mph, seismic design category Zone A, and a frost line depth of 4.5 feet - see wind_design_criteria for the full table.

7.5% on materials in Casselton - North Dakota state sales and use tax of 5%, plus the City of Casselton's 2% local sales, use and gross receipts tax, plus Cass County's 0.5% local sales, use and gross receipts tax. Verified against the state's own current table, rendered rather than text-extracted, because a first pdftotext pass of the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner's Local Taxes by Location Guideline (rates effective July 1, 2026) merged Casselton's row with a neighboring city's local code number. Rendered at 250 dpi, the City table reads: Casselton, local code 163, marked as also carrying a Cass County obligation, tax type Sales, Use, and Gross Receipts, rate increases of 1% effective 4-1-1998 and 1% effective 10-1-2017, current rate 2%, not subject to local tax None, maximum tax (refund cap) $25 per sale from 4-1-1998 rising to $50 per sale from 10-1-2025, permit holder compensation None. The County table, same guideline, reads: Cass County, local code 501, tax type Sales, Use, and Gross Receipts, rate history 0.5% effective 10-1-1999, a 0.5% decrease effective 4-1-2003, and 0.5% effective 4-1-2011, current rate 0.5%, maximum tax $12.50 per sale from 4-1-2011, permit holder compensation None. The guideline's own footnote names Casselton among the Cass County cities that carry a separate city tax. Who pays it on a roof: North Dakota's Contractor Guideline, read directly: "A contractor or subcontractor entering any contract, except for a labor only contract, is regarded as the final user or consumer of all tangible personal property installed into real property. A contractor or subcontractor is responsible for paying sales and use tax on tangible personal property used or consumed to complete any contract." So the roofing contractor pays the tax on its material purchases and does not separately charge the homeowner sales tax on an install-plus-materials reroof. One Casselton specific: the guideline lists sixty jurisdictions carrying a limited exemption for materials purchased inside the jurisdiction but installed outside it, running alphabetically from Alexander to Wyndmere; Casselton is not on that list, so where a certificate of exemption is used, "use tax is due to the local jurisdiction where the materials were purchased regardless of where the materials were installed" - which matters on jobs supplied from a yard in a different Cass County city or across the Red River in Minnesota. And do not read the county's $12.50 maximum tax as a cap on an entire roofing job: the guideline states the maximum tax (refund cap) is calculated on each material purchase, not on the whole construction contract, so most roofing jobs will incur more local tax in total than the single-purchase cap.