Cheboygan County - Department of Building Safety

Cheboygan County, Michigan (1 city, 2 villages and 19 townships on the county building program)

county

870 South Main Street, Room 102, Cheboygan, MI 49721

Required

Required

The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety has published nothing specific to reroofs, so the state's general permit rule is the requirement this record rests on: "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit." The same state section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," and the department has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. The department says "A building owner can do a building project themselves, as long as it is for their own use and on their own property," and that the permit "can be applied for, by the property owner, the building contractor, the architect, or anyone authorized to act as a representative of the property owner." Applications go by email to [email protected], by fax, by mail to the Department of Building Safety, PO Box 70, Cheboygan MI 49721, or to the drop box outside the office door. Its 2026 residential fee schedule lists a remodeling line, a "Covered Porch/Roof Over/Carport/Gazebo" line for new roofed structures, a minimum building permit fee of $75.00, an administrative fee of $70.00 and $75.00 for each additional inspection trip. Inspection requests go by email or by voicemail at 231-627-8813 with "24 HOURS NOTICE PLEASE." The department says that if work starts without a permit and two letters go unanswered, a Stop Work Order is posted. The office is at 870 South Main Street, Room 102, Cheboygan, MI 49721, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; inspectors are in the office from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and in the field from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The department's pages list no online permit portal, only a page for payment by credit card. It serves the units the state's jurisdiction list assigns to the county.

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." LARA's Statewide Jurisdiction List assigns building code enforcement in 1 city, 2 villages and 19 townships of Cheboygan County to the county, and lists no unit of the county as enforcing for itself. The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety page, read October 11, 2026, lists for residential building "MRC 2015 (Michigan Residential Code 2015)" effective February 8, 2016, and its frequently asked questions say "The entire state of Michigan is under the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for one and two family dwellings."

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). The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety pages, permit procedures, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and 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). The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety pages, permit procedures, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and 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." The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety pages, permit procedures, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state no impact rule.

No size or cost threshold is published. The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety says nothing specific about roof work: its frequently asked questions say "Most new construction will require a building permit," "Other projects requiring permits include additions, decks and remodeling projects," and "If you are in doubt about needing a building permit, it is advised that you check with the building department, prior to beginning your project." Its residential code handout, a plan review list based on the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, says under R105.1 that an owner who intends to "construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure" must "first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit," and answers R105.2, Work Exempt, only with "Please contact Office." Its residential fee schedule has no reroofing line, and its building permit application offers "Repair/ Replacement" among the types of work. Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs. For a small roof repair, ask the department (231-627-8813) before starting.

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." Locally, the Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety pages, permit procedures, residential code handout, fee schedule and permit application were read and state no layer rule. No county building ordinance was found on the county site, so none was read for this record.

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). The Cheboygan County Department of Building Safety pages, permit procedures, residential code handout and permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing; the handout's roof covering entry says only "Roof coverings shall be applied in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section and the manufacturer's installation instructions."

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 same 6% applies throughout Cheboygan County.