City of Cleveland Heights, Ohio - Division of Building

City of Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

city

40 Severance Circle, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

Not required

Required

Residential Code of Ohio, Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4101:8, effective July 1, 2019. Ohio adopts its residential code as a statewide administrative rule rather than leaving the edition to each municipality: the Ohio Board of Building Standards promulgates it under Ohio Revised Code section 3781.10, and it governs one, two and three family dwellings throughout the state, Cleveland Heights included. Roof assemblies are Chapter 4101:8-9-01, and its section numbers carry no "R" prefix, so the reroofing rule is section 908 and the asphalt shingle rules are section 905. Ohio law does allow a city to add to the state code: Ohio Revised Code section 3781.01(B) provides that the state residential building code "does not prevent a local governing authority from adopting additional regulations governing residential structures that do not conflict with the state residential building code," subject to a Board of Building Standards conflict review, and a regulation the Board finds conflicting and unnecessary to health or safety "is not valid and the local governing authority may not enforce" it. Cleveland Heights publishes no roofing amendment of its own on its Division of Building pages, so the state rules below are what governs a reroof here.

Not required — Ohio does not prescribe a drip edge, and this is a real difference from the model code the rest of the state code follows. The International Residential Code sets out a drip edge requirement at R905.2.8.5 with dimensions, an overlap and a fastening schedule. Ohio replaced that text entirely. The whole of Residential Code of Ohio section 905.2.8.5 reads: "Drip edge. Refer to Sections 903.1 and 905.1." Those two sections carry no drip edge language of their own; they make the manufacturer's instructions binding. Section 903.1 requires that roof assemblies "be designed and installed in accordance with this code and the approved manufacturer's instructions," and section 905.1 that "Roof coverings shall be applied in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section and the manufacturer's installation instructions." The practical effect for a roofer is that the state code imposes no drip edge of its own, but the shingle manufacturer's published installation instructions do carry the force of the code, and most asphalt shingle instructions require a drip edge. Omitting one against those instructions is still a code violation in Ohio, by way of 903.1 and 905.1 rather than by way of a drip edge section. About drip edge

Required — Required, and required everywhere in Ohio rather than in a mapped zone. Residential Code of Ohio section 905.1.2 conditions the ice barrier on a local history of ice damming "as designated in Table 301.2(1)", and the state's own Table 301.2(1) answers that designation for the whole state: the ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED column reads "Yes", and note h to the table states that "all jurisdictions in Ohio have a history of local damage from the effects of ice damming." So there is no per city determination to look up. The assembly is specified in 905.1.2: the barrier "shall consist of not fewer than two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in place of normal underlayment and extend 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." That 24 inches is measured along the slope from where the projected outside face of the wall meets the roof deck. On roofs of 8:12 or steeper the barrier "shall also be applied not less than 36 inches (914 mm) measured along the roof slope from the eave edge of the building." It applies to asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes. One exception travels with it: "Detached accessory structures and roof assemblies terminating at a vertical wall over unconditioned floor areas." About ice & water barrier

Not required — No mid-roof, in-progress or deck inspection stage is published for roofing work in Cleveland Heights. The City's Inspections page ties inspection to the permit rather than to the trade: "Inspections are a part of the permit process. All work for which a permit is required must be inspected to ensure it meets code." The only pre-enclosure stages it names are for other trades, "Electrical, plumbing and heating work must be inspected prior to enclosure in walls, floors or ceilings." Since an ordinary reroof requires no permit here at all, no inspection attaches to it. Where structural work brings the job under a permit, inspection follows the permit and is scheduled with the Building Department at 216-291-4900, option 1; the City publishes no roofing-specific sequence of stages for that case.

Not required

NO PERMIT for an ordinary reroof, but the exemption turns on scope rather than on cost or square footage, and it ends the moment structural work is involved. The City states the rule in its own Building FAQ, in answer to the question "For what are Building Permits required?": "New roof (only if structural work is involved) coverings, window replacements, new siding (except for small areas of replacement), decks, new steps (or rebuilding steps) all require permits." The parenthetical applies to roofing alone in that sentence; windows and siding carry no equivalent carve out. So replacing a roof covering is not by itself permit work in Cleveland Heights, while the same job becomes permit work once it reaches structure. Two things a bidder should know. First, the City does not define "structural work" on any of its published Division of Building pages, and a reroof that turns into rafter or truss repair is the obvious boundary case; the Division answers this on the telephone at 216-291-4900, option 1, and the City's own guidance is to "check with the Division of Building BEFORE starting any repair or construction work." Second, the permit exists and is priced, which is what a roofer should expect to pay when structure is reached: the Building Department Permit Fee Schedule lists "Roof" under Other Alterations at a $50 basic fee plus 1 percent of the cost of construction, alongside siding and windows at the same $50 basic fee. Where a permit is required and not obtained, the City states that "a Stop-Work Order or Violation Notice will be issued, fees will double and a court summons may be issued."

115 mph ultimate design wind speed, set statewide. Ohio fills in the wind column of Table 301.2(1) of the Residential Code of Ohio once for the whole state rather than leaving it to each jurisdiction, and the WIND DESIGN Speed (mph) entry is 115. Exposure category is not fixed by the table; note d directs that "Wind exposure category shall be determined on a site-specific basis in accordance with Section 301.2.1.4." Ohio has deleted three of the model table's wind entries outright, and notes k, l and m record it: topographic wind speed-up effects, unusual wind conditions and wind-borne debris zones are all struck, so no wind-borne debris protection applies in Ohio. For the shingles themselves, section 905.2.4 sets wind resistance by ASTM D7158, with an exception that "Asphalt shingles not included in the scope of ASTM D7158 shall be tested and labeled in accordance with ASTM D3161." Both of those are wind standards and neither speaks to impact.

Two total layers. A roof recover over one existing layer is allowed; a recover over two or more is not, so a roof already carrying two coverings must be torn off. Residential Code of Ohio section 908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed: "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur: 1. 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. 2. Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. 3. Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." Note that Ohio's rule has three conditions and none of them is a hail exposure condition, so unlike the older model code editions still in force in some states there is no circumstance here in which a single existing layer must come off on hail grounds alone. Two further rules travel with a recover: where a new covering over wood shingles or shakes would create a combustible concealed space, section 908.4 requires the entire existing surface to be covered with gypsum board, mineral fiber, glass fiber or other approved material first; and under section 908.5 aggregate surfacing "shall not be reinstalled." Cleveland Heights publishes no overlay rule of its own, so the state rule is what applies here.

Solid sheathing is required under asphalt shingles. Residential Code of Ohio section 905.2.1, Sheathing requirements: "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks." Ohio states this without the plank-width alternative some states write in, so spaced or skip sheathing will not carry an asphalt shingle roof here. Separately, section 908.3.1.1 bars a recover over a deck that will not serve as a base, which is where deteriorated sheathing found during a tear off is caught.

8.00% combined, which is the Ohio state rate of 5.75% plus a Cuyahoga County rate of 2.25%. Ohio levies its local sales tax at the county level and has no separate municipal add-on, so the same 8.00% applies throughout Cuyahoga County and there is no Cleveland Heights city component to add. Read from the Ohio Department of Taxation's own Sales and Use Tax Rates by County table, county code 18. That published table is the one effective October 1, 2026, and it marks a changed county with an asterisk against the county name; Cuyahoga carries no asterisk and Warren is the only Ohio county that changes on that date, so 8.00% is also the rate in force now.