Permitting Authorities / Township of Covington - Building Inspector
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Covington, MI?
Adopted code
Township of Covington - Building Inspector
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of Covington, MI, issued by Township of Covington - Building Inspector. In Covington Township a roof job starts with the township's building permit procedure, which has no reroofing item. The procedure lists a fire number application, a soil erosion permit, a well and septic permit, a land sub-division permit, an electrical permit and "a Covington Township Building Permit Application", says "Forms are available from the Building Inspector.", and ends "reviews will take place in a timely manner, and permits issued." The township's fee sheet adds "A $25.00 ADMINISTRATION FEE WILL BE ADDED TO THE TOTAL COST OF EACH PERMIT" and "FEES ARE DOUBLED IF CONSTRUCTION IS STARTED BEFORE PERMIT IS ISSUED"; it carries the date 6/11/14, so confirm the current fee with the building inspector. The permits page links the township application and sends electrical permits to the State of Michigan, and its contacts page lists the building inspector, 906-355-2184, and says the zoning administrator is reached by calling the supervisor. Board meetings are held at 12898 HWY M 28. The state's general rule is that "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", and the same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs. Read October 15, 2026.
Roof code checklist: Township of Covington, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Township of Covington, Michigan
Address
12898 Highway M-28, Covington, MI
Contact
- url: http://www.covingtonmichigan.org/permits.html
- phone: 906-355-2184
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In Covington Township a roof job starts with the township's building permit procedure, which has no reroofing item. The procedure lists a fire number application, a soil erosion permit, a well and septic permit, a land sub-division permit, an electrical permit and "a Covington Township Building Permit Application", says "Forms are available from the Building Inspector.", and ends "reviews will take place in a timely manner, and permits issued." The township's fee sheet adds "A $25.00 ADMINISTRATION FEE WILL BE ADDED TO THE TOTAL COST OF EACH PERMIT" and "FEES ARE DOUBLED IF CONSTRUCTION IS STARTED BEFORE PERMIT IS ISSUED"; it carries the date 6/11/14, so confirm the current fee with the building inspector. The permits page links the township application and sends electrical permits to the State of Michigan, and its contacts page lists the building inspector, 906-355-2184, and says the zoning administrator is reached by calling the supervisor. Board meetings are held at 12898 HWY M 28. The state's general rule is that "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", and the same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs. Read October 15, 2026.
Adopted code
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 names the Township of Covington as its own building code enforcer for building work and gives its electrical, mechanical and plumbing work to the State. The township's website posts a zoning ordinance but no building code ordinance and names no code edition, so this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.
Drip edge
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). Covington Township's website (its permits and contacts pages, fee sheet, building permit procedure and building permit application) were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
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). Covington Township's website (its permits and contacts pages, fee sheet, building permit procedure and building permit application) were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
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." Covington Township's website (its permits and contacts pages, fee sheet, building permit procedure and building permit application) were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
Covington Township has published nothing on reroofs and no size or cost threshold. Its building permit procedure, signed by the Covington Township Board on 6/13/2018, says "ALL REQUIREMENTS MAY NOT APPLY IN ALL CASES. EACH REQUEST WILL BE CONSIDERED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS." Its fee sheet, dated 6/11/14, has no roofing line and lists "HOME REMODELING" at $100.00 plus $0.20 per square foot, and its Application for Building Permit and Plan Examination lists "REPAIR" and "ALTERATION" among its types of improvement and says "MANDATORY TO OBTAIN PERMIT". Under state law, "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" and "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 roof job, ask the township building inspector, 906-355-2184.
Roof layer limit / recover
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." Covington Township's website posts a zoning ordinance but no building ordinance, so no layer classification is stated here. The zoning ordinance was searched for roof, shingle, building code and construction code terms and sets no roofing rule (it mentions roofs only in height and building definitions and refers to state construction codes and local building permit requirements), and the permit procedure, fee sheet and application state no layer rule.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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). Covington Township's website (its permits and contacts pages, fee sheet, building permit procedure and building permit application) were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
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." Nothing on the Covington Township website changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
Covington Township, in Baraga County, posts a building permit procedure, a fee sheet and a township building permit application on its website, and names its building inspector, by title, as the source of the forms. The State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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