Crawford County - Department of Building and Safety

Crawford County, Michigan (1 city and 4 townships on the county building program)

county

200 W. Michigan Ave., Grayling, MI 49738

Required

Required

Crawford County's Permits and Forms page lists an "Application - Building Permit and Plan Review" and separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical applications revised 01022026, and the building permit application lists "RE-ROOF" as a type of improvement and says "SEPARATE APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED FOR PLUMBING, MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL WORK PERMITS." The page also lists a "Contractor License Registration Form". The department publishes no fee schedule on the pages read; the application's authority line reads "AUTHORITY: PA 230 of 1972, as amended". The department is at 200 W. Michigan Ave, Grayling, MI 49738, (989) 344-3233; its pages print different office hours, so call before going. It serves the units LARA assigns to the county (the City of Grayling and Beaver Creek, Lovells, Maple Forest and South Branch townships); Frederic Township and Grayling Township enforce for themselves.

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 the City of Grayling and in Beaver Creek, Lovells, Maple Forest and South Branch townships to Crawford County, and lists Frederic Township and Grayling Township as enforcing for themselves. The county's building permit application prints "AUTHORITY: PA 230 of 1972, as amended" and names no residential code edition. A commercial plan-review form linked from the county's earlier forms page is headed "MICHIGAN BUILDING CODE 2003- INCORPORATING THE 2003 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE"; that form is for commercial plan review under the Michigan Building Code and was read only for that heading, the rest of its text was not read, and this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.

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). Crawford County's Building and Safety pages and its building 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). Crawford County's Building and Safety pages and its building 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." Crawford County's Building and Safety pages and its building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.

No size or cost threshold is published. Crawford County's building permit application, a scanned form read from its page render, lists "RE-ROOF" among its types of improvement, and its heading says "COMPLETION: Mandatory to obtain permit". The county's Building and Safety pages state no exemption for a small roof repair, and the record does not say what the department requires below a full reroof. 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 roof repair, ask the department at (989) 344-3233 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 county's ordinance index (Board of Commissioners, County Ordinances) was read: it lists an animal control ordinance, off-road vehicle ordinances and maps, a house numbering ordinance, a planning commission ordinance and an apportionment plan, and it lists no building ordinance, so no county instrument amends Section R908. The Building and Safety pages and the building permit application state no layer rule.

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). Crawford County's Building and Safety pages and its building permit application were read for a local rule and 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." Nothing on the Crawford County Building and Safety pages changes this.