Do you need a permit to replace a roof in De Pere, WI?

Roofing questions: De Pere, WI

When does a roof repair need a permit in De Pere, WI?

DE PERE NAMES ROOFING NOWHERE, SO READ THE GENERAL RULE AND ITS ONE EXCEPTION. The general rule is broad and it is in the ordinance rather than on a web page. Municipal Code section 54-3(e) provides that "No one-family or two-family dwelling shall be built, enlarged, altered or repaired unless a building permit for that work shall first be obtained by the owner or his or her agent from the building inspector," and section 54-3(f)(1) repeats it for existing houses: "No addition, alteration or repair to an existing one-family or two-family dwelling shall be undertaken unless a building permit for this work is first obtained by the owner or his or her agent from the building inspector." The City's own guidance says the same thing in plainer words: "A permit is required prior to beginning any new construction, repairs, additions, alterations, and demolitions, including the installation of new boilers, furnaces, electrical wiring, plumbing fixtures, garages, porches, fences, decks, swimming pools, and sheds." The exception, and the reason a reroof is not a settled question in De Pere, is the second sentence of section 54-3(f)(1): "The inspector may not require a permit for minor repairs (i.e., repairs or alterations not affecting occupancy, area, structural integrity, fire protection, exits, lighting or ventilation)." Section 54-3(f)(3) carries the same sentence for houses built before June 1, 1980, there defining minor repairs as "repairs as defined in Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(3) of the uniform dwelling code, alterations not affecting occupancy, area, structural integrity, fire protection, exits, lighting or ventilation." Neither the ordinance nor any City page places roof covering replacement on either side of that line. What the City does publish points one way in practice: its permit application list and its building permit fee schedule both carry a Residing/soffits permit at 75 dollars and a Window Replacement permit at 75 dollars, and neither carries a roofing entry, and the City's monthly building reports break permits out by type - Siding, Window/Door Replacement, Deck, Fence, Pool, Shed, Sign - with no roofing category among them. So ASK BEFORE YOU TEAR OFF. A reroof that touches the deck, the framing or the fire separation is not a minor repair on the ordinance's own words, and where a permit is issued the residential alteration fee applies: the fee schedule charges "any residential alteration, repair, or remodeling ... at the rate of $10.00 per each $1,000 of the cost of the work to be done, with a minimum fee of $75.00 and a maximum fee of $10,000.00." Working without a required permit is expensive: the fee schedule doubles the permit fee, and the City states that "When unpermitted work is discovered, a Stop Work Order will be issued and a permit that accurately describes the work must be obtained before any work may resume." Building Inspection is on 920-339-4053.

Is ice & water shield required in De Pere, WI?

Yes. STATE-SET AND SLOPE-CONDITIONED - read the trigger carefully, because it is narrower than the International Residential Code rule used in most other states. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(4)(a) requires that "Shingled or shake roofs that extend over a heated area of a dwelling or attached garage and that have a slope of 4:12 or less shall be provided with ice dam protection in the form of sheet metal or a product labeled as meeting the requirements of ASTM D 1970." SPS 321.28(4)(b) sets the extent: the protection "shall extend at least 30 inches up the roof slope from the roof edge and at least 12 inches up the roof slope beyond the inner face of the exterior wall." The trigger is the roof slope, not the climate zone, so a steeper roof is not covered by the requirement at all - although the shingle manufacturer instructions may still call for it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles. De Pere adds nothing to this: Chapter 54 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no ice barrier or ice dam provision. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose - ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. De Pere has closed the older-house branch of that scope question, and it is one of very few Wisconsin municipalities that also spells out what an older house is excused from. Municipal Code section 54-3(c), headed Applicability, provides that "The Wisconsin Administrative Codes, as adopted in this chapter, are intended to apply to additions and alterations to one-family and two-family dwellings, including existing one-family and two-family dwellings, which were built prior to June 1, 1980 (effective adoption date of the uniform dwelling code), detached garages, accessory buildings, as well as new construction." Section 54-3(f)(3) then lists the conditions that are "exempt from compliance with the uniform dwelling code" in a pre-June-1-1980 house, and the four it names are stairways rebuilt in the same stairwell, ceiling heights of not less than six feet ten inches, habitable areas above the second floor served by a single exit, and unaltered windows below the egress size. NONE of the four is a roof provision, so the roofing standards reach an older De Pere house the same way they reach a new one.

Is drip edge required in De Pere, WI?

No. No drip edge is required by code on a De Pere roof, at either level of government. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code, unlike the International Residential Code, carries no drip edge requirement: SPS 321.28, "Weather protection for roofs," was read in full - general drainage and fasteners, underlayment for shingles, asphalt shingles, ice dam protection, other roof coverings, reroofing, and every flashing paragraph - and no provision requires a drip edge at an eave or a rake. The only drip edge language anywhere in the Wisconsin dwelling chapter is a masonry chimney cap rule, which is not a roof edge requirement. On the City side, Chapter 54 of the Municipal Code was read in full and the words drip edge do not appear in it, and neither does any other roof-edge or roof-flashing requirement. Practical point for a bid: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes binding for asphalt shingles, so read the wrapper before leaving it off.

Can you roof over an existing roof in De Pere, WI?

STATE-SET. De Pere writes no reroofing layer rule of its own - Chapter 54 of the Municipal Code, all fifteen sections, was read in full and contains no layer limit, no recover rule and no roof-covering provision of any kind - so the statewide rule governs unmodified. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code bars installing a new roof covering over the existing covering in three situations: where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated so that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. So at most two total layers, and fewer than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by that rule at any layer count. There is no local route past two layers here of the kind some other Wisconsin municipalities publish on calculations submitted to the inspector, so a roof already carrying two applications is a tear-off in De Pere. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose - ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. De Pere has closed the older-house branch of that scope question, and it is one of very few Wisconsin municipalities that also spells out what an older house is excused from. Municipal Code section 54-3(c), headed Applicability, provides that "The Wisconsin Administrative Codes, as adopted in this chapter, are intended to apply to additions and alterations to one-family and two-family dwellings, including existing one-family and two-family dwellings, which were built prior to June 1, 1980 (effective adoption date of the uniform dwelling code), detached garages, accessory buildings, as well as new construction." Section 54-3(f)(3) then lists the conditions that are "exempt from compliance with the uniform dwelling code" in a pre-June-1-1980 house, and the four it names are stairways rebuilt in the same stairwell, ceiling heights of not less than six feet ten inches, habitable areas above the second floor served by a single exit, and unaltered windows below the egress size. NONE of the four is a roof provision, so the roofing standards reach an older De Pere house the same way they reach a new one.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in De Pere, WI?

Yes. A PAIR OF STATE CREDENTIALS, AND THE CITY ASKS FOR BOTH NUMBERS ON THE FORM. State level: Wisconsin requires a contractor credential to obtain a building permit for a one- or two-family dwelling. The contracting business must hold a Dwelling Contractor certification from the Department of Safety and Professional Services, which rests on proof of financial responsibility - a bond or liability insurance, plus worker's compensation and unemployment insurance statements - and must hold or employ someone holding a Dwelling Contractor Qualifier certification, which requires at least 12 hours of approved coursework in construction law, construction codes and construction business practices. A restricted version of the certification is issued to an applicant bonding under 25,000 dollars; that is a bond-size distinction, not a narrower scope of work. There is no separate roofing licence in Wisconsin - a roofer holds the same dwelling contractor credential a framer or a siding contractor holds. An owner who resides or will reside in the dwelling and pulls the permit personally is exempt. Note that the state requirement is written as a condition on obtaining a building permit, and Wisconsin has not settled whether a like-for-like reroof needs a uniform dwelling code permit at all, so ask before assuming it is triggered on a job the municipality does not permit. The certification reaches houses of every vintage: Wis. Stat. 101.615(3) applies the certification sections to a permit application to perform work on a dwelling whose initial construction commenced before, on or after December 1, 1978, so the age carve-out that limits the construction standards does not limit the credential. City level: De Pere enforces the state scheme and issues no roofing credential of its own. The City states the requirement in its own words: "The construction and erosion control permits must be taken out by a state-certified Dwelling Contractor or by the owner who occupies the home currently or after completion. Note that the State UDC Contractor certification verifies general liability insurance only. It does not test the technical competency of the builder. Each Dwelling Contractor must have a state-certified Dwelling Contractor Qualifier on staff." Its own summary of who needs what lists, for Building Contractors, "Dwelling Contractor License, Dwelling Contractor Qualifier from the State of Wisconsin," and the Alteration Permit application prints fields for the Dwelling Contractor Credential and the Dwelling Contractor Qualifier Credential. There is no local roofing licence, no local contractor registration and no local bond for a roofer: Chapter 54 of the Municipal Code was read in full and creates none, and Chapter 106, which indexes every licence the Code requires, lists a concrete worker licence and a sign contractor licence but no building or roofing contractor licence. Two adjacent points a roofer should know. De Pere issues separate electrical, HVAC, plumbing and sewer permits, and its own contractor summary requires a Master Electrician licence or Electrical Contractor certification for electrical work and a Master Plumbing licence for plumbing work, so a job that crosses into those trades brings their credentials with it. And an owner-occupant of a single-family dwelling may take responsibility for carpentry, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, masonry and electrical work on their own home; the City directs everything else to a licensed contractor.

What building code does De Pere, WI use?

STATE CODE, ADOPTED BY THE CITY AND EXTENDED TO EXISTING HOUSES. One- and two-family dwellings in De Pere are built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, the chapters of the Wisconsin Administrative Code numbered in the SPS 320s. That code is Wisconsin's own text rather than an adoption of the International Residential Code, which is why its roofing rules read differently from the IRC and why no IRC edition year applies to a house here. Municipal Code section 54-3(a)(1) adopts by reference, as the state uniform dwelling code, Wis. Admin. Code chs. SPS 321 Construction standards, SPS 322 Energy conservation, SPS 323 Heating, ventilating and air conditioning, SPS 324 Electrical standards, SPS 325 Plumbing, SPS 326 Manufactured home communities, SPS 327 Camping units and SPS 328 Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Note for anyone comparing this with other Wisconsin cities: ch. SPS 320, the chapter that carries the state code's own scope, exemptions and definitions, is NOT in that list, and De Pere writes its own scope instead at section 54-3(c) and 54-3(f). The City does cite SPS 320.05(3) by number, in section 54-3(f)(3), for the meaning of a minor repair. The adoption floats rather than freezing an edition - section 54-3(b) provides that "Future amendments, revisions, or modifications of the Wisconsin Administrative Code provisions incorporated in this chapter are intended to be made a part of this chapter to secure uniform state regulation of one-family and two-family dwellings in this city." Commercial work runs on a different code set: section 54-4(a)(1) adopts chs. SPS 316, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366 and 382, the state commercial building code, and that track is not the subject of the residential fields recorded here. Chapter 54 of the Municipal Code was read in full, all fifteen sections, and it adds no roof-assembly requirement of its own. The codification is current through Ordinance No. 26-11, enacted April 8, 2026, Supplement No. 9.