City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin - Department of Community Development, Inspection Services Division

City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin

city

203 S. Farwell Street, Eau Claire, WI

Required

Required

Eau Claire runs permitting through the Inspection Services Division of the Department of Community Development at 203 S. Farwell Street, and the City states that paper applications are not accepted - everything goes through its online permitting system. The City tells applicants to choose Building Exterior when replacing shingles or metal roofing, and Remodel or Alteration when replacing the roof structure itself, for example after a tree strike or a snow and ice collapse. It also publishes that roofing and siding products shall be installed per manufacturer specifications. The permit search in that system is open to anyone without an account and can be searched by address, parcel identifier, contractor or issue date, which is how a homeowner or insurer establishes whether a previous roof was permitted. Inspections must be requested by 3 pm for the following day, and the City will not take an inspection request by voicemail or email; some inspections may be authorized by photo or live video at the inspector's request. A homeowner may take out a permit for work on their own house, but a contractor doing the work must be state certified to take one out. Inspection Services is reachable on 715-839-4947 or by email, and the office is closed on Fridays. Two timing rules sit in the Municipal Code and catch storm-season work: under section 16.04.100 B a building permit lapses and is void unless operations commence within six months of issuance, and expires if work ceases for twelve months or if 36 months have passed since issuance, with the code and ordinance requirements in force at the time of renewal applying to the reissued permit; and under section 16.04.100 C all exterior trim, siding, roofing, painting and the rest must be complete within one and one half years of the start of building construction unless the building inspector grants an extension for reasonable cause.

STATE CODE, ADOPTED BY THE CITY AND EXTENDED TO PRE-1980 HOUSES. One- and two-family dwellings in Eau Claire are built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, chs. SPS 320 to 325 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. 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. The City states its adoptions on its own permit application page: for one and two dwelling units, building and HVAC under SPS 320 to 325 and electrical under SPS 316; for commercial building and HVAC, the 2021 IBC, IECC, IMC, IFGC and IEBC per SPS 361.05 and the Wisconsin amendments at SPS 361 to 366. In the Municipal Code the residential adoption sits at section 16.04.010 C, which adopts the state dwelling code by reference under its former chapter numbers COMM 20 to 25 and adds that "Any future amendments, revisions or modifications of the Administrative Code provisions incorporated herein are intended to be made part of this chapter to secure uniform statewide regulations of one-family and two-family dwellings" - a floating adoption rather than one frozen at a named edition. Section 16.04.180 then adopts the same state code again for one- and two-family dwellings constructed before June 1, 1980, which is the gap the state code leaves open. Commercial and three-family and larger buildings run on the separate Wisconsin Commercial Building Code; the City has held delegated commercial building and HVAC plan review since March 2025 and delegated commercial plumbing plan review since August 2024, within published size limits, and anything outside them goes to the state Department of Safety and Professional Services. Title 16 of the Municipal Code, the building and construction title, was searched in full across all eleven of its chapters and every roofing provision in it was read; the only roof-assembly requirement it adds is the roofing subsection at section 16.04.170 A. The City publishes its codification as current through August 1, 2024, with later ordinances listed separately, so check the newly adopted ordinance list alongside the codified title.

Not required — No drip edge is required by code on an Eau Claire roof, at either level. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code carries no roof drip-edge requirement: SPS 321.28, the weather protection for roofs section, was read in full through all seven of its subsections including every flashing paragraph, and no provision requires one - the only drip edge anywhere in that chapter is in the chimney cap rule, which is not a roof-edge requirement. That is a difference from the International Residential Code, which does require drip edge, so do not carry an IRC expectation onto a Wisconsin job. Eau Claire adds none either: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was searched in full and contains no drip edge provision, and the City's own roofing subsection at section 16.04.170 A requires only that roofing be installed to shed water and in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, and that where a product is listed by a testing agency its installation procedures be followed as well. That last clause is the one that matters in practice: most shingle manufacturers require a drip edge in their published installation instructions, and both the state code and the City ordinance make those instructions binding, so a roof can be short of the manufacturer's requirement without any code section naming drip edge at all. About drip edge

Required — STATE-SET AND SLOPE-CONDITIONED - read the trigger carefully, because it is narrower than the International Residential Code rule most other states use. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code at SPS 321.28(4) 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," and that "The ice dam 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." Three conditions therefore have to be met before the requirement bites: the roof is shingled or shake, it extends over a heated area of the dwelling or an attached garage, and its slope is 4:12 or less. Wisconsin's trigger is the roof slope, not the climate zone, so a steeper roof in Eau Claire is not covered by this rule regardless of local snowfall. Two practical cautions. The shingle manufacturer's own installation instructions may still call for an ice barrier, and both the state code at SPS 321.28(3)(a) and the City's own building code at section 16.04.170 A make the manufacturer's instructions binding. And Wisconsin's 30 inches up the slope from the roof edge and 12 inches beyond the inner face of the exterior wall is a different measurement from the International Residential Code's 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, so do not substitute IRC ice-barrier language here. Eau Claire adds no ice-barrier rule of its own: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was searched in full and contains no ice dam or ice barrier 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. On the first of those two points Eau Claire has acted, which sets it apart from most Wisconsin municipalities. Municipal Code section 16.04.180 adopts the state dwelling code, under its former chapter numbers COMM 20 to 25, "to apply to buildings, additions and alterations thereto, used as one- and two-family dwellings constructed prior to June 1, 1980 and to any accessory building or other buildings or structures not included within the scope of another adopted code." So the age of the house does not put an Eau Claire job outside the state code. That same section adds a list of City requirements on top of the state code for those older houses and states that "some may be more and some less stringent than the requirements of the Uniform Dwelling Code" and that where they conflict with the adopted code the City requirements apply, so on a pre-1980 house check the City list as well as the state one. About ice & water barrier

Not required — Eau Claire schedules no mid-roof or roof-deck inspection. The City publishes two inspection stage lists and neither contains one. Its General Contractor brochure sets out the Residential Building Inspection Checklist in full - HVAC duct work rough in, partial final and above ceiling gas piping or gas pressure test; plumbing underground, rough in, post-framing rough in and partial final; building foundation walls and footing, concrete slab, framing, insulation, above ceiling and building final; and electrical service, rough in, partial final and miscellaneous - with no roof sheathing, roof deck or in-progress roofing stage among them. Its Residential Building brochure lists the available inspections as footings, framing, insulation and final, again with no roofing stage. A re-roof pulled on an Eau Claire permit is therefore inspected at the end rather than at an interim point during the job, and the City states that all finals are to be requested by the general contractor when all trades are completed. Inspections must be requested by 3 pm for the following day.

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Eau Claire, at either level. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code contains no impact-rating requirement: chs. SPS 320 and SPS 321 were both read in full and neither carries a UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 impact requirement anywhere, and the catch-all at SPS 321.28(5) sets no impact class, providing only that roof coverings not otherwise addressed "shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions or a national standard recognized by the department." Eau Claire adds none: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was searched in full and contains no impact-resistance requirement, and its own roofing subsection at section 16.04.170 A addresses drainage, manufacturer's instructions, dead load and layer count only. Impact-resistant shingles are a voluntary, insurer-driven upgrade in this market rather than a code obligation, and an insurer discount is not a code requirement. One caution on reading documents: a Class A, B or C designation encountered on a Wisconsin job is an ASTM E108 or UL 790 FIRE rating and says nothing about hail resistance.

THE LINE IS 200 SQUARE FEET, NOT A DOLLAR FIGURE - AND TWO CITY FEE DOCUMENTS AGREE ON THE THRESHOLD WHILE DISAGREEING ON THE FEE. The City of Eau Claire 2026 Adopted Schedule of Fees and Licenses, prepared by the Department of Finance, carries the lines "Re-roofing Permits - Residential (under 200 sq. ft. - no permit required)" and "Re-roofing Permits - Commercial/Industrial (under 200 sq. ft. - no permit required)," and the Inspections Division's own 2026 Building Permit Fee Schedule handout, stamped effective January 1, 2026, carries "Re-roofing (under 200 sq. ft. - no permit required)" in both its one- and two-family table and its general table. So a re-roof covering less than two squares needs no permit and anything larger does. THE FEE ITSELF IS WHERE THE TWO PART, AND IT IS WORTH CHECKING BEFORE YOU QUOTE. The adopted schedule is the document the Municipal Code points to at section 16.04.090 A, and it sets the 2026 adopted re-roofing permit fee at 40 dollars residential and 55 dollars commercial or industrial against 2025 adopted fees of 35 and 50; the Inspections handout still prints 35 and 50. The same gap runs through the alteration, repair and remodeling rates a roof-structure replacement is priced off, where the adopted schedule reads 7.50 dollars per 1,000 dollars of estimated project cost up to 60,000 dollars with a 60 dollar minimum and the handout reads 7.25 dollars with a 50 dollar minimum. The threshold is identical in both; confirm the fee with Inspection Services on 715-839-4947. The Municipal Code reaches the same threshold from the other direction: section 16.04.120 B defines the minor repairs that need no building permit and then states that "Residing, reroofing or replacement of more than 25 percent of a building's interior wall and ceiling plaster, gypsum wallboard or similar wall surfaces shall not be deemed minor repair," and section 16.04.010 F.3 carries the same rule for one- and two-family dwellings built after June 1, 1980, reading a dwelling unit where the general section reads a building. Replacing the roof structure rather than the covering is applied for as a remodel or alteration rather than as exterior work. Permit fees are doubled on any project where work starts before the permit is obtained.

STATE-SET, AND EXPRESSED AS PRESSURES RATHER THAN AS A DESIGN WIND SPEED. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code at SPS 321.02(1)(c) provides that "Dwellings shall be designed and constructed to withstand either a horizontal and uplift pressure of 20 pounds per square foot acting over the surface area or the wind loads determined in accordance with ASCE 7-05, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures," with the code's own note that ASCE 7-05 "allows for substantial reduction from 20 psf as applied to the surface area." Snow is the geographically varying input: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2. provides that "Roofs shall be designed and constructed to support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map," a statewide zone map published as Figure 321.02, so an Eau Claire roof snow load is read off that figure rather than stated as a single statewide number. IMPORTANT: because Wisconsin works in pounds per square foot and a zone map, there is no International Residential Code style ultimate design wind speed in miles per hour for Eau Claire, and the 20 psf figure must not be converted into one. Eau Claire publishes two figures of its own, and both are scoped to accessory work rather than to dwellings: Municipal Code section 16.04.180 B.1.f requires that "All accessory buildings and structures shall be anchored so as to withstand an uplift pressure of 20 pounds per square foot acting over the surface area," and section 16.04.180 B.7.a for pole type buildings requires calculations demonstrating compliance with a "Snow load of 40 P.S.F." and a "Wind load with a horizontal and uplift pressure of 20 P.S.F. acting over the surface area." Those are the City's numbers for accessory and pole buildings, not for a house.

TWO RULES APPLY IN EAU CLAIRE AND A ROOFER SHOULD KNOW BOTH. The City has a roofing subsection of its own in its building code. Municipal Code section 16.04.170, headed "Requirements applying to all buildings," reads at A: "All roofing shall be installed to shed water and as per the manufacturer's recommendations. If a product is listed by a testing agency, their installation procedures must also be followed. 1. Built up roofing or pitch and gravel-type roofing shall not be installed or added so as to exceed the roof's designed dead load. 2. Adding layers of shingles or other roofing material. Adding additional layers will be allowed only if the roof's designed dead load will not be exceeded. A maximum of three layers of shingles is permitted." On top of that, 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 more 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 permanent roof covering. On a one- or two-family dwelling the two do not say the same thing: the state rule stops at two total layers, while the City subsection allows a third if the roof dead load is not exceeded, and the City subsection does not repeat the state conditions about a wet or deteriorated deck or about shake, slate, clay, cement and asbestos-cement tile. Both are published here as they are written and neither is chosen over the other. What the City itself says about that relationship is at section 16.04.040, which provides that its building code supplements the state codes and "shall in no way conflict with such codes unless specifically mentioned in a section." Ask Inspection Services which rule it will apply before quoting a third layer. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by either rule. 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. On the first of those two points Eau Claire has acted, which sets it apart from most Wisconsin municipalities. Municipal Code section 16.04.180 adopts the state dwelling code, under its former chapter numbers COMM 20 to 25, "to apply to buildings, additions and alterations thereto, used as one- and two-family dwellings constructed prior to June 1, 1980 and to any accessory building or other buildings or structures not included within the scope of another adopted code." So the age of the house does not put an Eau Claire job outside the state code. That same section adds a list of City requirements on top of the state code for those older houses and states that "some may be more and some less stringent than the requirements of the Uniform Dwelling Code" and that where they conflict with the adopted code the City requirements apply, so on a pre-1980 house check the City list as well as the state one.

STATE-SET, WITH NOTHING ADDED LOCALLY. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets the roof deck standard for one- and two-family dwellings at SPS 321.27(9). Structural sheathing: "The allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel." Roof boards: where the rafter spacing is 24 inches on center or less, "roof boards may be used that have a minimum thickness of 5/8-inch for solid sheathing and 3/4-inch for spaced sheathing"; where the rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on center, "roof boards shall be tongue and groove, at least 1.5 inches thick." Roof planks, as an alternative, shall be tongue and groove or splined and at least 2 inches nominal in thickness, shall terminate over beams unless the joints are end matched, shall be laid so that no continuous line of joints occurs except at points of support, and shall be nailed or fastened to each beam. Wisconsin writes this as a board-thickness and rafter-spacing rule keyed to the panel grade stamp rather than as the International Residential Code's solidly sheathed formulation, so do not carry IRC deck language onto a Wisconsin job. Eau Claire adds nothing to it: Title 16 of the Municipal Code was searched in full and its only two uses of the word sheathing are in the definitions section, defining sheathing itself and the term nail base.

5.5% on materials - the Wisconsin state sales and use tax of 5% plus Eau Claire County's 0.5% county sales and use tax, which has been in force since January 1999. THE CITY IS SPLIT ACROSS TWO COUNTIES AND THE RATE DOES NOT CHANGE. The Department of Revenue's own alphabetical listing of Wisconsin taxation districts marks the city of Eau Claire as a split municipality and lists it twice, once in Eau Claire County and once in Chippewa County. Chippewa County levies the same 0.5% county sales and use tax, in force since April 1991, so an address on either side of the county line is at 5.5%. There is no city sales tax - the city of Milwaukee is the only municipality in Wisconsin that imposes one - and Eau Claire is not in a premier resort area. HOW THE TAX ACTUALLY REACHES A ROOFING JOB. Wisconsin treats a roof as real property, and the Department of Revenue's contractor guidance answers roofs by name in its real versus personal property chart, as real property for installation and for repair alike. So the roofing contractor is the consumer of the materials it installs: the contractor pays sales or use tax when buying shingles and underlayment, and does not charge the customer sales tax on the reroofing contract, for labor or for materials. The rate therefore matters as a cost rather than as a line on the invoice. The exception to know is that selling roofing materials without installation is a retail sale and is taxable.