Emmet County - Construction Resources

Emmet County, Michigan (2 cities, 2 villages and 15 townships on the county building program)

county

3434 Harbor-Petoskey Road, Suite E, Harbor Springs, MI 49740

Required

Required

A reroof in Emmet County goes on the county's building permit application: the form lists "Re-roofing" as a type of improvement with an "Estimated Cost" line, the required-submittals sheet has a section "FOR REROOFING OR RESIDING PERMITS ONLY" that says "Complete the following sections only" (job site location, owner information, licensed builder information, type of improvement and the alteration estimated cost, and the applicant signature page), and the FAQ lists "siding and re-shingling" among projects requiring permits. The fee schedule (2020) says "An Administrative fee of $65.00 shall be applied to all Building and Sub-Trade Permit applications", that "The minimum total permit fee for Building Permits shall be $90.00", and that alteration permits "shall be based upon the estimated construction value of the work, as provided by the applicant"; the schedule has no separate roofing line. The department says "Inspection requests must be made by 4 p.m. the day before in order to be considered for the following day's schedule." Documents and permit applications are sent by email to the department's permit address listed on its page, and the department's online permit search is run through BS&A. The office is at 3434 Harbor-Petoskey Road, Suite E, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 (231-348-1735), open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The county serves the units LARA's jurisdiction list assigns to it, and the county's Permit Issuing Agencies sheet (updated 5/6/2025) lists Bear Creek Township as a separate building permit office.

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 2 cities, 2 villages and 15 townships of Emmet County to the county; Bear Creek Township is listed as enforcing building code for itself. The county's Construction Resources FAQ, read October 11, 2026, answers "What code do you use?" with "The entire state of Michigan is under the 2015 Michigan Residential Building Code for one- and two-family dwellings".

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). The Emmet County Construction Resources pages, building permit application, permit requirements sheet, fee schedule and licensee registration form 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). The Emmet County Construction Resources pages, building permit application, permit requirements sheet, fee schedule and licensee registration form 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." The Emmet County Construction Resources pages, building permit application, permit requirements sheet, fee schedule and licensee registration form were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.

Emmet County's Construction Resources FAQ says "Other projects requiring permits include additions, decks, siding and re-shingling and remodeling projects." Its building permit application lists "Re-roofing" as a type of improvement with its own estimated-cost line, and its requirements sheet has a section headed "FOR REROOFING OR RESIDING PERMITS ONLY". The county publishes no size, cost or area threshold for roof work. 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.

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 Emmet County Construction Resources pages, building permit application, permit requirements sheet, fee schedule and licensee registration form were read and state no layer rule. The department publishes no building ordinance; the ordinances on the county Planning & Zoning page are the Emmet County Zoning Ordinance (updated 4-2025) and its excerpts, and the full text of the Zoning Ordinance was searched for roof, re-roof, re-cover, shingle, layer and R908, and every hit was read: they concern building height, roof-mounted solar and mechanical equipment, signs and definitions, and one provision that exempts re-roofing from the shoreline bluff protection section; none concerns re-covering a roof or the number of roof layers.

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). The Emmet County Construction Resources pages, building permit application, permit requirements sheet, fee schedule and licensee registration form 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 Emmet County Construction Resources pages changes this; the same 6% applies throughout Emmet County.