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Permitting Authorities / Wisconsin / City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin - Building Inspection Department

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

Adopted code

City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin - Building Inspection Department

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Fitchburg, WI, issued by City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin - Building Inspection Department. Applications go through an online portal rather than the counter: the Permit Requirements page directs applicants to the "Building Permit Application Portal (OpenGov.com)" and to select the application type, and a reroof is filed as an "Alterations and Repairs to Existing Buildings Permit Application." Inspections are requested by telephone on 608-270-4240. Municipal Code Sec. 35-219 sets the timing rule and it favours the contractor: work may not proceed until a required inspection has been approved, "however, construction may proceed if an inspection is not completed within two business days after proper notification has been received unless otherwise agreed upon by the building inspector and the applicant." Budget for a re-inspection charge - the City states that if a re-inspection is needed because the work was not complete when the inspection was called in, or because of a code violation, or because additional inspections are called for, "there will be an additional charge of $30 per inspection to be collected before the finals are approved." Fitchburg is a certified municipality on the commercial side and routes larger commercial plan review out to an external reviewer, but that does not touch a house.

Roof code checklist: Fitchburg, WI

ItemAnswerCode citeSourceVerified
Permit to replace a roofYesfitchburgwi.gov2026-09-10
Repair permit thresholdPublishedfitchburgwi.gov2026-09-10
Layer limit / roof-overPublished321.pdf2026-09-10
Deck & sheathingPublished321.pdf2026-09-10
Drip edgeNo321.pdf2026-09-10
Ice & water shieldYes321.pdf2026-09-10
Mid-roof inspectionNolibrary.municode.com2026-09-10
Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofingNo321.pdf2026-09-10
Wind design criteriaPublished321.pdf2026-09-10
Adopted codePublishedlibrary.municode.com2026-09-10
Contractor license / registrationYes101.pdf2026-09-10
Sales & use taxPublishedrevenue.wi.gov2026-09-10

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
City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
5520 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711
Contact
  • url: https://www.fitchburgwi.gov/136/Building-Inspection
  • phone: 608-270-4240
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Registration details
  • state_level: STATE-SET AND IT IS A REAL GATE ON THE PERMIT, NOT A FORMALITY. Wis. Stat. 101.654(1)(a) provides that "no person may obtain a building permit unless the person annually obtains from the department a certificate of financial responsibility showing that the person is in compliance with sub. (2), completes the continuing education requirements described under sub. (1m), and furnishes to the issuer of the permit proof of completion of those continuing education requirements." Wis. Stat. 101.65(1m) puts the duty on the municipality from the other side: a city, village, town or county "may not issue a building permit to a person who is required to be certified under s. 101.654" without that certificate or other satisfactory evidence. The financial-responsibility test in 101.654(2)(a) is a surety bond of at least $5,000 conditioned on complying with the dwelling code, or a general liability policy of at least $250,000 per occurrence. The continuing education is 12 hours every two years under 101.654(1m)(b)1., of which at least 4 hours must be on construction laws and codes and on contracts, liability and risk management. THE HOMEOWNER EXEMPTION IS NARROW: 101.654(1)(b) exempts only "an owner of a dwelling who resides or will reside in the dwelling and who applies for a building permit to perform work on that dwelling." THERE IS NO SEPARATE ROOFING LICENCE IN WISCONSIN - a roofer holds the same dwelling contractor credential a framer or a siding contractor holds. AND THE CREDENTIAL REACHES OLD HOUSES EVEN WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS DO NOT: Wis. Stat. 101.615(3) applies 101.65(1m) and 101.654 to a building permit application "to perform work on a dwelling the initial construction of which was commenced before, on or after December 1, 1978," so the vintage carve-out that limits the code does not limit the licence. One further statutory duty falls on the owner rather than the roofer: under 101.65(1r) the municipality must have an owner applying for a permit sign a statement warning that hiring a contractor who is not bonded or insured as 101.654(2)(a) requires can leave the owner personally liable for injury or property damage arising out of the work.
  • city_level: Fitchburg enforces the state scheme and issues no roofing credential of its own. Municipal Code Chapter 35 was read in full and contains no contractor registration, no contractor licence and no roofing licence - its only references to a contractor are the permit-application requirement that the applicant give the name, address and phone number of the engineer, architect, designer or contractor responsible for the work. The City's business regulation title, Title V, contains a single business chapter, Chapter 58, whose two articles are general provisions and blasting, so there is no separate local trade licence to find. What a roofer needs in Fitchburg is therefore the state dwelling contractor credential and the permit, nothing further.
Permit process note
Applications go through an online portal rather than the counter: the Permit Requirements page directs applicants to the "Building Permit Application Portal (OpenGov.com)" and to select the application type, and a reroof is filed as an "Alterations and Repairs to Existing Buildings Permit Application." Inspections are requested by telephone on 608-270-4240. Municipal Code Sec. 35-219 sets the timing rule and it favours the contractor: work may not proceed until a required inspection has been approved, "however, construction may proceed if an inspection is not completed within two business days after proper notification has been received unless otherwise agreed upon by the building inspector and the applicant." Budget for a re-inspection charge - the City states that if a re-inspection is needed because the work was not complete when the inspection was called in, or because of a code violation, or because additional inspections are called for, "there will be an additional charge of $30 per inspection to be collected before the finals are approved." Fitchburg is a certified municipality on the commercial side and routes larger commercial plan review out to an external reviewer, but that does not touch a house.
Adopted code
THE CITY ADOPTS THE STATE CODES BY REFERENCE AND ITS ADOPTION IS FLOATING, NOT FROZEN TO AN EDITION. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77 provides that "The provisions of the following state codes and subsequent amendments and recodifications thereto are hereby adopted by reference and incorporated in this article as if fully set forth," and then lists them. For a house, the operative item is (2): "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." The same section also adopts SPS 316 (electrical), SPS 361-365 (commercial building), SPS 366 (existing buildings), SPS 381-387 (plumbing), SPS 302.31 (state fee schedule) and SPS 327 (camping units). Because the adoption runs to subsequent amendments, the current published text of chs. SPS 320 to 325 governs; there is no local edition year to check for a dwelling. Sec. 35-77 was last amended by Ordinance No. 2025-O-23 on November 25, 2025. THE COMMERCIAL SIDE IS DIFFERENT AND THE DEPARTMENT PUBLISHES IT SEPARATELY: the Building Inspection Department page states that the department "enforces the 2021 IBC Code, 2017 NEC (NFPA 70), and the 2016 UDC state codes for one and two-family homes," and the department's Adopted Codes page links both the 2015 and the 2021 International Building Codes alongside the Wisconsin amendments. For a one- or two-family reroof the International Residential Code is not in play in Wisconsin at all - the state dwelling code is a Wisconsin-written code, not an IRC derivative. The codification is current through Ordinance No. 2025-O-32, adopted December 9, 2025.
Drip edge
Not required — No drip edge is required by code here, and the reason is that Wisconsin never adopted the International Residential Code rule that most other states rely on for it. 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 construction chapter is a masonry chimney cap rule, which is not a roof-edge requirement. PRACTICAL POINT FOR A BID: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions, and SPS 321.28(3)(a)3. makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles, so read the wrapper before leaving it off. On the City side, Chapter 35 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. About drip edge
Ice & water shield
Required — 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 or a design temperature, so a roof steeper than 4:12 is not covered by the requirement at all - although the shingle manufacturer's instructions may still call for it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a)3. makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles. Fitchburg adds nothing to this - Chapter 35 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no ice barrier or ice dam provision. AND THE SCOPE QUESTION THAT HANGS OVER MOST WISCONSIN REROOFS IS CLOSED HERE, BY NUMBER, IN THE ADOPTING SECTION ITSELF. Statewide, SPS 320.05(1) takes dwellings begun before the code took effect on June 1, 1980, and additions or alterations to them, outside the uniform dwelling code, and SPS 320.05(3) takes "repairs or maintenance" outside it as well - which matters because SPS 320.07(61) defines a repair to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent fixture, system or equipment." Fitchburg has excepted both of those exemptions by number. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77, "Adoption of state codes by reference," adopts at item (2) "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." So neither the age of the house nor the argument that a like-for-like tear-off is a repair takes a job here outside the dwelling code. That is unusual - most Wisconsin municipalities adopt the code without touching those two exemptions, and the roofer is left to ask the inspector which side of the line the job falls on. About ice & water barrier
Mid-roof inspection
Not required — NO MID-ROOF OR ROOF-COVERING INSPECTION STAGE EXISTS HERE, AND FITCHBURG PUBLISHES ITS WHOLE LIST TWICE SO IT CAN BE CHECKED BOTH WAYS. Municipal Code Sec. 35-220 states that "In general, the following inspections shall be completed for all building projects whenever applicable," and the list runs, in full: building sewer, footing, foundation, rough (all electrical, plumbing and HVAC installations plus all general construction and framing work), insulation and energy, and final. The Permit Requirements page prints the same sequence in plain language - after footings are dug but before cement is poured, after walls are poured but just before backfilling, when rough framing and plumbing and HVAC and electric are completed, insulation, and final. Neither list contains a tear-off, underlayment, deck or roof-covering stage, and on a reroof the final is the operative inspection. Two practical points: Sec. 35-220(a) leaves the building inspector free to "determine the number and types of inspections to be completed for each building project," so an inspector may ask to see an open deck on a job that turns up rot, and the City charges $30 for each additional or re-inspection, collected before the final is approved.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance or hail-rating mandate applies here. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code carries none: ch. SPS 321, which holds the construction standards for one- and two-family dwellings, contains no occurrence of UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 anywhere, roof coverings included, and SPS 321.28(5) sends any covering the section does not otherwise address to "the manufacturer's instructions or a national standard recognized by the department," which sets no impact class. Impact-resistant shingles are an insurer-driven upgrade in this market, not a code obligation. ONE CAUTION FOR READING PAPERWORK ON A WISCONSIN JOB: a Class A, B or C designation, or a reference to ASTM E108 or UL 790, is a FIRE rating and says nothing about hail, and ASTM D3161 or D7158 is a WIND rating. Only UL 2218 or FM 4473 answers impact. On the City side, Chapter 35 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 requirement, and the published permit requirements and inspection list set no shingle rating.
Repair permit threshold
A REROOF NEEDS A PERMIT IN FITCHBURG AND THE CITY NAMES IT, SO THERE IS NOTHING TO INFER. The Building Inspection Department's Permit Requirements page publishes a list headed "Work Requiring a Building Permit" and one of its items is "Re-roofing: Including tear off or overlay." The same page directs a reroof to a specific application: the "Alterations and Repairs to Existing Buildings Permit Application," which it describes as covering "any minor work such as electrical or plumbing fixture changes, interior remodel, reroof, reside, basement finish, tenant alterations." THE DOLLAR FIGURE IS $2,000, BUT IT DOES NOT REACH A REROOF. Municipal Code Sec. 35-100(a) requires a permit for any work covered by the building article "except that building permits shall not be required for the following," and item (1) is "Repairs required for the maintenance and upkeep of any building which do not exceed a cost of $2,000.00, do not involve a change in use, and do not affect the structural strength, fire hazard, exits, natural lighting or the replacement of a major piece of equipment." The City's own restatement of that exemption on the Permit Requirements page adds the qualifier that decides it - the exemption covers repairs "which do not exceed a cost of $2000 and that are not listed above" - and re-roofing is listed above. So the $2,000 line is available for a genuinely small patch that is not a reroof, and a tear-off or an overlay is permitted work at any value. The full exemption list is short and worth knowing: the $2,000 maintenance repair, residential accessory buildings and storage sheds under 64 square feet that do not house motor vehicles, attached or detached uncovered wood decks whose floor surface is less than 24 inches above adjacent grade, satellite dishes and antennas for private residential use, low voltage wiring under 24 volts, and buildings and structures outside the scope of the building code. Sec. 35-100(b) closes the obvious gap: work in that list "shall comply with all applicable code sections and construction standards regardless of building permit requirements."
Wind design criteria
STATE-SET, AND WISCONSIN STATES IT AS A PRESSURE RATHER THAN AS A WIND SPEED - do not go looking for a mph figure, because the uniform dwelling code does not publish one. Wis. Admin. Code 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," and the code adds its own note that ASCE 7-05 "allows for substantial reduction from 20 psf as applied to the surface area." The roof-specific figures are in SPS 321.27(3), "UPLIFT AND SUCTION FORCES": roofs "shall withstand a pressure of at least 20 pounds per square foot acting upward normal to the roof surface," and "Roof overhangs, eaves, canopies and cornices shall withstand an upward wind pressure of at least 20 pounds per square foot applied to the entire exposed area." SPS 321.27(3)(b) adds the anchorage rule that roof framing members spanning more than 6 feet from the outermost edge of the roof "shall be permanently fastened to the top plate of load bearing walls using engineered clips, straps or hangers." For the shingles themselves the code sets a fastening count rather than a wind class: SPS 321.28(3)(a)4. requires at least 4 fasteners per strip shingle or 2 per interlocking shingle unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise, and SPS 321.28(3)(a)1. requires a self-sealing adhesive strip with an average bond strength of at least 1.5 pounds per 3.75 inches of shingle width at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Fitchburg publishes no local wind figure and Chapter 35 of the Municipal Code contains none.
Roof layer limit / recover
STATE-SET, AND FITCHBURG WRITES NO LAYER RULE OF ITS OWN. The statewide rule is SPS 321.28(6), "REROOFING," which provides that new roof coverings may not be installed over existing roof coverings where any of three conditions exist: the existing roof or roof covering "is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing"; the existing roof "is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile"; or the existing roof "has 2 or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering." So the ceiling is two total layers, and fewer than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing covering is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by that rule at any layer count. The City adds nothing to it: Municipal Code Chapter 35, "Buildings and Building Regulations," was read in full - both articles, all thirteen divisions and every one of its numbered sections from 35-19 through 35-359 - and it contains no layer limit, no recover rule, no shingle provision and no roofing provision of any kind. There is no local route past two layers of the kind a few Wisconsin municipalities publish, so a roof already carrying two applications is a tear-off in Fitchburg. AND THE SCOPE QUESTION THAT HANGS OVER MOST WISCONSIN REROOFS IS CLOSED HERE, BY NUMBER, IN THE ADOPTING SECTION ITSELF. Statewide, SPS 320.05(1) takes dwellings begun before the code took effect on June 1, 1980, and additions or alterations to them, outside the uniform dwelling code, and SPS 320.05(3) takes "repairs or maintenance" outside it as well - which matters because SPS 320.07(61) defines a repair to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent fixture, system or equipment." Fitchburg has excepted both of those exemptions by number. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77, "Adoption of state codes by reference," adopts at item (2) "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." So neither the age of the house nor the argument that a like-for-like tear-off is a repair takes a job here outside the dwelling code. That is unusual - most Wisconsin municipalities adopt the code without touching those two exemptions, and the roofer is left to ask the inspector which side of the line the job falls on.
Deck & sheathing requirements
STATE-SET. The statewide rule is Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9), "ROOF SHEATHING, BOARDS AND PLANKING," read in full. For structural panels, SPS 321.27(9)(a) provides that "The allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel" - Wisconsin sets no minimum panel thickness of its own and defers to the stamp, so a roofer replacing decking should match the stamp to the rafter spacing rather than to a table. For board decking, SPS 321.27(9)(b) allows roof boards at least 5/8 inch thick for solid sheathing and 3/4 inch for spaced sheathing where rafters are 24 inches on centre or closer, and requires tongue-and-groove boards at least 1.5 inches thick where rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on centre. SPS 321.27(9)(c) covers roof planks, which must be tongue-and-groove or splined and at least 2 inches nominal. Nothing in the section states a trigger for replacing sound decking on a reroof; what forces sheathing off is the separate reroofing rule, SPS 321.28(6)(a), which bars covering a deck that is water-soaked or deteriorated. Fitchburg adds nothing: Chapter 35 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no sheathing, decking or nailing provision.
Sales & use tax
5.5% on materials. Wisconsin state sales and use tax is 5%, and Dane County levies the half-point county tax on top of it, at 0.50% with an effective date of April 1991 - county code 13 on the chart. The figures are from the Department of Revenue sales tax rate chart, Guidance Document Number 100047, dated January 16, 2026. No municipal sales tax applies here - the Department states that "The city of Milwaukee is the only municipality that imposes a city sales and use tax" - and no premier resort area tax applies, because this municipality is not among the ten the Department lists as having adopted one. Fitchburg lies wholly within Dane County, so one rate applies across the city. HOW THE TAX FALLS ON A ROOFING JOB MATTERS MORE THAN THE RATE. Wisconsin treats a roof as real property: the Department of Revenue contractor guidance, Publication 207, answers it by name in its item chart, listing "Roofs" as real estate for residential installation, residential repair, commercial installation and commercial repair alike. The roofing contractor is therefore the consumer of what it installs. It pays sales or use tax when buying shingles, underlayment and other materials, and the same publication states that a contractor performing a real property construction activity "is not permitted to collect sales tax from its customers on its sales price from sales of real property construction activities," so neither labour nor materials are taxed on the reroofing contract itself. The exception runs the other way: Publication 207 lists "Selling lumber, roofing materials or other tangible personal property, without installation" as an example of the contractor acting as a retailer, which is a taxable retail sale. So the rate is a cost input on the material purchase rather than a line on the homeowner invoice.

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The permitting authority for the City of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, a Dane County city of about 29,600 immediately south of Madison and the largest Wisconsin jurisdiction in this directory that is not itself a metro core. Fitchburg runs its own Building Inspection Department out of City Hall on Lacy Road, with a building official, two building inspectors and an administrative assistant named on its own department page, and it takes inspection requests on its own line. Three things make a reroof here unusually easy to quote. The City lists re-roofing by name, tear-off and overlay alike, in its own published list of work requiring a building permit, so the permit question is answered outright rather than inferred. Its permit exemption for maintenance repairs carries a plain dollar figure. And - the part that sets Fitchburg apart from most of Wisconsin - its adopting section takes the uniform dwelling code's own exemptions for pre-1980 dwellings and for repairs back out by number, so the state roofing standards reach a Fitchburg job whatever the age of the house.

Hail reports near Fitchburg, WI

Reports, last 24 months
63
Largest, last 24 months
3.25 in Apr 14, 2026
Most recent
Apr 14, 2026 3.25 in
Reports, last 5 years
84
5 most recent reports, last 5 years
DateHail sizeDistance
Apr 14, 20263.25 in7 mi NNE
Apr 14, 20263.00 in10 mi NNE
Apr 14, 20263.00 in9 mi NNE
Apr 14, 20262.75 in9 mi NW
Apr 14, 20262.75 in9 mi NNE

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database and daily storm reports (reports since the start of the current year are preliminary), within 10 miles of Fitchburg, WI (Census point). Data through Oct 7, 2026, not updated since. A report is an observation, not a damage record.

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Roofing questions: Fitchburg, WI

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

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Fitchburg, WI. A REROOF NEEDS A PERMIT IN FITCHBURG AND THE CITY NAMES IT, SO THERE IS NOTHING TO INFER. The Building Inspection Department's Permit Requirements page publishes a list headed "Work Requiring a Building Permit" and one of its items is "Re-roofing: Including tear off or overlay." The same page directs a reroof to a specific application: the "Alterations and Repairs to Existing Buildings Permit Application," which it describes as covering "any minor work such as electrical or plumbing fixture changes, interior remodel, reroof, reside, basement finish, tenant alterations." THE DOLLAR FIGURE IS $2,000, BUT IT DOES NOT REACH A REROOF. Municipal Code Sec. 35-100(a) requires a permit for any work covered by the building article "except that building permits shall not be required for the following," and item (1) is "Repairs required for the maintenance and upkeep of any building which do not exceed a cost of $2,000.00, do not involve a change in use, and do not affect the structural strength, fire hazard, exits, natural lighting or the replacement of a major piece of equipment." The City's own restatement of that exemption on the Permit Requirements page adds the qualifier that decides it - the exemption covers repairs "which do not exceed a cost of $2000 and that are not listed above" - and re-roofing is listed above. So the $2,000 line is available for a genuinely small patch that is not a reroof, and a tear-off or an overlay is permitted work at any value. The full exemption list is short and worth knowing: the $2,000 maintenance repair, residential accessory buildings and storage sheds under 64 square feet that do not house motor vehicles, attached or detached uncovered wood decks whose floor surface is less than 24 inches above adjacent grade, satellite dishes and antennas for private residential use, low voltage wiring under 24 volts, and buildings and structures outside the scope of the building code. Sec. 35-100(b) closes the obvious gap: work in that list "shall comply with all applicable code sections and construction standards regardless of building permit requirements."

Is ice & water shield required in Fitchburg, 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 or a design temperature, so a roof steeper than 4:12 is not covered by the requirement at all - although the shingle manufacturer's instructions may still call for it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a)3. makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles. Fitchburg adds nothing to this - Chapter 35 of the Municipal Code was read in full and contains no ice barrier or ice dam provision. AND THE SCOPE QUESTION THAT HANGS OVER MOST WISCONSIN REROOFS IS CLOSED HERE, BY NUMBER, IN THE ADOPTING SECTION ITSELF. Statewide, SPS 320.05(1) takes dwellings begun before the code took effect on June 1, 1980, and additions or alterations to them, outside the uniform dwelling code, and SPS 320.05(3) takes "repairs or maintenance" outside it as well - which matters because SPS 320.07(61) defines a repair to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent fixture, system or equipment." Fitchburg has excepted both of those exemptions by number. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77, "Adoption of state codes by reference," adopts at item (2) "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." So neither the age of the house nor the argument that a like-for-like tear-off is a repair takes a job here outside the dwelling code. That is unusual - most Wisconsin municipalities adopt the code without touching those two exemptions, and the roofer is left to ask the inspector which side of the line the job falls on.

Is drip edge required in Fitchburg, WI?

No. No drip edge is required by code here, and the reason is that Wisconsin never adopted the International Residential Code rule that most other states rely on for it. 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 construction chapter is a masonry chimney cap rule, which is not a roof-edge requirement. PRACTICAL POINT FOR A BID: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions, and SPS 321.28(3)(a)3. makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles, so read the wrapper before leaving it off. On the City side, Chapter 35 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.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Fitchburg, WI?

STATE-SET, AND FITCHBURG WRITES NO LAYER RULE OF ITS OWN. The statewide rule is SPS 321.28(6), "REROOFING," which provides that new roof coverings may not be installed over existing roof coverings where any of three conditions exist: the existing roof or roof covering "is water-soaked or has deteriorated such that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing"; the existing roof "is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile"; or the existing roof "has 2 or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering." So the ceiling is two total layers, and fewer than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing covering is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by that rule at any layer count. The City adds nothing to it: Municipal Code Chapter 35, "Buildings and Building Regulations," was read in full - both articles, all thirteen divisions and every one of its numbered sections from 35-19 through 35-359 - and it contains no layer limit, no recover rule, no shingle provision and no roofing provision of any kind. There is no local route past two layers of the kind a few Wisconsin municipalities publish, so a roof already carrying two applications is a tear-off in Fitchburg. AND THE SCOPE QUESTION THAT HANGS OVER MOST WISCONSIN REROOFS IS CLOSED HERE, BY NUMBER, IN THE ADOPTING SECTION ITSELF. Statewide, SPS 320.05(1) takes dwellings begun before the code took effect on June 1, 1980, and additions or alterations to them, outside the uniform dwelling code, and SPS 320.05(3) takes "repairs or maintenance" outside it as well - which matters because SPS 320.07(61) defines a repair to include "the replacement of existing fixtures, systems or equipment with the equivalent fixture, system or equipment." Fitchburg has excepted both of those exemptions by number. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77, "Adoption of state codes by reference," adopts at item (2) "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." So neither the age of the house nor the argument that a like-for-like tear-off is a repair takes a job here outside the dwelling code. That is unusual - most Wisconsin municipalities adopt the code without touching those two exemptions, and the roofer is left to ask the inspector which side of the line the job falls on.

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

Yes.

What building code does Fitchburg, WI use?

THE CITY ADOPTS THE STATE CODES BY REFERENCE AND ITS ADOPTION IS FLOATING, NOT FROZEN TO AN EDITION. Municipal Code Sec. 35-77 provides that "The provisions of the following state codes and subsequent amendments and recodifications thereto are hereby adopted by reference and incorporated in this article as if fully set forth," and then lists them. For a house, the operative item is (2): "Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325, Uniform Dwelling Code, except Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05(1), 320.05 (3) and 320.05(5)." The same section also adopts SPS 316 (electrical), SPS 361-365 (commercial building), SPS 366 (existing buildings), SPS 381-387 (plumbing), SPS 302.31 (state fee schedule) and SPS 327 (camping units). Because the adoption runs to subsequent amendments, the current published text of chs. SPS 320 to 325 governs; there is no local edition year to check for a dwelling. Sec. 35-77 was last amended by Ordinance No. 2025-O-23 on November 25, 2025. THE COMMERCIAL SIDE IS DIFFERENT AND THE DEPARTMENT PUBLISHES IT SEPARATELY: the Building Inspection Department page states that the department "enforces the 2021 IBC Code, 2017 NEC (NFPA 70), and the 2016 UDC state codes for one and two-family homes," and the department's Adopted Codes page links both the 2015 and the 2021 International Building Codes alongside the Wisconsin amendments. For a one- or two-family reroof the International Residential Code is not in play in Wisconsin at all - the state dwelling code is a Wisconsin-written code, not an IRC derivative. The codification is current through Ordinance No. 2025-O-32, adopted December 9, 2025.