Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Folcroft, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Folcroft, PA

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Folcroft, PA?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Borough of Folcroft, PA. Folcroft Borough's permit office lists roof replacement or overlay as work that needs a building permit. The Borough's Permits page (read October 9, 2026) says "The Borough of Folcroft requires a Building permit for the following areas" and lists "Roof replacement or overlay," with the note "this list is for reference only and is not final," and adds "Coating of existing roof or driveway does not require a permit; however, Installation of new shingles on an existing roof does require a permit." Its When Do I Need a Permit? page says "The following work requires obtaining a permit in Folcroft Borough" and lists "Roofing" and "Shingles." Chapter 255 of the Borough Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code by reference and names no roof work; no Borough Code section found names reroofing as permit work or as exempt. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). In practice, expect the Borough to require a building permit for a reroof, including new shingles laid over an existing roof. The Permits page says "If required permits are not obtained for a job, a stop work order is given until the correct permits are obtained at which time all permit fees are doubled." State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Folcroft Borough issues building permits from its Borough office at 799 E. Ashland Avenue, Folcroft, where its staff list a Code Administrator; Chapter 255 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's When Do I Need a Permit? page says "a qualified Borough inspector must review the project and conduct inspections." The Borough's pages state no square-footage, percentage or dollar threshold for roof work; they exempt coating of an existing roof and require a permit for installing new shingles on an existing roof.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Folcroft, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Folcroft Borough issues building permits from its Borough office at 799 E. Ashland Avenue, Folcroft, where its staff list a Code Administrator; Chapter 255 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's When Do I Need a Permit? page says "a qualified Borough inspector must review the project and conduct inspections." The Borough's Permits page says "in no case shall more than two layers of shingles be installed on a roof," and Chapter 255 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions. Section 255-2 of the Borough Code (amended 2006 by Ord. No. 990) says the Borough "shall adopt the 2006 International Code Council" codes it lists, which do not include the International Residential Code, with future revisions "automatically adopted," and the Borough's pages name no code edition; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2006 editions' reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the Borough applies.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Folcroft, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Folcroft, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Folcroft Borough issues building permits from its Borough office at 799 E. Ashland Avenue, Folcroft, where its staff list a Code Administrator; Chapter 255 of the Borough Code says the Borough "hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," and the Borough's When Do I Need a Permit? page says "a qualified Borough inspector must review the project and conduct inspections." Section 255-2 adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code. Section 255-2 of the Borough Code (amended 2006 by Ord. No. 990) says the Borough "shall adopt the 2006 International Code Council" codes it lists, which do not include the International Residential Code, with future revisions "automatically adopted," and the Borough's pages name no code edition; this record has not read the 2006 editions' text and does not decide which edition the Borough applies.