Jurisdiction
Township of Franklin, Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Address
897 Route 288, Fombell, PA 16123
Contact
- url: https://franklintwpbeavercopa.gov/forms/
- phone: 724-758-9702
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Franklin Township's building permit pages do not name roof work either way; its zoning permit list and a zoning-chapter section name reroofing as needing no permit. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. The Township's Forms page, under "Zoning Permit Requirements," says "A Zoning Permits is NOT REQUIRED for painting, siding, reroofing, non-structural interior work, small prebuilt structures without foundations, or awnings." Under "Building Permit Requirements" it says "A Building Permit is REQUIRED if your project includes new construction or additions, structural changes or repairs" and "A Building Permit is NOT REQUIRED for agricultural buildings, accessory structures under 1,000 square feet, non-structural residential work," "minor repairs and routine maintenance," and other listed work; the building permit list names no roof work either way. No Township building permit fee schedule was found published. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." This record does not state whether the Township requires a building permit for a house reroof; the Forms page says "When in doubt, please contact the Township before starting work." The building permit procedures say to schedule inspections through the agency's office at 724-406-0031 and that "Your permit may be picked up at the municipality or emailed to you depending on location"; the Township office is at 724-758-9702. Section 330-84A says "Failure to acquire a permit prior to commencing construction shall result in the permit fee being doubled." Read for this answer: Chapter 137 of the Township Code in full and Article XVII of the Zoning Ordinance; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof", "reroofing" and "re-roofing"; the Township's Forms, Ordinances & Zoning and Administration pages; and the building permit application, building permit procedures, residential plan requirements and zoning permit application posted there.
Adopted code
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, Franklin Township, in Beaver County, has its Uniform Construction Code work done by a third-party code agency: Section 137-1 of the Township Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Township's Forms page posts the building permit application, procedures and residential plan requirements, and that application says the Township's third-party code agency "has been hired as the Building Code Official by the municipality and represents only the municipality." The Township office is at 897 Route 288, Fombell. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. No Township page read names a code edition.
Impact-resistant roofing
Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The State's adoption of the 2021 International Residential Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21) contains no hail or impact rule, and it makes no change to the code's roof assemblies chapter, which itself has no UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement for roof coverings. A municipality could add one only by an ordinance that equals or exceeds the Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 section 503, filed with the Department of Labor and Industry; none of the filings on the Department's register of municipal code change ordinances mentions hail or impact resistance. An owner may still choose an impact-rated roof covering. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Franklin Township, in Beaver County, has its Uniform Construction Code work done by a third-party code agency: Section 137-1 of the Township Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Township's Forms page posts the building permit application, procedures and residential plan requirements, and that application says the Township's third-party code agency "has been hired as the Building Code Official by the municipality and represents only the municipality." The Township office is at 897 Route 288, Fombell. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. No UL 2218, Class 4 or hail-impact requirement appears in Chapter 137, in Article XVII of the Zoning Ordinance or on the Township's Forms page.
Repair permit threshold
Franklin Township's building permit pages do not name roof work either way; its zoning permit list and a zoning-chapter section name reroofing as needing no permit. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. The Township's Forms page, under "Zoning Permit Requirements," says "A Zoning Permits is NOT REQUIRED for painting, siding, reroofing, non-structural interior work, small prebuilt structures without foundations, or awnings." Under "Building Permit Requirements" it says "A Building Permit is REQUIRED if your project includes new construction or additions, structural changes or repairs" and "A Building Permit is NOT REQUIRED for agricultural buildings, accessory structures under 1,000 square feet, non-structural residential work," "minor repairs and routine maintenance," and other listed work; the building permit list names no roof work either way. No Township building permit fee schedule was found published. Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "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." 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, Franklin Township, in Beaver County, has its Uniform Construction Code work done by a third-party code agency: Section 137-1 of the Township Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Township's Forms page posts the building permit application, procedures and residential plan requirements, and that application says the Township's third-party code agency "has been hired as the Building Code Official by the municipality and represents only the municipality." The Township office is at 897 Route 288, Fombell. No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work under the Uniform Construction Code.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, Franklin Township, in Beaver County, has its Uniform Construction Code work done by a third-party code agency: Section 137-1 of the Township Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Township's Forms page posts the building permit application, procedures and residential plan requirements, and that application says the Township's third-party code agency "has been hired as the Building Code Official by the municipality and represents only the municipality." The Township office is at 897 Route 288, Fombell. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. The Township's pages say nothing on roof layers.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Franklin Township, in Beaver County, has its Uniform Construction Code work done by a third-party code agency: Section 137-1 of the Township Code says "This municipality hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act," the Township's Forms page posts the building permit application, procedures and residential plan requirements, and that application says the Township's third-party code agency "has been hired as the Building Code Official by the municipality and represents only the municipality." The Township office is at 897 Route 288, Fombell. Chapter 137 of the Township Code, read in full, adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the Township's building code and names no roof work; Section 137-5A keeps in force building code ordinances adopted "on or before July 1, 1999," which "equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and this record found none naming roof work. Section 330-84 of the Zoning Ordinance, "Building permits," under the Zoning Officer's duties, says "Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, reroofing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes"; that section sits in the zoning chapter, and this record does not decide whether it speaks to the Uniform Construction Code permit. No Township page draws a line for roof sheathing; the Forms page lists "structural changes or repairs" among work needing a building permit.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Franklin Township is in Beaver County. The Township's Forms page and permit documents say nothing on sales tax.