Permitting Authorities / Village of Gaines - Building Inspection Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Gaines, MI?
Adopted code
Village of Gaines - Building Inspection Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Gaines, MI, issued by Village of Gaines - Building Inspection Department. In the Village of Gaines the permit answer rests on the general state rule, because the village has published nothing on reroofs. Section 31.05 of the Code of Ordinances says "The Building Inspection Department of the village is designated as the enforcing agency", and Chapter 9 refers to a "valid building permit issued by this village". The village office is at 113 Genesee St., PO Box 178, Gaines, MI 48436, phone (989) 271-8386, open Monday through Thursday, and its home page lists a "Township Building Permits" quick link to an online site without saying whose permits it serves; no building permit form or fee schedule is posted on the village website. The state's general rule is that "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit", and the same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs. Read October 15, 2026.
Roof code checklist: Gaines, MI
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
Village of Gaines, Michigan
Address
113 Genesee St., Gaines, MI 48436
Contact
- url: https://villageofgaines.net/
- phone: 989-271-8386
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In the Village of Gaines the permit answer rests on the general state rule, because the village has published nothing on reroofs. Section 31.05 of the Code of Ordinances says "The Building Inspection Department of the village is designated as the enforcing agency", and Chapter 9 refers to a "valid building permit issued by this village". The village office is at 113 Genesee St., PO Box 178, Gaines, MI 48436, phone (989) 271-8386, open Monday through Thursday, and its home page lists a "Township Building Permits" quick link to an online site without saying whose permits it serves; no building permit form or fee schedule is posted on the village website. The state's general rule is that "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit", and the same section says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," without defining ordinary repairs. Read October 15, 2026.
Adopted code
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 names the Village of Gaines as its own building code enforcer. Section 31.05 of the village's Code of Ordinances says "The Building Inspection Department of the village is designated as the enforcing agency" and names no edition, and Section 31.06(A) designates the Building Official as the enforcing agency "Pursuant to the provision of the Michigan Building Code of 2009 and the Michigan Residential Building Code of 2009"; this directory has not read that 2009 text, and whether that reference has any effect today is not decided here. This record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state construction code act applies throughout the state ("This act and the code apply throughout the state," MCL 125.1508a) and which LARA says remains in effect while the Court of Claims order of July 7, 2025 stands. The Village of Gaines has published no statement that it enforces the 2015 edition, and the base 2009 and 2015 editions are known to differ on the layer limit, so this record leaves out the drip edge, ice barrier and impact answers and states both editions' text on the layer limit.
Repair permit threshold
The Village of Gaines has published nothing on reroofs and no permit threshold. Its zoning code defines a building permit as "An authorization issued by the Village Building Inspector to move, erect or alter a structure within the village", its home page lists a "Township Building Permits" quick link to an online site, and it posts no building permit application or fee schedule. Under state law, "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" and "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs. Ask the village office, 989-271-8386, whether a given roof job needs a permit.
Roof layer limit / recover
Not stated here as a single layer count, because the record does not settle which of two code editions answers the question in the Village of Gaines, and the two differ. 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. Under that code, Section R908.3.1.1 bars a new roof over an existing one in three cases, 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." Section 31.06(A) of the Village of Gaines Code of Ordinances says it acts "Pursuant to the provision of the Michigan Building Code of 2009 and the Michigan Residential Building Code of 2009". The base 2009 text, Section R907.3 (Recovering versus replacement), carries the same three conditions, its second also naming wood shake, and a fourth: "For asphalt shingles, when the building is located in an area subject to moderate or severe hail exposure according to Figure R903.5." Under that text a single existing layer of asphalt shingles can call for a tear-off where the hail condition is met, so no layer count states the 2009 rule. The 2009 Michigan amendments to that code were not read, and whether that reference has any effect today is not decided here (see adopted_code). Chapters 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13 and 15 of the village's Code of Ordinances (the traffic code, Chapter 7, was not read) and its website state no layer rule of their own; the dwelling standards in Chapter 15 ask only that "The dwelling and roof shall be covered with a material which is in composition, color, texture, malleability, direction of joints, and method of fastening to the structure comparable to those typically found in the neighborhood". Ask the Village of Gaines office, (989) 271-8386, before planning an overlay.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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). Chapters 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13 and 15 of the Village of Gaines Code of Ordinances and the village website were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof sheathing. The Village of Gaines Code of Ordinances, Section 31.06(A), names "the Michigan Residential Building Code of 2009" (see adopted_code); this field states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, which the state act applies throughout the state; the village has published no statement that it enforces the 2015 edition; the 2009 text was not read (see adopted_code).
Sales & use tax
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 Village of Gaines website changes this.
Local roofing hub
More roof permit pages in Michigan
Related guides
The Village of Gaines, in Genesee County, keeps its village office at 113 Genesee St. in Gaines, and Section 31.05 of its Code of Ordinances designates the village's Building Inspection Department as the enforcing agency under the state construction code act. The village's home page links "Township Building Permits" to an online permit site, and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Village as its own building code enforcer. Michigan's single state construction code applies, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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