Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Gering, NE?

Roofing questions: Gering, NE

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Gering, NE?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Gering, NE. Gering publishes a standalone "APPLICATION FOR ROOFING PERMIT" among its Forms & Permits, so a re-roof is permitted work in its own right rather than something a roofer has to argue into or out of the general building permit. The form asks for the roofing contractor's name, address, phone and email, whether the work is NEW or EXISTING, the "PERCENT OF REPAIR" or "COMPLETE REMOVAL", the sheeting and covering type, the "NUMBER OF EXISTING LAYERS", the building type, whether the building is within the fire limits, and an estimated valuation including materials, labor "AND your own labor if you're doing the work yourself." The City publishes no square-footage, dollar or percentage floor below which a roofing permit is not needed. Two things close the gap that such a floor would otherwise leave. First, Gering Municipal Code 150.020 requires a permit of "Any person desiring to commence or proceed to erect, construct, repair, enlarge, demolish, or relocate any building or dwelling, or cause the same to be done", and adds that "Whenever there is a discrepancy between permit application procedures contained herein and those contained in any building code adopted by reference, the provisions contained herein shall govern." Second, Ordinance No. 2086 expressly excludes IRC Section 105.2 - the model code's "Work exempt from permit" list - from the code Gering has adopted, so the familiar IRC exemptions are not available in this city. The roofing permit form warns in bold: "NOTE!! You have NOT received your permit. Do NO work until it is issued." The City's inspection handout adds that "If you begin work without obtaining a permit, there will be a late fee of $50.00 added to the permit."

Is ice & water shield required in Gering, NE?

Yes. Required, and Gering says so twice. Its Roofing Inspections and Requirements sheet, item 4, reads: "Ice barrier is required to be installed over solid sheet. This area is required to have ice barrier by code and must be solidly sheathe to the roof. All roofs are required to have ice and water barrier. Minimum of 24 inches inside of exterior walls." Separately, the climatic and geographic design criteria table the City publishes for its adopted code answers "Yes" in the ICE BARRIER UNDERLAYMENT REQUIRED column, which is the entry the adopted code keys its ice-barrier provision to. Read the 24-inch figure as the City states it - measured to inside the exterior wall line, not from the eave edge.

Is drip edge required in Gering, NE?

Yes. Required by the code Gering has adopted, with no local change. The City adopts the 2018 International Residential Code by Ordinance No. 2086, which was read in full: it is a single-section ordinance rewriting Municipal Code 150.001, its exclusion list for the residential code names Sections 105.2, 107, 112, 113, 309.5, 313, Chapter 2904 and Chapters 11 through 42, and it touches nothing in Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. The base 2018 IRC drip-edge provision for asphalt shingles, Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies in Gering unmodified. Note that the City's own roofing requirement sheet does not repeat the drip-edge rule but does require valley flashing "constructed in accordance with approved manufacturer's instructions", with a minimum 00.016-inch flashing extending at least 8 inches from the centerline of the valley for asphalt shingles and a minimum 28-gauge flashing extending at least 10 inches for wood shingles.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Gering, NE?

TWO STATEMENTS THAT DIFFER, AND THIS RECORD DOES NOT CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM. The City's own permit form requires a full tear-off. The reverse of the City's Application for Roofing Permit, headed "Roofing Inspections and Requirements", carries thirteen numbered requirements that the applicant signs to comply with, and item 11 reads: "The roof must be stripped down to the decking before a new roof covering can be applied." The City reinforces it from the inspection side - item 1 of the same sheet requires a "Pre-Inspection - After removal of existing materials and prior to installing new roof coverings" - and the permit form still asks the applicant to state the "NUMBER OF EXISTING LAYERS". That sheet is a permit form, not an ordinance, so it is reported here as the City's own statement of what it requires and not as the source of a layer rule. The enacted rule is the base code. The City is on the 2018 International Residential Code, and Ordinance No. 2086, read in full, amends nothing in Chapter 9 or in Chapter 8, so the base 2018 IRC roof-recover provision applies as published. Base-code rule, read at 2018 International Residential Code Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed, and quoted here rather than left behind the ICC paywall: a roof recover "shall not be permitted" where "the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." One existing layer may be recovered; a second existing layer means a tear-off to the deck. The two differ: the enacted code allows a recover over one existing layer, and the City's form does not. No enacted Gering instrument removing the recover option has been read for this record, so this record declares no layer classification. The City is who inspects and its form is what the applicant signs, so plan a Gering re-roof as a tear-off.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Gering, NE?

Yes.

What building code does Gering, NE use?

Gering is on the 2018 International Residential Code. Ordinance No. 2086, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk under the City seal and recorded in the municipal code as passed February 10, 2020, rewrote Gering Municipal Code 150.001 to adopt by reference the International Building Code 2018 Edition including Appendix F, the International Residential Code One- and Two-Family Dwellings 2018 Edition, and the International Energy Conservation Code 2009 Edition adopted by the Nebraska legislature as the "Nebraska Energy Code." The ordinance excludes named portions of each. For the residential code it excludes "IRC Sections: 105.2, 107, 112, 113, 309.5, 313, Chapter 2904 Fire Sprinkler System and Chapters 11 thru 42, which are the energy, plumbing, mechanical and electrical sections". Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, and Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, are NOT among the excluded portions, so the 2018 IRC roofing provisions apply in Gering as published. The City Engineering & Planning page lists the same package plus the 2018 IPC, 2018 IMC, 2021 NEC "per State Electrical Inspector", 2018 IGC, 2009 IEC and 2009 ISC. Note that the exclusion of IRC Section 105.2 removes the model code's list of work exempt from permit, so a roofer cannot rely on the standard IRC exemptions here - Gering's own permit rule in Municipal Code 150.020 governs instead. The codified municipal code the City publishes is the code book dated September 2023; the City also keeps the signed Ordinance 2086 on its Engineering & Planning page.