Town of Grand Chute, Wisconsin - Building Inspection

Town of Grand Chute, Wisconsin

city

1900 W. Grand Chute Boulevard, Grand Chute, WI 54913

Required

Required

Permits are taken out through the Community Development Department at Town Hall, 1900 W. Grand Chute Boulevard, on 920-832-1599; department hours are Monday through Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Permits are issued and inspections performed by the Town own Building Inspection Department: Section 220-8A of the Town Code creates it and names its head the Building Inspector, Section 220-8B has that officer appointed by the Town Board, and Section 220-27F allows the Town Board to appoint Deputy Building Inspectors to perform all functions required of the Building Inspector, including issuing permits. A reroof is filed on the Town of Grand Chute Uniform Building Permit Application, the Wisconsin state-format form, ticking Constr. under Permit Requested; the form asks for the contractor name and type with a licence or certificate number, and separately for the Dwelling Contractor Qualifier, who "shall be an owner, CEO, COB or employee of the Dwelling Contr." The residential re-roofing permit fee is a flat $35 under the 2026 Community Development Fee Schedule, and the same schedule carries a $35 Wisconsin Uniform Building Permit Seal line where a seal is required. On inspections the Town asks for 48 hours lead time, takes requests by phone on 920-832-1599 or by email to the Community Development secretary and inspectors, and asks for the permit number, name, phone number, site address, type of inspection and when it will be ready; it states that any violations listed or cited must be corrected within 30 days and that the permit holder must call for re-inspections. Under Section 220-28A(7) the building contractor or owner notifies the Building Inspector when ready and the Inspector inspects based on State Building Code requirements, and under Section 220-28A(5) the building permit "shall be kept and displayed at the site of the proposed building." Timing matters on a job that slips: Section 220-27C voids any permit issued under Article II unless the work is commenced within six months of issuance. Two cautions specific to Grand Chute. Its published building-permit requirements sheet is aimed at new construction and asks for items a reroof will not generate, so confirm with the Inspector what a re-roofing application actually needs before assembling a package. And Section 220-8E bars any official or employee of the Building Inspection Department from being directly or indirectly connected with furnishing labour, materials or appliances for construction, alteration or maintenance of a building, so do not expect the inspector to recommend a contractor.

STATE CODE, ADOPTED BY THE TOWN INSIDE ITS OWN BUILDING CODE. One- and two-family dwellings in Grand Chute are built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, chs. SPS 320 to 325 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. That is Wisconsin own text rather than an adoption of the International Residential Code, which is why its roofing rules read differently from the IRC and why no IRC edition year applies to a house here. The local instrument is the Town Building Code, which Section 220-1A defines as Articles I and II of Chapter 220 of the Town Code together with Chapter 317, Housing Standards. Section 220-28B(2) makes the adoption: "The following Wisconsin Administrative Codes, their referenced codes and standards, and subsequent revisions are adopted for municipal enforcement by the Building Inspectors, who shall be certified as Uniform Dwelling Code inspectors by the State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services: Chapters SPS 320 to 325, Wis. Adm. Code, Uniform Dwelling Code, and Chapter SPS 327, Wis. Adm. Code, for camping units." The adoption floats rather than freezing an edition, because it takes "subsequent revisions." Commercial work runs on a separate track that is not the subject of the residential fields recorded here: Section 220-28B(1) adopts chs. SPS 361 to 366, the Wisconsin Commercial Building Code, and chs. SPS 375 to 379 for buildings constructed prior to 1914, and requires the Building Inspectors enforcing them to be certified by the state as commercial building inspectors. Both articles of Chapter 220 were adopted 1-7-1997 out of the 1997 Code, and Section 220-28 has been amended four times since, most recently on 4-9-2026 by Ordinance No. 2026-03. Chapter 220 was read in full - all thirty-nine sections, Articles I and II - and so was Chapter 317, all fifteen sections; neither adds a roof-assembly requirement of any kind.

Not required — No drip edge is required by code on a Grand Chute roof, at either level of government. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code, unlike the International Residential Code, carries no drip edge requirement: 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 chapter is a masonry chimney cap rule, which is not a roof edge requirement. On the Town side, Chapter 220 and Chapter 317 of the Town Code were read in full and the words drip edge do not appear in either, and neither does any other roof-edge or roof-flashing requirement. Practical point for a bid: drip edge may still be required as a matter of the shingle manufacturer installation instructions, which SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes binding for asphalt shingles, so read the wrapper before leaving it off. About drip edge

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, so a steeper roof is not covered by the requirement at all - although the shingle manufacturer instructions may still call for it, and SPS 321.28(3)(a) makes those instructions binding for asphalt shingles. Grand Chute adds nothing to this: Chapter 220 and Chapter 317 of the Town Code were read in full and contain no ice barrier or ice dam provision. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose - ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. GRAND CHUTE HAS CLOSED THE OLDER-HOUSE BRANCH OF THAT QUESTION, AND IT DID IT WITHOUT EVER NAMING A DATE. Town Code Section 220-28B(2)(a) provides: "The Uniform Dwelling Code is hereby adopted by reference as part of this article with respect to all additions or remodeling of existing dwellings." The adoption is written to reach existing dwellings as a class rather than dwellings built after a cut-off, so the age of the house does not take a Grand Chute job outside the Town-enforced dwelling standards. Section 220-28B(2)(b) extends the general requirements and applicable standards of the same code to residential accessory buildings and structures. Chapter 220 was read in full, all thirty-nine sections across both articles, and the year 1980 does not appear anywhere in it. About ice & water barrier

Not required — NO MID-ROOF OR ROOF-COVERING INSPECTION STAGE IS PUBLISHED, AND THE TOWN PRINTS ITS WHOLE LIST SO THIS CAN BE CHECKED. The Grand Chute Inspection Requirements guidance document sets out what it heads "Town required inspections" in the typical construction order, and the list runs, in full: temporary construction power, water and sewer lateral, footing, foundation, underground plumbing, frame and roof, electrical service, plumbing rough-in, HVAC rough-in, electrical rough-in, insulation, drainage plan and final grading, re-inspection, and final inspection. The document adds that "A project may not require all the listed inspections" and asks that the list be used as a guideline for requesting inspections. None of those stages is a tear-off, underlayment or roof-covering inspection; the frame and roof stage is a framing inspection, described as "All walls, floors, roof and other framing installed," and on a reroof the final is the operative one. The ordinance runs the same way: Section 220-12 provides only for a preliminary examination before the permit issues, inspections from time to time during and upon completion of the work, and a final inspection before a certificate of occupancy. Practical points: the Town asks for 48 hours lead time, takes inspection requests on 920-832-1599, and says any violations listed or cited must be corrected within 30 days with the permit holder calling for the re-inspection.

Not required — No impact-resistance or hail-rating mandate applies in Grand Chute. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code contains no UL 2218 requirement, no Class 4 or Class IV impact rating and no FM 4473 reference anywhere in the chapters that govern one- and two-family dwellings, including the roof coverings section; its catch-all for coverings not otherwise addressed sends the installer to the manufacturer instructions or a national standard recognised 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 Town side, Chapter 220 and Chapter 317 of the Town Code were read in full and contain no UL 2218, Class 4, Class IV or FM 4473 requirement, and the Town published permit requirements, inspection requirements and fee schedule set no shingle rating. What the Town does require is that unlisted materials and methods clear the state first: Section 220-28F provides that materials, methods of construction and devices not specifically mentioned in or permitted by the article shall not be used until approved in writing by the Department of Safety and Professional Services, and that once approved they "must be installed or used in strict compliance with the manufacturer's specifications and any rules or conditions of use established by the State Department of Safety and Professional Services." That makes the shingle wrapper binding in Grand Chute; it does not set an impact class.

A RE-ROOF NEEDS A PERMIT IN GRAND CHUTE, AND THE TOWN SAYS SO ON ITS OWN PAGE RATHER THAN LEAVING IT TO BE INFERRED. The Town Building Permit and Inspection Requirements page publishes a two-column table of project types against a "Permit Required" column, and under the heading "Projects Involving Exterior Areas" the row for re-roofing a structure is marked Yes. The same page states the general rule: "A property owner must obtain permits for new construction and any addition or change to the exterior or interior of a structure or for any type of electrical, heating or plumbing work." The 2026 Community Development Fee Schedule confirms it from the money side, carrying a flat $35 line for re-roofing, siding, fences and patios over 100 square feet under the heading "Residential 1 & 2 Family Construction - Building and Mechanical Permit Fees" - a fixed fee, not a value calculation. The ordinance backing is Section 220-27A, "No building, plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilating or air-conditioning work shall be performed in the Town of Grand Chute unless a permit therefor is obtained as required by the provisions of this article," read with the definition in Section 220-28A(1), under which the term "building" "shall include any building or structure and any enlargement, alteration, heating or ventilating installation, moving or demolishing, or anything affecting the fire hazards or safety of any building or structure." WHERE THE LINE FALLS FOR A SMALL REPAIR IS NOT A NUMBER, IT IS THE INSPECTOR JUDGMENT, AND TWO SEPARATE PROVISIONS DO THAT WORK. Section 220-28A(6) provides that "The Building Inspector may authorize minor repairs or alterations which do not change the occupancy, area, structural strength, fire protection, exits, light or ventilation of the building without issuing a building permit" - discretionary, and exercised by the Inspector rather than claimed by the contractor. Section 220-3 sets the other, self-executing limit: "Ordinary repairs to buildings may be made without application or notice to the Building Inspector, but such repairs shall not include the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support, the removal or change of any required means of egress, or the rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the exit requirements, nor shall ordinary repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, soil, waste, vent or similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical or other work affecting public health or general safety." A full tear-off and recover is not an ordinary repair on that definition once it reaches structural members, and the Town own table has already answered the question for a re-roof anyway. DO NOT READ THE $2,000 FIGURE IN THIS CHAPTER AS A PERMIT THRESHOLD. Section 220-28A(4) says only that "If the Building Inspector finds that the character of the work is sufficiently described in the application, he may waive the filing of plans for alterations, repairs or moving, provided that the cost of such work does not exceed $2,000." That is a waiver of PLANS on an application already filed, not a waiver of the permit. One further threshold matters on a job that turns structural. Section 220-7 requires existing buildings altered or repaired to be made to conform to the full requirements of the Town Building Code for new buildings where alterations or repairs within any twelve-month period cost more than 50% of the physical value of the building, or where fire or other damage exceeds 50% of the physical value before the damage; between 25% and 50%, the Building Inspector "shall determine to what degree the portions so altered or repaired shall be made to conform to the requirements for new buildings"; and at 25% or less the Inspector "shall permit restoration of the building to its condition previous to damage or deterioration with the same kind of materials as those of which the building was constructed," provided that does not endanger general safety and public welfare. Physical value is set by the Town Assessor on current replacement costs. THE PENALTY FOR SKIPPING THE PERMIT IS TRIPLE. Section 220-36 provides that "It shall be unlawful to commence work prior to obtaining a permit therefor. Triple fees shall be charged if work is commenced prior to the issuance of a permit to do so," and the Town states the same thing on its requirements page in operational terms: "If the Town discovers an active project without permits, it will require all work to stop at the site until the owner obtains the proper permits, for which the Town will charge triple the regular fee. The Town can also fine an owner for every day that the work is not in compliance."

STATE-SET, AND EXPRESSED AS A PRESSURE RATHER THAN A DESIGN WIND SPEED IN MILES PER HOUR. 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," with a published note that ASCE 7-05 allows for substantial reduction from 20 psf as applied to the surface area. Snow is the one input that varies geographically: SPS 321.02(1)(b)2. provides that roofs "shall be designed and constructed to support the minimum snow loads listed on the zone map," a statewide zone map, so a local ground snow figure is read off that map rather than stated as a single statewide number. IMPORTANT for anyone used to International Residential Code jurisdictions: because Wisconsin works in pounds per square foot and a zone map, there is no ultimate design wind speed in miles per hour here, and the 20 pounds per square foot figure must not be converted into one. Grand Chute sets no figure of its own: Chapter 220 and Chapter 317 of the Town Code were read in full and print no wind speed, no wind pressure and no ground snow load for a dwelling anywhere. What the Town does is enforce the state numbers - Section 220-28B(2) adopts chs. SPS 320 to 325 for municipal enforcement by Building Inspectors certified by the state as Uniform Dwelling Code inspectors, and Section 220-28A(7) has the Inspector inspect "based on State Building Code requirements."

STATE-SET. Grand Chute writes no reroofing layer rule of its own - Chapter 220 of the Town Code, both articles and all thirty-nine sections, and Chapter 317, all fifteen sections, were read in full and contain no layer limit, no recover rule and no shingle provision - so the statewide rule governs unmodified. The statewide Wisconsin uniform dwelling code bars installing a new roof covering over the existing covering in three situations: where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated so that it is inadequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of permanent roof covering. So at most two total layers, and fewer than that where the deck is wet or deteriorated or the existing roof is one of the listed materials. A complete tear-off to the deck is not restricted by that rule at any layer count. There is no local route past two layers here of the kind a few other Wisconsin municipalities publish on calculations submitted to the inspector, so a roof already carrying two applications is a tear-off in Grand Chute. The Wisconsin uniform dwelling code sets these roofing rules statewide, but does not reach every house. It does not apply to a one- or two-family dwelling whose construction began before June 1, 1980, or to additions or alterations to one, unless the municipality has adopted chs. SPS 320 to 325 for that purpose - ask the building inspector before assuming it governs an older home. The code also states that it does not apply to repairs or maintenance, and it defines a repair to include replacing existing equipment with the equivalent, while a separate section regulates reroofing by name. Wisconsin has not resolved which of those two provisions governs a like-for-like tear-off, so confirm with the authority issuing the permit. GRAND CHUTE HAS CLOSED THE OLDER-HOUSE BRANCH OF THAT QUESTION, AND IT DID IT WITHOUT EVER NAMING A DATE. Town Code Section 220-28B(2)(a) provides: "The Uniform Dwelling Code is hereby adopted by reference as part of this article with respect to all additions or remodeling of existing dwellings." The adoption is written to reach existing dwellings as a class rather than dwellings built after a cut-off, so the age of the house does not take a Grand Chute job outside the Town-enforced dwelling standards. Section 220-28B(2)(b) extends the general requirements and applicable standards of the same code to residential accessory buildings and structures. Chapter 220 was read in full, all thirty-nine sections across both articles, and the year 1980 does not appear anywhere in it.

STATE-SET. Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.27(9) sets the deck standard for one- and two-family dwellings in three parts. For structural sheathing, "The allowable loads and spans for structural sheathing shall be in accordance with the grade stamp on the panel." For roof boards, where the rafter spacing is 24 inches on center or less, "roof boards may be used that have a minimum thickness of 5/8-inch for solid sheathing and 3/4-inch for spaced sheathing," and where the rafter spacing is greater than 24 inches on center, "roof boards shall be tongue and groove, at least 1.5 inches thick." For roof planks, they "shall be tongue and groove or splined and at least 2 inches, nominal, in thickness," shall "terminate over beams unless the joints are end matched," and shall be "laid so that no continuous line of joints will occur except at points of support." Wisconsin expresses this as a panel grade-stamp and board-thickness rule keyed to rafter spacing rather than the International Residential Code formulation used in IRC states, so do not carry an IRC sheathing specification onto a Wisconsin job. Grand Chute adds nothing of its own for a house roof: Chapter 220 and Chapter 317 of the Town Code were read in full and contain no roof sheathing, decking or roof-nailing provision for a dwelling. Two local rules bear on a tear-off that exposes bad deck. Section 220-3 keeps work that involves "the removal or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support" outside the ordinary-repairs carve-out, so replacing rafters or structural members is permitted work. And Section 220-12A has the Building Inspector conducting inspections "from time to time during and upon completion of the work," while the Town published inspection list has a Frame & Roof stage described as "All walls, floors, roof and other framing installed" - if a reroof turns into framing replacement, get it looked at before it is covered.

5.5% on materials. Wisconsin state sales and use tax is 5%, and Outagamie County levies the half-point county tax on top of it: the county row in the Department of Revenue sales tax rate chart, county code 44, shows a state rate of 5% and a county rate of 0.50% with an effective date of January 2020. Grand Chute lies wholly within Outagamie County, so a single rate applies across the Town - unlike neighbouring Appleton, which straddles three counties. TWO NEARBY COUNTIES ARE DIFFERENT AND A BID BUILT OFF THE WRONG ONE IS HALF A POINT OUT: Winnebago County, immediately south, levies NO county sales tax, so Oshkosh and Neenah sit at 5.0%. No municipal sales tax applies here - the Department of Revenue 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, since Grand Chute is not on the Department published list of municipalities that have adopted one. The rate chart is Department of Revenue Guidance Document Number 100047, dated January 16, 2026. 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 answers it by name, listing roofs as real property for residential installation, residential repair, commercial installation and commercial repair alike - so the roofing contractor is the consumer of what it installs. The contractor pays sales or use tax when buying shingles, underlayment and other materials, and "is not permitted to collect sales tax from its customers on its sales price from sales of real property construction activities," meaning neither labour nor materials are taxed on the reroofing contract. The exception runs the other way: selling lumber, roofing materials or other tangible personal property WITHOUT installation is a retail sale and is taxable. So the rate is a cost input on the material purchase rather than a line on the homeowner invoice.