Gratiot County - Department of Community Development

Gratiot County, Michigan (3 villages and 16 townships on the county building program)

county

214 E Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847

Required

Required

The Gratiot County building permit application has a "Re-Roof" box next to "Re-Side" under "Exterior Only", and the fee schedule printed with it includes the line "Residential Roof" at $10.00 per square foot among the construction rates "to Calculate ECV", the estimated construction value that sets the fee. Permit fees are $30.00 for the building permit administrative fee, $50.00 for work valued at $0,001 to $2,500 and $100.00 for $2,501 to $7,500, $140.00 for $7,501 to $10,000, and $140.00 plus $5.00 per $1,000 over $10,000 for $10,001 to $100,000, with inspections at $30.00 each and a plan review fee of $0.08 per sq. ft. The application says "AN ADDITIONAL $55.00 + $25.00 PER HOUR + Mileage (At current IRS Rate) WILL BE CHARGED TO ALL CONSTRUCTION COMMENCED WITHOUT THE NECESSARY CONSTRUCTION PERMITS", and "A permit shall become invalid if the authorized work is not commenced within 180 days after issuance of the permit". The application asks for the contractor's builders license number and expiration date and a federal employer ID or the reason for exemption, and says that if the homeowner is doing the construction the homeowner enters "Homeowner" in the contractor space. The department's page says "Inspections are done by appointment and, except when unforeseen circumstances may arise, are completed within two business days." A township zoning permit or letter of township approval is required before the building permit is issued. The office is at 214 E Center St., Ithaca, MI 48847, (989) 875-5201, open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The county serves the units LARA assigns to it; the City of Ithaca's own page says "The City currently contracts the Building Inspection services with the County of Gratiot" and "Building permits are required for new construction and remodeling, including roofs."

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 assigns building code enforcement in 3 villages and 16 townships of Gratiot County to the county; the cities of Alma, Ithaca and St. Louis are listed as enforcing for themselves. The Gratiot County Community Development page, read October 11, 2026, says its staff ensure "that all structures meet the standards of safety and quality required by the State of Michigan" and names no code edition. The county's Zoning Ordinance, adopted October 19, 1999 and printed April 1, 2002, says in Section 2.10 that a manufactured home "must be placed on a permanent foundation as specified by the BOCA National Building Code, as adopted by Gratiot County"; that text was not read, and this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.

Required — Required on asphalt shingle roofs by state law. Michigan makes no amendment to the drip edge rule of the 2015 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5, which applies as published: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs." Segments overlap by at least 2 inches, the drip edge extends at least 1/4 inch below the roof sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the deck, it is fastened at no more than 12 inches on center, and underlayment goes over it at the eaves and under it at the rakes. A reroof is held to the same rule, because "Materials and methods of application used for re-covering or replacing an existing roof covering shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 9" (R908.1). The Gratiot County Community Development page, its requirements sheet and its building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge. About drip edge

Required — Required everywhere in Michigan by state law. Michigan fills in the climatic design table of the 2015 code once for the whole state (Rule 516, Table R301.2(1)), and its ice barrier underlayment column reads Yes. The state footnote calls for Yes "for areas where the average daily temperature in January is 25 degrees Fahrenheit" or less, or where ice damming has caused damage. The base code then requires an ice barrier "for asphalt shingles, metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate and slate-type shingles, wood shingles and wood shakes," running "from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building" (R905.1.2). Detached accessory structures without conditioned floor area are exempt. On a tear-off, an existing ice barrier that is adhered to the deck may stay and be covered with an additional layer (R908.3, Exception). The Gratiot County Community Development page, its requirements sheet and its building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance requirement under state law. The 2015 Michigan Residential Code was searched in full and has no hail or impact rating rule for roof coverings: the words hail, impact and UL 2218 do not appear in it, and none of them appears in the roof assemblies chapter of the base 2015 International Residential Code either. Michigan applies one code statewide ("This act and the code apply throughout the state."), and the act gives the power to amend it to the state director, who adopts the model codes "with amendments, additions, or deletions as the director determines appropriate." The Gratiot County Community Development page, its requirements sheet and its building permit application state no impact rule.

The Gratiot County building permit application lists "Re-Roof" among its residential project types, in a box headed "Exterior Only" beside "Re-Side", and its fee schedule has a "Residential Roof" rate of $10.00 per square foot for working out the estimated construction value on which the permit fee is based. The pages read for this record state no size, square or dollar point below which roof work needs no permit. The state part: Michigan's construction code act says "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure" and does not define ordinary repairs. For a small repair, ask the Department of Community Development (989-875-5201) before starting.

Two layers at most, under state law. 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. The base section therefore applies as the International Code Council publishes it. Section R908.3.1.1 lists the conditions under which a new roof may not be laid over an existing one, 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." Locally, the county's ordinances page lists a house numbering ordinance, a zoning ordinance, an off-road vehicle ordinance, a soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance and a wind energy ordinance and no building ordinance, and the Zoning Ordinance was searched for roof, shingle, layer, tear-off and R908 with every roof hit read: they concern building height, a dish antenna on a roof, roof signs, covered porches and canopy roofs, and none concerns re-covering a roof or the number of roof layers. The Community Development page, requirements sheet and building permit application state no layer rule.

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). The Gratiot County Community Development page, its requirements sheet and its building permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof decks or sheathing.

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." The same 6% applies throughout Gratiot County.