Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Borough of Greencastle, PA?

Roofing questions: Borough of Greencastle, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Borough of Greencastle, PA?

Greencastle Borough's code and pages read for this record do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Chapter 106 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 2004-01, May 3, 2004, read October 9, 2026) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, repeals "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances heretofore adopted by the Borough" (Section 106-6A), and requires a Borough land use permit "When any building or construction activity is contemplated" before a construction permit application (Section 106-6C); it names no roof work and adds no permit requirement of its own for repairs or alterations. The Borough's Permits and Zoning page says the Zoning Ordinance requires a Land Use/Zoning Permit before any building is "erected, reconstructed or restored, or structurally altered," and that "Property owners who are uncertain whether a permit is required should contact the Borough office at 717-597-7143 for clarification"; no Borough page names roof work. The agency's own website, which does not name the Borough on the pages read, answers the question "I am re-roofing my residential structure – do I need a building permit?" with a letter dated July 20, 2018 and addressed "Dear Municipal Official," which says "a residential Re-roof still requires compliance with the provisions of the UCC but does not require a building permit" and "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses a permit would now be required"; the letter refers to the 2015 International Residential Code. The agency's Re-Roof Application Packet says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair" and lists a "Land Use Permit (signed/approved by the Municipality)" among its required documents. 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, Greencastle Borough's Permits and Zoning page says the Borough has delegated administration of the Uniform Construction Code to a "building code inspection agency who has been authorized by the Borough to issue building permits," and lists PA Municipal Code Alliance, 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg (717-496-4996); a Land Use/Zoning Permit from the Borough Zoning Officer must come first. No Borough text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Borough of Greencastle, PA?

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, Greencastle Borough's Permits and Zoning page says the Borough has delegated administration of the Uniform Construction Code to a "building code inspection agency who has been authorized by the Borough to issue building permits," and lists PA Municipal Code Alliance, 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg (717-496-4996); a Land Use/Zoning Permit from the Borough Zoning Officer must come first. Chapter 106 of the Borough Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Borough's pages say nothing on roof layers. The agency's 2018 re-roof letter, which does not name the Borough, says "Metal roofing should not be installed over more than two layers of shingles without the authorization of a design professional."

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Borough of Greencastle, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Borough of Greencastle, PA use?

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, Greencastle Borough's Permits and Zoning page says the Borough has delegated administration of the Uniform Construction Code to a "building code inspection agency who has been authorized by the Borough to issue building permits," and lists PA Municipal Code Alliance, 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg (717-496-4996); a Land Use/Zoning Permit from the Borough Zoning Officer must come first. Chapter 106 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 2004-01, May 3, 2004, read October 9, 2026) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code, repeals "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances heretofore adopted by the Borough" (Section 106-6A), and requires a Borough land use permit "When any building or construction activity is contemplated" before a construction permit application (Section 106-6C); it names no roof work and adds no permit requirement of its own for repairs or alterations. No Borough page names a code edition.