Jurisdiction
Township of Greenfield, Blair County, Pennsylvania
Address
477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, PA 16625
Contact
- url: https://www.greenfieldtownshippa.gov/get-in-touch/
- phone: 814-239-5313
Roofing permit required
Not required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
Greenfield Township's Building Permits – Overview page says "If you are replacing your roof shingles with shingles, no permit is required." The Township's Building Permits – Overview page says "a building permit is needed anytime you make improvements or alternations to your property" and "The only exceptions are minor changes," and "If you are replacing your roof shingles with shingles, no permit is required. Replacing the shingles with a metal roof or a metal roof with a shingled roof does require a permit." Its Township Building Permits page lists "change shingled roof to a metal roof" and "change metal roof to a shingled roof" among projects that need a township building permit, at a $40.00 township fee. The PMCA Residential Re-Roof packet the Township posts says in its heading "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair or changing roof material". The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance No. 04-05, effective July 8, 2004, read from its scanned pages) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and adds no permit clause naming roof work; its Section C says construction exempt from the Uniform Construction Code "must be reported by the owner, contractor and/or builder to Greenfield Township prior to the commencement of the construction," a notice that names no permit. The Township's Building Permit Ordinance No. 82-01, a building permit and flood-area ordinance kept in force by the 2004 ordinance's savings clause for pre-1999 building code ordinances that equal or exceed the code, says "A Building Permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures" and does not name roofing. 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." Read for this answer: the Township's Uniform Construction Code Ordinance No. 04-05 in full and Building Permit Ordinance No. 82-01, Articles I and II (its permit requirement and exemption; the later floodplain articles of its 33 scanned pages were not transcribed), both from the Township's Ordinances page, which lists no amending ordinance for either; the Township's Building Permits – Overview, Township Building Permits, Building a New Home and Building Permits documents pages; the Township's building permit and land use permit applications; PMCA's Residential Re-Roof packet and application, whose improvement types are "New Addition Alteration Repair/Replacement Relocation"; and PMCA's 2021 fee schedule posted by the Township, which has commercial, electrical and property-maintenance pages and no roofing line. Where a permit is needed, PMCA's re-roof packet asks for two signed copies of its application with "a descriptive narrative which must indicate existing and proposed materials" and a Land Use Permit signed by the Township, and the Township's page says the permit placard must be posted before the project starts. The Township office is at 477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, phone (814) 239-5313, Option 2.
Adopted code
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, Greenfield Township in Blair County issues its own township building permits and land use permits from its Administrative Office at 477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, and retains third-party agencies for Uniform Construction Code permits: its Building a New Home page says "Residents have the selection between two inspection agencies," naming PMCA (PA Municipal Code Alliance) and CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection System), and its Building Permits documents page posts both agencies' applications. The Township's Ordinance No. 04-05 says "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code of Greenfield Township," and changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. The Township's pages name no code edition, and the PMCA Residential Re-Roof packet the Township posts lists "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC"; this record has not read the 2009 edition's text and does not decide which edition the agencies apply.
Repair permit threshold
Greenfield Township's own Building Permits – Overview page says that replacing roof shingles with shingles needs no permit and that changing between shingle and metal roofing does. The Township's Building Permits – Overview page says "a building permit is needed anytime you make improvements or alternations to your property" and "The only exceptions are minor changes," and "If you are replacing your roof shingles with shingles, no permit is required. Replacing the shingles with a metal roof or a metal roof with a shingled roof does require a permit." Its Township Building Permits page lists "change shingled roof to a metal roof" and "change metal roof to a shingled roof" among projects that need a township building permit, at a $40.00 township fee. The PMCA Residential Re-Roof packet the Township posts says in its heading "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair or changing roof material". The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance (Ordinance No. 04-05, effective July 8, 2004, read from its scanned pages) adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and adds no permit clause naming roof work; its Section C says construction exempt from the Uniform Construction Code "must be reported by the owner, contractor and/or builder to Greenfield Township prior to the commencement of the construction," a notice that names no permit. The Township's Building Permit Ordinance No. 82-01, a building permit and flood-area ordinance kept in force by the 2004 ordinance's savings clause for pre-1999 building code ordinances that equal or exceed the code, says "A Building Permit shall not be required for minor repairs to existing buildings or structures" and does not name roofing. 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, Greenfield Township in Blair County issues its own township building permits and land use permits from its Administrative Office at 477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, and retains third-party agencies for Uniform Construction Code permits: its Building a New Home page says "Residents have the selection between two inspection agencies," naming PMCA (PA Municipal Code Alliance) and CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection System), and its Building Permits documents page posts both agencies' applications. The Township's line, quoted at the start, falls at a change of roof material, which needs a township building permit, and PMCA's re-roof packet adds structural repair; no Township text sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.
Roof layer limit / recover
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, Greenfield Township in Blair County issues its own township building permits and land use permits from its Administrative Office at 477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, and retains third-party agencies for Uniform Construction Code permits: its Building a New Home page says "Residents have the selection between two inspection agencies," naming PMCA (PA Municipal Code Alliance) and CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection System), and its Building Permits documents page posts both agencies' applications. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and its pages say nothing on roof layers. The Township's pages name no code edition, and the PMCA Residential Re-Roof packet the Township posts lists "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's reroofing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the agencies apply.
Deck & sheathing requirements
State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). 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 "shall 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 "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "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 and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). 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)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Greenfield Township in Blair County issues its own township building permits and land use permits from its Administrative Office at 477 Ski Gap Road, Claysburg, and retains third-party agencies for Uniform Construction Code permits: its Building a New Home page says "Residents have the selection between two inspection agencies," naming PMCA (PA Municipal Code Alliance) and CCIS (Commonwealth Code Inspection System), and its Building Permits documents page posts both agencies' applications. The Township's Uniform Construction Code ordinance changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and PMCA's re-roof packet says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair or changing roof material" without naming sheathing. The Township's pages name no code edition, and the PMCA Residential Re-Roof packet the Township posts lists "Applicable Codes: 2009 IBC/IRC"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, the 2009 edition's sheathing text was not read for this record, and this record does not decide which edition the agencies apply.
Sales & use tax
6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Greenfield Township is in Blair County. The Township's permit pages say nothing on sales tax.