Township of Ira - Building Department

Township of Ira, Michigan (St. Clair County)

city

7085 Meldrum Road, Fair Haven, MI 48023

Required

Required

Ira Township has published nothing that names roof work, so plan on a building permit for a reroof and ask first. The Building Department page says "Permit applications, plan review and inspections are processed daily" and "Please call with any questions or concerns." The Township's Building Department Fee Schedule (February 2026) charges a non-refundable application fee of $75.00, then a building permit fee by value (value $1 to $1,000, $75; $1,001 to $10,000, $75 + $10/$1,000 over $1,000; $10,001 to $100,000, $165 + $4/$1000 over $10,000), with each required inspection at $75.00, a plan review fee of 15% of the permit fee and "Work Without A Permit" at 50% of the total permit; it has no roofing line. The application asks for the contractor's builder's license number and federal employer ID, workers compensation carrier and MESC employer number (or the reason for exemption), and the Township's Homeowner Permit Policy says "the homeowner may obtain a building or trade permit for construction at his own home" and that the homeowner then takes on the liability of the contractor. The page says "AS OF April 23, 2025, ALL BUILDING/TRADE INSPECTIONS SHALL BE REQUESTED BY EMAIL" to the Building Assistant, with the address, permit number, contact name and telephone number. The Building Department is at 7085 Meldrum Rd., Fair Haven, MI 48023, 586-725-0207, open Monday to Thursday, 7 am to 3 pm.

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 names Ira Township as its own building code enforcer. The Township's codified Part 228 (Ord. No. 112, adopted February 3, 2020) says "The Michigan Residential Code, 2015 Edition, including its appendices, is adopted and incorporated in its entirety herein" and "The Township hereby adopts by reference any and all subsequent Michigan Residential Codes utilized by the State of Michigan", and the Building Department's list of codes currently in effect names the "2015 Michigan Residential Code" effective February 8, 2016.

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). Ira Township's codified building ordinances (Parts 227 through 238 of its compilation of general ordinances), its Building & Assessing page and its permit forms and fee schedule 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). Ira Township's codified building ordinances (Parts 227 through 238 of its compilation of general ordinances), its Building & Assessing page and its permit forms and fee schedule 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." Ira Township's codified building ordinances (Parts 227 through 238 of its compilation of general ordinances), its Building & Assessing page and its permit forms and fee schedule were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.

Ira Township has published no size, cost or repair threshold for roof work, and no page, form, fee schedule or ordinance that the Township publishes names roofing or reroofing. Its Building Department page says the department "oversees and approves all residential, commercial, and industrial construction within the township" and "Please call with any questions or concerns.", and its building permit application lists Alteration and Repair among its types of improvement and says "Plans are not required for alterations and repair work determined by the building official to be of a minor nature." Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs. Ask the Building Department (586-725-0207) before starting a roof job.

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, Ira Township's own building ordinances were read in full through the Municode compilation of the Township's general ordinances (codified through Ordinance No. 148, adopted April 6, 2026): Parts 227, 228, 229, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237 and 238, which adopt the Michigan Residential, Building, Rehabilitation, Mechanical, Plumbing and Energy Codes and the other model codes by reference without local amendment, and its listing of ordinances, which shows the building fee schedule removed from the code. None has a reroofing provision, and none amends anything in Section R908. The Building Department's page, forms and fee schedule 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). Ira Township's codified building ordinances (Parts 227 through 238 of its compilation of general ordinances), its Building & Assessing page and its permit forms and fee schedule were read for a local rule and state nothing further on roof 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." Nothing on the Ira Township Building & Assessing page or in its fee schedule changes this.