Permitting Authorities / Township of James - Building Department
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of James, MI?
Adopted code
Township of James - Building Department
Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Township of James, MI, issued by Township of James - Building Department. In James Township a reroof starts with the township's own Residential Tear-off Reroof Permit Application, which the Building Department posts on its Building Codes page and which lists the job types "COMPLETE TEAR OFF", "SHINGLE OVER (REQUIRES A SITE VISIT PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF PERMIT)", "METAL STANDING SEAM", "METAL SHEET (SCREW DOWN)" and "MEMBRANE ( INSPECTION CERTIFICATE REQUIRED FROM SUPPLIER PRIOR TO FINAL)". The form asks for the project cost, the number of squares being installed, and the applicant's builder license number, with "Attach copy with permit"; a homeowner may apply as the applicant, and the form sets the building permit fee at $75.00. Its "INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR ROOFING" page says the building inspector cannot be on the job during the work, so the permit holder texts pictures to the building inspector: the roof deck after the old shingles come off, any sheathing replaced, the ice and water shield, valleys with ice and water shield, flashings around chimneys and alongside walls, ridge vent openings, and the completed project. It says "Text these pictures before installing shingles not at completion of job!" and "Failure to do so can result in removal of shingles for inspection purposes." A home in the 100 year floodplain also needs the township's Substantial Improvement Packet at no added fee. The Building Department is at 6060 Swan Creek Road, Saginaw, and answers at 989-781-1353, where the inspector's contact information is available.
Roof code checklist: Township of James, MI
Each row comes from the sourced record on this page; full wording is in the table below. "Not published" means no official source for that item was found when the record was last verified.
Jurisdiction
Township of James, Saginaw County, Michigan
Address
6060 Swan Creek Road, Saginaw, MI 48609
Contact
- url: https://jamestwpmi.gov/building-codes/
- phone: 989-781-1353
Roofing permit required
Required
Contractor registration required
Required
Permit process note
In James Township a reroof starts with the township's own Residential Tear-off Reroof Permit Application, which the Building Department posts on its Building Codes page and which lists the job types "COMPLETE TEAR OFF", "SHINGLE OVER (REQUIRES A SITE VISIT PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF PERMIT)", "METAL STANDING SEAM", "METAL SHEET (SCREW DOWN)" and "MEMBRANE ( INSPECTION CERTIFICATE REQUIRED FROM SUPPLIER PRIOR TO FINAL)". The form asks for the project cost, the number of squares being installed, and the applicant's builder license number, with "Attach copy with permit"; a homeowner may apply as the applicant, and the form sets the building permit fee at $75.00. Its "INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR ROOFING" page says the building inspector cannot be on the job during the work, so the permit holder texts pictures to the building inspector: the roof deck after the old shingles come off, any sheathing replaced, the ice and water shield, valleys with ice and water shield, flashings around chimneys and alongside walls, ridge vent openings, and the completed project. It says "Text these pictures before installing shingles not at completion of job!" and "Failure to do so can result in removal of shingles for inspection purposes." A home in the 100 year floodplain also needs the township's Substantial Improvement Packet at no added fee. The Building Department is at 6060 Swan Creek Road, Saginaw, and answers at 989-781-1353, where the inspector's contact information is available.
Adopted code
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 the Township of James in Saginaw County as its own building code enforcer. The township's Building Codes page says "James Township follows all current adapted versions of the following:" and lists the "Michigan Residential Code" among them. Ordinance No. 2007-1, adopted October 8, 2007, designates the township's building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing code officials as the "enforcing agencies" under the state act and names no code edition, so this record states the 2015 Michigan Residential Code for the reasons above.
Drip edge
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). Ordinance No. 2007-1, the Building Codes page and the reroof permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.
About drip edgeIce & water shield
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 township's reroof permit application asks the permit holder to text the building inspector pictures of the "ice and water shield" and of "Valleys with ice and water shield" before shingles go on, which matches the state requirement and adds no local rule.
About ice & water barrierImpact-resistant roofing
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." Ordinance No. 2007-1, the Building Codes page and the reroof permit application were read for a local rule and state nothing further on impact resistance.
Repair permit threshold
James Township's Residential Tear-off Reroof Permit Application, posted on the Building Department's Building Codes page, is its own permit form for reroofing. It is headed "RESIDENTIAL TEAR-OFF REROOF PERMIT APPLICATION" with "(No Structural Work)", cites "Authority: R105.1", says "Completion: Mandatory to obtain permit" and "Penalty: Permit cannot be issued", and sets a building permit fee of $75.00. It says "This permit application is for single or multi family homes only" and sets no area or cost point below which a reroof needs no permit. Under state law, "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure." (MCL 125.1510), and the statute does not define ordinary repairs.
Roof layer limit / recover
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 township's Ordinances page lists one building instrument, Ordinance No. 2007-1 (Building Codes Administration), and it was read in full: it designates the township's code officials as the enforcing agencies under the state act and sets penalties, has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The Blight Ordinance mentions shingles only as debris and sets no roofing rule. The township's reroof permit application offers "SHINGLE OVER (REQUIRES A SITE VISIT PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF PERMIT)" as a job type and states no layer limit.
Deck & sheathing requirements
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). Ordinance No. 2007-1, the Building Codes page and the reroof permit application were read for a local rule; the application asks for pictures of "any sheathing replaced" and states nothing further on roof sheathing.
Sales & use tax
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 township's Building Codes page, Ordinance No. 2007-1 and its reroof permit application were read and change nothing about sales tax.
Local roofing hub
Roof permits nearby: Saginaw County
Related guides
James Township's Building Department, at the township offices at 6060 Swan Creek Road in Saginaw, issues the township's building permits and publishes its own Residential Tear-off Reroof Permit Application for work with no structural change. Township Ordinance No. 2007-1 designates the township's code officials as the enforcing agencies under the state construction code act, and the State of Michigan's jurisdiction list names the Township as its own building code enforcer. Michigan applies one residential code statewide, and for houses that is the 2015 Michigan Residential Code.
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