Kootenai County - Community Development, Building Division

Kootenai County, Idaho

county

451 Government Way, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814

Required

Required

A RE-ROOF PERMIT HERE IS A SAME-DAY, NO-PLANS PERMIT, AND THE COUNTY SAYS SO. The County's Residential Building Permit Submittal Guide states that "Some permits such as mechanical, re-roof, siding and window replacement, which do not require plans, can usually be issued the same day without the need to come into our office." SUBMITTAL IS ELECTRONIC AND THE PORTAL IS iMS. The same guide states that "ELECTRONIC PERMIT SUBMITTAL IS REQUIRED" and that permits can be applied for, paid for and issued, and their progress viewed, in the County's iMS permitting system, for which new users register online. The County also warns that the application fee is non-refundable and asks applicants unsure of the permit type to call the Building Division before starting an application. FEES, from the County's Community Development Fee Schedule, Resolution No. 2026-62 of June 2026, which supersedes Resolution No. 2025-51: a residential "Re-Roof without New Rafters or Trusses" is a flat $235.00; a re-roof that installs new rafters or trusses is charged on valuation at $26.67 per square foot of accessory-structure area; a non-residential re-roof is charged on approved declared valuation; and the minimum fee for any structure not otherwise addressed is the greater of the calculated fee or $235.00. A building re-inspection costs $176.00. General building permit fees are calculated on a modified 1997 Uniform Building Code fee formula, with valuations set by the Building Official from local data and the current International Code Council table. OTHER AGENCIES WILL BE IN THE CHAIN ON A LARGER JOB. The County states that in most cases approval from outside public agencies is required before a permit can be issued, naming Panhandle Health District and the relevant fire and highway districts, and it tells applicants to contact those agencies directly about their own requirements and fees. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302 also conditions the certificate of occupancy on evidence of final approval from every relevant agency with jurisdiction, a list that includes the fire district, the highway district, the Idaho Transportation Department, Panhandle Health District, the Idaho State Electrical Inspector and the Idaho State Plumbing Inspector. And the County requires the printed approved construction documents to be on the job for inspections, stating that inspections will not be performed if they are not.

LOCALLY ENACTED, AND THE OPERATIVE INSTRUMENT IS ORDINANCE NO. 608. Kootenai County Code 7.1.201, as amended by Ordinance No. 608 (Case No. ORA24-0010, dated 9 January 2025, effective 1 January 2025), opens: "Kootenai County hereby adopts the following construction codes, standards and requirements, as amended by the State of Idaho by statute or administrative rule and by Article 1.3 of this chapter". The residential entry is item B, "THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, as published by the International Code Council, including APPENDIX H and APPENDIX Q thereto. but excluding parts VII and VIII thereof, excluding any incorporated references to the NEC electrical code, the International Plumbing Code, the International Zoning Code, and, except as specifically noted, excluding any reference to flood requirements." Item A adopts the 2018 International Building Code on the same formula, and the ordinance also adopts the 2018 editions of the energy conservation, mechanical, fuel gas and property maintenance codes. So a house in the unincorporated county runs on the 2018 IRC, plus the State of Idaho's amendments, plus the County's own amendment list in Kootenai County Code 7.1.302. THE COUNTY IS IN STEP WITH THE STATE, AND CANNOT RUN AHEAD OF IT. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 adopts the "International Residential Code, 2018 Edition ... Parts I, II, III, and IX of the 2018 Edition for one (1)- and two (2)- family dwellings", and Idaho Code 39-4116(2) requires a local government that issues building permits and enforces building codes to adopt the Idaho residential code parts I-III and IX by ordinance while barring it from adopting provisions of a later International Residential Code edition the Idaho Building Code Board has not adopted. Roofing sits in Part III and is inside the Idaho residential code; parts IV through VIII, the energy, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing and electrical parts, are not, under Idaho Code 39-4109(1)(b). Which edition governs a particular job is settled by statute rather than by custom here: Idaho Code 39-4116(6) provides that "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received."

Required — Kootenai County Code 7.1.302, the County's complete list of amendments to the International Residential Code as amended by Ordinance No. 608, was read in full and does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies; IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, does not touch it either. The base 2018 International Residential Code drip-edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs, Section R905.2.8.5, therefore applies unmodified in the unincorporated county. Confirm the flashing detail and the fastener spacing against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions as well, which the code makes binding. About drip edge

Required — THE COUNTY ANSWERS THIS ITSELF, IN ITS OWN TABLE, FOR THE WHOLE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302, as amended by Ordinance No. 608, deletes the model code's Table R301.2(1), Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria, and replaces it with the County's own. The last row of that replacement table is headed "Ice Barrier Underlayment Required" and its entry is "Yes". That is a county-wide answer rather than a per-address one, and it is not conditioned on elevation, a map or a snow zone. Because the County's amendment list does not touch Chapter 9, the ice barrier provisions of the adopted 2018 International Residential Code apply as written; confirm the required extent up the slope from the eave against that code and against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions before ordering material. Note that this table is where Kootenai differs from a jurisdiction that simply adopts the state code and stops, so a roofer working both inside and outside the cities should not assume a neighbouring city has made the same call. About ice & water barrier

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in unincorporated Kootenai County. Ordinance No. 608, the County's current building code ordinance, was read in full, and neither the County's list of amendments to the International Residential Code nor its list of amendments to the International Building Code contains any reference to UL 2218, to a Class 4 or Class IV impact rating, or to FM 4473. Neither list touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, at all. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, read in full, contains no such reference either. So neither the County's nor the State's adopted code imposes an impact-resistant roof covering requirement. Do not confuse this with the fire and wind ratings that do appear in roofing work: an impact rating is UL 2218, a fire classification is Class A, B or C under ASTM E108 or UL 790, and a wind rating is ASTM D3161 or D7158. An insurance discount for impact-rated shingles, where a carrier offers one, is a matter between the homeowner and the insurer and is not a code requirement.

KOOTENAI COUNTY SETS NO SIZE, AREA, DOLLAR OR TEAR-OFF-VERSUS-OVERLAY THRESHOLD BELOW WHICH ROOFING WORK ESCAPES A PERMIT, AND IT NAMES THE WORK ITSELF. The County's Building Division page lists the construction for which it issues building permits, and the list includes "Re-roofing" alongside decks, garages, pole barns, single and multi-family dwellings and commercial structures. The County's fee resolution carries the matching permit types, a residential flat-rate "Re-Roof without New Rafters or Trusses" fee and a separate valuation line for a re-roof that adds rafters or trusses, which is a fee schedule for a permit that exists rather than a threshold. WHERE THE EXEMPTIONS ACTUALLY ARE, READ IN FULL. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302, the County's complete list of amendments to the International Residential Code as amended by Ordinance No. 608, amends the model code's list of work exempt from permit at R105.2 in exactly three ways, none of them about roofing. It replaces Building item 1 with a version covering "One-story detached accessory structures used as tool or storage sheds, playhouses, gazebos, free standing pergolas, and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed 200 square feet", it deletes the prefabricated swimming pool exemption, and it adds a new item for "Agricultural buildings, as defined in Chapter 2 of this Code, provided that agricultural use is permitted pursuant to Title 8, Chapter 2, Kootenai County Code." It also deletes the electrical exemptions outright. No roofing carve-out appears anywhere in the list. The agricultural exemption is not a County choice, either: Idaho Code 39-4116(5) provides that local governments "shall exempt agricultural buildings from the requirements of the codes enumerated in this chapter", and 39-4116(5)(c) bars a county from narrowing it. THE STATE ADDS NO ROOFING EXEMPTION EITHER. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 makes only two changes to the adopted code's list of work exempt from permit, a dimension change in item 7 and a new item for flag poles. And do not rely on the hundred-square-foot roof repair figure that appears in the Idaho state building code rules. It sits inside the definition of "Minor Alteration", which that rule says "is used for the purpose of administering annual permits" -- a blanket permit issued to state agencies for work on buildings they already own or operate. It is not a permit exemption for a homeowner or a roofing contractor anywhere in Idaho.

THE COUNTY PUBLISHES ITS OWN WIND SPEED, AND IT GIVES BOTH BASES, WHICH IS RARE AND USEFUL. The replacement Table R301.2(1) that Kootenai County Code 7.1.302 substitutes for the model table, as amended by Ordinance No. 608, has a row headed "Wind Speed (MPH)" carrying two entries: a fastest-mile figure of 90 mph and a three-second gust figure of 115 mph. Ordinance No. 608 raised both, from a fastest mile of 76 mph and a three-second gust of 90 mph. DO NOT CONVERT BETWEEN THEM AND DO NOT MIX THEM. A fastest-mile speed and a three-second gust speed are two different measurement bases for the same wind loading, and a design method or a product approval written for one of them will give the wrong answer if fed the other. Use the figure whose basis your method or your product listing asks for. The three-second gust figure of 115 mph is the same one the Idaho residential code carries, so a Kootenai job is not an outlier on wind; the county-specific part is that the ordinance states the fastest-mile equivalent as well. The same table gives the rest of the design criteria for the unincorporated county: ground snow load varies by parcel, air freezing index 1500, mobile and manufactured home snow load 30 psf minimum, seismic design category C, weathering severe, frost line depth 24 inches, termite slight, decay slight. One state deletion is worth knowing here because it sits in the wind provisions: both the State of Idaho, at IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03(d), and Kootenai County, in its own amendment list, delete Section R301.2.1.2, Protection of Openings, which is the model code's wind-borne debris opening protection section. That is a window and door provision rather than a roofing one.

NEITHER KOOTENAI COUNTY NOR THE STATE OF IDAHO MODIFIES THE MODEL RULE. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302, the County's complete list of amendments to the International Residential Code as amended by Ordinance No. 608, was read in full. It runs from R101.1, which adds "Kootenai County" as the name of jurisdiction, through the appendices, and its items are R101.1, R101.2, R104.10.1, R105.2, R105.3.1.1, R105.5, R106.1, R106.1.4, R108.3, R109.1.3, R110.3, R112.1, R112.3, R202, R301.2 with a replacement Table R301.2(1), R301.2.1.2, R301.2.3, R301.2.3.1, R301.2.4, R301.2.4.1, Table R302.1(1), R302.6, R302.7, R302.13, R303.4, R315.2.2, R322, a replacement Table R403.1, R404, R408.1, R602.10, G2406.2, G2445, Appendix H and Appendix Q. Not one of them touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the Idaho Building Code Board's own list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, seventeen items, likewise contains no amendment to Chapter 9. So the base 2018 International Residential Code recover-versus-replacement rule applies here unmodified. Base-code rule, 2018 IRC Section R908.3.1.1, Roof recover not allowed: a roof recover is not permitted where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not adequate as a base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. One existing layer may be recovered; a second forces a full tear-off. A local Idaho amendment to this rule would be unusually visible: Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(d) lets a county amend this part of the residential code only by ordinance, on a recorded finding that "good cause" for building or life safety exists and that the amendment is "reasonably necessary", after a public hearing noticed in the official newspaper with at least thirty days' written notice to the local chapters of the industry bodies listed in Idaho Code 39-4109(5). Kootenai County has made no such amendment.

NO LOCAL ROOF-DECK RULE, AND THE ONE PROVISION THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE IS NOT. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302, the County's complete list of amendments to the International Residential Code as amended by Ordinance No. 608, was read in full and contains no amendment to Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, which carries the code's roof sheathing provisions, and none to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03, the State of Idaho's own amendment list, likewise leaves both chapters alone. The base 2018 International Residential Code roof sheathing and decking requirements therefore apply unmodified, along with the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding. The provision that reads like a decking rule and is not: the County's replacement Table R302.1(1) carries a footnote allowing the fire-resistance rating to be reduced to zero hours on the underside of an eave overhang where fireblocking is provided from the wall top plate to the underside of the roof sheathing. That is a fire separation provision about eave soffits, not a requirement about the roof deck. WHAT THE COUNTY DOES IMPOSE THAT AFFECTS THE STRUCTURE UNDER THE ROOF IS SNOW LOAD, AND IT IS NOT A SINGLE NUMBER. Kootenai County Code 7.1.302 replaces R301.2.3 and states that the flat roof snow load for a building on a parcel with a ground snow load not exceeding 60 psf may be either a minimum of 40 psf or designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice; on a parcel between 60 and 70 psf, either a minimum of 50 psf or accepted engineering practice; between 70 and 85 psf, either a minimum of 60 psf or accepted engineering practice; and above 85 psf the building "shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice." The ground snow load itself is parcel-specific, determined under the County's Table R301.2(1) footnote by "the factors and methodology contained in the publication entitled Ground and Roof Snow Loads for Idaho, and the accompanying map entitled Formalized Ground Snow Loads for Idaho, by the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, 1986." Establish the ground snow load for the address before designing or re-decking to a number.

6.0% -- the Idaho state rate, with no local add-on. Idaho Code 63-3619 imposes the state sales tax "at the rate of six percent (6%)". Idaho has only two kinds of local sales tax, and neither reaches roofing work in Kootenai County. The first is the resort-city local-option tax, which Idaho Code 50-1044 confines to a resort city "with a population not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)"; the Idaho State Tax Commission publishes the list of cities that levy one, and in any event a county has no such authority. The second is an auditorium-district tax, which the Tax Commission states "can charge a local sales tax only for short-term lodging (30 days or less)" and so never touches a roof. Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all. HOW A ROOF IS TAXED, WHICH MATTERS MORE THAN THE RATE: the Tax Commission's contractor guidance states that "Idaho sales tax law says contractors are the consumers (end users) of all the goods they use. As a result, they must pay sales tax on all purchases", and it names roofers among the contractors it covers. The roofer pays the 6% on materials at the supply house; the homeowner's invoice carries no sales tax line at all, on materials or on labour, because "a contractor doesn't charge sales tax to the customer" and the tax is absorbed into the bid. The Commission adds that "if sales tax is charged on the bill, the customer can refuse to pay it." A customer's own sales-tax exemption does not carry over to the contractor. A roofer who also sells material he does not install is a retailer for that part and must separate it on the invoice.