City of Lewiston - Community Development Department, Building Services

City of Lewiston, Idaho

city

215 D Street, Lewiston, ID 83501

Not required

Required

Where a permit IS required -- that is, where the roof job involves repair or replacement of structural components rather than covering alone -- Lewiston runs an eight-step review. The applicant submits the required documents; a permit representative runs a completeness check; a letter goes back stating whether documents are missing or the project is ready for review; the review fee is paid; the project is routed for code review; corrections from the plan review are sent to the applicant, who resubmits a full set of plans rather than only the corrected sheets; payment for the permit is due once plans are approved; and the permit then issues. The City states that review will not begin until all documentation is received. Lewiston publishes review-time goals in calendar days: residential accessory buildings 10 days, residential additions and alterations 10, new single-family and duplex construction 14, with minor revisions at 8 days. The plan review fee is set by Lewiston City Code Sec. 10-9(3) at sixty-five percent of the building permit fee, payable on application and separate from and in addition to the permit fee; building and reinspection fees are set by resolution of the Lewiston City Council. Submissions and questions go to Building Services at [email protected] or 208-746-1318 option 1, or through the City's online permit portal. The City offers building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections as part of an issued permit and issues a certificate or letter of completion once every inspector involved has approved the work. Appeals of a written order or decision of the building official, or of the fire marshal under the fire code, go to the City's own seven-member Code Board of Appeals; the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days of receipt of the decision, the board hears it within thirty calendar days, and its written decision is final. Note that a separate electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit may be required for other trades on the same job even where the roof covering itself is exempt.

LOCALLY ENACTED, ON A STATE-MANDATED EDITION, AND EXPRESSLY TIED TO THE STATE GOING FORWARD. Lewiston City Code Sec. 10-1(a) adopts "The approved editions of the following codes as adopted by the State of Idaho, together with any amendments or revisions to the following codes as made by the State of Idaho through the negotiated rulemaking process ... as the building codes for the City of Lewiston, except as provided in the section amendments", and its list names the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC). Alongside it Lewiston has adopted the 2018 International Building Code with the mass timber provisions only of the 2021 IBC, the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code, the 2018 International Mechanical Code, the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code, the 2017 Idaho State Plumbing Code based on the 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code, the 2018 International Existing Building Code, the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code and the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The City's own Current Codes page gives the residential adoption date as 1/2021 and lists the same suite. Sec. 10-1(b) then makes the adoption a moving one: "The adopted versions of the foregoing codes shall be deemed superseded by successive versions of such codes as they are adopted or approved by the State of Idaho, effective on the date any such codes are made effective by Idaho Code, Title 39, Chapter 41." So a change in the state edition carries into Lewiston without a further city ordinance. Lewiston's local amendments to the residential code sit at Sec. 10-9 and its amendments to the commercial code at Sec. 10-2. THE STATE FRAMEWORK: Idaho's residential code is set by the Idaho Building Code Board, not by the city. 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", effective July 1, 2024, together with a list of state amendments; Idaho Code 39-4116(2) requires a local government that issues building permits and performs code enforcement to adopt the Idaho residential code parts I-III and IX by ordinance. Parts IV through VIII -- energy, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing and electrical -- are not part of the Idaho residential code (Idaho Code 39-4109(1)(b)); roofing sits in Part III and is included. Idaho Code 39-4116(2) also bars a local jurisdiction from adopting provisions of a later IRC edition the Board has not adopted, so a city cannot be ahead of the state. Idaho Code 39-4116(6): "Permits shall be governed by the laws in effect at the time the permit application is received."

Required — IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 -- the State of Idaho's complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, read in full -- does not touch Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, and Chapter 10 of the Lewiston City Code, all twelve sections read in full, does not touch it either. The base 2018 IRC drip-edge requirement for asphalt shingle roofs (Section R905.2.8.5) therefore applies unmodified. Confirm the flashing detail and the fastener spacing against the shingle manufacturer's printed instructions as well, which the code makes binding. Because a straight covering replacement in Lewiston needs no building permit, there is no plan review or mandatory inspection at which a missing drip edge would be caught -- the requirement still applies to the work. About drip edge

Not required — Sourced from Lewiston's own adopted design criteria, not inferred from climate. Lewiston City Code Sec. 10-9(7) amends Table R301.2(1) of the International Residential Code and directs that "Ice Shield Underlayment Required" be annotated with "No." The rest of that amendment is worth having in front of you on a Lewiston roof: "Ground Snow Load is 30 psf" annotated with "Roof Snow Load is 25 psf"; Wind Speed 115; Seismic Design Category B; Weathering Severe; Frost line depth 24 inches; Termite S to M; Decay None to Slight; Winter Design Temp 6 degrees Fahrenheit; Air Freezing Index 800; Mean Annual Temp 53 degrees Fahrenheit; and, for flood hazards, "Floodplain Ordinance 4579 effective 09-10-2012, and FIRM maps as currently adopted." Idaho's state rule does not answer the ice barrier question either way: IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 amends nothing in Chapter 9 of the 2018 International Residential Code, and Table R301.2(1) is the one part of Part III that Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(c) leaves a city free to fill in and amend for local conditions -- which is exactly what Lewiston has done. Nothing in the City's entry stops a shingle manufacturer's printed instructions, or a particular roof's exposure, from calling for eave protection anyway. About ice & water barrier

Not required — Lewiston requires no in-progress roofing inspection, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of practice. Chapter 10 of the Lewiston City Code, all twelve sections read in full, contains no provision requiring an inspection stage during a reroof. Its only roofing-inspection provision runs the other way: Sec. 10-9(2), the amendment that exempts replacement of a roof covering from the building permit, closes "Inspection of siding or roof coverings may be requested and shall be charged at the hourly rate for inspections." So an inspection of a permit-exempt reroof is something an owner or contractor asks for and pays an hourly rate for, not a stage the City imposes. Where the job does involve repair or replacement of structural components, the exemption does not apply, a building permit is required, and the City states that it offers building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections as part of an issued permit, with a final inspection by every inspector involved before a certificate or letter of completion is issued. Ask Building Services what inspection sequence a permitted roof job will carry before you schedule the crew. Reinspection fees apply where work is not ready or corrections have not been made.

Not required — No impact-resistance mandate applies in Lewiston. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 -- the State of Idaho's complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, read in full -- contains no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, and no UL 2218, Class 4 or FM 4473 impact-rating reference anywhere in the rule. Chapter 10 of the Lewiston City Code, all twelve sections read in full, contains no such reference either, and its residential amendments do not reach the roofing chapter at all. Neither the state's nor the city's adopted code imposes an impact-resistant roof covering requirement. 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.

No square-footage figure and no dollar figure -- Lewiston draws a structural line instead, and it is written into the City's own enacted code. Lewiston City Code Sec. 10-9(2) amends "Section R105.2, Work exempt from permit" of the International Residential Code by adding a new item 11: "Permits shall not be required for replacement of siding or roof coverings, unless it involves repair or replacement of structural components. It remains the owner and contractor's responsibility to ensure all code requirements are met. Inspection of siding or roof coverings may be requested and shall be charged at the hourly rate for inspections." So the trigger is the scope of the work, not its area or its value: a covering replacement of any size is exempt, and structural work of any size is not. Two things to settle before relying on that. The code does not define which parts of a roof count as "structural components", so ask Building Services where decking or sheathing work falls on a particular job. And the City's own Permits Needed page states more broadly that a "Building Permit" is "Required whenever a building or structure, regulated by the code is: Altered / Constructed / Converted / Demolished / Enlarged / Erected / Improved / Moved / Removed / Repaired", without listing the exemptions the adopted code carries. The exemption removes the permit, not the standards -- the code requirements still apply, and the City will inspect a roof covering on request at its hourly inspection rate. Where a permit is required and work starts without one, Lewiston charges a special investigation fee in addition to the permit fee, at two times the permit fee for a first offence in any twelve-month period, three times for a second and four times for a third, with subsequent offences referred for prosecution.

Take these from Lewiston's own adopted table. Lewiston City Code Sec. 10-9(7) amends Table R301.2(1) of the International Residential Code and directs that "Wind Speed" be annotated with "115" and "Seismic Design Category" with "B". For roof loading the same amendment annotates "Ground Snow Load is 30 psf" with "Roof Snow Load is 25 psf", and it sets Weathering Severe, Frost line depth 24 inches, Winter Design Temp 6 degrees Fahrenheit, Air Freezing Index 800 and Mean Annual Temp 53 degrees Fahrenheit. CHECK THE BASIS BEFORE YOU APPLY THE NUMBER. The City's amendment states the figure 115 without stating on its face whether it is a nominal wind speed (the older allowable-stress basis) or an ultimate design wind speed. Those are two different numbers for the same wind loading and they are not interchangeable, so confirm which basis your design method, engineering or product listing expects, and confirm the figure with Building Services, rather than converting between bases. Note also that the State of Idaho deletes the model code's wind-borne debris opening-protection section statewide: IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03(d) reads "Section R301.2.1.2 Protection of Openings. Delete." That is an opening (window and door) provision rather than a roofing one, and under Idaho Code 39-4116(4)(b) a local jurisdiction may not re-adopt a provision the Idaho Building Code Board has expressly rejected. Lewiston's residential and commercial tracks are amended separately; do not carry a commercial figure onto a one- or two-family dwelling.

Neither the State of Idaho nor the City of Lewiston modifies the model rule. IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 -- the Idaho Building Code Board's complete list of state amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, seventeen items, read in full -- contains no amendment to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Lewiston's own adopting instrument, Chapter 10 of the Lewiston City Code, all twelve sections read in full, likewise contains no amendment to Chapter 9; its residential amendments at Sec. 10-9 reach only the permit exemption list, plan review and permit valuation, the board of appeals, and the design criteria of Table R301.2(1). The base 2018 IRC provisions therefore apply 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 covering is water-soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is not an adequate base for additional roofing; where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; or where the existing roof already 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) allows a city or county to 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). Note that a straight covering replacement in Lewiston is exempt from the building permit, so nobody at the counter will be checking the layer count for you -- the rule still binds the work.

IDAPA 24.39.30.600.03 -- the State of Idaho's complete list of amendments to the 2018 International Residential Code, read in full -- contains no amendment to Chapter 8, Roof-Ceiling Construction, which carries the code's roof sheathing provisions, nor to Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies. Chapter 10 of the Lewiston City Code, all twelve sections read in full, contains no amendment to either chapter; the only structural amendment Lewiston makes anywhere in Chapter 10 is a special-inspection provision in the commercial code, at International Building Code Section 1705.17, which concerns firestops and fire-resistant joint systems in high-rise, multi-dwelling and Risk Category III and IV buildings. The base 2018 IRC roof sheathing and decking requirements therefore apply unmodified in Lewiston, along with the shingle manufacturer's printed installation instructions, which the code makes binding. One local consequence worth planning around: Lewiston exempts replacement of a roof covering from the building permit only where the work does not involve "repair or replacement of structural components", so sheathing or framing work can move a job from the exempt side of that line to the permitted side. The code does not define the term; settle it with Building Services on the specific job rather than assuming.

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 applies here: a resort-city local-option tax, which Idaho Code 50-1044 confines to resort cities "with a population not in excess of ten thousand (10,000)" and which the Idaho State Tax Commission's own list of participating cities does not include Lewiston in; and 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 reaches roofing work. Idaho counties levy no sales tax at all, so being in Nez Perce County adds nothing. 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. One Lewiston-specific caution: the city faces Clarkston, Washington across the Snake River, and Washington taxes construction on an entirely different model. The Idaho rate and the Idaho contractor-as-consumer rule described here apply to work on the Idaho side of the line only.