Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Lowell, MI?

Roofing questions: Lowell, MI

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Lowell, MI?

Yes, a permit is required to replace a roof in Lowell, MI. No size or cost point is published below which roof work needs no permit in the City of Lowell. The city's Building Code Enforcement page says "Building Code Enforcement and Building Permits are issued by the City of Lowell through the Building Department." and refers questions to the firm that runs it: "For questions about building in the City of Lowell, please contact PCI at:". The city's zoning ordinance, Sec. 22.02(A), says "No building, structure, or commercial sign shall be erected, altered, moved, or substantially repaired unless a building permit shall have been first issued for such work." The PCI building permit application used for Lowell lists new building, addition, alteration, demolition and relocation among its project types, with no roof type, and asks for a "PROJECT VALUATION"; neither it nor PCI's residential building permit checklist has a roofing line. Under state law, "before construction of a building or structure, the owner, or the owner's builder, architect, engineer, or agent, shall submit an application in writing to the appropriate enforcing agency for a building permit" and "A building permit is not required for ordinary repairs of a building or structure," (MCL 125.1510), without a definition of ordinary repairs, and the city has published nothing applying that relief to roof work. For a small patch, ask PCI at 616-407-4980 before starting.

Is ice & water shield required in Lowell, MI?

Yes. 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). Chapter 7 of the City of Lowell Code of Ordinances, the Building Code Enforcement page and the building permit application and checklist posted by Professional Code Inspections of Michigan were read for a local rule and state nothing further on ice barrier.

Is drip edge required in Lowell, MI?

Yes. 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). Chapter 7 of the City of Lowell Code of Ordinances, the Building Code Enforcement page and the building permit application and checklist posted by Professional Code Inspections of Michigan were read for a local rule and state nothing further on drip edge.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Lowell, MI?

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, Chapter 7 (Buildings and Building Regulations) of the City of Lowell Code of Ordinances, Articles I through VIII, was read in full: it designates the city as the enforcing agency, sets fees by resolution of the city council, treats unsafe structures, street numbers, moving of buildings, the property maintenance code, completion of exterior features and flood-prone hazard areas, and names roof coverings only in Article VII's list of exterior features to be completed after a permit is issued; it has no reroofing provision and amends nothing in Section R908. The Building Code Enforcement page and the permit forms of Professional Code Inspections of Michigan state no layer rule.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Lowell, MI?

Yes.

What building code does Lowell, MI use?

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 City of Lowell as its own building code enforcer. Sec. 7-26 of the city's Code of Ordinances provides that "the city hereby adopts and assumes responsibility for administering and enforcing the state construction code including the state building code, the Michigan Electrical Code, the state mechanical code, and the state plumbing code", and names no edition. Neither the Building Code Enforcement page nor the building permit application and residential checklist of Professional Code Inspections of Michigan, the city's building department, names a residential code edition. Article VI of the same chapter adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2006 edition, which is a property maintenance code.