Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Township of Lower Frederick, PA?

Roofing questions: Township of Lower Frederick, PA

When does a roof repair need a permit in Township of Lower Frederick, PA?

Lower Frederick Township's own instruments disagree on whether a house reroof needs a permit. Section 61-9A of the Township Code (Ord. No. 05-04, April 5, 2005) says "the Township will require permits for residential alterations and repairs pursuant to the International Residential Code of 2003, Chapter 1 , Section 105, or any subsequent edition thereof." It names no roof work. The Township's 2026 fee schedule, Resolution No. 2026R-06 of the Board of Supervisors, says two things about reroofing. It says "Ordinary repairs do not require any permit" and lists among ordinary repairs "replacement or repair of existing roof covering." It also lists "Re-Roofing" with a "Residential" fee of $100.00 and says "Re-roofing that involves the repair or replacement of any part of the building structure, will require Building Permits in addition to the Re-roofing Permit." A 2022 building permit packet still posted on the Township's Permits page, which refers permit questions to LTL Consultants, says "Permits are not required for normal maintenance of property, but are required for the following" and lists "New Roofing on existing structures." This record does not decide which of these the Township applies to a house reroof. Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Frederick Township takes permit applications at its office, 53 Spring Mount Road, Schwenksville: its Building Code & Zoning page says "All permits should be submitted to the Township directly" and lists Barry Isett & Associates for code enforcement, zoning and building plan review, and its Permits page says an owner who intends to do work regulated by the code "shall first make application to Barry Isett & Associates and obtain the required permit." The only line the Township draws for roof work is the fee schedule's: re-roofing that repairs or replaces any part of the building structure also needs building permits. No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Can you roof over an existing roof in Township of Lower Frederick, PA?

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Frederick Township takes permit applications at its office, 53 Spring Mount Road, Schwenksville: its Building Code & Zoning page says "All permits should be submitted to the Township directly" and lists Barry Isett & Associates for code enforcement, zoning and building plan review, and its Permits page says an owner who intends to do work regulated by the code "shall first make application to Barry Isett & Associates and obtain the required permit." Chapter 61 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the Township's pages say nothing on roof layers. The Township's Permits page says "The State of Pennsylvania has adopted the 2018 ICC Code effective February 14, 2022" and that later applications "are governed by the 2018 ICC Codes," the 2022 permit packet lists under "Codes in Force" the "International Residential Building Code 2009, with Amendments," and Section 61-9A names the 2003 edition for its permit rule; no Township page names the 2021 edition, this record has not read those earlier editions' text, and it does not decide which edition the Township applies; the text above is the 2021 edition's.

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in Township of Lower Frederick, PA?

Yes.

What building code does Township of Lower Frederick, PA use?

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Lower Frederick Township takes permit applications at its office, 53 Spring Mount Road, Schwenksville: its Building Code & Zoning page says "All permits should be submitted to the Township directly" and lists Barry Isett & Associates for code enforcement, zoning and building plan review, and its Permits page says an owner who intends to do work regulated by the code "shall first make application to Barry Isett & Associates and obtain the required permit." Section 61-2 of the Township Code (Ord. No. 04-05, July 6, 2004) adopts "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 to 405, as amended from time to time" as the municipal building code. Section 61-9A of the Township Code (Ord. No. 05-04, April 5, 2005) says "the Township will require permits for residential alterations and repairs pursuant to the International Residential Code of 2003, Chapter 1 , Section 105, or any subsequent edition thereof." It names no roof work. The Township's Permits page says "The State of Pennsylvania has adopted the 2018 ICC Code effective February 14, 2022" and that later applications "are governed by the 2018 ICC Codes," the 2022 permit packet lists under "Codes in Force" the "International Residential Building Code 2009, with Amendments," and Section 61-9A names the 2003 edition for its permit rule; no Township page names the 2021 edition, this record has not read those earlier editions' text, and it does not decide which edition the Township applies.